Perfectly Poaching Eggs

[BKYLN]

dcarth excellent ideas. ive done them this way but in buttered little pyrex prep cups.

I now do double SV: 40 min at yolk temp. ice. refrig. reheat in water bath that in the microwave but the egg does not touch the bottom: I use the two bottom parts of a salad spinner.

then 20 secs in almost boiling water for the outer white set.

I do 1 - 2 dozen at a time for the first part.

so much work for something so simple and easy

[nickrey]

Problem is that they're not easy, everyone just assumes that they are.

[weinoo]

A respected friend of mine tells me that he first boils the egg in the shell for 10 seconds, then poaches it. Seems to work great. It was on an old Julia show, iirc.

I now see that David has touched on this above.

[rotuts]

well as I do it above, it has two parts: SV in quantity, no work at all. chill and placed back in the egg carton and the refig.

part two take 45 secd to 1 minute , no more. one makes the coffee while this happens

[BKYLN]

Problem is that they're not easy, everyone just assumes that they are.

maybe I should have clarified that I've cooked at 3 Michelin star restaurants, so to me, poaching eggs is easy.

[nickrey]

Problem is that they're not easy, everyone just assumes that they are.

maybe I should have clarified that I've cooked at 3 Michelin star restaurants, so to me, poaching eggs is easy.

I'm sure it is easy for you and I'd love to watch you do it to get more pointers on how it is done well.

The thread was started by someone who is wanting to achieve professional looking eggs. For those of us who cook one or two eggs at a time, it is far more of a challenge to develop the skill than for those who cook commercial quantities.

[mache]

Cooks Illustrated is the approach I use.

Perfect Poached Eggs - Cook's Illustrated

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

2 tablespoons white vinegar

8 large eggs, each cracked into a small cup/ramekin

Ground black pepper

Fill an 8-10 inch skillet nearly to within an inch of the rim with water

Add 1 teaspoon salt and the vinegar and bring mixture to boil over high heat

Remove pan from heat and quickly, working in two batches, cook 4 eggs at a time by lowering the lip of each cup into water letting the eggs flow into the pan. Cover the pan.

Poach until yolks are medium firm, exactly four minutes, or for extra large or jumbo eggs, about 4 1/2 minutes. For looser egg yolks, poach 3 minutes.

With slotted spoon, carefully lift and drain each egg over skillet. Set on warmed plate or platter and cover with foil until ready to use. Keep in a warm place or in oven set to 275 degrees.

[KatieLoeb]

I like the dropping into plastic wrap and tying up into a little bag method. First and most crucial element is to spray the plastic wrap with cooking spray. I set the timer for exactly three minutes and forty five seconds. Make all the little bags first. Drop into vigorously boiling water and start the timer. Fish them out the moment timer goes off. Eat right away or refrigerate in the little bags. Dip back into boiling water for about a minute to reheat. They keep in the fridge for at least a couple of days...

[Norm Matthews]

My mom used to make poached eggs in one of those egg poacher pans where the egg was put in a pan held above the water and the egg was steamed, not really poached. I always hated poached eggs until I realized that those weren't really poached eggs. Eggs poached IN water are so much better tasting IMO.

Edited November 14, 2012 by Norm Matthews (log)

[porpoise_oil]

Thanks so much for all the advice! I've set aside some time in the next few days to try out a variety of techniques and see if I can master this. Given how many different techniques people have kindly presented here, I think the law of large numbers suggests at least one of them will work well!

I'll let you know how I go. Thanks again.

[SobaAddict70]

I sometimes do as nickrey does -- e.g., a scant teaspoon of white wine vinegar and a whirlpool. Lately, I've just resorted to cracking the egg into a ramekin, bringing the water to a bare simmer, in goes the egg, start timing or a slow count to 90, scoop up the egg with a slotted spoon and voila -- perfect poached egg.

Les Œufs en Meurette

But then, I'm more likely to do one or two at a time as opposed to 20. That's beyond my capability...

[FrogPrincesse]

Beautiful poached egg, SobaAddict, but where did you hide the red wine? Traditionally, oeufs en meurette, a specialty from Burgundy, are poached in red wine (signed - the French Culinary Police ).

[SobaAddict70]

Beautiful poached egg, SobaAddict, but where did you hide the red wine? Traditionally, oeufs en meurette, a specialty from Burgundy, are poached in red wine (signed - the French Culinary Police ).

The red wine reduction (red wine, unsalted butter, carrots, sea salt, black pepper) is underneath the poached egg.

A friend of mine who lives in Madagascar poaches his eggs in red wine, but I opted to work from bleudauvergne's recipe on her blog -- http://kitchen-noteb...n-meurette.html

Note that Lucy's version uses grey chanterelles, salt pork and chives. The pic above has hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, pancetta and thyme. Same procedure, although my version is sized for one person.

Edited November 20, 2012 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Beautiful poached egg, SobaAddict, but where did you hide the red wine? Traditionally, oeufs en meurette, a specialty from Burgundy, are poached in red wine (signed - the French Culinary Police ).

The red wine reduction (red wine, unsalted butter, carrots, sea salt, black pepper) is underneath the poached egg.

I see. You have a very light touch with the red wine; usually the oeufs en meurette are literally swimming in the sauce (just google "oeufs en meurette" if you want to see what I mean)! That must be your "less in more" school of thought in action again...

[jayt90]

I'm reviving this thread because there is a lot information here that has not worked for me.

1. Vinegar. It seems to coagulate the white nicely but the texture and mouthfeel is abominable.

2. The swirling vortex. It slows to a crawl after the first egg is in.

3. Sous vide. As far as I'm concerned, the cooking temperature is in the danger zone far too long.

4. Fresh eggs. Yes this helps but no one says how to get them.

5. Deep pot only/shallow pan only: Both work wonders if you are careful.

Here is what I do, with minimal failure:

1. I use very fresh, even day old farm gate eggs, from pastured hens. Once in awhile I go to a source with indoor hens, and regular Purina feed. I won't pay extra for organic eggs, because the hens still eat Purina, although organic. Would you trust Purina for organic feed?

2.If I was in the city, I'd get farmers market eggs and ask a lot of questions. How can you ask questions about supermarket eggs?

3. I use a 6" pot for 2-3 eggs with 4" water. If I have to do a dozen or more I use a chicken fryer pan, with just enough water to cover the eggs.

4.I bring the water to a slow simmer, crack in the eggs, and cover for 4 minutes.

5. Remove with a slotted spoon or fish lifter. On a SS or CI pan there may be very slight sticking, because the burner was on for duration of cooking. So I am careful, and removing is easy.

Above is a sample photo. One dominant feature is the raised yolk, sitting firmly above the albumen. Only fresh eggs are like this.