“Elephant egg” and “inside out”: the chef told how to prepare a “fantastic” treat for the New Year’s table

Egg. This ordinary word suddenly became a “hit” among Russians at the end of this year. And the food product itself, which it denotes, due to the circumstances that have developed in our country, has almost become a delicacy. If so, then on the eve of a series of New Year’s holiday feasts, allow me, dear readers, to share with you a couple of original “egg” recipes, invented by inventive chefs. As they say, a valuable product requires an original form of presentation.

It turns out that without any special problems or kitchen troubles, it will be possible to create real “miracles of nature” from ordinary “chicken fruits” (this is how this poultry product was delicately called in the old days among the ladies of high society) and surprise guests with such gastronomic “bells and whistles”.

Expert in the field of culinary history Anatoly Gorbatov shared his secrets with the MK correspondent.

– Let’s start with a recipe that allows you to cook a giant egg. Our great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers also used a more cheerful, intriguing name – “elephant egg”.

The fashion for such an unusual treat appeared in Russia, as one can judge from books, around 1889, although the recipe itself had been known abroad since the beginning of the 19th century.

So, to prepare a gigantic hard-boiled egg, we will need a couple of plastic bags, thread, two empty bowls, a pan of hot water for cooking, and a little butter. And of course the eggs themselves are ordinary chicken eggs. How many? It depends on what size giant you want to cook as a result. To impress guests you need at least 5-6 pieces.

Further actions. Crack the eggs and carefully separate the yolks from the whites, pouring each of these egg ingredients into a separate bowl. Then mix the resulting yolk mass thoroughly, achieving uniform thickness (but do not overdo it, otherwise the color will fade). Take a plastic bag, grease it inside with oil and then pour the loose yolks inside. Tie tightly and place in boiling water. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that the bag maintains as round a shape as possible.

After 15-20 minutes, the cooking process is complete (the more eggs you use to cook the giant, the longer you need to cook). The resulting dense lump of yolk now needs to be removed from the bag and, if necessary, trimmed with a knife, giving it the shape of a ball.

Then take another bag. Also grease the inside with oil and pour in the pre-mixed egg whites.

Now it’s time for a very important operation. Before tying the bag, place the previously formed yolk ball on a thread in the center of its contents (the thread can be threaded through a through hole pierced, for example, with a thin knitting needle and make a larger knot on one side). Next, the tied bag is boiled in boiling water, giving it, if possible, a characteristic egg-shaped shape. After 15-20 minutes, the “elephant egg” is ready. You just need to cool it, take it out of the cellophane and trim off the irregularities that have formed on the outside, giving it the correct rounded appearance.

This miracle judo is served to the table on a platter, divided into two halves – to demonstrate the characteristic egg structure of the giant (do not forget that there is a thread hidden inside, which must be carefully removed after cutting the giant). The “elephant egg” in this form can be decorated with greens. When everyone present at the table is amazed enough, the halves of the super egg need to be divided into several servings.

By the way, in pre-revolutionary times, housewives prepared such an exclusive a little differently. In the absence of cellophane bags at that time, they used clean, previously washed cow and calf bladders. At the second stage of preparation, they did not hang the yolk ball inside the bag with the whites on a thread. Instead, strings were tied to a large bubble on both sides and, during cooking, they were used to constantly turn the bubble over, preventing the yolk ball from moving to one side.

The next number of our culinary “attraction” is “inside out egg”.

“The task is to hard-boil an egg, having first swapped the white and yolk inside the shell,” Gorbatov explained the meaning of this terminology. – It is believed that a certain Japanese culinary specialist came up with such a trick. The ability to do this is hidden in the structure of the egg: its yolk is denser than the white.

In addition to the “chicken fruit” itself, we will need several elements that are completely uncharacteristic of a kitchen action: a nylon stocking, threads or elastic bands, transparent tape and a flashlight.

At the first stage, carefully wrap the entire egg with tape. Next, we place the resulting “cocoon” inside the stocking, placing it approximately in the middle of the length. Then use thread or elastic bands to tie the stocking tightly on both sides of the egg. The result was such a long ribbon with a thickening in the center. Now comes the most important part of the procedure. We take the ends of the stocking in our hands and begin to rotate – similar to how children twist a jump rope, but only holding the “projectile” in front of them. Here, of course, there is a real danger of hitting yourself in the forehead with an egg or simply hitting it on some part of the furniture. So you should be careful.

The meaning of the procedure is that, under the influence of the centrifugal force generated during rotation, the yolk inside the shell begins to shift to the edge, displacing the white towards the center (the tape will help protect the shell from breaking under the influence of the same centrifugal force). For this process to be completely completed, you need to vigorously “twist the rope” for several minutes. A flashlight will help you check whether the desired result is achieved. They need to illuminate the egg from below: if it appears yellow in the light, it means the “castling” has taken place inside.

The final stage is no longer so difficult. Quickly removing the egg from the stocking and freeing it from the tape (be careful not to break it!), put it in a saucepan with boiling water and cook for about 10 minutes. Be sure to continuously “stir” – gently roll it along the bottom with a spoon so that the yolk and white do not return to its usual place.

You can serve “inside-out eggs” in two ways. Or completely untouched: let the guest begin to peel the shell himself and be surprised to see the bright yellow “filling” underneath. Another option is to peel the eggs in advance and, after cutting them, place them on a plate. Then the white core and yellow periphery will be clearly visible.