Technique: Looking at the World Through Dominique Crenn’s Yolk-Colored Glasses

It's not clear whether Dominique Crenn is reinventing the noodle or the yolk with her "egg noodle" technique, but no matter which way you look at it, her ingenuity is profound. It's a combination of technology, playfulness, intelligence, and the pure imagination of America's first two-Michelin starred female chef that makes the ordinary exciting again.

"I think it's about being naked," says Crenn. "And being in front of people, about transparency and authenticity, and the message you want to give the [guest]. It has to come from within. It's a dialogue with the food; it's an amazing way of communicating."

It's a fearless chef who can stare down something as simple, recognizable, and unrivaled as the egg noodle and ask, "How can I make this my own?" Well, Crenn owns it, and all she needs to make her luminous, nearly transparent yolk strands is an immersion circulator, a vacuum-pack machine, salt, and eggs.

"Restaurant work can be a bit monotonous; you go to work and do the same thing over and over again," says Crenn. "I want people to come every day and just be excited about what is next and always want to work on something new." 

To begin, set that extravagant, gluten-filled flour aside. Now, crank that old sous vide contraption up to 64ºC and let the eggs go for a ride until the whites are opaque but still soft. It should take about two hours. Crack and peel the shells, then ever-so-gently wipe the whites from the yolks, which should be intact but soft and jammy like a stress ball. With a bowl scraper, pass the almost fluid yolks through a fine mesh tamis into a mixing bowl. Mix the yolks with a small rubber spatula to recombine and season the "batter" with salt. Spread the gelatinous gold in an even layer in the bottom of a small, shallow plastic container and slide it into a vacuum bag. Seal the bag in a vacuum-pack machine, extracting as much air as possible. Remove the container from the bag and remix the yolks. They will be a slick, thick, shiny, incandescent mass.

Scrape the yolk mixture into a plastic piping bag, using a bowl scraper to force the mixture toward the tip—whipping it around, if necessary. Tie off the opening—air is the enemy of a perfectly smooth Crenn noodle. Cut one-foot squares from acetate sheets. Lightly coat one side of each square with nonstick spray, wiping away excess. Place one square on a digital scale (sprayed side up) and pipe a squat circle of yolk (55 grams) onto the center of the square. Cover the yolk mound with another square (sprayed side down), gently pressing down to flatten it as much as possible, but don't let any yolk ooze out of the edges. Slide the acetate-yolk sandwich into a vacuum bag. With a roller, continue to flatten the yolk until it spreads just to the edges of the acetate square, like a yellow linoleum tile. Seal in the nearly transparent yolk in a vacuum machine. (Again, bear in mind, air is the enemy and any bubbles will create unsightly blemishes on the final product). Repeat this process with the remaining yolk mixture.

Cook the yolk tiles sous vide at 72°C for 20 minutes to reset the proteins. Open the bag of tricks, and peel the translucent, surprisingly flexible yolk swatch from the acetate sandwich. It should look like yellow cellophane. You're now holding an egg yolk transformed—a piece of Crenn's imagination. She uses the well-traveled yolks for a dish in which a tartare is encased in the yellow sheath, like a raw, thinly veiled gift for her guests. Of course, the tartare gets the Crenn treatment, too: 14-day barrel-fermented and sake-lees cured beef and broccoli with sesame, soy caramel, and chilled scallion-skirt curls on the side. All this is rolled or otherwise shaped so that every bite contains equal parts yolk and beef—a common yolk-tartare preparation sexed-up and turned inside out by Dominique Crenn.  

Yolk Cellophane Technique

1. Cook eggs sous vide for 2 hours at 64ºC.
2. Crack and peel the shells, then gently wipe the whites from the yolks, which should be intact but soft and jammy like a stress ball.
3. With a bowl scraper, pass yolks through a fine mesh tamis into a mixing bowl.
4. Mix the yolks with a small rubber spatula to recombine and season with salt.
5. Spread the yolks in an even layer in the bottom of a small, shallow plastic container and slide it into a vacuum bag. Seal the bag in a vacuum-pack machine, extracting as much air as possible.
6. Remove the container from the bag and remix the yolks. They should be a slick, thick, shiny, incandescent mass.
7. Scrape the yolks into a plastic piping bag, using a bowl scraper to force the mixture towards the tip—whipping it around, if necessary. Tie off the opening.
8. Cut one-foot squares from acetate sheets. Lightly coat one side of each square with nonstick spray, wiping away excess.
9. Place one square on a digital scale (sprayed side up) and pipe 55 grams of yolk onto the center of the square. Cover the yolk mound with another square (sprayed side down), gently pressing down to flatten as much as possible, but don't let any yolk ooze out the edges.
10. Slide the acetate-yolk sandwich into a vacuum bag. With a roller, continue to flatten the yolk until it spreads just to the edges of the acetate square, like a yellow linoleum tile.
11. Seal in the nearly transparent yolk in a vacuum machine.
12. Repeat process with remaining yolks.
13. Cook the sealed yolk tiles sous vide for 20 minutes at 72°C to reset the proteins.
14. Open bag and peel the egg yolk sheath from the acetate.
15. It should look like yellow cellophane and be surprisingly durable.       

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