Poached egg

I just dump some white vinegar in the water, and crack the egg into simmering water.  I don't know that it's perfect, but the vinegar doesn't seem to flavor the egg, and I'm happy with the result.  I've eaten dozens of them.  I've read that the vinegar helps hold the egg together.  I probably put 1/4 or 1/3 cup vinegar in 2 cups of water -- I use a frying pan.

I use my poached egg pan..
Oooor, i get water simmering/slight boil in a small pan.. with a splash of vinegar in it,...
before i add the egg to the water i swirl the water like a whirlpool to help keep in egg together,.. then drop the egg in the swirling water, and cook to the temp that you like it..

In our last two weeks of chef school we worked in the Careme Kitchen. One evening before a large buffet the chef distributed bowls of eggs to everyone. We had 15 minutes to present to him a scrambled egg, a fried egg and a poached egg. Most of the kids had no trouble with the first two. But getting the poached egg right was not easy.

 

He showed us his tricks: first he got a sauté pan with water that was simmering just below a boil, he put a Tsp of white vinegar in the water, he gently broke the egg into a flat edged shallow bowl and then he gently laid the edge of the bowl against the water and let the egg SLIDE in, then he used a slotted spoon to bring the outer edges of the egg toward the center, and when done used the slotted spoon to remove the egg to a piece of waiting toasted bread. Whallah...  most of us only got an 75% grade on that - we had a chance to redeem ourselves and made them his way...  Never forgot that humbling lesson at the end of 16 months of training...  Master your Basics.

Mike, I've actually heard that one of the biggest tests of a chef is cooking of the simple things.  Sure, everyone can scramble/poach/fry and egg or make a soup - but a chef can not only cook it but coax every ounce of flavor out of it (soup) and also ensure a wonderful consistency/mouth feel to the final product.  Thanks so much for revealing the secret to poached eggs!  I love them in restaurants but hate them when I make them.

You guys know making poached eggs is very easy with fresh eggs? The firmness of a fresh egg keeps the egg together! I just tried it out the other day and I must say, the fresher the egg, the more it held together.

 

So what I did was had about 2 to 3 inch high water in a low simmer, not even bubbling, barely boiling. Put 1/4 cup vinegar in, maybe more or less depending on how big your pot was, and salt. Crack the egg in a bowl and slide it into the water. Let the egg harden enough so it won't break before using a ladle to move it and then let it cook to the right temperature/hardness you want. Then take it out and serve. 

 

The fresher the egg, the less egg white will swirl around the water because it is firmly attached to the yolk. Big difference between just laid egg vs refridgerated 5 day egg.