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Shirred Eggs with Sweet Corn
Open a pint can sweet corn, place half the quantity in a small saucepan, add half gill cream and one light tablespoon good butter. Season with two saltspoons salt, one saltspoon white pepper and one saltspoon grated nutmeg. Place the pan on the fire and let gently cook for ten minutes, mixing once in a while. Remove, evenly divide the corn into six shirred-egg dishes; carefully crack two fresh eggs in each dish, season them evenly with half teaspoon salt and two saltspoons white pepper, place the dishes in the oven for three minutes, remove and serve very hot.
A straightforward creamed-corn base under baked eggs, written in the small measures of a professional kitchen. The only real problem is the oven time.
- Half a gillA gill is half a cup, so half a gill of cream is 1/4 cup. The recipe does not specify which cream; a richer cream will hold better over ten minutes of gentle cooking.
- SaltspoonsA saltspoon is 1/4 teaspoon. Two saltspoons of salt is 1/2 teaspoon, and one saltspoon each of white pepper and nutmeg is 1/4 teaspoon each.
- Shirred-egg dishesSmall shallow individual dishes, glazed earthenware or metal, holding roughly 3/4 cup. Modern ramekins, cocottes or small gratin dishes work; shallow is better than deep, so the whites set before the yolks harden.
- Three minutes is not enoughThis is the hinge. Eggs cracked cold into a warm corn bed will not set in three minutes in any domestic oven. At 375F expect 8 to 12 minutes, until the whites are opaque and firm at the edge with the yolks still soft. Cook until the whites are fully set rather than to the clock.
- Oven heatThe original gives no temperature. 375F to 400F suits these; higher and the corn risks scorching at the rim before the whites take.
- Half the canThe recipe opens a pint can and uses only half, roughly a cup including its liquid, divided among six dishes. Draining it will keep the cream from thinning.
- Season the eggs after bakingSalt left standing on raw whites is often said to mark them. The original seasons before the dishes go in; salt and white pepper applied as they come from the oven give a cleaner surface.
- YieldSix dishes of two eggs each, which is a first course or a light lunch for six rather than a main dish.
Shirred eggs are often said to take their name from the shallow dish they are baked in, though the origin of "shirr" in this sense is uncertain.