Egg Poaching Knowhow

Oh boy, do you ever know how to cheer me up! Not that I really felt like I was in need of cheering, but you know, last night when I wrote my Nothing-in-particular post I was feeling kind of flat I guess. A weeny bit of the Winter Blahs had set in, no doubt about it. I love that I can use my blog as a little place to jot down my rambling thoughts, it's a very therapeutic thing to do you know. Yesterday it allowed me to pull together a certain number of slightly unsettling feelings to do with my parenting, my slightly below par energy levels, my pondering on whether this house is still right for us. Turns out that for now, yes, all is mighty fine. We are floating/hibernating/resting and that's absolutely ok. Our house is possibly a tad too small for us, but it's absolutely ok cos we love it so.

I was tickled, like reeeeeeally chuffed with your response to my egg poaching skills, thank you, thank you!!! I included the eggy image yesterday simply because it had been on my mind and also followed on so neatly from the gorgeous pics of the Bridal Crown narcissus. Sort of a colour-coded train of thought.

Seeing as many of you asked, I thought I would share J's method.

You need a pan with a lid :: J uses our deep sided frying pan as it's easier to crack the eggs directly into the water when you use a shallow pan. But I've successfully poached in an ordinary saucepan by cracking the egg into a small plastic bowl first, then gently sliding the egg from the bowl into the water.

Boil the kettle, then add the hot water to the pan, you only need about an inch of water, just enough to cover the egg. Then add 2tbs of white vinegar to the water (that's the important bit. The vinegar is Completely Essential). Allow the water to come up to the boil, it should just be starting to bubble, but not at a rolling boil. Now put your egg in, as explained above, you can either crack it directly into the water, or slide it in from a bowl.

The addition of the vinegar is nothing short of miraculous. If you've ever tried to poach an egg without vinegar (and I have) you will know what a disaster it is. I don't know the science behind it, but I do know that the vinegar magically makes the egg white behave itself and stops it from going all chaotic and naughty in the water. Instead of flailing about going all stringy, it sits in a sweet little plump package, all neat and perfect and marvelous looking. What a good egg! Clever vinegar!

Right...as soon as the egg's in the water and looking good, turn the heat off, clamp on the pan lid and time it for 5 minutes. Just five.

In that five minutes, you can pootle a little in the kitchen. Unload the dishwasher, admire your crockery, dance to music. Oh, and get your toasty egg-bed ready too. Cos a beautifully poached egg does need a suitable bed to sit on, and the bed needs to be ready and waiting so that the egg can come straight out the pan when it's done. Timing is everything here.

After five minutes your egg should be poached to perfection. Beautifully creamy cooked white, with a scrummy, softly runny yolk. Lift it immediately out of the water with a slotted spoon and drain it well so that it doesn't make the toast all soggy.

Place the egg ceremoniously on it's bed :: in the case of this morning's breakfast it was a toasted English muffin spread with butter and topped with slivers of smoked salmon. Absolutely delicious, devoured with gusto and appreciation. Simple eating, you can't beat it.

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Comments

[louise]

I think poached egg cooking is like a bbq....a man thing! My husband makes ours with vinegar and he makes a sort of whirlpool in the water to put it in! xx

[Katie]

Yay! I successfully poached two egs for my breakfast this morn. First time ever and so easy thnx to your step by step. Thnx, Lucy!

[Adrianne]

This is so nice, my attempts to poach eggs always fail, I'll try this.
By the way, you also inspired me to make a blog.
take a look at my (modest) beginning.

Bye,
Adrianne

[Rachel Mackin]

Ooh they do look lovely! I can't wait to try your method, I've only ever managed the hysterical looking variety. :)

[Julie]

Dribbling all over the keyboard reading that post lol

[sue]

I made them exactly as you did and for the first time in 40 years I "cracked" it... thanks Lucy, they were perfectly yolky!

[Jenny]

Thank you so much for the tutorial! I followed your instructions to a tee and...success! I've posted photos on my blog! Thanks for the inspiration!

[Ann Kelsey]

Lucy you truly are a treasure, I pop in each day to see what you have been up to, always makes me smile and brightens the day. Hope to see you Thursday, coming with Maureen. Oh forgot, the children off school so maybe you wont be there.Love to you all Ann.

[Jen]

Looks yummy. My Mum taught me this method.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who dances round the kitchen though.

Hope today bring you something to smile about. You have a wonderful family, a beautiful home and some fabulous skills. Keep it up!

[Hannie]

No egg's here at the moment BUT have you already seen this: http://revlie.typepad.com/revolution/2012/02/finally-the-rainbow-beany-for-free.html

I think that would look good on Little Lady, don't you think?

Kind regards from the Netherlands,
Hannie

[Helen]

I've seen a lot of different egg poaching methods and tried a few of them - WITH ABSOLUTELY NO SUCCESS!! So I am going to add this to my list of methods to try. I'll keep you posted.
xXx Helen

[Nicole]

POSH BREAKFAST! Haha I love it, it's the little things isn't it that brighten our days :-)

As for your house (and it's size) who says it should be any bigger? If your little ones are sharing a room (I assume you haven't got 4 rooms in that terrace of yours!!) then they're just like loads of other kids that I grew up with and like some of my friends kids now - guess what! It hasn't done them any harm :-)

Don't worry about these things, fundamentally your family seems very happy and dare I say perfect if such a thing exists? As long as they're happy (and I'm sure they are!) I don't suppose "a bigger house" has entered anyones heads apart from yours and Js :-)

There's nowt wrong with a modest and happy home. I will swap you any day! Except I live in a 2 bed flat which is probably not a good compromise for you! Still you know where to get hold of me.... :p

[Jenn H.]

I've never had a pouched egg before. I think I just might have to make me one for supper tonight and see just how yummy they can be! (I love runny yolks)

You're blog is fabulous, I check in every day to see what new projects you have going on. You've even inspired me to make a Granny Stripe blanket, and I've only been crocheting for two weeks!

[vivien coooper]

Hi Lucy - at my age you would think I would know how to poach an egg - but, hey, you can teach an old dog a new trick! So thanks for sharing.. Viv

[Trish]

First we had matching Whittards bowls and now I have noticed you have the same spotty plates as us!! Would LOVE to know where the beautiful flowery ones come from though!! It's going to HAVE to be poached eggs in the morning now.

[Hil A.]

Hi! I just wanna say, thank you for sharing your posts. I've been an avid fan of your blog for some time now. You've inspired me so much over these past months, and i wanted to say thank you so much.

[ScoobyDoo]

I love the idea of muffin and smoked salmon as a base. Must try it tomorrow. My favourite is Double Poached Egg & Chips - two eggs, a hefty smattering of sea salt and black pepper, and a pile of Big Fat Chips for dunkin'. Yum!

[Bari Jo]

Cool! I've never had a poached egg and was intimidated to even try to make one- now I am armed with knowledge and the secret weapon: vinegar! Can't wait to try this and bless my family! THANKS Lucy! Happy Valentine's Day!

[maypole]

I've never used vinegar, I swirl the water to create a vortex and gently slide the egg in. Up to now my eggs have been fine. I have tried to show my DIL how to do it but I always end up doing them when we visit! I will give your method a go though.

[devinder]

wow, how yummy does that look? devinder

[Angie]

Thanks for the poached egg tips! I made some last week without vinegar... next up, Eggs Benedict with the vinegar technique:)

[Judy]

I think I should write a book titled "What I Learned From Lucy" as I'm always using your patterns and now I made these eggs for lunch and they were perfect!! Thanks for all you give to all of us out in blog land!!!!!

[jennifer dessert]

I have never made a successful poached egg before and I am going to try this method today. I am so excited. On my way!

[rachel]

Dear Lucy,
Thanks for the tips on poaching eggs! My husband is the grand egg cooker in our house so I have given him your tips for an even better breakfast!
Rachel x

[a]

I'm absolutely astounded at so many people not knowing the vinegar trick! Basic cooking!