how do you make perfect poached eggs?

[DeanVRS]

hi all...fancy poached eggs tomorrow but dont have a poacher pan..

whats the best way to get the perfect poached egg?

[Soovy]

DeanVRS said:

hi all...fancy poached eggs tomorrow but dont have a poacher pan..

whats the best way to get the perfect poached egg?

Simple. Take a small dish, line it with cling film. Crack the egg into the cling film, gather up the edges and make a "ball" by screwing the top closed.

Boil in water then remove from water, Unwrap from cling film. Enjoy.

[grumbledoak]

If your eggs are very fresh, a splash of vinegar, not quite boiling water, stir to create a vortex, and drop gently into the centre. But, get anything wrong and it's egg soup for you.

The cling film solution is much more reliable.

I have heard another: wash the egg, place in the nearly boiling water for a bit, then crack into the water. I have yet to eggsperiment with this one, but it sounds like it could work.

[loltolhurst]

Soovy said:

DeanVRS said:

hi all...fancy poached eggs tomorrow but dont have a poacher pan..

whats the best way to get the perfect poached egg?

Simple. Take a small dish, line it with cling film. Crack the egg into the cling film, gather up the edges and make a "ball" by screwing the top closed.

Boil in water then remove from water, Unwrap from cling film. Enjoy.

wow never heard of that will try it this week! i always mess them up!

[DeanVRS]

dont think i got clingfilm..may have to brave the water vortex method

[cramorra]

Sounds a good one - would you butter the cling film a bit....?

[Corpulent Tosser]

I tried the cling film and the egg stuck to it, the butter thing sounds like a winner though

[grumbledoak]

Corpulent Tosser said:

I tried the cling film and the egg stuck to it, the butter thing sounds like a winner though

Oil the clingflim.

Egg white is stucky stuff. I briefly tried a two-egg poacher attachment that hung over the side of the pan. Worked very well, but even though it was 'non stick' it was a complete bd to clean.

I suppose the other side of the coin is 'how hot, how long'? I've heard of dropping the egg into near boiling water, off the heat, and wait ten minutes, but I've had no luck that way. I just fish it out and feel it. Is there a better way?

[sleep envy]

grumbledoak said:

If your eggs are very fresh, a splash of vinegar, not quite boiling water, stir to create a vortex, and drop gently into the centre. But, get anything wrong and it's egg soup for you.

the eggs need to be room temp otheriwse they drop the temp of the water too quickly

if you break the egg and slowly pour it in it will hold together without having to 'vortex' the water

and you need a big pan and lots of water to do more than one egg at a time

[grumbledoak]

sleep envy said:

secrets!

I suspect I'll be trying that method again, then.

[sleep envy]

it works the same for anything you need to boil - use lots and lots of water as it's easier to bring 4l of water back up to boil when you've dropped 400g of pasta in than 1l of water with 400g of pasta dropped in

obviously the room temp speaks for itself

[tog]

Fresh eggs help (day old is best, same day a bit too fresh) and remember you're making poached eggs, not boiled eggs, so don't use boiling water.

[Soovy]

Mist the cling film with oil first.

[smack]

grumbledoak said:

If your eggs are very fresh, a splash of vinegar, not quite boiling water, stir to create a vortex, and drop gently into the centre.

This is the way I use that all the cookbooks preach. Don't need a boil, a simmer, where you have small bubbles. Crack the egg into a small bowl, and slide it into a vortex of slightly vinegared water.

Cook for 3 min for a perfectly cooked large egg, remove with a slotted spoon. Easy!

[Digger]

From my boiled egg thread I tried the poach in a shallow frying pan with a couple of inches of water. Clean egg then in boiling water for 20 seconds which I assume means the White starts to cook allowing it to stay together when you gently drop the egg back into the gently bubbling water. No swirly vortex, still water and the egg stayed together quite nicely. The water was shallow enough that I could prod the yoke to check when it was ready. Oh and added a dash of vinegar.

[dazmm]

or you can cheat and buy some plastic microwave egg poachers.
I got given 2 a few years back, simple to use, no water involved and takes 50 seconds.

[VR6time]

Dribble of oil in a mug,

Crack egg in and cover with cling film.

do not peirce film. Place in microwave for 1 min, listen, It will pop once and on teh 2nd pop your egg is done.

Timings are not an exact science, but usually about 45 seconds.

[Blue Cat]

If you are having them on toast, I always use the toaster to time how long I cook the eggs. When the eggs go in, the toast is pushed down and when it pops up I know the eggs are done - works every time

[WEREWOLF]

go on videojug.com.......shows you how to make all sorts of meals.....

[Simpo Two]

VR6time said:

Dribble of oil in a mug, Crack egg in and cover with cling film. do not peirce film. Place in microwave for 1 min, listen, It will pop once and on teh 2nd pop your egg is done.

Sounds a bit like these:



Whatever happened to coddled eggs?