Are you ready to go beyond pressure-cooked hard-boiled eggs? The next breakfast to try in your Instant Pot or multicooker is eggs en cocotte, French for "in pot" or ramekins more specifically. Traditionally, raw eggs are cracked into a buttered ramekin along with a splash of cream and, optionally, your choice of cheese, veggies, and herbs. The ramekins are then placed in a pot filled with a little bit of water. The lid goes on the pot, and the pot goes on the stovetop to boil the water and steam the contents of the ramekins until the egg whites set. It tastes like a cross between poached eggs and an omelette and is heavenly when scooped and spread onto fresh toast. A multicooker makes this process less than five minutes compared to the traditional method, which can take eight minutes to bring the water to boil and another six to seven minutes for the eggs to steam.
You will need an electric multicooker like Instant Pot or Crock-Pot Express, as pictured, as well as a trivet that will fit in the base of the multicooker's bowl and three small ceramic ramekins. We sautéed mushrooms and chives for our pressure-cooked eggs in cocotte, but you can also add in sautéed leek or shallot if you have them on hand. Just keep the overall veggie ingredients about the same so everything fits below the lipped rim of the ramekins.
If you have slightly larger ramekins, try cracking in an additional egg to fill it to just below the rim. A bigger vessel may affect your overall cook time, so be patient as you fiddle with what settings yield eggs the way you like them.
Consider this recipe a loose guideline to introduce the technique. The most important thing to remember is the multicooker will set those egg yolks FAST. So, if you love a runny yolk, start with setting it on a low pressure cook for one minute. Medium eggs, as pictured, will take two minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ghee, plus more for greasing
- 2 cups mushrooms, chopped (or other veggies of your choosing)
- salt
- 1 tablespoon chives, chopped
- 3 eggs
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
Directions
Using the sauté setting of a multicooker, melt ghee, then sauté mushrooms together, until tender, caramelized, and reduced to 3/4 cup. Season with salt to taste.
Meanwhile, grease the ramekins. When mushrooms are cooked, divide into ramekins. Top each with a teaspoon of chives, a freshly cracked egg, and a tablespoon of cream.
The multicooker pots are nonstick, and so you shouldn’t need to wash them. Simply add 2 cups of water to the bottom of the Instant Pot.
Add the trivet, and place the egg-filled ramekins on top. Secure and lock the lid of the multicooker. Pressure cook on low for 1-2 minutes. Quick release and immediately remove the top when the pressure has normalized. Carefully remove the ramekins. They’ll be hot, so use heatproof oven mitts or mason jar lifters (if you have them).
Serve with freshly toasted bread, like walnut levain as pictured.
(Photos via Brittany Griffin / Brit + Co)
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Anna Monette Roberts
As Brit + Co's Food Editor, Anna Monette Roberts has an insatiable appetite for developing tasty dishes. When she's not dreaming about her next meal, she's . . . well, probably cooking up her creations. Her favorite foods include chewy chocolate chip cookies, Rosé Champagne, and gooey French cheeses — in no particular order.
FAQs
Cover each ramekin with foil. Place the trivet in the inner pot of your electric pressure cooker and pour in 1 1/2 cups water. Arrange three ramekins on top of the trivet and carefully stack the remaining three ramekins on top of the first three. (If you have an additional rack, use it for stacking the ramekins.)
What happens if you put an egg in a pressure cooker? ›
Some say that, similar to steaming eggs, the pressure cooker forces steam inside the egg's shell during cooking, causing it to separate from the egg white.
Why do my eggs crack in the pressure cooker? ›
Letting the pressure cooker reach high pressure will cause eggs to crack.
Can we pressure cook eggs? ›
Place eggs in a single layer on the trivet. Seal the lid and cook on High Pressure for your desired time: 3 minutes for soft yolks, 5 minutes for medium, or 7 minutes for fully set whites (see below for exact cooking times). Once the cooking time is up, manually release the pressure.
What to avoid when using pressure cooker? ›
Pressure Cooker Don'ts:
- Don't open the pressure cooker while cooking. ...
- Don't release the pressure before it's time. ...
- Don't overfill the pressure cooker. ...
- Don't add thickeners. ...
- Don't give up after one bad experience.
According to the Dash Rapid Egg Cooker, soft-boiled eggs take about 7 minutes for 1-3 eggs, while 4-6 take about 10 minutes; 1-3 medium-boiled eggs take 9 minutes, while 4-6 take about 12 minutes; and a few hard-boiled eggs take 12 minutes, while an entire tray takes about 16 minutes.
Can scrambled eggs be pressure canned? ›
Eggs should not be pressure canned.
What does it mean if you crack an egg in a pan and it spreads all over rather than staying together? ›
Fresh, new eggs will have bright orange yolks and thick, cloudy whites that closely surround the yolk. Old eggs won't stay in a nice little package when you poach or fry them; the whites will look thin and watery — spreading a lot in the pan — and the yolk will be flat and more likely to break.
Why does vinegar stop eggs cracking? ›
Adding vinegar to the water helps the proteins in the egg white coagulate faster which further plugs any cracks in the egg.
What does it mean when you crack an egg and its watery? ›
The development of watery whites is chiefly due to the increasing age of the egg. The rate of development is increased by high storage temperature and low humidity (see figure 4).
7 Mistakes to Avoid When Cooking Eggs
- Seasoning the water when making poached eggs. ...
- Using high heat. ...
- Using the wrong pan. ...
- Cracking on the side of the pan or bowl. ...
- Not whisking enough. ...
- Cracking the eggs directly into the water when making poached eggs. ...
- Adding eggs to a cold pan.
Over easy is the most challenging type of cooked egg because you have to make the flip. One of the best egg tools to use for a successful flip is the silicone spatula.
How to tell if eggs are bad? ›
Try the float test
If the egg sinks to the bottom and lays on its side, it should be fresh and ready to eat. If it floats all the way to the top, the egg may be spoiled.
Can I put a ceramic bowl in a pressure cooker? ›
You must be wondering what are the best containers that you can use for the PIP method. There are numerous options available for the pot-in-pot method. Instant pot-safe bowls can be made of stainless steel, glass, ceramic, silicone, aluminum, bamboo, or copper.
Can you put porcelain in a pressure cooker? ›
Oven-safe dish made of stainless steel, oven-safe glass, silicone, or ceramic/porcelain. The container shouldn't touch the walls of the inner pot and should allow the Instant Pot lid to be closed easily.
Can you put anything in a pressure cooker? ›
Pressure cooking is the process of cooking food at high pressure, by using water or stock, in a specialty cooking pot called a pressure cooker. Just about any ingredient that can be steamed, or is cooked with liquids, can be cooked in a pressure cooker.
Can you put a ramekin in the crockpot? ›
You can fit four or five 3-inch (6-ounce) ramekins into a 6-quart oval slow cooker without having them touch each other. You use ramekins for baking muffins, cupcakes, and individual custards. You can sit a good-sized bread or loaf pan (9¼” x 5¼” x 2¾” -or smaller) on the floor of most 6-quart oval slow cookers.
