Grey Sausage And Egg Mcmuffin?

[daz1969]

I wonder if anyone knows why the egg yolk in my sausage and egg McMuffin was grey around the edge? I've contacted McDonalds head office who were unable to help - many thanks

[EDDIE51]

Islay, if the egg is 'rock hard' it has been overcooked and you should refuse to accept it!

[Mamyalynne]

Maybe it was a takeaway and daz has had to complain later.

[Islay]

The eggs in an egg mcmuffin is not supposed to be runny Eddie.

I would have thought you would have known that with your vast experience.

[237SJ]

Over easy means cooked both sides. That can mean runny or hard as in McD`s

[237SJ]

As far as the original question is concerned - the cooked eggs have been sitting around too long. Ever had aircraft scrambled eggs? They can be a very nice shade of green because they have been previously cooked and then reheated a little too much

[EDDIE51]

^^ Agreed. The eggs have either been overcooked or left too long after cooking. Both will give a grey surround to the yolk.

[-Talbot-]

Well I'm going to side with EDDIE on this one (he works in a PRO kitchen you know) don't let me down EDDIE!

[agchristie]

Hard Breggsit?

[Tilly2]

I'm with Eddie too.

[EDDIE51]

Perhaps I should change my name to Eggy51 ?

[EDDIE51]

Or EGGIE51 even!

[theprof]

Eddie51 is absolutely right regarding the cause of this phenomenon. Some of the amino acids contained in the egg white contain sulphur. These amino acids break down during cooking and release hydrogen sulphide ( beloved of all stink-bomb enthusiasts). The hydrogen sulphide reacts with the iron present in the egg yolk to form the compound, iron sulphide. This iron sulphide is the greyish film you see.

This reaction only occurs at temperatures exceeding about 75 degrees C but the temperature required to produce the film can vary between eggs due to differences in the chemical make up and amino acids of the white of the egg. You'll need a degree in biochemistry to understand it fully though, so I'll not go into greater detail here.

Unquestionably, any cooked eggs that have an external greyish ring between the yolk and the white have been cooked at too high a temperature to begin with or the egg has continued to cook whilst resting on another heat source of sufficiently high a temperature.

[-Talbot-]

EDDIE :0(


http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/whatmakesmcdonalds/questions/food/cooking/how-do-you-make-an-egg-mcmuffin-is-the-egg-fried-or-poached.html

[theprof]

Islay, how and why would Eddie's vast experience (as you put it) allow him to know that the eggs in an egg mcmuffin are not supposed to be runny?

Unless Eddie is an aficionado of McDonald's food or had worked in McDonald's, it's perfectly reasonable to consider that he would have no such knowledge. Vast experience Islay may not always include experience of McDonalds.

[theprof]

If Mcdonalds do cook the eggs by the method indicated in Talbot's link, I can confirm that the method will produce the grey rings around the yolks when the eggs are overcooked. Eggs cooked this way will probably be stored on a hotplate of some sort until needed which is not ideal if they want to avoid that grey ring.

I think that McDonalds may be claiming that the eggs are poached because of the temperature they are cooked at. Poaching usually requires submerging the food in one way or another in water, wine or stock.

[-Talbot-]

From what I have witnessed they seem to be fried and steamed.

[anneasquith]

I've never had an egg mcmuffin.( thankfully )

[twix123]

When I read the question heading I thought that the sausage was grey (not that I would have one of these abominations anyway)!

[theprof]

I must admit that despite McDonalds claiming their eggs are poached in the first sentence of the website on the link provided by Talbot, it seems to me from the next sentence that their eggs are fried.

How they can claim that their eggs are poached beats me. Cooking them within a Teflon coated ring on a grill with a small amount of butter is frying not poaching as clearly, no liquid is involved.

Time to complain to the ASA folks. If you need grounds, it's that poaching is traditionally regarded as being a healthier form of food cooking than frying due to no involvement of oils or fats in the cooking process. Clearly, McDonalds are frying food under the guise of poaching the said food. The fat used in this case is butter, which has a saturated fat content of about 51g per 100g of butter. Alternatively, the total fat content is about 82g per 100g of butter.

[EDDIE51]

Talbot. your McDonalds link gives a perfect description of a 'griddled' egg. They turn it over for the last few seconds ( over easy)