I Can't Stop Eating: An Ode To Eggs [Poaching]
The egg looks simple. It is a humble creature, white or brown, and unassumingly smooth. It offers to us a blank canvas, beckoning to the cook to unlock its potential. And if there is one word to describe the egg and all it stands for, it is “potential.”
The Egg Farmer's Council of America would love me because, me? I love eggs. They are one of my favorite foods because they offer us so many choices of preparation, texture, simplicity, and, of course, complexity. If you want a simple egg, nothing beats the scrambled or hard-boiled varieties. Looking for a challenge? Grab the freshest eggs you can find and learn to poach a proper egg - trust me, you will never regret the mistakes it will take to reach poached perfection.
It is the poached egg I want to address today. There seems to be a lot of superstition and hullabaloo circulating about what will and won't work when poaching an egg. I can't speak to the chemistry of the process but I can tell you the method that, once I got it down, has never failed me.
You'll want to take a two-quart pan and fill it ¾ of the way with water. Set it to a boil, but not a knock-em-dead violent boil. Try the high side of medium to get your water going.
Here is our first debate point: is vinegar necessary? I've found that it's not but that I prefer to have a teaspoon or so in my water for stability. This is especially true if you can't say for certain just how fresh your eggs are.
PAUSE.
You may be asking yourself, Deidre, why all this talk about fresh eggs? Why does it matter?
First of all, it really really matters! Fresh eggs in this case are a huge advantage as the proteins in the whites will hold together better during cooking, making your finished poached egg larger, more uniform-looking, and easier to see and retrieve from the cooking pot. Save your older eggs for hard-boiling or for whipping into meringues.
RESUME.
You need need NEED to pre-crack those eggs into plastic cups, ramekins, mugs, anything from which you can pour them easily. The whites need a moment to reform what I have heard referred to as their “egg white cocoon” before being introduced to boiling water.
Speaking of which, that water should be boiling very gently by now. More than a simmer, but no violent riot of a boil is needed here.
Take a slotted spoon and stir a small vortex or tornado into the middle of the pan. Make it a good one, because it will have to last for the time needed to put down the spoon, pick up your cracked egg vessel(s), and pour the egg(s) into the center of the swirl. It's very likely that there will be some stringiness going on with your white. Unless you yanked this egg straight from the underside the laying hen, this is likely to happen to some degree. Don't panic! 90% of your egg is probably still in tact, forming a protein pocket around your precious yolk as you read this.
(Personally, I have never done more than two eggs at a time in one vortex, and no more than four in a pot total. I'll get back to you when I've gotten over this hump.)
Set your timer for 2:30 and watch those babies to keep the boil close in hand. Three minutes is generally agreed upon as the ideal time to poach an egg, but I like to watch them very closely. Never trust an egg, I say. They're wily.
You'll want paper towels at the ready as you fetch your eggs (poke them to test for gently firm whites but a jiggly yolk) with a slotted spoon. Deposit the warm eggs on the towels and gently pat them dry before serving.
If this is your first poached egg, I recommend you toast up some white or potato bread and have it at the ready for soaking up your yolk. You'll want to eat this egg sans-hollandaise or any other adulterations. A properly poached egg will feature a soft yet firm, fully cooked white (no runniness whatsoever) and a yolk that is runny with perhaps an outer halo that is slightly jelled. There is something rich and buttery and maybe a little sinful about a naked and perfectly cooked egg. But consider that you added no fats or oils whatsoever to this beautiful little jewel and revel in that first melty bite.
The poached egg is a magical food. It can be kept under refrigeration for about 2 days. I like to save these eggs to top a salad (the yolk will remain runny this way still, allowing it to act as a dressing on its own if you should desire). A poached egg, hot or cold, would go well with that $.99 bowl of ramen. Or, if you're like me and enjoy a side of fat with your fat, then go for the hollandaise!
That's another lesson, though, and one that I dread. I daresay that I have broken hollandaise as much as It has broken me.
Welcome to I Can't Stop Eating! Did you like it? Did you read it? Do you even like eggs? PROTIP: You need to answer "yes" for us to stay friends.
I've promised myself that I'll write more. It's long overdue. I don't have a proper food blog (yet. yet? yet.) so, for now dear readers, you're going to have to deal.
The Egg Farmer's Council of America would love me because, me? I love eggs. They are one of my favorite foods because they offer us so many choices of preparation, texture, simplicity, and, of course, complexity. If you want a simple egg, nothing beats the scrambled or hard-boiled varieties. Looking for a challenge? Grab the freshest eggs you can find and learn to poach a proper egg - trust me, you will never regret the mistakes it will take to reach poached perfection.
It is the poached egg I want to address today. There seems to be a lot of superstition and hullabaloo circulating about what will and won't work when poaching an egg. I can't speak to the chemistry of the process but I can tell you the method that, once I got it down, has never failed me.
You'll want to take a two-quart pan and fill it ¾ of the way with water. Set it to a boil, but not a knock-em-dead violent boil. Try the high side of medium to get your water going.
Here is our first debate point: is vinegar necessary? I've found that it's not but that I prefer to have a teaspoon or so in my water for stability. This is especially true if you can't say for certain just how fresh your eggs are.
PAUSE.
You may be asking yourself, Deidre, why all this talk about fresh eggs? Why does it matter?
First of all, it really really matters! Fresh eggs in this case are a huge advantage as the proteins in the whites will hold together better during cooking, making your finished poached egg larger, more uniform-looking, and easier to see and retrieve from the cooking pot. Save your older eggs for hard-boiling or for whipping into meringues.
RESUME.
You need need NEED to pre-crack those eggs into plastic cups, ramekins, mugs, anything from which you can pour them easily. The whites need a moment to reform what I have heard referred to as their “egg white cocoon” before being introduced to boiling water.
Speaking of which, that water should be boiling very gently by now. More than a simmer, but no violent riot of a boil is needed here.
Take a slotted spoon and stir a small vortex or tornado into the middle of the pan. Make it a good one, because it will have to last for the time needed to put down the spoon, pick up your cracked egg vessel(s), and pour the egg(s) into the center of the swirl. It's very likely that there will be some stringiness going on with your white. Unless you yanked this egg straight from the underside the laying hen, this is likely to happen to some degree. Don't panic! 90% of your egg is probably still in tact, forming a protein pocket around your precious yolk as you read this.
(Personally, I have never done more than two eggs at a time in one vortex, and no more than four in a pot total. I'll get back to you when I've gotten over this hump.)
Set your timer for 2:30 and watch those babies to keep the boil close in hand. Three minutes is generally agreed upon as the ideal time to poach an egg, but I like to watch them very closely. Never trust an egg, I say. They're wily.
You'll want paper towels at the ready as you fetch your eggs (poke them to test for gently firm whites but a jiggly yolk) with a slotted spoon. Deposit the warm eggs on the towels and gently pat them dry before serving.
If this is your first poached egg, I recommend you toast up some white or potato bread and have it at the ready for soaking up your yolk. You'll want to eat this egg sans-hollandaise or any other adulterations. A properly poached egg will feature a soft yet firm, fully cooked white (no runniness whatsoever) and a yolk that is runny with perhaps an outer halo that is slightly jelled. There is something rich and buttery and maybe a little sinful about a naked and perfectly cooked egg. But consider that you added no fats or oils whatsoever to this beautiful little jewel and revel in that first melty bite.
The poached egg is a magical food. It can be kept under refrigeration for about 2 days. I like to save these eggs to top a salad (the yolk will remain runny this way still, allowing it to act as a dressing on its own if you should desire). A poached egg, hot or cold, would go well with that $.99 bowl of ramen. Or, if you're like me and enjoy a side of fat with your fat, then go for the hollandaise!
That's another lesson, though, and one that I dread. I daresay that I have broken hollandaise as much as It has broken me.
Welcome to I Can't Stop Eating! Did you like it? Did you read it? Do you even like eggs? PROTIP: You need to answer "yes" for us to stay friends.
I've promised myself that I'll write more. It's long overdue. I don't have a proper food blog (yet. yet? yet.) so, for now dear readers, you're going to have to deal.