Poached eggs - having trouble

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Jeni78

Senior Cook
Joined
Mar 31, 2008
Messages
322
Location
Minnesota
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
 
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.
 
Poaching is at around 180F, not in boiling water. Use a thermometer until you get the hang of it.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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."
 

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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!
:)
 
I think you could cut the top and bottom off tuna cans (and remove the tuna) and use those to contain the eggs during poaching.
 
Thanks a ton for your tips!

I especially feel better after finding out that they make "poach pods" - that tells me there is a demand for help in this particular egg-making area.
 
I think you could cut the top and bottom off tuna cans (and remove the tuna) and use those to contain the eggs during poaching.
good idea thats what my aunt did many years ago. but now that they make cans with rounded bottoms so they stack better you can't remove the bottoms that easily any more.
 
Thanks a ton for your tips!

I especially feel better after finding out that they make "poach pods" - that tells me there is a demand for help in this particular egg-making area.
yeah!! i love poached eggs but rarely make them at home. i am going to buy those pods.
 
I watched Tyler Florence cook them on one of his show and they came out perfect.

He added some vingear about 1-2 tbl. to the boiling water and then turned it down to a simmer. Just before he added the egg he took a wooden spoon handle and swirled in the water to make like whirlpool -- a fast one- a gentle one and then dropped it in the middle of it and it all stayed together and looked great. He also used a fairly deep pot not a shallow pan.
 
Hi all, just an update.

So after many ruined eggs. I realized that until I have a flatter cooking surface (the large burners are off, the small ones aren't but then the eggs don't cook), I need to cheat a little.

So I bought this item at a cooking store. It was $4 and in the baking section. I figure I can also cut biscuits with it, little cakes and cookies. I looked at the cooking pods but they want 2 for $12 and they weren't in my color. :)

So, my poaching has become loads better, I just need to make sure the eggs set up well enough before I take the circle out.
 

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Hi all, just an update.

So after many ruined eggs. I realized that until I have a flatter cooking surface (the large burners are off, the small ones aren't but then the eggs don't cook), I need to cheat a little.

So I bought this item at a cooking store. It was $4 and in the baking section. I figure I can also cut biscuits with it, little cakes and cookies. I looked at the cooking pods but they want 2 for $12 and they weren't in my color. :)

So, my poaching has become loads better, I just need to make sure the eggs set up well enough before I take the circle out.
good job!! i used to use tuna cans but lost them in a move and now that they make all the cans with one end rounded i can't take both ends off. so those are tall biscuit/cookie cutters?
 
I think it might be for baking fancy cakes. I don't know, there was no description, just a price tag.
 

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