Less messy way to poach an egg (less cleanup)

[Kayelle]

I really, really, really want to try your method right now, Kay, except it's late, and we've already had dinner.

Guess what DH gets for lunch tomorrow? He gets to be experimented on!

Hee Hee, I was wanting a little snack mid day so I did it again..carb free, high protein low cal. and delicious. Beats a bag of chips.
It's important to slip the egg into the water with another custard cup so the white goes to the bottom so the egg doesn't stick.

 

[Andy M.]

I'm going to give the microwave method a try, Kayelle. Thanks.

 

[Caslon]

I never thought of that (not using a rolling boil). Seems a cool egg from the fridge would take twice as long to poach. Ha! I have my corned beef hash near ready to serve, so I boil the egg right before then. I guess my timing is off. It turns out ok...sooner, but the cleanup is harder.

There's got to be an easier quicker way than that, and I thank Kayelle for her video post.

 

[Cheryl J]

Mmmm...poached eggs.

I've always used the vortex method - a saucepan of simmering water, a tsp or two of vinegar, and a pinch of salt. Put the cold cracked egg in a cup and pour into the vortex, let it swirl a bit, turn off heat, cover, wait 5 minutes and scoop it out onto an English muffin. I don't mind cleaning one pan.

I'll try the microwave method that Kay posted tomorrow. It's been a while since I've had a poached egg - the plus sides are learning a new way and being able to eat my experiments.

 

[CrazyCatLady]

That microwave method works!

What's also great is that you can fry up a sausage patty while it's cooking, and bacon too.

 

[Josie1945]

A little bit of eggy water in a custard cup is a no big deal thing to wash. The directions for the microwave has worked perfectly hundreds of times for me.

Kayelle, I just used your method
and it worked perfectly
Thank you,thank you !!!!!

Josie

 

[Andy M.]

... Kayelle, I just used your method and it worked perfectly
Thank you,thank you !!!!!

Josie

I did too! You have to adjust the time based on the power level of your microwave (I needed 60 seconds). I made two eggs one at a time. Changed the water for the second egg.

Thanks for the idea!

 

[Cheryl J]

Looks like it'll be poached eggs for dinner this evening, using the microwave method!

 

[Kayelle]

You're so welcome Josie and Andy, and thanks for the report.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

You should not be boiling a poached egg. You should be poaching it. That means the water should be hot but not moving. The egg white shouldn't be disturbed and turned into foam.

+2. Poaching the perfect egg - Heat sufficient water to cover the eggs completely until it just starts to boil. Add 1 tbs. salt to season the egg. Turn your stove temperature down until the water is still. Beak the eggs into a shallow ladle, then slowly slide them from the ladle into the pan. Let sit in the hot water until the whites are firm. Remove with a slotted spoon. I've been successfully using this method for a couple of years now.

The same principle works for egg-drop soup. The egg is beaten, and seasoned, then slowly drizzled in soup that is not moving. This allows the egg to for long strands of cooked goodness in the soup.

Eggs begin to set at around 180' F., far lower than the 212'F. that it take to bring water to a boil.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[GotGarlic]

+2. Poaching the perfect egg - Heat sufficient water to cover the eggs completely until it just starts to boil. Add 1 tbs. salt to season the egg. Turn your stove temperature down until the water is still. Beak the eggs into a shallow ladle, then slowly slide them from the ladle into the pan. Let sit in the hot water until the whites are firm. Remove with a slotted spoon. I've been successfully using this method for a couple of years now.

The same principle works for egg-drop soup. The egg is beaten, and seasoned, then slowly drizzled in soup that is not moving. This allows the egg to for long strands of cooked goodness in the soup.

Eggs begin to set at around 180' F., far lower than the 212'F. that it take to bring water to a boil.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

Thank you for the confirmation, Chief

 

[Kayelle]

Chief and GG I would agree and do them that way if I'm doing more than one, say for Eggs Benedict for several plates. If I'm only doing one egg, the microwave method works great as the original question was an easy method of how to do just one.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Kayelle,

You have another convert to the miracle of microwave poached eggs!

I had to wait to try your method until I went to the store to get a loaf of bread so I could make some toast soldiers to go along with my perfectly poached egg. I used Pepperidge Farm, Very Thin, 100% whole wheat bread at 6 net carbs per slice.

I need a slice of bread every now and then to make me feel like I'm still in the game!

Pepperidge Farm® - Very Thin 100% Whole Wheat Bread

Thanks B

 

[GotGarlic]

Chief and GG I would agree and do them that way if I'm doing more than one, say for Eggs Benedict for several plates. If I'm only doing one egg, the microwave method works great as the original question was an easy method of how to do just one.

I absolutely agree the microwave method seems to be the best way to do one egg (I haven’t tried it yet because we're out of town). I was just commenting again on poaching vs. boiling.

 

[Andy M.]

It would take a couple of tries but I'm sure you could do two eggs in one dish. You'd just have to make sure there was enough water to cover the eggs then just experiment with the microwave times.

When SO and I have poached eggs, we have two each so I'd probably go with the traditional method.

 

[Kayelle]

It would take a couple of tries but I'm sure you could do two eggs in one dish. You'd just have to make sure there was enough water to cover the eggs then just experiment with the microwave times.

When SO and I have poached eggs, we have two each so I'd probably go with the traditional method.

You're right on all counts Andy, and I've done two at a time in a larger dish with water covering but I don't recommend it for experimenting with the method for the first time. Those particular video instructions have a never fail single egg method for first timers.

Great tip on the bread Bea! Yep, I'd be willing to spend 5g of carbs!

 

[Caslon]

Caslon, I've been using this method for years when I heard it here first.

So...he says he used that other smaller bowl for this video purpose and that he didn't want the egg sticking to the bottom of the microwave bowl. Can you just slowly crack the egg into the water? Can I skip having to use that smaller bowl?

 

[Kayelle]

So...he says he used that other smaller bowl for this video purpose and that he didn't want the egg sticking to the bottom of the microwave bowl. Can you just slowly crack the egg into the water? Can I skip having to use that smaller bowl?

Caslon, the point is to have the white enter the water bowl first to keep the yolk from the bottom of the bowl, to avoid the yolk sticking to the bottom. That's the fail proof method, but if you don't want to use a small bowl to do that, you could separate the egg in the classic method, with the yolk on top of the white in the water. Either way will work perfectly.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

...When SO and I have poached eggs, we have two each so I'd probably go with the traditional method.

When I read your comment, it reminded me of a Serious Eats article I saw on how to poach eggs for a party. You have just a "party of two", but I thought the steamer basket was a novel idea. Maybe you, or anyone who needs to poach more than a couple eggs, might want to try this one. I found it interesting, too, that you can keep poached eggs fresh in a water bath for a number of days.

How to Poach Eggs for a Party

I've seen Sara Mouton do the drain-the-water thing when she's poached eggs. I can't believe the difference between fresh eggs and aged ones when it comes to retained water.

 

[Andy M.]

Thanks for the tip, CG. Using the steamer basket instead of a slotted spoon is a good idea for a larger quantity of eggs. I knew about storing poached eggs in water. My good TV buddy, Jacques Pepin taught me that.