I seem to be in a perpetual rush these days. Working freelance on, gawd, at least 5 projects at a time along with running a business, a family and occasionally making vague attempts to be a half-decent girlfriend.So, it's no surprise that these busy times have borne witness to me perfecting the art of the poached egg!
Eggs are amazing! Full of protein; these little beauties are perfect for a quick pick-me-up if you're a gal or guy on the run!
In order to get the most out of your poaching experience (yes, experience!) I suggest the following method:
- Boil your water until it's really bubbling. Add one capful of white wine vinegar (no more) to the water and stir vigoriously.
- Leave the water to settle for a moment and get your egg ready (I do this by cracking it into an egg cup to avoid that tricky crack-egg-whilst-stirring-water issue).
- When you're ready, and the water is still bubbling, stir the water in a clockwise direction and, once you have a "whirlpool" effect, stop stirring and immediately pour the egg in, following the flow of the swirling water.
- Now, you want to turn the heat down to half what it was otherwise the bubbling water will mess up the "mozzerella ball" effect of the cooking process.
- Let the egg cook for exactly two minutes then remove.
- Rest the egg for a further minute then it's ready to eat. Enjoy!
My mum is a poached egg master (or mistress) but I could never get the hang of it. Bough some Poachpods last week and they changed my life! Om nom nom.
ReplyDeleteI love eggs. They are one of my most favouritest (is that a word?) things ever. But I always go for fried, scrambled or boiled. Never poached. Maybe I can use your tips, and tackle the so-called tricky poached egg.
ReplyDeleteThanks lovely.x.
I'm a poached egg geek! The reason poached eggs are so difficult to get right is simply because eggs from the supermarket are too old to poach well. For all you fact fans out there, an egg white actually starts out very firm and becomes runnier as the egg ages. The best way to achieve the perfectly poached egg is to start with an egg no more than about 5 days old (sorry folks, you won't find these in the supermarket), you then need a shallow pan of water that is barely simmering, if it boils too fast your egg will float about like a mad jellyfish with egg white tentacles, when your water is just simmering carefully crack your egg in. You don't need to add vinegar (which firms the egg white) or swirl as your egg white will naturally be firm enough to hold it's shape. Keep the water barely simmering for exactly 3 minutes, then eat and enjoy! :)
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