Poaching eggs is one of the easiest, quickest, and lowest calorie ways of preparing eggs, as there is no added fat. Poached eggs make great additions to salads, such as the French salad Lyonnaise, or sandwiches, or just served simply with toast and a little salt and pepper. Here are a few of our methods for how to poach an egg.
Easy Poached Eggs
Fresh eggs will be easier to poach (they'll hold together better) than older eggs. Vinegar is optional, it will help the eggs hold together, but if you don't like the taste, omit.
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INGREDIENTS
- Fresh eggs
- 1 to 2 teaspoons vinegar (rice vinegar works well) (optional)
Equipment needed
- Shallow saucepan with cover
- Slotted spoon
METHOD
1 First bring water in a saucepan to almost boiling. If the water is already boiling, lower the heat until it is no longer boiling. At this point, you can add one or two teaspoons of vinegar to the water, if you want. The vinegar will help the egg whites to congeal more easily. We use seasoned rice vinegar.
2 Working with the eggs one by one, crack an egg into a small cup, then place the cup near the surface of the hot water and gently drop the egg into the water. With a spoon, nudge the eggwhites closer to their yolks. This will help the egg whites hold together.
3 Turn off the heat. Cover. Let sit for 4 minutes, until the egg whites are cooked.
4 Lift eggs out of pan with a slotted spoon.
One trick to make the eggs stay somewhat contained is to take a ring from a mason jar and place it in the pan. Drop the egg over the mason jar ring and let it settle in the ring, then turn off the heat and cover.
Alternatively, the truly easiest way to make poached eggs is with anegg poacher.
Remove the cups you plan to use. Fill the bottom of the pan with 1/2 an inch of water. Bring to a boil. Crack an egg into one of the stick-free egg cups. Place in the cup holder in the pan. Cover. Wait 3-4 minutes and remove from heat. Lift up the handle of the egg cup and slide the poached egg out onto a plate. Sometimes we add a little dab of butter to the bottom of the egg cup before putting the raw egg into it to make it easier for the egg to slide out.