For the longest time, I couldn’t poach an egg. It was frustrating because I love to eat poached eggs but can only have them in restaurants. But now, I’ve figured it out (hint: shallow pan + vinegar!). Poached egg is the purest way of eating an egg – no oil, no butter, just delicious eggy goodness. And because it’s an egg, it’s super cheap – less than $0.25 per poached egg. I just poached an egg (the most perfect looking egg I’ve ever poached) and have captured it in pictures for posterity.
So here is my step-by-step guide of how to poach a perfect egg:
1. Fill a small and shallow saucepan (2-3 inches deep) with water. Put on a gentle boil (small bubbles in the water). Just remember, the smaller the saucepan, the easier it will be for you to control the water temperature.
2. Pour 2 tablespoons of white vinegar into the water. The vinegar will help the egg whites stay together.
3. Break an egg into a small bowl or cup.
4. Gently slide the egg from the bowl into the saucepan. The egg will come to rest at the bottom of the saucepan – this is another reason why a shallow pan works best.
5. Use spatula to push egg whites towards the center of the egg. This makes the egg look pretty and collected. Then let egg sit in simmering water for ~3 minutes until the egg whites are firm. ***NOTE: if your pan is very shallow like mine (around 1.5 inches), the top of the egg doesn’t quite get cooked. So you may have to carefully flip the egg over to ensure the egg whites are all cooked. Use a spatula and a spoon for this task. Take care not to break the yolk.
6. Use a slotted spoon to lift egg out of water bath. (I don’t have a slotted spoon, so I just use a wooden spatula and a spoon to carefully get the egg out of the bath). If you’d like, you can use a paper towel to pat the egg dry.
7. Garnish with your choice of seasoning. (I used pepper and garlic salt)
8. Break into the egg. Rejoice as the yolk flows out like a pool of sunshine. Enjoy!
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… you are SO my heroine right now.
Trying it out tomorrow. That looks goooood.
My gosh. Look at you: a food blogger! Love it!
That looks delish! I’m now sad that I just had veggies for dinner, because I would have made that (maybe not as pretty, but…
yum!
woo! I am going to try this v. soon. I love a nice soft egg. Now that I know how to make a hollandaise, I think I have eggs benedict in my future (but with homemade powder biscuits).
My mom juuust told me about this vinigar trick when we were out camping a couple of months ago. Fantastic idea to share it with everyone!
That looks so yummy! So good in fact I am picking up some eggs on my next grocery trip.
wow, that takes some skill! Have you checked out the egg-poaching pans that come with four non-stick egg holders? You just pour in the egg (or four) and it’s self-contained (water under the holders does the poaching) and you just pop them out when they’re done. I have one and it’s really nice, but you might not want to waste your newly acquired skills…
i love poached eggs! ive been making poached eggs too and its so simple and so perfect!
OMG it’s beautiful! Thank you for posting … maybe now I can get it right!
Better than a shallow pan is a regular 1 quart pot. Same instructions up to #4, except now:
#4 swirl the water with a spoon
#5 pour egg into the center of the swirl
#6 Remove after 3 minutes.
You don’t have to worry about the pan being too shallow and not covering the egg. Also you don’t have to jockey the egg whites into position as the swirling water wraps the egg white around the yolk. No fussing with the egg once you pour it into the water!
I love a girl who likes to talk about breakfast!