So my latest culinary obsession is perfecting eggs benedict. I’ve got about everything to the way I want, from hollandaise to making the English muffins from scratch. Except the eggs. They’re good (e.g., not overdone), but lacking a certain aesthetic. The whites are fairly amorphous, and I end up leaving a lot behind in the water. It feels like I’m missing some basic short-order cook step.
I’ve tried a several different things (e.g., +/- vinegar, salt, milk, dripping the eggs in from a saucer), but I still can’t seem to find the right combination. Also, what gives with swirling the water? Seems right for one egg, but what to do when I’ve a dozen eggs to make?
This weekend’s guests are set to wake up to mimosas, fruit salad, country sausage, and slab bacon. I’ve worked out the timing for the English muffin dough so that they’re ready to cook after the first cup of coffee has hit. The extra whites from the hollandaise are going into almond meringue cookies for a post-brunch nibble. But the eggs… the eggs…
Unfortunately, the only real answer is to use really fresh eggs. Most of us only have access to supermarket eggs, and who knows when they were laid. A very fresh egg will stay plump and oval in the water and a stale egg will disperse itself all over the place. I’ve tried all the tricks, too, and nothing works on a stale egg. Vinegar just makes the egg taste vinegar-y. I’m lucky enough to have access to a couple of places where I can buy new-laid eggs and I save my poaching projects for when I can get them.
The egg poacher Lute Skywatcher links to would probably work, though. I’ve never tried them.
First off, if you’re making that many eggs, you can poach them beforehand, store them in water in the fridge, and then just dip them in hot water for 30 secs or so to heat them up.
As far as cooking them, I’ve had the best luck with a little vinegar and hot (not boiling) water. Basically, heat water and a couple Tablespoons of vinegar in a nonstick pan until the water boils. Turn off burner, add eggs. Let sit for 3-5 minutes, depending on how firm you want the yolk.
I’ve also heard really good things about using the microwave to poach eggs; just fill a small bowl with water, break an egg in it, and microwave until poached. I haven’t tried it though, and it seems like if you’re making a lot of poached eggs that might not be the way to go.
I’ve used the egg poaching pan. In fact for years I didn’t know there was any other way. They work terrifically! You get perfectly cup shaped eggs poached as runny or as firm as you like.
The egg poaching pan is a lifesaver. There’s also a hinged, plastic thing I have that I’ve used with good result. It looks like nothing so much as a bra. Drop an egg in one of the compartments, a 1/2 teaspoon or so of water, close the thing, and you can microwave two nicely done poached eggs in under a minute - depending on how powerful your microwave is, and how you like your eggs.
I have good results with 2 tbsps of vinegar in a pan. Boil the water to a full angry boil, then take it off the heat, stir up your maelstrom, pour the egg into the middle (break it first into a small bowl to make this a swift action), then cover the pan and leave it for seven minutes. No need to reheat. Works for me every time.
Ah, now that we’ve moved from the city to the sticks, there are all sorts of places that sell fresh-from-the-chicken eggs. That’ll definitely be step one.
How far ahead can I make the eggs? Is there any depredation of freshness/consistency? It would really fit in if I could make them the afternoon of guest’s arrival.
An egg poaching pan, you say? (looks over at Mrs. Dvl. Considers odds. Not bad… not great, but not bad…) How do they work? Does the egg sit in the cup, or in water constrained by the cup? Could I just float a few water-filled custard dishes and get the same result?
It may be heresy, but I do mine in the microwave. In a teacup, put about 1/4 cup of water, a tsp of vinegar, microwave until the water heats to a boil, then left to cool about 15 seconds, then the egg added in is.
Poke a hole in the yoke with a toothpick or you’ll be sorry. Cover teacup with saran wrap tightly, poke 5 or 6 holes in the saran wrap, and nuke on medium for 1:11 (less for runnier yolk, more for firmer). Drain in a slotted spoon.
heresy shmeresy… I’ve been able to achieve hollandaise perfection with a microwave. If you’re not in the kitchen to see, you’d have absolutely no idea. Some things just shouldn’t be done in the 'wave, but if you know how to use it, it’s a fantastic resource.
Interesting (or not) FYI, I bought that exact poaching pan from BB&B and it is the most useless item ever. Most poaching pans do work, but this one specifically does not. The individual egg cups are plastic which means:
A) They don’t heat up to cook the eggs at all
B) The eggs bond to the plastic like concrete
Threw the top holed thing & cups in the garbage and just use the pan to poach, which I could have done without buying the stupid thing! :mad:
You boil water in the bottom part of the pan, but the water does not contact the eggs, which sit above the water in their little cups. (it may touch the underside of the cups - I’ve never really measured) The eggs cook in the steam and the heat from the cups. You need a lid.
I’m surprised to hear the cups in the one linked are plastic. The one we had was all metal, and I’ve bought just the metal cups portion for use in a regular pan I already had. It was <$10 at Target, IIRC.
I had eggs benedict this weekend. Damned good too. I use my big heavy skillet. I get the salted, vinegared-water simmering gently. I crack the eggs in a ladle and slowly submerge the edge of the ladle in the water and slowly pour the egss out under water. By using a 12" pan I can get 3-4 eggs in there without them touching. I like to add a dash of paprika on top. Nothing beats eggs benedict and a big cup of orange juice on a Sunday morning.
FWIW I poach eggs in these little plastic cups that I bought at a kitchen store a while back. You put 1/2" of water in a pan and bring to a boil. Swipe the inside of the cup with a little butter and break the egg in it.
Put the cups into the boiling water for 7 minutes and you have perfection.
I like this for several reasons.
I don’t need a separate pan, I can use any pan with a lid
The cups nest and take up very little room.
With just the tiniest bit of butter, the eggs slide right out.
So Rhythmdvl, would you be willing to share the English Muffin recipe with us? I’d like to try it out if possible.
ETA - I guess I should share my poached egg recipe. I get water simmering. Then I crack an egg into it. I am not all that concerned about the looks of the thing, though.
PS. I seem to remember that there is a certain application that you should be using eggs that are a couple weeks old - fresh don’t work as well. Does anyone remember that application - I can’t recall.
The one I have is a metal pan with three indentations that fits over any medium-sized pot. Put some water in the pot, place pan over pot, crack an egg into each indentation, and cover. The eggs will steam cook.
There are also egg poaching cups that sit in the water and others that are just rings. I never had any luck with the ring-style but the double-size griddle they came with is very useful.
