Confit egg yolk

Heat the oven to 85°C, fan 65°C.

Carefully separate the egg yolks from the whites, and make sure to reserve the whites for other dishes. The easiest way to do this is to crack the egg and then transfer the yolk between the shells over a bowl until the whites have all dripped into the bowl below.

Gently transfer the yolks into an ovenproof saucepan filled with olive oil. The yolks must be entirely submerged in the oil, add some more if needed.

Place the pan into the oven for around 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and slowly extract the yolks with a slotted spoon. Top your dish with your confit egg yolk.

Tips & tricks

An easy recipe to follow, the trick to this one is all in the gentle handling of the egg yolks. The joy of a confit egg yolk is allowing it to be broken by diners and watching them enjoy the ooze of the yolk across the dish. Make sure you are slow and steady when removing the yolks from the pan to prevent the yolks breaking when placed on top of your dish.

You can vary the oil used to cook the eggs to infuse different flavours. Try using rosemary oil to add a herbal addition, or you can use alternatives like bacon fat.

For any leftover egg yolks, head to our handy page here on uses for egg yolks. They’re such a versatile ingredient and can be added to a variety of sauces that can be stored until ready for use, instead of having to discard them.

We’ve shared an easy to follow recipe above, but for the technology-obsessed chefs among us, it is possible to confit egg yolk sous vide-style. For this, you’ll need to separate the yolks as above and carefully transfer to a vacuum sealed bag, with enough oil to cover the yolks completely. The water bag then needs to be transferred into the sous vide for around 45 minutes, with the water heated to 65°C. A sous vide does work well for confit egg yolk as it slowly and gently cooks ingredients, but if you don’t have this equipment at home you can just as easily use the pan and oil method above. 

How to serve it

A confit egg yolk can be added to many dishes. You may find them on top of asparagus, to add a new flavour dimension to the vegetables on your plate. They’re also equally delicious on top of a classic pasta dish, like carbonara, or even your favourite soup. On a warm day, they’re also a fun addition to a warm chicken salad. The possibilities are fairly endless and they’ll definitely score you chef points with your friends!

Storage

You can store any egg yolks that haven’t been used in the oil in the fridge for up to three days. It’s also an easy one to avoid any leftovers for, as you can make as many or as little confit egg yolks as you need on the day.