Many foods can benefit from the addition of a poached egg. It can add something special to dishes that even the best fried eggs can't do. Unfortunately, boiling an egg in water is not as easy as it seems; poached eggs are unpredictable and delicate. Here we give you step-by-step instructions and helpful tips and tricks to help you become a master of poached eggs.
Step 1:Fill a large pot full of water
The deeper the pot, the better the final shape of the egg. Picture this:If you put an egg in shallow water for poaching, the egg will sit at the bottom of the pot as it cooks. This egg will be very obviously flat - just like a fried egg but without the crispy edges. But if you put the egg in a deep pot of water, it will start to boil as soon as it's in the water, using the time gravity allows it to cook.
Step 2:Add a dash of white vinegar
White vinegar helps to solidify proteins; this means that the vinegar in the water will help the egg whites harden faster. Be careful though:add too much and the eggs will taste like vinegar.
Step 3:Heat the water
The perfect temperature to poach an egg is when the water is not yet bubbling. Any bubbles in the water will disrupt the delicate egg, potentially ruining the shape and making it more difficult to cook.
Step 4:Prepare the eggs
Crack the eggs into plates beforehand. Eggs are fragile and it's not easy to get the perfect poached egg shape. You don't want to break the egg directly into the water, and if you plan to cook multiple eggs, you can break them earlier and monitor cooking time more efficiently by having them all ready to use. When you're done, slowly place each individual egg in the water as gently as possible.
Step 5:Stir and turn Poached eggs often have wispy white strands that set independently of the yolk, but a good firm shake of the water with a spoon just before you drop your egg can help wrap these strands around the yolk, creating a cohesive (and beautiful) egg mass is created. However, things can get tricky here too; if you stir too hard, the egg will spin quickly in the pot, leaving a trail of white behind the yolk. Another trick is to place a broken egg in a ladle and slowly lower the egg into the water.
Step 6:Time the egg
Depending on the water temperature and how you like your eggs, the timing can vary. Nevertheless, if water is at a perfect temperature, and you want your whites just set to maximize the yolk explosion, then three minutes is the magic number.
Step 7:Make lots of eggs
If you make a lot of poached eggs for a crowd, your guests will wait if you try to make all the eggs at once. But did you know that you can make poached eggs in advance?
When the timer is up (shorten the time to 2–2 ½ minutes in this case), carefully remove the eggs from the hot water and lower them into an ice bath to stop the cooking process. The fully cooked eggs can remain there until you are ready to serve them. Then you can simply heat the eggs in hot water (still not boiling).
Step 8:Place a perfectly round poached egg on a plate
Nobody likes eggs with a side of egg water. Pay attention to placing water from the cooking process on a plate. Always use a slotted spoon to move boiled eggs and have some paper towels handy to wipe off any excess water.
