Soft cooked egg product and process

A process for preparing a soft-cooked egg product having a runny yolk, comprising:

• a) removing an egg from its shell to provide a shell-less egg;
• b) sealing the shell-less egg in a gas impermeable package flushed with an inert gas;
• and
• c) cooking the shell-less egg in the sealed package by:
• i) exposing the shell-less egg in the sealed package to a temperature between 130° F. and 145° F. for 2 to 20 minutes in the presence of steam;
• or
• ii) exposing the shell-less egg in the sealed package to a temperature between 160° F. and 300° F. for 3 to 10 minutes in the presence of steam,
• wherein the egg white has a maximum temperature during cooking of no more than 175° F. and the egg yolk has a maximum internal temperature during cooking of no more than about 150° F.,
• whereby a soft-cooked egg product in a sealed package is produced, the soft-cooked egg product having an egg white that is cooked and a yolk that is runny.