To ask for a fail proof poached egg method?

[monroeagogo]

My attempt this morning was abysmal again.

I tried the frying pan method yesterday and, even though it was non-stick, had a dreadful job getting stuck-on egg white off the bottom. I'm quite happy with mine using a deeper saucepan but just wanted to experiment!

Deep stainless steel pan
Boil kettle
Fill pan almost to top
Bring to boil, a happy boil where the bubbles roll from the side into the middle but don't cause foam or noise
Pour in a bit of white wine vinegar
Crack a fresh egg into a little bowl (never use old eggs or ones with very watery whites)
Swirl boiling water with a spoon
Tip bowl of egg into swirl close to the water quickly (if doing two pop next one in immediately after first)
Ask Google for a 3.5 minute timer (medium egg size)
Put a couple of bits of kitchen roll onto a plate
Fish out egg and pop onto kitchen roll
If any of the white looks bulky, poke with a knife to check it isn't retained water (never yoke poke!)
Pat gently with kitchen roll to dry off excess water
Done

3/4 cup of cold water into jug.
Crack egg into jug
Microwave for 60 secs.

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They are brilliant aren't they?

@BethDutton

I use an egg poaching pan. It can poach 4 eggs at a time, had it for about 10 years, it’s idiot proof.

I bought one recently but the whites were raw and the yolks were hard boiled. I followed the instructions.

How do you use your?

I boil water in a largish pan
Add vinegar
Swirl the water in one direction to get a whirlpool
Crack and drop eggs in
Lower the heat to as low as possible
4 mins

@DropYourSword

I do it a cheats way but I think it's delicious.

Get a non stick frying pan and fill it a few cms high with water. Heat on a medium low setting until bubbles form at the bottom of the pan and one or two bubbles slowly and gently make their way to the surface. You DON'T want over bubbly / boiling water. When the water is at this very gentle bubble crack your egg into the pan. Use a spatula to swoop water over the top of the egg to help cook the top of the egg. It'll take a few minutes to cook the white and the yolk will still be deliciously runny.
Never failed me yet.

This is what I was coming to say. It's never let me down - I tried swirling and vinegar and cling film and all sorts, but this is the only way I get reliably good poached eggs every time!

@DropYourSword

I do it a cheats way but I think it's delicious.

Get a non stick frying pan and fill it a few cms high with water. Heat on a medium low setting until bubbles form at the bottom of the pan and one or two bubbles slowly and gently make their way to the surface. You DON'T want over bubbly / boiling water. When the water is at this very gentle bubble crack your egg into the pan. Use a spatula to swoop water over the top of the egg to help cook the top of the egg. It'll take a few minutes to cook the white and the yolk will still be deliciously runny.
Never failed me yet.

This is my way too. Dunno how anyone breaks an egg straight into a pan of proper rolling boiling water (whirlpool or not!) and doesn’t end up with egg soup!

Room temperature very fresh eggs. Crack them into little dishes. Shallow water in pan brought to boil and then turned down. Tip in the eggs, put on a lid and remove pan from heat. Perfectly poached in four minutes.

Shallow non stick pan half filled with boiling water... on medium heat.
Carefully drop eggs in, 4 max. Ensure the water just covers them but no more.
Cook gently until done. If it's boiling rapidly the eggs will break up.
This way way is so easy.

Broke into boiling water as suggested and got egg soup

Managed to salvage something and, in fairness, tasted quite nice.

Ran out of bread so egg placed precariously on a bagel

The thing I've realised recently if using the whirlpool method, is that you need to let it slow down - almost to the point that it's only just going round - otherwise it just tears your egg apart. First time I tried this I ended up with a yolk bobbing around on its own in a saucepan of white bits!

Looks lovely OP. That's the method I use. Cook eggs til toast done. You just get practised. I just scoop up any escaped egg white as it also cooks. Plus you get that immense satisfaction when it goes right with no escaped egg! It's not 'soup' once cooked. I don't like using vinegar.

Don't ask me. There was an explosion sound from the direction of the microwave and it was internally splattered with egg.

I have never had broken yoke in years of putting into boiled water! Egg white, yes. I don't do the whirlpool though.

I started reading this thread and just fancied some poached eggs so just ate mine now on yummy seeded bread,poached for 3 mins in boiling water nice fresh eggs nothing else added, delicious.

We have poached eggs quite a bit, keeping our own chickens makes it pretty foolproof as the eggs as so fresh.

As eggs get older the whites become more watery, if you use the eggs as fresh as possible (ours tend to be poached at 1 or 2 days post laid) the whites stay together with no fancy tricks.

On the other hand older eggs boil better as fresh eggs are harder to peel.

I failed at poached eggs for ages until I saw a friend do about 5 at once and it blew my mind at how easily she did it.

Large saucepan, small slosh of white wine vinegar and lots of water.

Bring water to a rolling boil

Put however many eggs you need into a bowl. Best to use fresh eggs or the white frills out too much in the water.

When the water is boiling, tip the eggs in from the bowl. Tip them close to the water not from a height.

Boil for a couple of minutes - 4 minutes sounds too long. I don't tend to time them but judge by sight. Lifting them with a slotted spoon to check if I'm unsure.

My mother has just informed me that she lines a cup with cling film before cracking an egg I to it, then twists the top closed before dropping it in boiling water.
Quite how we got to poaching eggs from talking about paintwork is a mystery!

Fresh eggs, still warm from the hen' arse, large pan of simmering water, crack them in, wait about 3 mins. So easy.

Proper egg poaching pan

@Flipflopfoodle

Fresh eggs, still warm from the hen' arse, large pan of simmering water, crack them in, wait about 3 mins. So easy.

I live city centre. No chickens.

I have eggs most days and really don't like the frilly whites I get with poached or taste of vinegar so boil them in shells (large eggs 6 minutes into a pan of boiling water - perfect runny/soft yellow) and peel them before putting on toast. It's like the perfect poached without the mess or faff.

Chickens don't take up that much room if being in a City is what is putting you off (instead of the chicken poo and destroyed lawn!) I live in London, admittedly zone 5 but friends in zone 3 have chickens in their garden too and there are quite a few back garden chicken keepers in the Borough.

Delia Smith's method works for me. You boil the water, crack the egg in and simmer for a minute, then turn the heat off and wait for ten minutes with a lid on it. You might need to play with the wait time to get the perfect set for you.
But the key for poaching is a fresh egg as already mentioned. I would stick to soft-boiled otherwise.
Cooking in a ramekin is coddling and I think the issue is gravity - the yoke sits high and gets more heat than the white. Maybe warming the ramekin first would eliminate this issue, if you want to keep using that method.