Tapas: 1271 63º/50' eggs with milk skin and shrimp 2006

It's long since past time for a savory tapa. This egg and shrimp dish from 2006 makes use of the now common immersion circulator (termed "Roner" in the elBulli catalogs from the manufacturer's name). It also uses a sort of odd technique to make "milk skins", which as usual is a bit trickier than it appears at first glance.

Phase 1: Pepper Jelly

Frying 'em in 170º C oil in 170

Ready to trim...

I trimmed off the stems, cut the peppers in half and brought them to a simmer in a little water for 10 minutes, then set them aside to infuse for another 20. Agar-agar and gelatin were whizzed into the strained cooking liquid to form a nice flavorful jelly.

Phase 2: Milk Skins

There's really nothing to this. I warmed the milk to 70º C in a wide pan and waited. While waiting I set out 2 eggs so they could warm to room temperature before going into the water bath.

After about 15 minutes I carefully lifted off the "skin" that had formed. I found it impossible to keep the skins flat so I sort of folded them up and set them in a little container of cream. Into the fridge with the pepper jelly.

One Hour Before Serving...

Phase 3: Eggs

I lowered the eggs into a couple of ramekins in the water bath to keep them from knocking around too much. Completely "set and forget" for 50 minutes.

Phase 4: Shrimp

I thawed and cleaned a dozen frozen shrimp (USA wild caught) and popped them into the refrigerator until just before serving.

Assembly:

As soon as the eggs were done I put a small pan filmed with olive oil (left over from cooking the peppers) on medium heat and pulled the pepper jelly, shrimp and milk skins from the refrigerator. The shrimp went into the pan to cook and the skins in their cream bath went into the microwave for 90 seconds to warm up.

Then for each plate I retrieved 2 milk skins, stretched them out and set 'em on the plate. Then three little globs of the pepper jelly in the middle.

The eggs were a little tricky. I broke into them on the big end and peeled away the membrane. That lets the perfectly poached egg slip out onto a spoon in one piece. I then broke into the yolk and dribbled it around the plate. Then I broke up the white and distributed it as well.

Six little shrimp finished the dish. A sprinkling of Maldon salt and it's ready to eat.

How it tastes: Great. By itself this is an absolutely terrific first course or light brunch with a salad. 

Equipment and Ingredients

The Books: El Bulli 2005-2011 - Yes, freakin' expensive. Check with your local library - they may well be "in the system" and available to be reserved.

This is a good example of a recipe where an induction burner would be really useful. On my regular electric stove top it  was kind of a PITA to keep the milk temperature at 70º for the length of time it took to make the skins.

Immersion blender
Immersion circulator
A scale that measures in grams

Agar-agar
Gelatine Sheets