I seem to learn all my egg cooking skills from Gordon Ramsey’s TV shows! Although Gordon can make cooking any dish look easy, this one really is remarkably easy, although it requires a tad more work than just dumping an egg into boiling water.
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How to Poach an Egg
Start by cracking the egg into a bowl – doing this step makes it much easier than just cracking and then dropping the egg directly into the water.
Heat a saucepan with water (at least 3 inches of water so that the poached egg doesn’t get stuck on the bottom of the pan).
Add a small amount of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to the water (the egg white becomes firmer faster if you add vinegar, but it’s not essential if you’re not making runny poached eggs).
Heat the water until it boils and then turn down the heat so that the water stops bubbling (but small bubbles still form on the bottom of the saucepan). Start stirring the water with a spatula, spoon, or fork to create a whirlpool in the water (be careful not to splash yourself as the water is hot!). Trust me on the whirlpool part – it’s very necessary!
While the water is still spinning, add in the egg.
The spinning water will cause the egg whites to spin around the yolk and to wrap itself around the yolk tightly forming a perfect poached egg.
Cook the egg on a medium heat (so that the water doesn’t boil). The amount of time you’ll need to cook the eggs for depends on how runny or not runny you like your eggs. I don’t like my eggs to be too runny, but I still like the yolk to be a bit soft. I find that 5 minutes in the water is perfect for me. You might need to cook it for a few minutes extra if you’re cooking several eggs in the same saucepan. And for a runny poached egg, cook for around 3 minutes.
Professionals all seem to use a slotted spoon to remove the poached egg, but I found a spatula with some holes in the bottom worked just fine too!
So that’s how to poach an egg! How do you eat it after poaching it? I really love it in some chicken broth, which you can make yourself (slow cooker recipe here).
My Fav Poached Egg Soup Recipe
And click here for my favorite Poached Egg Soup recipe.
And here are some other ideas for how to enjoy your poached egg from Joyce at Starfish Warriors.
- 1 egg
- 2-3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (optional)
- Crack an egg into a bowl.
- Heat a saucepan with at least 3 inches of water.
- Add the vinegar or lemon juice into the water
- After the water boils, turn down the heat a bit so that it stops boiling.
- Use a spoon to start stirring the water in the saucepan to create a whirlpool (i.e., stir in a circle).
- Drop the egg into the water while the water is still spinning.
- Leave to cook on a medium heat so that the water isn't boiling. For a soft but not-runny poached egg, cook in the water for 5 minutes. If you prefer a runny poached egg, then remove from the water after around 3 minutes.