Sous Vide Bacon and Gruyère Egg Bite are delicious and easy to prepare. Perfect for breakfast or brunch occasions, they combine the rich flavors of bacon, gruyère cheese, and eggs into a creamy, custardy delight. Whether you're hosting a weekend brunch or looking for an elegant breakfast option, these egg bites offer a gourmet touch that's sure to impress.
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Understanding the Sous Vide Cooking Techniques
Sous vide cooking techniques are popular because they deliver consistent and precise results. This method involves vacuum-sealing food in a bag and cooking it to a precise temperature in a water bath. Controlling the temperature ensures that your food is cooked evenly, retaining its natural flavors and nutrients.
Benefits of Sous Vide Cooking for Eggs
The benefits of using sous vide for cooking eggs include:
- Creamy Texture: Sous vide egg bites, like bacon and Gruyère egg bites, benefit from the method's ability to create a creamy and custardy texture that is difficult to achieve with traditional cooking methods.
- Perfectly Cooked: This process results in mini egg bites that are perfectly cooked throughout, offering a delicious, soft, and satisfying mouthfeel.
Importance of Temperature Control
Maintaining an ideal temperature is crucial for bacon and Gruyère egg bites. The recommended range is around 172°F (78°C). This setting results in the perfect balance of creaminess and structure without compromising flavor or texture.
Ingredients for Sous Vide Bacon and Gruyère Egg Bites
Step-by-Step Guide to Making Sous Vide Bacon and Gruyère Egg Bites
Creating the best egg bites at home involves the following steps that ensure a creamy, flavorful outcome. Here's how to master this egg bite recipe:
- Making the Custard Base: I started by adding the eggs, cottage cheese, salt, and pepper to my food processor with the steel blade. I pulsed the mixture ten times to create a creamy base with the cottage cheese.
- Preparing the Mason Jars: I generously greased six 4-ounce mason jars with unsalted butter. This step is crucial for preventing the egg bites from sticking to the jars, making it easy to remove them once cooked.
Then, I evenly distributed the chopped bacon pieces among mason jars, followed by approximately one tablespoon of shredded Gruyère cheese per jar.
- Adding the Custard: I poured the custard mixture over the bacon and cheese, dividing it equally among the jars.
- Securing the Jars: Finally, I added the two-piece lids and only finger-tightened them. I didn't want the lids too tight because otherwise, the air pressure wouldn't be able to escape, and the jars could shatter or float to the top of the water.
Cooking Process & Finishing Touches
Perfecting the art of cooking sous vide eggs began with setting up my sous vide water bath and preheating the water to 172°F (78°C). This temperature is ideal for achieving the desired creamy and custardy consistency in the sous vide egg cups.
Once the water bath was ready, I carefully placed the mason jars into the water. I allowed the egg bites to cook for one hour, making sure that each jar remained fully submerged.
After an hour, I carefully removed the jars from the water bath.
I placed the jars on a wire rack set on a kitchen towel to cool. Before refrigerating the egg bites, I removed the lids and wiped the condensation from the lids with a paper towel.
The egg cups were velvety smooth and absolutely delicious. Their texture reminded me of the finest French omelet we had in Paris. Next time, I think that I'll try adding either cooked sausage, or mushrooms and onions. Yum!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can bake them in the oven in a water bath at 300°F (150°C). However, the texture may not be as velvety smooth as sous vide.
Substitute cheddar, Swiss, or mozzarella cheese for the gruyère cheese. Also, substitute sausage or ham for the bacon.
For a richer egg bite, substitute heavy cream for cottage cheese. Also, consider adding spinach or mushrooms for a more hearty egg bite.
Store the egg bites in the mason jars with lids in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, remove the lid, cover the jar with a damp paper towel, and heat in the microwave on 50% power for one minute.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Blend the Custard: I prefer using my food processor to mix the eggs, cottage cheese, and seasonings. This ensures a smooth, airy texture and evenly distributed flavors. You could also use a blender.
- Avoid Pre-shredded Cheese: Pre-shredded cheese often contains anti-caking agents that can affect the smooth texture. Therefore, shred your cheese.
- Don't Over-Tighten the Lids: You want the lids to be tight enough to prevent water from seeping into the jars but not so tight that the air cannot escape during cooking. If the air can't escape, the jars will have a tendency to float in the water bath or even shatter.
- Cool Slightly Before Removing: Let the egg bites cool for 5-10 minutes before removing them from the molds. This prevents breakage and helps them hold their shape.
Other Delicious Egg-Based Dishes
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Sous Vide Bacon And Gruyère Egg Cups
Equipment
- Large tub to hold the water
- Immersion Circulator
- 6 4 ounce mason jars with lids
- Food processor with steel blade or blender
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ¼ cups (10 ounces) 4% small curd cottage cheese
- ⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 pieces of bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled. (See Tip 1)
- ½ cup (2 ounces) Gruyère cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Set sous vide water bath to 172° F.
- Generously grease six 4-ounce mason jars with unsalted butter. Set aside.
- Add eggs, cottage cheese, salt, and pepper to a food processor with a steel blade. Pulse ten times to thoroughly blend. Set aside.
- Add about a teaspoon of crumbled bacon to each of the six mason jars.
- Add about a tablespoon of Gruyère cheese on top of bacon in mason jars. Divide the custard mixture evenly among the six jars .
- Top jars with two-piece lids; only tighten finger-tight. (See Tip 3)
- When sous vide water bath has reached 172° F. Add jars; cook egg cups for 1 hour.
- Remove from the water bath and place on a wire rack to cool slightly. Remove the lids, and run a thin knife around the inside of the jars to loosen the egg cups. Transfer to a serving plate.
- Yield: 6 Sous Vide Bacon and Gruyère Egg Cups. (See Tip 4)
Video
Tips/Notes
- May substitute cooked sausage or ham for the bacon. In addition, you can omit the bacon for a vegetarian egg bite.
- Swiss cheese may be substituted for Gruyère cheese.
- If you tighten the lids too much, the pressure buildup inside the jars cannot escape, and the jars may shatter or float to the top of the water bath.
- Sous vide cups can be refrigerated with the lids for up to five days. To reheat, remove the lids and place a damp paper towel over the jar. Microwave on 50% power for one minute.
Sandi says
What is sous vide?
Chula King says
Sandi,
Sous vide, is a cooking technique whereby food is slow-cooked in a water bath to a precise level of doneness. Because the focus is on precise temperature control, sous vide produces perfectly cooked food without fail. To utilize this technique, you need an immersion circulator and a large vessel.
Sue says
These really are fantastic. I can’t use cream as all of it has carrageenan added to it so I use half and have. They turn out great every time and are probably a bit more healthy too. The size of eggs vary so much that I end up using as many as make about a cup ( usually four but sometimes 5) and then adding half and half to make two cups. The proportions are perfect as you suggest with the cream. Even with the half and half they are still smooth and velvety.
Chula King says
Sue,
I'm so pleased that this worked out for you.
Thanks so much for letting me know that this works with half & half. I totally agree with you concerning the variance in the size of the eggs!
Chula
Teresa says
These turned out great!
Chula King says
Excellent Teresa. I'm so glad that the egg cups turned out for you!
Chula
Athena says
This was my first time using my sous vide and this recipe was super easy to follow! The sous vide egg bites were really rich and had a nice texture but I think the recipe called for too much heavy cream. There was very little egg flavor, more like a custard or creme brûlée base with bacon and cheese. I will put less cream or use whole milk in the next batch and I think they will be phenomenal!
Chula King says
Let me know how they work out!
Anonymous says
Could I double this recipe as my mason jars and much larger.
PudgeFactor says
I've not made this in larger mason jars. However with the sous vide cooking, I think that it would work well in a larger jar. Just increase the time in the sous vide water bath.
Courtney says
These were fantastic! Even my kids liked them and they are finicky eaters! How do you reheat the ones you refrigerate?
Thanks!
PudgeFactor says
I'm do glad that you liked them Courtney. I reheat mine in the jar with the lid removed, in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Chula
Susan says
Was wondering if I could freeze some of them. And warm them in microwave later, for breakfast on the go? I am going to try this. Sounds wonderful.
PudgeFactor says
I don't know whether it would work to freeze them or not. However, since you can freeze quiche, it'll likely work. I'd love for you to let me know how it turned out!
Steven J Morris says
There are no eggs in the ingredient list. How many?
PudgeFactor says
Yikes - the number of eggs would be important! It takes four eggs, which I've added to the recipe.