Deelicious Recipes: Poached Eggs, the Dee Method

Nom!

Ciao all!

I made poached eggs and bacon for The Boyfriend for breakfast yesterday, and being the little Millennial that I am, I posted a picture of it on Facebook. A friend asked me how I poach eggs, so I figured I'd just post it on Bite Me.

Now, poached eggs have a reputation for being complicated. I first attempted it after watching Amy Adams try it in Julie and Julia, the one movie I can stand her in. My compulsive researching saved the day, and I found a method that works for me!

I will say this, though. Poaching an egg isn't like scrambling or frying. It does take a bit more method and attention than that. I'm not saying it's hard. It's dropping an egg into hot water, not de-boning a quail. But you have to keep an eye on it. They are ridiculously easy to overcook, and the conditions have to be fairly specific. However, oh, my God, guys, they are so worth it. Poached eggs are delicious. The yoke is so thick and velvety and rich. Dip some buttered toast in that, ah, forget about it. This is by far my favourite way to have eggs so far.*

Without further ado, poached deliciousness.

1 egg (real cooks can make more than one poached egg at a time, but each time I've tried to do it in the same pan, it ends up a cloudy, slimy mess. If I cook more than one poached egg, it's with two saucepans)
1 small saucepan
1 splash distilled white vinegar (yes, another nonmeasurement.)
A thermometer
A slotted spoon
Water!
A stove!

Some quick notes on the eggs:

First, make sure your egg is fresh. I'm talking first few days in the fridge fresh. If you wait too long--a week or so--they will not poach correctly. You'll just have a saucepan of cloudy water with a sad little egg yolk drifting destitute through the fog like a ghost ship.

Secondly, make sure your egg is room temperature. Not sure why in this case, it's just what my research told me and I've done it every time.

Thirdly, crack your egg into a glass until you're ready for it. It keeps the yolk and white gathered together. If you crack the egg directly into the saucepan, the white may detach from the yolk.

Adesso,

Fill the small saucepan a little more than halfway with water and a splash of vinegar. Just a small splash will do--vinegar helps keep the egg and whites bound together, but if you put in too much, that's all you'll taste. Set the burner on medium high. You do not want the water to boil. You'll hard boil that sucker in a second. Use the thermometer to check the water until it's 160-165 F. Then it's ready for your egg.

Before you drop your egg in, use the slotted spoon to create a little water tornado. This is not just to hearken you back to your little kid playing in the bathtub days, it's another way to assure the binding of the yolks and whites. As you can probably tell, this is the big challenge of poached eggs.

Drop the egg into the tornado. Giggling as it swirls around like Dorothy's house is optional.

Now, don't keep stirring. Leave the egg alone as it settles. You should see the whites solidifying and encompassing the yolk.

Most of my research says that the egg should be ready in 5-7 minutes. I'm paranoid, so I tend to check the egg, scooping it into the slotted spoon and poking at the yolk until it bounces with just a little firmness. But 5-7 minutes is usually all right if you make sure the water temperature isn't increasing too much. You can remedy this by turning down the burner just a wee bit as the egg cooks.

After the egg is done, fish it out of the water with the slotted spoon. I like to gently dry it off on a paper town for a second and then place it on a bed of buttered toast with a little kosher salt and pepper sprinkled on top. 

Also, drying off the egg will help get rid of the vinegar taste if you used a bit too much.

Nom intensively.

And there you have it! Again, poached eggs can be a little tricky. Below is a picture of the first time I did it (hell yes I took a picture of it) and I did overcook it a little. If you overcook it, you've just made a hardboiled egg the fancy way. It may take a few tries, but soon you'll get the rich delicious yolk that makes poached eggs so amazing.

Overcooked a smidge.
Also, a second slice of toast in dunkable pieces is
highly recommended.

Good luck in your breakfast endeavours!






*I add so far because I have yet to try Eggs Benedict...I hear Eggs Benny is redonk.
.....that was a How I Met Your Mother reference.

A side note--doing a post on eggs makes me want to watch the mildly entertaining Runaway Bride. There's a conversation about couples and how each one likes their eggs. Well, now you guys know mine!