I learned how to poach eggs for the first time last year. I had tried everything - having my mom walk me through her method, buying an egg poacher (those things suck, don't bother) to finally accepting that restaurant eggs are it for me. Then I figured out that actually it's just all about the freshness of the egg. I started buying eggs from a local supplier recently and I buy two trays every two weeks (60) so when I get those, it's poaching time! My default method used to be the vinegar water swirly technique. Sometimes it worked, sometimes I lost three eggs before admitting defeat and making boiled eggs instead. When poaching fails, it fails in a big messy way, your eggs just fall apart in the water. But the common theme was; even when they worked, they were never very pretty.
Then I watched the Masterchef Australia episode that would change my eggy life forever. Thank you Heston Blumenthal! Now, you can watch his video (<--- click over there) but I am still going to describe how I finally perfected it because I do it slightly differently. Fresh eggs are still important but I have actually done this with two week old eggs and it worked perfectly. I LOVE poached eggs and will never go back to swirling water again.
You will need:
- room temperature eggs, fresh
- 2 tbs vinegar
- boiling water
- small pot
- small plate that fits in your pot
- slotted spoon (small holes)
Using a plate that fits comfortably into your small pot, place the plate on the bottom of the pot. The plate keeps the eggs off the direct heat. Pour in the boiling water until there's enough water to cover the eggs. Add your vinegar and bring the water to a steady boil. I don't have a thermometer, if you do, I would suggest following Heston's temperature guide. Without a thermometer, my suggestion would be to just get a steady boil on the go. The plate will bob up and down gently.
Take your fresh egg and place it on your slotted spoon to drain off the water from the whites. The fresher your egg, the more the egg white will hold together. If you are only doing one egg, you can do this right before putting it in the water. If you want to do more than one, transfer the drained egg to a small container/ramekin.
Once your water is at the right temperature/boiling, carefully pour the egg into the pot. It will firm up pretty quickly and hold its shape. I leave my eggs in for four minutes but this will depend on how soft you like your eggs. Four minutes leaves you with nice medium (still runny in the centre) poached eggs. You can do multiple eggs at a time if you use a big enough pot. My small pot holds three at a time easily.
Take your eggs out of the water with the slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain the excess water off. Transfer it to your plate. Poached eggs are great served with avocado, mushrooms, asparagus, salmon and definitely hollandaise sauce! Here is another video showing a similar technique.
(Pictured below with low carb toast and avocado - I buy it here, I don't have this recipe)
