Poached Eggs

[pickers]

Hi there chaps,

I've been trying for ages now to make the pefect poached egg but have yet to suceed! I've tried whisking the water into a vortex, putting vineger into the water and other such tricks but can't quite nail the perfect poacher. Any ideas?

Cheers,

Pickers

[Clingy]

Is this a wind up?

/me unsure...anyway...gentle "vortex", vinegar ONLY for taste....then its all down to timing. 3 mins??? Dunno really I just remove when done and plop ontop of some curried smoked haddock and diced potatoes.

[Moby-Dick]

I believe having REALLY fresh eggs helps too.

[pickers]

Thanks chaps, will have another go!

[Moby-Dick]

if all else fails....

http://www.cucinadirect.com/go/Product_5461.html

cheat

[Lee H]

I got taught from my mother that the water had to have just a little bit of vinegar and a pinch of salt - probably for flavour or some unknown food chemisty here. When the waters HOT and I mean near bubbling - I stir the water in an anti-clockwise fashion quite fast and then place the egg in the eye of the vortex.

This usually makes the perfect poached egg - but I prefer mine scrambled with oodles of butter on my toast.

[Atomic]

if all else fails....

http://www.cucinadirect.com/go/Product_5461.html

cheat

That's not cheating, its just the modern way of doing it

...A microwave poacher, now thats really cheating!

[Kumagoro]

Apparently vinegar helps it stay in one big blob.

[Scientist]

I have a vinegar allergy any alternatives?

[Lee H]

http://www.sallys-place.com/food/col...ached_eggs.htm

Says on here you can use apple cider

[ArmagoN]

Mmmmm poached eggs FINALLY i can eat again

[Scientist]

Excellent will have to try soon,

Cheers for that Wildmonkey

[pickers]

thanks for all the tips chaps, seems like the vinegar is the key, I will report back

[kushtibari]

I believe having REALLY fresh eggs helps too.

Have to go with that - just used some off a farm that were almost warm and they were tremendous. On the other hand I used some that were supposed to be fresh from Morrisons, and they looked like milky spiders webs when they went into the pan.

[Nick]

Lemon juice is my alternative of choice if you have a yeast allergy (which most people who can't have vinegar do). The acid in either the vinegar or lemon juice helps the egg set fster on the outside to retain its shape... its all to do with the de-naturization of enzyme and all that gumph...

Here's my method for them, works every time!

1) Use very fresh eggs, those things you've had knocking around the fridge for three weeks that are a week out of date won't quite cut it.

2) Fill a wide mouthed pan almost to the brim with water and add your choice of lemon juice, vinegar or something acidic like them. A good example of a 'wide mouthed' pan is somthing like a straight sided frying pan... the depth of the pan only has to be a couple of inches at most, its more important that you be able to get a slotted spoon into it as flat as possible.

3) Bring the water to the boil then turn the heat down until the water is JUST simmering. This means a few bubbles are rising from the base of the pan... any higher and the movement of the water will spread the egg all over the place before it sets. The water needs to be as hot as poss WITHOUT moving a lot.

4) Add your egg. This is the bit a lot of people get wrong. You HAVE to get as close to the water as poss when you add the egg in. Dropping it in from 2 inches above will spread the egg over the base of the pan. Likewise, cracking the egg into a cup and then tipping it in breaks the egg up too much. The only way to get a really good poached egg is to crack the egg straight into the pan, brushing your fingertips across the surface of the water as you break the eggshell apart.

5) Do nothing for 1-2 minutes. I mean don't stir the water or fiddle with the eggs, just let them start to set.

6) Turn the eggs. Using a slotted spoon, gently ease up each egg from the base of the pan and turn it over.

7) Lift the eggs out with the slotted spoon and rest them on kitchen paper to drain.

8) If you like, trim the stringey edges off the egg and serve.

Tips: Cook an egg on its own first to gauge how long they will take to be how you like them. Factors such as the temperature of the egg before it is cooked, how much acid is in the water, how much the water cools as you add the egg all affect the cooking time.

If you're cooking a lot of eggs, start adding the eggs next to the pan handle, then work you're way around clockwise, that way you know which egg has been in longest and therefor which one has to come out first.