How to: Poach An Egg

Poached eggs have a bad reputation of being difficult to make. I love poached eggs and order them all of the time when we go out to breakfast. When I really wanted to make eggs benedict I decided to master the technique. I hate to say it… it's not hard to master. There are all these different ways to make them… do you use vinegar, do you not use vinegar… do you turn the heat off or do you leave it on, how do you know if it's too hot…. oh goodness! I'll give you the step by step that works for me. I will say that it can take a couple times to figure out the perfect timing for how you like them to your preference, but after you do it once you will find it very simple.

Here's what you need:

a fresh egg

a sauce pan

water

white vinegar (optional)

You want the egg to be fresh in order for the whites to fold over each other. If they are older the whites become thin and won't hold a nice shape if at all.

In terms of the vinegar. I have done it with and without and I honestly didn't see a difference. The vinegar is supposed to help the whites firm up, but then they can become too tough while you are waiting for the yolks to cook. I'm not a huge fan of the flavor the vinegar adds so I could either go without it, or if I wasn't sure about the freshness of my eggs I would do a small splash of the vinegar.

Here's how it works:

*Fill the pan about 2/3 full of water; you don't want it to be too shallow

*Bring the water to a boil and reduce to a light simmer

*Add vinegar if using

*Crack the egg in a separate small bowl

*With a wooden spoon swirl the water to create a whirlpool

*Pour the egg in the center of the pot and allow the water to swirl the egg whites so that they fold over the yolk

*Allow to gently cook until desired doneness… I check this by scooping it out with a slotted spoon and poking it (very technical I know)

*Once done you can scoop the egg out with a slotted spoon

As you can see in the picture the water become a little gross… that's normal… but still gross. At least at the end of it you have a rich and soft poached egg to add on top of basically anything to make it taste even better!