Egg Bites – Pressure Cooker (Steamed) Version

There seems to have been a lot of discussion on the net about the Starbucks Egg Bites menu items. Many folks coming up with their own “copy cat” versions, with different add-ins, techniques, and ingredients.

Naturally, this wuff was interested in this foodie phenomena, so Vrghr went prowling around the net, sniffing out different recipes, combinations, ingredients and techniques. Then wuffy went to the office and tried out his version on the folks there.

They loved these!

So Vrghr will forward them on to his furry friends as well.

This first batch consists of 3 “traditional” egg combinations, created using the pressure cooker (steamed) technique. The varieties offered are:
- BACON (Bacon and Cheddar cheese
- Ham & Cheese (Diced Ham and Cheddar-Jack cheese)
- Sausage Mushroom (Mushrooms, Breakfast Sausage and Jarlsberg cheese)

Folks enjoyed all of these equally well! Everybody had their own favs from the selection. So you can’t really go wrong with any variation here.

The Pressure Cooker (steamed) version creates poofy, fluffy, light, soufflé-like eggs. They’re fairly sturdy, easy to turn out onto a plate. Good structure. Flavors permeate the entire bite evenly, without a lot of individuality of the elements present.

These are perfect right out of the cooker, or you can sprinkle a bit of cheese on the top and run them under the broiler for a few seconds to add another nuance to the result.

You can put extra portions into a zip bag and refrigerate (or even freeze) them for future use. Just warm them a few seconds in a microwave for eating. If frozen, let thaw in the fridge overnight and then warm them.

The basic mixture here will create about 14 servings. You’ll only need a bit of the “add-ins” for each serving, so be prepared for a lot of those left over for other dishes.

Vrghr used the following silicon mold for his “bites”.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HY6AF98/
These work well too:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CRDNZHY/
These are really handy for lots of applications, like individual pudding pops, steamed muffins, icy-pops, etc. Or you can use them to make individual servings of Baby Food, which is what their original purpose was. *grin*

Give these tasty treats a whirl! They’re easy to create and very tasty indeed!

Oh, and during the shop experiment, a co-worker purchased a “real” egg bite to compare these against - - The home-made versions were in every way far superior (and cheaper) to the store one!

INGREDIENTS:
6 eggs
¼ C Heavy Cream
½ C Cottage Cheese
1/3 C Cream Cheese
2 tsp Mural Of Flavor Penzey’s Spice (Or sub Mrs Dash original flavor, or similar seasoning)
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp ground Black Pepper

Selected “Add-Ins” (see below)

Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot or similar device preferred)
Cooking Spray

DIRECTIONS:
"Add-Ins"
For this first batch, Vrghr used the following combinations. Remember that these "bites" are only about 4 oz each, so dice/chop up your add-ins fairly small so you can fit them in the wells in the silicon molds.
You don't need a whole lot in each. Try to keep them under half the mold when filling things up, so the eggs can bind everything together.

Combinations used here:
- BACON w/ Colby-Jack cheese
- Diced pre-cooked Breakfast Sausage & chopped Stems & Pieces canned mushrooms w/Jarlsberg cheese
- Dice Ham w/Cheddar cheese

In a large bowl, using a hand blender (or in a traditional blender in multiple batches), blend together all the ingredients except for the “add-ins”

Place a bit of your desired “Add-Ins” into each depression in the egg mold or jar. You only need 4-5 bits of each, such as pieces of diced ham, a big pinch of selected grated cheese, 4-5 pieces of chopped canned mushroom, etc

Fill each well in the mold with the blended egg mixture almost but not quite level with the top. With a skewer, knife blade, large toothpick, etc., gently stir up the mixture to be sure the egg has completely surrounded all the bits you added in

Spray the underside of a piece of foil with cooking spray to keep it from sticking to your finished eggs. Cover the mold with foil, sprayed side down, and crimp it around the edges

Place a trivet in the bottom of the instant-pot or pressure cooker

Tear off a length of foil and fold it over and over into a ribbon. Place it into the cooker on top of the trivet with the extra length running up the sides. This will make it FAR easier to extract your finished eggs!

Pour a cup or two (per your cooker’s directions) of water into the bottom of the cooker

Set the silicon mold onto the trivet, on top of the foil strap. If making 2 or more, rotate the next one slightly so it doesn’t rest directly on top of the wells of eggs under it, but on the dividers between them

Cover the cooker and bring it to High Pressure for 10 minutes

Allow the pressure to reduce naturally for 10 minutes, or until it reads almost Zero if using an automatic cooker (natural release). After 10 minutes, open the steam valve and let the rest of the pressure off (quick release)

!!CAUTION!! HOT STEAM!! Remove the molds from the cooker using the foil band

Remove the foil covers

Invert a dinner plate on top of the mold. Then, holding the mold against the plate, turn them both over. Press on the bottoms of the wells to pop the egg bites out onto the plate. Lift the mold off

Share the bites with friends and
DEVOUR