Peace Jake,

In light of your question, maybe I should say "shalom" which is Hebrew for "peace". You see, roasted eggs are an important part of the Jewish Passover tradition. Here's a little background if you're unfamiliar.

Passover, which occurs annually, is an 8 day period celebrating the escape of Jewish slaves from Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Ramses II. During the first two nights of Passover, friends and family come together for a ritual banquet called The Seder.

I know what you're saying: "I just want to roast some eggs - I don't want to convert." Hold your horses Jake - or should I say "Savlanut" (Hebrew for "patience".)

During Seder, there's something called the Seder Plate. This plate contains all of the edible symbols of the Seder and is customarily placed before the head of the household. Among the Matzahs, shank bone and bitter herbs, you'll find something called a Beitzah, or as you might call it Jake... a roasted egg.

The Beitzah represents fertility and the cycle of life and renewal. The roasted egg also symbolizes the festival sacrifice made in temple in biblical Jerusalem.

According to Ask The Rabbi, a service of ohr.edu, the best way to roast an egg is to boil it first. "Otherwise it can get pretty messy. Once boiled, put it in the oven or on top of the gas burners and let it get a bit charred. Chances are, if your oven range is electric, it will do the job too. And there you go!"

Before you start roasting an egg to go with your grits, you should consider one thing: the foods on the Seder plate are not eaten during the Seder. This leads me to the non-denominational answer to your question.

Only minutes ago, I placed a raw egg in the oven at 325 degrees. I gave each end of the egg a little pin prick to allow venting. When cracks began appearing in the egg about twenty minutes later, I removed the egg and let it cool. The result of roasting the egg was exactly the same as if I had boiled it - the same taste and the same texture. The only difference was that it took over ten times the electricity to prepare.

So the answer to your question Jake is yes. But unless you're celebrating the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, I would recommend hard-boiling.

As an addendum, you might consider grilling eggs in the shell. The result is a hard-boiled egg with a bit of a smoky flavor. To do this: place your eggs on the grill, positioned so they won't roll around. When sweat begins to appear on the eggs, gently turn them and continue to occasionally turn them for 10 to 12 minutes.

L'Chaim Jake! (To life!)

Your buddy,
Mr Breakfast


This article was written by Mr Breakfast (aka Eddy Chavey).