Poaching an Egg

Update! In the past year since I wrote this post I actually changed the way I poach an egg. No fear, it is almost identical, but I thought I would update.

I think pancakes are a pointless food. Sure, they taste fine, even good sometimes, but they just don’t feel like food to me. Without fail after eating them I feel full and heavy… And two hours later? Hungry.

Pointless.

Eggs, on the other hand, are the opposite.

A. Look at how cute they are? I know it is weird to call eggs cute, but they are contained in these smooth, multi-colored packages and I just think they are so precious. So precious, I want to eat them.

B. They are delicious and don’t leave me hungry ten minutes after eating…

So, when I was little, my mom used to make us girls breakfast and my sisters always wanted pancakes. When it was my turn to request the menu, I chose poached eggs on toast. I love anything on buttered toast and runny yokes topped with granules of salt and pepper has to the most amazing food invention ever.

My mom had a special egg poacher, presumably a 1970s wedding present, that even an eight year old could use. And did.

When I reached adulthood and had to poach my own eggs I panicked a bit. I don’t have one of those egg poachers!  How could I do this on my own!  Ack! For a few years I tried using a special pan that held the eggs over the water and this works fine. But, with my crap-there-is-too-much-stuff-in-my-kitchen-cabinets attitude, I thought I would learn to poach my eggs the good old fashion way. The way REAL chefs do it.

I start with heating the water over medium. One of the secrets is that you don’t want it to boil, but get nice and hot…

Like this. See all the tiny bubbles? That is when you know the water is ready. Update: I like to get my water a little hotter than this picture shows – so the tiny bubbles start to rise to the surface. Not all of them, just a few, bring it right before a simmer. Also, if I am just cooking one or two eggs, I like to use a pretty small pan.

While the water is heating, I crack my eggs into a bowl. At first, I thought I might have to put the eggs in separate bowls to keep them from commingling, but not the case. You can put them in one bowl if you want.

Then, I stir in a 1/4 teaspoon of white vinegar about a tablespoon of red wine vinegar for a small pan, 2 tablespoons for a bigger pan like this one.

At this point, I take a spatula/spoon and start stirring the water to create a whirlpool. As the water is still whirling, I slowly pour in one egg at a a time into the water. I decided I don’t like the whirlpool method. I just leave it and let the egg take a bath.

For thirty seconds, I do nothing and freak out a bit. This does not look right. The water gets cloudy, I worry that my eggs are going to be stuck together for good and I will ruin breakfast. But, I take a deep breath, and after thirty seconds, reach my spoon/spatula in the water and make sure the eggs aren’t stuck to the bottom of the pan. I also try to separate my eggs. You can separate the eggs later!

And it still looks like a giant mess. I never claimed poaching eggs was pretty.  But, after 4 minutes, I take them out of the pan with a slotted spoon and let them drain a bit on a paper towel.

See? Not a mess! Just, eggy goodness.

I butter my toast and gently transfer the eggs from the paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and I am on my way.

Who needs those stinkin’ egg pans cluttering up their cupboards anyway?