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The French love a melt-in-your-mouth, barely-cooked egg probably more than any other culinary culture. You’ve got œufs cocotte, where they are placed into ramekins with cheese and heavy cream, then baked in a water bath until they are so silky you have no choice but to scoop them up with a bit of baguette. There’s also œufs en meurette, where poached eggs wade in an aromatic-fueled red wine sauce. Even the classic French omelette is so soft and tender you could eat it with a spoon.
However, there is one French egg in particular that I have been seeing absolutely everywhere: the œuf parfait, or “perfect egg.” What makes this egg so perfect, you ask? It is cooked at a temperature between 147 and 149 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes, typically using a sous-vide machine. This low and slow method allows the yolk and white to reach the same consistency, as jiggly as Jell-O. Think of it like the most perfectly poached egg you’ve ever had.
This recipe dates back to the 1980s, courtesy of the king of molecular gastronomy, French chef Hervé This. Yet it has most certainly survived the four decades since its inception.
On my most recent trip to France, I kept coming across œufs parfaits at various restaurants throughout the country. I couldn’t believe it—I’d never seen this tony ovum on a menu before, and now it was coming at me from all angles. I had a bite of my friend’s at the bistronomic favorite Racines in Annecy, where their œufs parfaits change each week with the restaurant’s highly seasonal menu. I then had one that was foam-drenched and served over a bed of mushrooms with Asian flavors at the Oberkampf location of the experimental restaurant Pierre Sang in Paris, where there is no written menu, and you have to guess what’s on your plate with each course. The following day, I saw one on the menu at the cult favorite lunch spot, Mokonuts. Coming back to New York, just the following week, a little bell rang in my head when I saw an œuf parfait on the menu at Eulalie, the French-inflected fine dining establishment in Tribeca. (Though I was more distracted by their duck three ways and their incredible hospitality.)
Who’s to say why such an egg has been making such an appearance, especially in the middle of a massive egg shortage. But if you happen to have a sous-vide machine at home, this could be a fun experiment for a lazy weekend brunch.
While you’re more likely to find an œuf parfait on a fine dining menu than at a casual bistro, you can find some other must-try French dishes in Emily Monaco’s roundup on the best French bistro dishes (according to French chefs). Some will be familiar, while others might not be, but she’s sussed out top tips for ordering these classics, and where to find the crème de la crème in Paris. If all that doesn’t slake your hunger, consider checking out Philip Ruskin’s guide to the best bistros in Paris. Bon appétit, mes amis.
Les New Yorkaises…
From March 12-26, the Museum of the Moving Image will present the 14th edition of its First Look film festival. The films to be shown include the U.S. premieres of a few French films, including an exciting new adaptation of Françoise Sagan’s classic novel Bonjour Tristesse, starring Claes Bang and Chloë Sevigny. There’s also the drama Cent Mille Milliards, set in Monaco; the educational documentary Elementary; and The Fifth Shot of La Jetée, which looks back on France’s colonial rule of Algeria. You can buy tickets and see the full lineup here.
