Fry

Oeufs en Cocotte

by:
December  7, 2010
3.7
3 Ratings
Oeufs en Cocotte
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

These baked eggs take a turn from the traditional with the addition of a layer of savory cheese grits in the bottom of the ramekin. When served, the runny egg yolk permeates the cheesy grits and, punctuated with the richness of the cream and the salty crunch of the bacon, makes a wonderful, satisfying breakfast—one that's greatly improved by a mimosa and a slice or two of toasted pumpkin bread on the side! - Kayb —Kayb

Test Kitchen Notes

Rise and shine to these delicious and comforting oeufs en cocotte. The soft egg mixed with the smoked gouda grits and rich cream make each bite dreamy. The bacon adds a nice crunch and saltiness. This recipe was easy to make and could be thrown together quickly on a holiday morning. – Jennifer —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 6 strips bacon
  • 1/3 cup regular or quick grits
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup grated cheese (I prefer smoked gouda)
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
  • 12 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
Directions
  1. Dice bacon into 1/2 inch pieces and fry until crisp. Drain and set aside.
  2. Heat milk, water and salt in heavy saucepan over medium high heat until it boils. Stir in grits, lower heat to low, cover and cook per package directions (5-6 minutes for quick; 20 minutes for regular), stirring occasionally.
  3. Remove grits from heat and stir in grated cheese until it melts.
  4. Preheat oven to 350. Butter 6 large ramekins, using about 1 tbsp. butter for each. Put a layer of grits about 1 inch thick in the bottom of each ramekin.
  5. Gently crack an egg on top of grits in each ramekin.
  6. Top each egg with a drizzle of cream (about 2 tablespoons per ramekin).
  7. Divide bacon among ramekins, gently sprinkling over the top.
  8. Put ramekins in a baking dish on the oven rack. Add enough boiling water to the dish to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
  9. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve hot, with buttered and toasted pumpkin bread.
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  • Kayb
    Kayb
  • Sagegreen
    Sagegreen
  • monkeymom
    monkeymom
  • lapadia
    lapadia
Kayb
I'm a business professional who learned to cook early on, and have expanded my tastes and my skills as I've traveled and been exposed to new cuisines and new dishes. I love fresh vegetables, any kind of protein on the grill, and breakfasts that involve fried eggs with runny yolks. My recipes tend toward the simple and the Southern, with bits of Asia or the Mediterranean or Mexico thrown in here and there. And a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a float in the lake, as pictured, is a pretty fine lunch!

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9 Reviews

cookinalong
cookinalong December 14, 2010
OK. Don't want to be a pest, but if the recipe really calls for 12 eggs and you should break one into each of 6 ramekins, that's now six eggs unaccounted for. Is this recipe meant to serve 12? Thus there should be 12 ramekins? Only being persistent because this sounds do good and I'm going to have overnight guests New Year's Eve. This sounds the perfect morning after comfort food breakfast before the resolutions kick in!
 
Kayb
Kayb December 14, 2010
Lord. I don't know where my mind was when I was posting this! I have done these with both one egg and two. For the ramekin above, which holds about 2 cups, I used two. You can also use more, or less, bacon, to your taste, or you can substitute ham. If you are using smaller ramekins, use just one. You can really modify these any way you choose, adding mushrooms or a different meat or whatever else strikes your fancy, but don't be tempted to cook them longer than 15 minutes, if you want a runny yolk! It won't look like it's cooked to the "over-easy" stage in 15 minutes, but it is....
 
cookinalong
cookinalong December 13, 2010
Have I misunderstood something? The recipe calls for 2 lg. eggs, but directs you to break an egg into each of 6 ramekins.
 
Kayb
Kayb December 13, 2010
Gulp. Should've been 12 large eggs. I lost a 1 there somewhere. Either that, or I was thinking about the proportions for one!
 
Kayb
Kayb December 7, 2010
Thanks, folks! This stuff IS good. Rich enough you can't eat it often, but...
 
Sagegreen
Sagegreen December 7, 2010
Yes, very yum indeed!
 
Sagegreen
Sagegreen December 16, 2010
Congrats on the ep!
 
monkeymom
monkeymom December 7, 2010
very yum!
 
lapadia
lapadia December 7, 2010
I second that comment!