Sous Vide Egg Timer

Common uses for a sous vide egg timer

Onsen tamago for ramen or rice
Eggs for a crowd, all identical
Custardy yolk for salads
Consistent poached-style eggs

An egg is the clearest demonstration of what sous vide is for, because yolk and white set at different temperatures. Yolk begins thickening around 63 °C and firms as it climbs; white starts setting a little higher and needs more heat to become fully opaque. Boiling water blasts past both at once, which is why conventional egg cooking is a race against the clock and sous vide is not.

Hold an egg at 63 °C and you land in the gap: the yolk thickens to a custard while the white stays only just set and slightly loose. That is the onsen tamago, and it is a temperature effect rather than a timing one — 45 minutes and 60 minutes at 63 °C give near-identical results. Raise the temperature and both components firm up together. The clock mainly ensures the egg has reached the bath temperature all the way through.

Why the white can disappoint at 63 °C

At the classic onsen temperature the white never fully sets — the outer part stays loose and watery, and it slips away when you crack the egg. That is expected, and in a bowl of ramen it is not a problem, since the yolk is what you are after.

If you want a properly set white and a still-soft yolk, you cannot get it from a single bath temperature. The usual solution is a two-stage approach: cook sous vide for the yolk, then finish briefly in simmering water to set the white.

Shell on, and straight from the fridge

Cook eggs in the shell — no bag needed, which is one of the conveniences of the method. Lower them in gently, because thermal shock cracks shells and a leaked egg makes a mess of the bath.

Fridge-cold eggs take longer to come to temperature than room-temperature ones, so if you are working to a minimum time, start from a consistent state. For holds of 45 minutes or more the difference washes out.

Temperature does almost all the work here. Times are the minimum for the egg to reach temperature throughout; longer holds change the result very little.

Sous vide egg by temperature
Temperature	Time	Yolk	White
62 °C (144 °F)	45 min	Barely thickened, pourable	Very loose
63 °C (145 °F)	45–60 min	Custardy, thick but flowing	Just set, loose edge
65 °C (149 °F)	45–60 min	Thick, jammy	Set but soft
68 °C (154 °F)	45–60 min	Firm, fudgy	Fully set
75 °C (167 °F)	15–20 min	Firm throughout	Firm, like hard-boiled

At 63 °C the outer white stays watery. Finish briefly in simmering water if you want it set.
Eggs are cooked in the shell — lower them in gently, since thermal shock cracks shells.

Source: Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart — eggs and egg dishes

Sources

Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart — eggs and egg dishes , USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service — accessed 2026-07-28

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions

What temperature makes an onsen egg?

63 °C, held for around 45 to 60 minutes. That lands in the gap between the yolk setting and the white setting, giving a custardy yolk with a barely set white. It is a temperature effect, not a timing one — 45 and 60 minutes give near-identical results.

Why is the white still runny?

Because at 63 °C it has not reached its setting point. The outer white stays loose and slips away when you crack the egg. That is expected at onsen temperature. If you want a set white with a soft yolk, finish the egg briefly in simmering water after the bath.

Does leaving the egg in longer make it firmer?

Barely. Once the egg has reached bath temperature it cannot go past it, so an extra fifteen minutes changes very little. If you want a firmer egg, raise the temperature rather than extending the time.

Do I need to bag the eggs?

No — cook them in the shell, which is one of the conveniences of doing eggs this way. Lower them in gently rather than dropping them, since thermal shock cracks shells and a leaked egg is unpleasant to clean out of a circulator bath.

Does it matter if the eggs are fridge-cold?

Only for short cooks. Cold eggs take longer to reach bath temperature, so if you are working near the minimum time, start from a consistent state. For holds of forty-five minutes or more the difference washes out entirely.

How do I get a hard-boiled result?

Run the bath at around 75 °C for fifteen to twenty minutes. Both yolk and white firm up fully at that temperature. It is slower than boiling but gives a consistent result across a whole batch, with no guessing and no grey ring around the yolk.