Poached eggs - having trouble

[Jeni78]

Hi all,

I realize this is potentially one of the easiest things to do but for some reason I have yet to be successful.

I boil 2 inches of water, then slide the egg into it via small glass.

The white ALWAYS breaks up and goes everywhere.

Can anyone please tell me what I am doing wrong, or some tips?

I really like poached eggs.

Thanks

[Mama]

Here's a great video

YouTube - How to Poach Eggs

[Andy M.]

A splash of white vinegar in the water will help set the whites more quickly so they won't spread.

I have also seen where you use a wooden spoon handle or similar to swirl a small whirlpool in the water and drop the egg into that so the swirling water contains the white.

Practice makes perfect.

[SRL]

Poaching is at around 180F, not in boiling water. Use a thermometer until you get the hang of it.

[Jeni78]

Thanks so much! I'm going to try again tomorrow morning.

[lyndalou]

I saw someone on t.v. do it this way. He(she?) punctured one end of the egg with a pin and then dropped the egg into the water for just a few seconds. Next the egg was cracked into the hot water, as usual. She (he?) claimed that this method starts the white cooking just a bit and helps it to stay together. I've not tried it, but wonder if it really would work for you and me.

[sparrowgrass]

Fresher eggs might help, too.

[JMediger]

I'm with Andy, a splash of vinegar (we use apple cider vinegar) keeps ours together. There are always a few tendrils in the water but not many.

[Jeni78]

Thanks everyone! I tried again and was a little more successful - sort of.

I didn't try the vinegar yet though so perhaps thats tomorrow.

I hate wasting food so I don't just want to cook a bunch of eggs and not use them.

The video did not work out for me. I potentially don't have the right container - the egg did not set inside of the glass.

I think one of my problems is that I have an electric stove (renting) and none of the burners lie completely flat.

Turning the heat down to stop the boiling really helped!

Anywho, here is my progress and here is breakfast "salad."

[SRL]

The water needs to be just a little bit deeper than that, or you can spoon a little of the hot water over the yolk as the egg cooks to baste the top of the yolk, but otherwise 2 out of 3 look fine. There is always going to be some albumin left in the water, since it is water-soluble and it gets thinner and runnier as the eggs age.

The suggestions to add something acidic will help set the outer portion of the egg white faster --- depending on how sensitive your palate is, you might find that acceptable. Otherwise, just experiment with temperature and technique and practice will make perfect!