BreezyCooking
Washing Up
Okay - almost perfect. But no need for vinegar, separate little egg-pouring dishes, special poached egg pans, fresher than fresh eggs, yadayadayada.
I can't believe I'd never come across this method before, which is credited to Julia Child, but apparently has now run amok on the internet. She does mention it in her book "The Way To Cook", but I'm not absolutely sure she invented it based on all the versions I found on the internet. Regardless, outside of the time when I was raising my own chickens & was able to get eggs fresh from the hen's - ahem - butt, this is the first time I made poached eggs that I really felt proud of. And so darn EASY! Anyway, here's the version I used this morning for my Eggs Benedict (which is a bit different from the versions I glommed from the internet):
Bring a coverable nonstick pan of water (enough to completely cover the eggs in shell in a single layer) to a boil. Pierce the large end of each egg with an egg piercer or large pin or similar instrument & place in the boiling water. After JUST 20-25 SECONDS, remove the eggs & place in a paper-towel-lined bowl to cool until you're just able to handle them. Reduce boiling water to a bare simmer & then CAREFULLY crack each egg & break & release as close to the surface of the water as possible.
Immediately cover pot, reduce heat to lowest setting & start timing: 3 minutes for medium-soft; 5 minutes for firm through. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon, resting each spooned egg briefly on a paper towel to drain, & serve.
The reason this works so fabulously well is that the initial brief in-shell plunge into boiling water coagulates the egg white just enough to keep it from spinning out of control like normally happens when poaching eggs the regular way, but doesn't actually cook it.
I have a feeling I'll be making more poached eggs than I used to!!!
I can't believe I'd never come across this method before, which is credited to Julia Child, but apparently has now run amok on the internet. She does mention it in her book "The Way To Cook", but I'm not absolutely sure she invented it based on all the versions I found on the internet. Regardless, outside of the time when I was raising my own chickens & was able to get eggs fresh from the hen's - ahem - butt, this is the first time I made poached eggs that I really felt proud of. And so darn EASY! Anyway, here's the version I used this morning for my Eggs Benedict (which is a bit different from the versions I glommed from the internet):
Bring a coverable nonstick pan of water (enough to completely cover the eggs in shell in a single layer) to a boil. Pierce the large end of each egg with an egg piercer or large pin or similar instrument & place in the boiling water. After JUST 20-25 SECONDS, remove the eggs & place in a paper-towel-lined bowl to cool until you're just able to handle them. Reduce boiling water to a bare simmer & then CAREFULLY crack each egg & break & release as close to the surface of the water as possible.
Immediately cover pot, reduce heat to lowest setting & start timing: 3 minutes for medium-soft; 5 minutes for firm through. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon, resting each spooned egg briefly on a paper towel to drain, & serve.
The reason this works so fabulously well is that the initial brief in-shell plunge into boiling water coagulates the egg white just enough to keep it from spinning out of control like normally happens when poaching eggs the regular way, but doesn't actually cook it.
I have a feeling I'll be making more poached eggs than I used to!!!
