French Oeufs à la Coque Paleo Style
A perfectly cooked soft boiled egg with a solid egg white and deliciously gooey yolk. The perfect option for any meal any time of year!
Summer is here....along with all of its busyness and fun-filled activities. Though for us, a few not so fun things have happened too. First, one of our chickens was attacked, and after caring for her for a couple weeks, she didn't make it. It sounds silly, but we miss Lucy! She was a special chicken. The other not so fun thing was saying goodbye to our French exchange student. It. Was. Tough. But the hard goodbye demonstrates how he enriched our lives, and hopefully we enriched his. The experience will stay with us forever. One of many lessons he left us with was learning to make oeufs à la coque. It sounds so elegant, but in English it is simply soft boiled eggs. So this post is dedicated to our wonderful French student as well as our beloved little chicken, Lucy.
As chicken owners, we have access to a lot of eggs, so this meal is perfect for us. The more ways we can find to cook eggs, the better. Oeufs à la coque is the perfect way to get a solid egg white with a soft, runny yolk. And it's beautifully packaged in its original shell!
One of the difficulties for one who doesn't tolerate gluten very well is the gorgeous loaf of French bread that traditionally accompanies this meal. One alternative option is gluten free or paleo bread. However, my favorite pairing with oeufs à la coque is bacon and avocado. Each of these can easily be dipped in the soft egg in a similar fashion as the bread.
How to Make Oeufs à la Coque
A bonus of this meal is that it doesn't take long to make. Therefore you can have a nutritious breakfast, lunch, or dinner in no time.
To start, it's best to get the bacon cooked prior to cooking the eggs, as the boil time for the eggs is rather quick.
As you are cooking the bacon, start boiling water in a medium sized pot. Once you have a rolling boil, turn the heat from high to medium-high. With a slotted spoon, lower an egg or two into the boiling water. Turn a timer on for 3 minutes.
When the timer is up, remove the eggs with the slotted spoon. You can first rest them on a towel until cool enough to handle, or try to immediately place in an egg cup.
The next step is to cut off the top of the egg. This can be done by carefully tapping around the side of an egg with a knife. Once the shell is sufficiently broken all around, the top can be pulled off. You can also purchase an egg cutter. Place the large end of the egg cutter over the narrowest top of the egg, then pull up and let go. This instantly cuts the top of the egg which you then can pull off.
Once the top of the egg is removed, your oeufs à la coque is ready to eat! Simply add bacon to your plate, along with sliced avocado.
Dip the bacon and avocado pieces into the egg with each bite.
The bacon and avocado can be dipped separately or together, any way you prefer. Once you've scooped out most of the egg with bacon and avocado, use a spoon to dig out the rest.
This is such versatile food that can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even a snack! It's also a great option for any time of year! So definitely put this one in your back pocket and pull it out whenever you need a quick, tasty, nutritious meal. Enjoy!
Oeufs à la Coque
Equipment
- 2 egg cups
- 1 large slotted spoon
- 1 egg cutter optional
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 4 pieces bacon (uncured, nitrate free, sugar free)
- 1 avocado
Instructions
- Gather ingredients. Heat a large skillet for the bacon. Add slices and cook each side until brown and crispy. Remove from skillet and place on a plate or paper towel.
- While bacon is cooking, fill a medium sized pot 2/3 full with water and bring to a boil.
- Once the water is boiling, turn heat down to medium-high. Add 2 eggs, then turn on timer to 3 minutes.
- When the timer is finished, remove eggs with a slotted spoon. Either rest on a towel and handle until cool, or immediately place in an egg cup.
- Tap the top part of the eggs with a knife until the shell cracks. Once tapped all around, remove the top portion of the egg. If you have an egg cutter, place the cutter on the top of the egg, pull up on the smaller piece, and let go. This will crack the egg around the top. You can repeat this additional times if the egg isn't completely cracked. Then remove the top portion of the egg.
- Cut the avocado into slices and put on a small plate.
- Serve the eggs with the bacon and avocado pieces. Dip the bacon and avocado into the soft egg and enjoy! You may also use a spoon to remove the last bits of egg from the shell. Once the first eggs have been eaten, cook the last two in the same way and enjoy with the rest of the bacon and avocado.