well, I'm 0 for 3 on the poached egg learning curve. I failed on Alton Brown, Alice

M

marilynfl

Moderator
Medrich and Charley's methods, but I haven't given up hope yet.

And to clarify, I'm using super-fresh eggs from the neighbors hens, so that is one potential issue that can be eliminated. I appear to be the big stumbling block here.

Alton's is the closest to the "add vinegar, salt and swirl method" which I've tried for years and finally gave up on.

Then I tried Alice's stripped down version. All I got from that was the perfect yolk consistency and a bit of firm egg white. The rest of the whites were just loose strands floating in the water and those are what I really want from a poached egg.

Charley's ended up exploding in the microwave, but I think that's probably a power issue. My microwave is 1050 watts...charley's, what's yours? A lower wattage would have been gentler, but at least my microwave is spotless now. The egg white totally congealed into one mass so that was good because that's the part I like. Yolk was a solid ball, like hard-boiled, so that part was a bust because I do like dipping a bit of toast in the runny stuff.

Up next? Jamie's cling-wrap, oil and egg all tied up and dropped in simmering water. I shall persevere.

 
I drop an egg in a tightly slotted spoon (or chinois) and let the watery whites

drip out. The lower the thicker white/yolk in in the boiling water, turn off heat and cover until they are done.

 
Try mine again . You want it to be full power, and I think mine may be more than that. For the

You loosely covered the cup, didn't you--and water completely covered the top of the egg--yes.
OK now another way to do it.
Use the ring from a two part jelly jar top. Bring water to a simmer. Drop the egg into the ring and cook, basting the top with hot water if necessary. Makes a perfect egg mcmuffin.

When swirling water, start the swirl, and drop the egg into the center of the "tornado/vortex".

 
are you expecting too much from your poached egg?

I mean the loose strands are going to be there in most cases but after you plate the eggs you can gently wipe those away with a paper towel along with any extra water.

I found no benefit in adding vinegar but in my unscientific tests adding some light oil (grapessed) seems to help give the eggs a smoother texture for some reason. Perhaps just from less friction in the swirling water on the smooth pan.

I tried the boil, turn off and let sit method and for me at least, I get better results both in the shape and consistency with the swirl method on medium heat. No vinegar, sometimes a little oil. For me in the sit method, what I end up with looks like a fried egg that was boiled. In the swirl method I get a little cacoon-ey pod egg...

I wonder if your water is really hard or soft and this has an effect? Also just because your eggs are fresh is not the only issue. If the eggs are fresh but the whites are loose then you will get the loose strings regardless.

When I crack the eggs into a shallow dish or bowl I will keep an eye out to just get the yolk and attached white and leave whatever extra white that I can in the shell. This helps minimize the loose whites. Also when I put the eggs into the water, I do so just above the surface of the water so they are gently transferred into the swirling water.

 
yes. covered with plate and covered with water. I heard a big pop 30 seconds in and should have

checked then, but I'm in test mode, so I wanted to follow directions first.

I'm still trying to find a saucepan that can hold 2" depth of water. That would have to be a HUGE saucepan.

 
I also like the straining method. Works great as I am usually cooking only 4 eggs. They can be

strained and each dropped into a small prep dish, all ready to go when the water is ready. They look really pretty when done.

 
Quite possible. My POV are cookbook images and those have probably been Photoshop'ed to within an

inch of their yolks.

 
I do my poached eggs in swirled water in an 8" saute pan. Not 2". I have done

wonderful poached eggs for 60 years.
The rings work wonderfully. I used to make egg mcmuffins for our children for breakfast.

 
SCORE!! Two perfect poached eggs, albeit a bit small. Used the drain/swirl/2 min

version and made them one at a time. The second was just as perfect as the first. Thanks for the hint to drain...that seemed to make the most difference. I made sure the water was just at a simmer (no vinegar, no salt), swirled to a vortex and gently lower the strainer with the yolk and attached white into it. Google said to cook 4 minutes, but it looked done at 2 minutes and turns out that is the perfect amount of time for me.

Served on top of buttered crispy whole grain toast, a sliver of avocado with lemon juice, two roasted Kumato tomato halves and a nice cup of coffee.

(screeeccchhhh!)

Scratch that last phrase. I LOVE my coffee, but lately have been trying to cut out the obscene amount of dairy I use (at least 2/3 C of heated milk), 2 packages of Splenda, and too much caffeine.

Now I'm using RIPPLE (a plant-based coffee creamer which CAN NOT be heated without breaking down), Truvia for sweetness and a decaffeinated bean.

OH MAN! THAT IS ONE SUCKY CUP OF COFFEE.

Oh well...my poached eggs were perfect and for that we give thanks to our friends here who have the patience to guide me through murky waters filled with floating streaky egg whites.

 
Fresh eggs could also be the problem. I poach eggs all the time. I finally settled on

Store-bought eggs, no swirling. No vinegar. Drop the egg into a simmering pot of water. The egg will drop the temperature. Let it come back to a simmer and adjust the heat to keep it simmering. Take it out when the writes and yolk are at your preferred density.

A chef so used to work with would crack the egg into a ramekin the dip the ramekin to take in a bit of hot water. Wait a couple seconds to allow the whites to set, then pour the egg into the barely simmering water. The thing with his method is if you're not using a non-stick pot, it also keeps the egg from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

 
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