How do you poach your eggs?

kgord

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I have seen some people even chef's on TV who make poached eggs right in the water. That doesn't really look too appealing to me. When I was a kid, my mother always made them in an egg poaching cup. I make them now in the microwave with specially designed egg poaching cups. They are easy to do, and perfect every time!
 
I have seen some people even chef's on TV who make poached eggs right in the water. That doesn't really look too appealing to me. When I was a kid, my mother always made them in an egg poaching cup. I make them now in the microwave with specially designed egg poaching cups. They are easy to do, and perfect every time!

The only correct method is in the water! Otherwise (nice as they may be) they aren't strictly speaking, poached. In the microwave?! :eek: Oh my gosh.... I'm sure @Berties might have something to say on this subject. :D I could go into detail about how I poach eggs. Its quite easy but is one of those things that better to watch and learn rather than read instructions.
Sorry if I sound a bit pedantic but a poached egg is a wonderful thing and I have strong feelings about them.
 
Egg in a cup
Simmering salted water with white wine vinegar,
Spin a vortex ,egg in centre and hold the simmer till egg is soft
Drain on a kitchen towel
Roll onto a spoon ,trim loose ends
Then onto a plate
We do loads like this every week
 
Egg in a cup
Simmering salted water with white wine vinegar,
Spin a vortex ,egg in centre and hold the simmer till egg is soft
Drain on a kitchen towel
Roll onto a spoon ,trim loose ends
Then onto a plate
We do loads like this every week

Exactly! Oh yes. Thats just the way I do it. I knew you would explain it perfectly @Berties. And you can keep them in cold water to reheat as needed.
 
Exactly! Oh yes. Thats just the way I do it. I knew you would explain it perfectly @Berties. And you can keep them in cold water to reheat as needed.
Yes sometimes if really busy but first poached eggs are the best ,I've just written a menu with poached quails eggs ,they only get poached once
 
Yes sometimes if really busy but first poached eggs are the best ,I've just written a menu with poached quails eggs ,they only get poached once
Yes, of course they are best fresh. I like poached quails eggs. I've done them on top of blinis and caviar. Also on top of asparagus on puff pastry with a hazlenut sauce. Do you poach them all at the same time in one pan? I've seen chefs doing that on TV. As I've only done them for a few people I've done them individually.
 
Yes, of course they are best fresh. I like poached quails eggs. I've done them on top of blinis and caviar. Also on top of asparagus on puff pastry with a hazlenut sauce. Do you poach them all at the same time in one pan? I've seen chefs doing that on TV. As I've only done them for a few people I've done them individually.
A few at a time and I do change the water often ,I'm doing some new season wild Ceps and quails egg on pane pugliese with a chive hollandaise
 
A few at a time and I do change the water often ,I'm doing some new season wild Ceps and quails egg on pane pugliese with a chive hollandaise
Sounds wonderful. The things you cook are right up my street (though perhaps I'm more of a chilli head than you at times). I'm going to come and surprise you one day, eating in your restaurant!
 
The water has to be boiling hot for me, there has to be good convection for a poached egg. Just get a big pot, add a little salt and add the egg once it boils it's as simple as that. I don't complicate what's been done for so many years.
 
I would consider using a poaching cup as the cheats way of cooking them and isn't really poaching. I bring the water to simmering point, add a few shakes of vinegar, stir the water and then carefully crack the eggs in. The vinegar and stirring help to keep the whites together.
 
I use the same little pan that I scramble or fry my morning egg in, but add a little butter, water, and vinegar. I only fairly recently learned about the vinegar, although I've been poaching eggs for years. The vinegar makes a huge difference in the end product, keeping the white together.
 
I could not perfect the method as mentioned above but just like the OP I also use cups that I bought from the grocery that are intended for poaching. It is more convenient for me with less mess and error.
 
I use the same little pan that I scramble or fry my morning egg in, but add a little butter, water, and vinegar. I only fairly recently learned about the vinegar, although I've been poaching eggs for years. The vinegar makes a huge difference in the end product, keeping the white together.
I've never heard of adding butter to the poaching water. I'm trying to imagine... are you bringing water to immerse the egg, to a simmer and then adding butter?
 
I've tried the microwave method with those cups, but they almost always wind up overcooking the eggs to the point where they are more like a well done fried egg. It's almost impossible to keep a runny yolk but have the whites set in the microwave in my experience. I did however have some minor luck when trying out the "Stone Wave" cooker to make an egg. You just need to add a little water to it before adding the egg, and only cook it for like 30-40 seconds, then take it out of the microwave and let it rest with the lid on to finish cooking from the residual heat. The other concern when using the microwave is the eggs will often explode. If you carefully puncture the top of the yolks with a fork, that usually prevents it though.

There are also egg poaching pans, which are basically just egg steamers. You crack the eggs into little cups and place them into the pan with water at the bottom, then put the lid on and let them steam. These work pretty reliably, but I don't care for the way the eggs look when they come out of the cups.

I just simmer mine in a couple inches of water in an 8 inch nonstick frying pan on my stove. I bought a few tiny spice bowls at my local dollar store, and crack an egg into each one (in case the yolks break on any of them) then gently lower them into the simmering (not boiling!) water until they are done. Sometimes if I don't have enough water in the pan, I will have to ladle it over the yolks as they are cooking, but that's about it really. I don't do the vinegar thing personally since I don't like the flavor it imparts on the eggs.

I did see a genius trick though, to get rid of those loose egg whites that float around the water and foam up. One person online suggested straining the eggs in a fine mesh strainer first, which lets the runny parts of the whites drain off, leaving the firmer part intact. I haven't tried this yet though.
 
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