7.7.11

Poached eggs


I was listening to a KCRW Good Food podcast. Russ Parsons came on, started talking about eggs, and said that he considered poaching a fuss. That he admired people who poached but that it was a step too far for weekday cooking.
I shook my head in incomprehension.
And then next time I made poached eggs it came to mind, and I wondered afresh, how someone as great as Russ can possibly find poaching eggs too much.
Hubris led me to crack an egg too quickly, and drop it from too high, and it broke.
But apart from that, poaching eggs is a cinch, and I will write down the method below, and entreat you all to poach away. It´s simple, really.

Put a pan on the fire with an inch of water and bring it to the boil. No vinegar, no nothin´. It can be a frying pan, which makes it easier to take the eggs out, but anything is fine.

When it´s boiling, crack an egg into the water. No swirling, no putting the egg in a bowl, no nothin´. Fresh eggs poach more neatly, as the whites spread out less, but who cares?

Add all the eggs you want, but no more than four at a time for a 20 cm wide pan. Be sensible.

Turn the fire down, cover the pot and leave for a minute or so, until the white is cooked.

Now take the eggs out with a strainer, drain on a kitchen towel and serve. If you are very much into presentation, trim any straggly white bigs so it looks round and concise.

Or, and this is my favourite thing about poached eggs, put them in a bowl of cold water. They will keep there for days, in the fridge, if need be. Makes brunch preparations all the easier, but is also handy if you are given some very fresh wonderful farm fresh eggs. Cook them at once and enjoy them over the next few days.

Seriously, it´s that simple.

5 comentarios:

Katie, Julep and Derby's Mom dijo...

I agree - these will keep for a few days in the frig! Have a great day and all the best, Katie from
www.westiejulep.blogspot.com

EB of SpiceDish dijo...

I don't know why but poached eggs scare me. Guess I'm a wuss.

Pille dijo...

Oh, I do like that swirling bit a lot, though I'm sure it works without as well.
And our secret to poaching eggs is to use superfresh eggs. Like - I'm bringing those still-warm-eggs inside and poach them right now. :)

Amy Sherman dijo...

Ok I use vinegar and I swirl but still, it's easy as can be and I cannot imagine why so many people freak out over poaching eggs (Clotilde is another one who won't do it without little cups or something).

Anónimo dijo...

Hey sweetie - get yourself a microwave egg cooker (they sometimes look like really big eyeglass cases). Be sure to clean and dry it well. Break an egg into each well. Pierce the yolk (which may or may not prevent a mini-"explosion" during cooking, hence the cover). You have to monitor and gauge your nuker to see how long it takes, but always check about 10 seconds prior, since different water content and volume per egg can affect the time it takes to soft-cook them.

Basically, an average microwave will take about a minute or so to render the whites cooked softly with a hot, liquid golden center. If the eggs are slightly undercooked, keeping them in the closed case for 10 seconds or so may complete the cooking process. Occasionally, you'll get a harder yolk, but - no water, no boiling, no vinegar, no washing a pan and...quick!

I like to butter some toast and rip it into pieces into a bowl, add the hot eggs, some salt-n-pepper and mix it all into one of the most divine though quite homely breakfasts. Kids make us move faster. -N

Share