How to poach an egg.
Posted by Gina on Oct 31, 2008
Hi Gina,
I had a delicious salad prepared by a chef friend of mine and would love to recreate it - I figured out how to put all the pieces together - except for poaching the egg to put on top.
My egg was overcooked and didn’t hold up in the water, bits of white boiled off. How do I keep it from turning into Egg Drop Soup? Thanks. -Egg-girl
A poached egg has a wonderful delicate texture and appearance that makes any dish look elegant. There are definitely some tricks you need to know to be able to poach an egg. Let’s break it down:
1. fill a medium size pot half way with water
2. add a small splash of vinegar (the acid helps the protein in the egg coagulate quickly)
3. add some salt to season the water
4. bring the water to a simmer (the surface of the water is shimmering but there are no large bubbles surfacing)
5. crack the egg into a small glass (don’t skip this step!)
6. use a spoon and stir the water to make it swirl in one direction
7. lower the glass with the egg very close to the water and allow it to gently slip into the water.
The egg at this point will swirl around a bit and then begin to sink. The white of the egg will slowly begin to coagulate (come together) and this is exactly what you want. Use a spoon to gently keep the egg from sticking to the bottom. Poaching eggs requires your full attention once the egg is in the water but it and only takes 3-4 minutes. You can poach more than one egg at a time, but it this is easier if you use a bigger pot. Also, In addition to using a larger pot you’ll need to add the eggs one at a time and space them a minute or so apart. When the egg is ready, gently remove it with a slotted spoon. Make sure there isn’t any excess water on you spoon before adding the egg to your salad.
There you have it. I hope this doesn’t seem too daunting. Be prepared to have a few extra eggs on hand to get you though the learning curve. Poaching eggs is really interesting to watch because you can see the egg transform right before your eyes and the results are delicious!
How to boil an egg.
Posted by Gina on Feb 23, 2008
Maybe I’m an idiot for asking this. It seems like a simple task to most. I would like to know how to boil an egg. I always look this up on the internet to get the timing right but then I always forget what I did the next time I do it. Maybe if you had a little rhyme or something to help me remember that would be great. - Brian
This question is totally legit. There are so many ways to boil an egg that it’s hard to remember which method to use. I used to switch back and forth between three or four methods and I would often jumble them up resulting in over cooked eggs.
First, I want to define what a perfectly cooked egg means to me. The perfect boiled egg is all about the yolk. It should be a deep golden yellow with a creamy consistency. When an egg is boiled for too long the yolk becomes dry and crumbly and the color is pale yellow with a gray-greenish tinge around the edge, eww!
To achieve this wonderful boiled egg I speak of I suggest using the following method:
-place eggs in pan and cover with cold H2O
-add a pinch of salt (this is optional)
-bring eggs to a boil and allow to boil for 3 minutes (don’t start the timer until the water has come to a full boil)
-remove eggs from the water-allow eggs to cool down to room temperature (about 20 minutes)
-peel eggs under a small stream of running water (this helps the shell come off)
I have chosen this method because the 3 minute cooking time is short enough to keep my attention and the results are very good. Now, if you like your eggs a little harder in the center, let it cook for an additional minute or two, no biggie.
As for a rhyme… well, this is what I came up with:
just boil for 3
and rest 20 