Eggs en Cocotte au Chambertin

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Four 6-ounce (180 ml) broiler-safe cocottes or ramekins
• •2-quart (2 L) heavy saucepan
• •12-inch (30 cm) lidded sauté pan
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Kettle
• •Rimmed metal tray
• •Silicone-tipped tongs and broad spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Reduce the Chambertin

   Combine the wine, shallot, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns in a small heavy saucepan. Bring to a lively boil and reduce until only a scant ⅓ cup (80 ml) remains, about 15 minutes. The aroma should be deep and vinous, with no raw alcoholic sting. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing the shallot gently, then discard the aromatics. If the wine slips past this point and turns syrupy, loosen it with 2 tablespoons of the measured stock before continuing.

2. 2

   Build the sauce

   Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the roux smells nutty and reaches the colour of a hazelnut. Add the tomato paste and cook for another minute. Take the pan from the heat and whisk in the stock a little at a time, making a smooth paste with the first addition before adding the rest. Whisk in the wine reduction, return to a bare simmer, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until reduced to about 1 cup (240 ml) and nappant, thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If it is thin, reduce it longer; if it is too tight, add stock by the spoonful. Lumps are not a verdict. Ça se rattrape: whisk firmly, then pass the sauce through the fine sieve. Off the heat, whisk in the remaining butter and season lightly with salt.

3. 3

   Ready the cocottes

   Set an oven rack about 4 inches (10 cm) below the broiler and heat the broiler. Bring the water to a boil in a kettle. Arrange four 6-ounce (180 ml) broiler-safe cocottes in the lidded sauté pan, divide the sauce among them, ¼ cup (60 ml) per pot, so each is one-third full, and pour boiling water around them to come halfway up their sides. Cover the pan and hold it over low heat until the sauce bubbles around the edges, about 2 minutes. Heating the pots in water is the home equivalent of setting old stovetop cocottes at the corner of the range.

4. 4

   Add the eggs

   Uncover the pan. Working close to the surface so the yolk remains whole, break one egg directly into the simmering sauce in each cocotte. Season every egg with a small grain of salt. Do not stir or spoon sauce over the top; the white must settle into the wine sauce of its own accord.

5. 5

   Poach at a tremble

   Cover the pan at once and lower the heat until the water barely trembles. Poach for 4 to 6 minutes, checking at 4 minutes, until the white is opaque around its edge and softly set over the yolk, while the yolk still moves freely when the cocotte is nudged. If the water begins boiling hard, pull the pan off the heat for 30 seconds, then return it at a lower setting. If the whites remain loose while the yolks are nearly ready, take the pan off the heat and leave it covered for 45 seconds; the trapped heat finishes them gently.

6. 6

   Glaze at once

   Grip each cocotte firmly with silicone-tipped tongs, support its base with a broad spatula, and transfer it to a rimmed metal tray. Blot any water from the outside. Pass the cocottes beneath the broiler for 15 to 30 seconds, watching without turning away, until the last translucent film of white turns ivory and the sauce shines at the rim. Glacer means a quick final gloss here, not browning. If one egg needs more time, give it another 5 seconds alone; keeping all four under the heat would sacrifice three yolks to rescue one.

7. 7

   Serve from the pots

   Set each hot cocotte on a small plate and serve immediately, with thick slices of bread for gathering the wine-dark sauce and liquid yolk. Warn everyone that the pots are hot, then let them break the yolks themselves. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Chambertin gives the dish its literal name. If the bottle belongs at this special table, use it. A dry Gevrey-Chambertin or another Côte de Nuits Pinot Noir preserves the Burgundian character at a gentler price, but the vineyard has changed even though the technique has not.
• •The stock must supply body, not salt. A good veal or beef stock should gel softly when cold; if boxed stock pours like water, reduce 2 cups (480 ml) to the required 1¼ cups (300 ml) before beginning.
• •Use the freshest eggs you can find. A firm, compact white holds close to the yolk in the sauce, while an older thin white spreads through the cocotte and cooks unevenly.
• •The broiler is only the modern salamander, and the glaze lasts seconds. Have the tray ready before the eggs begin poaching, because searching for equipment while yolks continue cooking is how a tender egg becomes a firm one.
• •For diners who should avoid lightly cooked eggs, use pasteurized shell eggs or extend the covered poach until the yolks are fully set.

Advance Preparation

• •The sauce can be prepared through the final reduction up to 2 days ahead. Cool and chill it covered, then reheat gently and whisk in the final tablespoon of butter just before filling the cocottes.
• •Measure the water, arrange the cocottes, and position the broiler rack earlier in the evening. Once the eggs enter the sauce, the dish waits for nobody.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 130g)