I grew up eating poached eggs. I liked it best when my dad would prepare them, as he always served them over a piece of toast that he had buttered and then cut into squares. That way it would be easy to get a bit of yolk-soaked toast with every bite (occasionally when I go home to Portland, I am still able to convince him to make me breakfast like this). Because of this early exposure to poached eggs, I never thought them to be foreign or complicated and when I was old enough to operate the stove, a pan of water and a slotted spoon, I started whipping them up myself. It wasn't until I read Julie and Julia did I realize that not everyone sees poached eggs as the deadly easy meal that I've always known them to be.
However, now that I know that some folks are challenged by the poaching of the eggs, I thought I'd try to help by pointing you all in the direction of some helpful information. Rob at B3TA tried four different methods for poaching eggs and, after much trial and error, comes to stunning realization about the utility of a pot of boiling water, an egg and some plastic wrap. Go check it out for yourself!
[via Serious Eats]
1-07-2008 @2:46PM samantha said... you can also poach an egg on a grill with a pan cover and an ice cube. I know it sounds crazy, but it works.
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1-07-2008 @2:36PM Marisa McClellan said... Samantha, you've got to give us more information than that! How exactly do you make that process work?
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1-07-2008 @2:48PM micah said... The plastic wrap thing sounds relatively fun and easy but I can't see how it will result in a poached egg.
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1-07-2008 @3:15PM vaca said... I remember trying out that plastic cling method at some point in my youth and it failed... misearbly!! I think the culprit must have been that the plastic was some cheap brand and all I got was a egg-bleeding plastic cage that couldn't be eaten; after that bad experience I just started poaching without the plastic.. maybe I'll give this plastic thing a second chance but with better quality plastic wrap :).
http://www.lavacahacemu.com
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1-07-2008 @2:59PM John Frost said... Mahalo actually has a fairly good guide on this with a couple different methods that work.
http://www.mahalo.com/How_to_Poach_an_Egg
I'm actually a little disappointed that Rob didn't try the simple solution of adding vinegar to the water.
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1-07-2008 @3:22PM Wendy Buckley said... In a pinch I poach them in the microwave with this gadget I bought at Target.
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/601-9716675-3112105?ASIN=B0010BCEFC&AFID=Froogle&LNM=B0010BCEFC|Trudeau_Microwave_Egg_Poacher&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=B0010BCEFC&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001
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1-07-2008 @3:28PM Bert said... Here are some of my tricks:
- A lot of vinegar and a lot of water. 1 tablespoon of vinegar to 1 cup of water sort of thing.
- A pot with a large surface area. They need room.
- Fresh eggs. Just like trying to make sunny-side-up, fresh eggs go a long way.
- Forget about trying to boil the egg. Get the water to a good strong boil then shut the heat off / move the pot before droping in the egg. Once the eggs are in you can raise the heat a bit, to an uber-light simmer. You don't want any turbulence. Before raising the heat make sure the eggs have not stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- The cup-dipping method is the best. You can control the drop and related water turbulence.
With these methods, in 4-5 minutes you will have a nice light-medium poached egg.
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1-07-2008 @3:37PM PAgent said... I make faux-poached eggs. Melt a little butter in a small nonstick skillet, and when it's hot crack a fresh egg gently into the pan. Let it sit until the majority of the white is set, then add a couple Tbsp. of water and slap a tight-fitting lid on the skillet. Leave the lid on for about 20 seconds (or to your preferred doneness) then promptly remove the egg and serve on buttered toast. SO much faster and easier than poaching.
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1-07-2008 @4:36PM Kiwi Carlisle said... She gives a link to the page where Rob does all the experiments with egg-poaching, including the plastic wrap method. It sounds relatively tidy. I might try it.
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1-07-2008 @5:26PM gduran said... Er, I tried it, and it totally rocked. I even took pix.
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1-07-2008 @6:18PM Shannon said... I grew up poaching eggs and never understood why others found it difficult to do so. Get the water hot enough in a deep pan so that bubbles are coming up from the bottom but it's not boiling, put in a smidge of vinegar if you want, crack the egg in gently, and let it cook. The secret to when it's done: gently shake the pan to see if the white just around the yolk jiggles--the instant that white stops jiggling, take it out immediately. Put on toast and eat! This method has been handed down through four generations and has never failed anyone yet.
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1-07-2008 @10:27PM Colin said... He's right. I've been 'poaching' eggs with plastic wrap for about a year now and it does a great job, every single time.
In fact, I haven't fried an egg in about as long... hrm...
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1-08-2008 @10:46AM kevjohn said... This is an easy one. Even I can poach an egg, and I'm probably the least cook-y person here. I pretty much use Shannon's (#11) method, and I only learned in the past couple of years because I had a craving for egg mcmuffins and didn't feel like getting dressed for the trip to Mickey D's.
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1-08-2008 @3:56PM eva said... One of the best breakfasts . . . barely simmering chicken broth + thyme with an egg gently eased into the water, and cooked 7 min. or so, ladled into bowls and served with crusty buttered bread. Mmmm. Mm. mm. mmmmm.
Something about heating plastic wrap to boiling and then eating what's in it . . . hm. I'll skip that one, though it sure does a job of keeping the egg in one place.
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1-09-2008 @2:28PM Scott C. said... I use the Alton Brown method. I can't remember if this is in his cookbook or off of a show. I crack all the eggs (usually 4) into teacups/custard cup/other small, bowlish object. Bring about 1.5 inches of water to a boil in a pot. I add vinegar. Lots of it. As I understand, this helps set up the whites, but to be honest, I just like the flavor it adds.
Once the water/vineagar is boiling, take the pot off the heat. Pour the eggs into the water making sure you have your teacup slightly emerged when you pour... so it enters the water gently. With 4 eggs, put them at 12, 3, 6 and 9:00. Cover the pot with a lid and let set for how firm you like your eggs. I prefer leaving them in 6-7 (my wife, longer) mintues. Remove with a slotted spoon. I serve them over sprouted grain bread. Hmmm... wonder what I'm having for dinner tonight?
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