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Ingredients
- 50 g Parmesan, finely grated (~1 cup)
- 50 g aged white cheddar, coarsely grated (~ 3/4 cup)
- 50 g Gruyere, coarsely grated (~ 3/4 cup)
- 150 g bacon, diced into 1/2” square pieces (~1 cup)
- 60 g (1/2 cup) finely diced shallots or onion
- 310 g (2 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 305 g (1 1/4 cups) buttermilk, slightly warmed
- 125 g butter (1/2 cup), melted
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten with a fork
- 20 g (1/3 cup) finely sliced chives or green onion
Preparation
Step 1
Place 3L of water in a large pot and bring to a full boil.
While the pot of water is coming up to a boil, place the eggs in a small bowl of warm tap water with enough water to cover. In a large bowl, prepare an ice bath with very cold tap water and the ice cubes.
Once the pot of water is boiling, add the salt. Gently but quickly lower the eggs into the water with a large spoon and place them on the bottom of the pot.
Start the timer once all of the eggs are in the boiling water.
When the eggs have boiled for the allotted time, transfer them immediately to the ice bath.
Gently tap each egg on the kitchen counter, at the top and bottom ends of the egg, and then a few taps all around the sides. Be sure to gently tap around the tip of the narrow end to make more small cracks; this is the trickiest section to peel. Do not use too much force or else the cooked egg white will split open. Leave the cracked eggs out of the water for the time being.
Once all of the eggs are cracked, peel each egg under a thin stream of cool running water. Hold the egg vertically in one hand with widest end of the egg facing upwards and start peeling from the cracks in the wide end. Be sure to peel off the thin membrane as well, then work your way gently around the egg in a spiral. Carefully pry the tip of your index finger under the eggshell as you go to separate it from the egg. The trickiest section to peel is at the last third, where the narrowest part of the egg is. Be very careful here when separating the white from the shell. If the white sticks to the shell in one spot, try to peel from a different spot. Place the eggs back into the ice water once they’re peeled.
Place the eggs back into plastic-lined carton, cover with additional plastic wrap, and refrigerate until they’re thoroughly chilled (at least several hours or overnight).
Muffin batter mise en place
Start the oven heating to 400F and place the baking rack in the middle of the oven.
Heat a non-stick pan over medium high heat and fry the bacon pieces until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain them on paper towels.
Remove all but 2 tsp bacon fat from the pan. Cook the shallots or onions in the bacon fat over medium heat until they are light brown in colour and caramelized, stirring every minute or so. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the shallots to cool.
In large mixing bowl, stir the flour, salt, pepper, baking powder, baking soda, and (optional) cayenne pepper together so that everything is evenly distributed in the flour.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, the warmed buttermilk, and the melted butter until combined.
Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture, and stir using a rubber spatula until the ingredients are mostly combined. Do not overmix; there should be a few clumps of flour that are still visible.
Add 75% of the parmesan, 75% of the gruyere, and 75% of the cheddar to the bowl. Add all of the bacon, green onions, and shallots and stir until they are just combined with the rest of the batter. It’s okay if there are clumps of cheese visible.
Using a 1oz ice cream disher or a large spoon, scoop ~2 Tbsp of batter into the bottom of each muffin mold. Use a small spoon to press the batter into the bottom of each cup and to make a small depression in the middle of the batter. Place a soft boiled egg upright into each depression.
Add the remaining cheese to the top of the muffins.