Easter is coming up and that means Sunday brunch and meals with eggs. Eggs are usually pretty easy to make, but one way to cook eggs that can be a challenge is poaching. Poaching is done by simmering food in a liquid, usually water, milk, wine or stock.
This is a process for cooking that is usually done on foods like eggs, fish, chicken and fruits that can easily be dried out or fall apart when cooking. Poaching eggs can be easy and inexpensive to start with when learning how to use this kind of technique in the kitchen.
First get some fresh eggs. You can test the freshness of your eggs by simply placing an egg in a cup of cold water, enough to cover the egg and then some. If the egg lies on it’s side on the bottom, this means there is very little air inside and therefore is very fresh. If the egg stands up and bounces lightly along the bottom, this means there is more air and it’s not as fresh. If the egg floats, toss it out, it’s too old to be eaten.
Next, boil some water in a pan that is deep enough to fully submerge the egg. Once the water is boiling turn it down to just under medium heat and let it cool to a simmer. Add a little bit of vinegar (1 or two tablespoons will work) to the water.
Crack the egg into a bowl. A good way to try and keep from getting shell in the egg is by cracking the egg on a flat surface rather than a sharp one.
Take a spoon and stir the water in the pan, forcing it to make a whirlpool. While the water is still moving pour the raw egg into the center of the pan. Notice that the moving water wraps the white around the yolk and creates a “sack” around the yolk. Allow this to cook just a couple of minutes in the warm water. Don’t turn up the heat, it will cook just fine. If you prefer your yolks to be harder leave it in longer.
Use a slotted spoon to scoop the egg out of the pan, letting the water drain before placing it on your plate. Here is a quick video showing the process!
31. March 2010 at 4:07 am
I’ve never seen the whirlpool technique with the water. It doesn’t seem like something you would want to try if you were making eggs for more than one person but it sure looks neat.
31. March 2010 at 7:51 am
I did one egg at a time. I don’t think I would want to make a lot of them with this technique either, they’d probably get stuck together
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21. March 2012 at 8:45 pm
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