Poached Eggs

Hi! I’m Andy

Welcome to my kitchen.
I hope to inspire you to grow as a home cook!

Poached eggs can be a finicky thing. We all have a memory of trying to poach a few eggs for brunch only to have them turn into thin, stingy balls floating around in a foamy, murky pot of water. Not ideal. What if I were to tell you I have a few hacks to make sure they’re perfect every time? You’ll have to see for yourself and give it a try! 

Freshly poached eggs being placed in a toasted English muffin.

What do I need to do to poach the perfect egg?

All you need is a few simple kitchen tools you most likely already have. 

Large Pot- We want there to be a decent amount of water and room for these eggs to poach. A small pot will make it harder to get all of your eggs in. 

Slotted Spoon- When we take them out of the water, we want as much of the water to drain off. A good slotted spoon is going to help. You can place them on a sheet of paper towel to help absorb all of the water. I find it can be a pain to get them off the paper and onto your plate without breaking the yolk.

Fine Mesh Strainer or Sieve- This is the key. It’s what’s going to keep your eggs nice and clean! 

If you wanted to up your kitchen tools, and support the team, here is the Mesh Strainer I used for this recipe!

A close up shot of a poached egg being taken out of the water.

Should I strain my eggs?

The answer is YES!

I’ve been seeing people do this trick for a while now, and I always thought it was just one of those silly kitchen tricks that doesn’t really do anything, how wrong I was. 

Around your egg yolk, there’s the egg white, and around that is an even thinner layer of egg white. 

When we poach an egg, we often see those thin strands of egg white break apart in the water, making the egg stingy and the water murky. By using the strainer, we remove that outer layer. The larger egg white stays intact and poaches perfectly. 

It’s one extra step, but my word does it ever work wonders. Take the extra few seconds to strain off your egg and do it right!

Does using vinegar even do anything for poached eggs?

Once again, the answer is YES! 

This is another one of those tricks that people seem to be pretty divided on. I find if you put too much vinegar in the water, you run the risk of your eggs tasting really….. eggy. 

In a large pot of water, 2 tbsp is enough for it to work its magic. 

Vinegar is very acidic. When you add something like an egg white to something acidic, it starts to basically cook. Firming up and turning white. 

We want that to happen when poaching eggs because we want those egg whites to firm up almost immediately, so it keeps its shape and won’t explode in the pot. 

Taking a look at the photos in the blog, the water is almost clear, that’s partly from the vinegar and the straining process we talked about. If that’s not enough proof then I can’t help you! 

A close up shot of an egg being poached in a clean looking bath of water.

If you liked these poached eggs, here are a few other recipes I think you should check out!

Hollandaise

Asparagus, potato, spinach frittata

Freezable Breakfast Burritos

Recipe

A close up of Poached Eggs being placed in a English muffin and bacon.

Poached Eggs

Ingredients:  

  • 6 Eggs
  • 2 Tbsp White Vinegar
  • 8 cups Water

ECK

Instructions: 

  • Start by adding 8 cups of water to a large pot set over medium-low heat. Let it reach a very light simmer. Add in 2 tbsp of white vinegar and stir.
  • Crack each egg one at a time into a fine mesh strainer and move it around, letting the egg glide over the mesh. You should see a very thin layer of egg white pass through. Place each egg in to a small ramekin.
  • With a spoon or whisk, make a "tornado" in the water and gently drop in your eggs one at a time. Wait a few seconds before you add in the next egg.
  • Gently poach for 2-3 for soft, 3-4 for medium. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon and serve hot.

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