Ok, true life confession – it took me until I was thirty to have a soft boiled egg. I have no idea why it took me so long because I love dipping bread into runny egg yolks. What have I been doing all my life?! But I got into the idea recently after having a grilled cheese with a poached egg on top at Bidwell in Union Market. It was delicious – buttery, cheesy, and gooey. But I felt like I’d rather have my egg on the side so that the sandwich bread would stay crisp. And that gave me the idea for soft boiled eggs with grilled cheese soldiers (dipping sticks).
I don’t think eggs and soldiers is such a big deal here in the US. I say that because as previously mentioned it took me until I was thirty to have a soft boiled egg. But in the UK, it’s totally a thing. I once had a 15 minute conversation about egg cups with my colleagues at the Science Museum as we got ready for work. I had never thought about egg cups before, but clearly they had. But today I have four of my very own and they are truly a must have for soft boiled eggs. Without them, how will your eggs stand up and how will you dip your soldiers?! Hooray for single use kitchen gadgets. I just can’t get enough. (It’s sad but true).
Why strips of bread are called soldiers I don’t know. Wikipedia says it’s because they look like soldiers on parade, but I don’t see it. However, I think we can all agree that grilled cheese soldiers are above and beyond regular toast soldiers. For that reason, maybe this recipe should be called soft boiled eggs with marines?! Hee heee. That’s a cheesy joke (get it, it’s grilled cheese).
Ok, enough terrible jokes. Let’s talk eggs. Since I didn’t know how to make eggs I went to America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) for guidance. I’ve been binge watching episodes on Netflix, and lucky for me they had an eggcellent (sorry last bad joke I promise) episode. Apparently they tested hundreds of eggs in order to discover a flawless technique or dippy eggs. And in fact, it’s not even about boiling. The method is to use just a bit of water, add the eggs, cover the pot, and let the steam do most of the cooking. It works because a small amount of water can come back to a boil quickly after the eggs are added AND steam has more energy that the boiling water so you can cook lots of eggs successfully at once. Cool huh?
The last thing about soft boiled eggs is that I wasn’t sure how to get the top of the egg off. My British friends I’m sure would say, “with a spoon, or a knife, duh.” But I didn’t know! If you’re fancy and like gadgets, ATK recommended the Rosle Egg Topper which is like a little plunger that guillotines the top of your egg. It’s pretty sweet looking. I stuck with the old spoon method though, I just got egg cups, I’m not yet ready for more egg paraphernalia.
What I like about this dippy egg and grilled cheese soldiers combo is that it’s a somewhat decadent meal without being a lot of work. And when I say decadent, I mean I will take any excuse for melted cheese with buttery toasted bread, and a gooey egg is and added bonus. All of that is the making of breakfast perfection. I also think it’s a great way to treat yourself on the weekend. The recipe is too much work for a weekday, not fancy enough when you have people over for brunch, but just right when you want to do something to spoil yourself.
Soft boiled egg recipe adapted from America’s Test Kitchen. My mom taught me how to make grilled cheese.
Messy level: Fairly low mess. Yes, you need two pans but you’re not doing anything strenuous with either. It’s basically all about heating and keeping your eye on things.
- water
- 2 slices of sandwich bread
- butter, softened
- 2 slices of cheese (American, Cheddar or your favorite melty cheese).
- 2 eggs
- Fill a medium pot with about ½" of water. Put it on the stove and bring it to a boil.
- Heat a skillet on medium heat. It's ready to use when you hold your hand over it and you can feel the warmth.
- While you're waiting for the water to boil, butter one side of each slice of toast. Butter all the way to the edges. Make sure the bread is well coated with butter, but don't put on a thick layer.
- Put the slices of cheese on the the non-buttered side of one of the slices of bread. Put the other slice non-butter side down on top of the cheese. (So now you have a cheese sandwich with the butter side out).
- If the water has come to a boil, gently put the eggs into the water. Cover the pot and turn the heat to low. Cook for 6½ minutes. When the eggs are done, remove from the heat. Take off the lid and run the eggs (still in the pot) under cold water. This is going to help stop further cooking. Set the eggs to the side.
- The skillet should be ready too. Put the sandwich in the skillet. It should sizzle a bit. Use a spatula to press the sandwich into the pan. Let it sit for a few minutes, until the bread turns a gorgeous golden brown. When one side is brown, flip the sandwich over to the other side and press it down into the skillet using your spatula. You may need to turn the heat down a bit for the second side as it's likely to cook faster. (Depending on how how your skillet it, this can take between 6-12 minutes).
- When the grilled cheese is brown on both sides and the cheese is melted, remove it from the heat. Put it on a plate and cut it into four long strips.
- Put your soft boiled eggs into egg cups and put them on your plate alongside the grilled cheese.
- Use a spoon to tap the egg on the side near the top. You need to break the shell a bit so you can peel off the top of the shell and top of the egg. You want to open it enough to expose the yolk inside.
- Serve immediately Enjoy dipping the soldiers into the eggs!
