To add to the other threads. I have learned to master the art.
Heat water to a simmer (e.g., bubbles are forming slowly, but the surface of the water is showing no motionl).
Put the egg in the water for about ten seconds (A Julia Child tip: It keeps the egg from spreading.
Add a teaspoon of vinegar into the water.
When the pot reaches a simmer again, break the egg into it.
Let cook at a simmerfor 3-4 minutes (experiment with the times; it varies depending on the size. You want the yolk to be covered with a thin, white film).
Pull out the egg with a spoon. The best are those that are about 3" in diameter and fairly flat. There should be drain holes or slots, of course.
Dip the egg into a bowl cold water to stop cooking.
Lift the spoon out of the bowl, let the water run out and then spoon onto buttered English muffin.
Bonus! After step 7, you can put the bowl in the refrigerator with the egg. It’ll keep over night. The next morning, dip the egg into boiling water for a 1-1/2 minutes to heat it up.
Seriously, I will try this method. Especially a touch of vinegar in the water. Some of these steps are a bit more than I am willing to go for poached eggs but if someone else wished to serve me the perfect poached eggs, I would not complain, not even a little. Even if I have to wait a day for them.
You don’t have to wait a day; you can eat them immediately. Putting them in the refrigerator is a way to keep them all ready a second day – useful if you don’t have much time to make breakfast.
This is how I poach: shallow non stick pan, water about two inches deep, a tablespoon of white vinegar. Heat , when there are little bubbles not a rolling boil, break the eggs into the water/vinegar. I have the eggs at room temp. I use a slotted spoon and flip the hot water over the yolk. Check the white for doneness. Scoop out … Now I’m hungry…
You dip and swirl the strainer for 10 seconds before dumping the whole thing into the pot. He even shows doing this with a big strainer and a dozen eggs at a time!
I ended up with very nicely shaped soft poached eggs with no straggly bits.
Gotta agree with the Sous Vide approach mentioned above. I’ve tried dozens of techniques in the past and, to put it mildly, Sous Vide @ 145 degrees for 45 minutes was almost transcendent. The texture is unlike any poached egg I’ve ever had in my life. Plus it’s ridiculously easy if you skip the second simmer. Just let it cook for 45 minutes, open a little part of the shell, pour it onto some toast and enjoy.
It produces a *cooked *egg, but not a *poached *egg. The latter has to be cooked surrounded by water, not while touching any sort of pan, no matter how it is shaped.
**eenerms’ **method works perfectly for me, but I’ll have to experiment with the one FinsToTheLeft described.
I don’t bother with the vinegar. I have a regular saucepan that I give a little grease-up with PAM before adding the water. I bring the water to a simmer, crack each egg into a spouted liquid measuring cup and gently slide it into the water. The water surrounds the entire egg. Some loose bits swirl off, but I leave those behind.
I prefer my poached eggs with thicker but still viscous yolks, so about 4 minutes to perfection. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon, drain well and if necessary, pat gently with a paper towel to absorb excess moisture. Put onto whatever serving food you poached them for and have at!
One of my favorite breakfasts is a nice serving of homemade Parmesan sage polenta with two poached eggs atop and freshly cooked crisp bacon crumbled over all.
Nice method! I bought one of the two-cup microwave egg poachers for use at work (there is no other cooking methods available at the office, and ended up going through about two dozen eggs before I figured out the method that actually produces poached eggs rather than boiled. But I’m going to have to try the OP’s method at home.
It sure is. I love my sous vide poached eggs, although my wife is a little sarcastic about the fact that I can make the quintessential poached egg in less than an hour, 45 minutes to sous vide the egg, and then 60 seconds to poach.
Of course, I can sous vide them by the dozen and store them in the refrigerator, then it’s only the sixty seconds to poach, so who’s laughing now? You amortize that 45 minutes over a dozen eggs and it’s only 3:45 per egg.