A poached egg is an egg boiled without the shell in hot water. Its protein turns out to be quite hard, while the yolk is soft and creamy. However, if you do not follow a few important rules, then instead of a dense poach, you will end up with a shapeless mass.
5 Secrets to the Perfect Poached Egg
- Take only fresh eggs. The white of an old egg in hot water will not grab around the yolk, but will spread.
- The egg must be at room temperature.
- To improve protein clotting, pour a little lemon juice or vinegar into a container of water. White vinegar is best, but apple or regular table vinegar is an alternative.
- To prevent damage to the egg, break it into a bowl before transferring it to the cooking container.
- Do not cook more than two or three eggs in one container. First, they can stick to each other. Secondly, due to the large number of eggs in the container, the temperature will decrease, which will affect the cooking time and the final result.
How to cook a poached egg
1. In a saucepan without special tools
thedailymeal.comPour 5–7 cm of water into a saucepan and heat.
The water in the pot should be hot, but not too hot, with only a few bubbles. In a seething liquid, the egg will simply disintegrate.
Add some salt, pepper and vinegar. It is not necessary to use spices at this stage, you can sprinkle them with a ready-made egg.
Then, using a whisk, make a funnel in the pan: in such a whirlpool, the protein and yolk will not spread. Lower the egg into the pan not into the funnel itself, but closer to the wall. If you want the yolk to be very liquid, cook the egg for 1.5–2 minutes. To make it thicker, cook for about 4 minutes.
Carefully remove the egg with a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel folded in several layers and blot lightly.
2. In a saucepan using a bag or cling film
Pour a tablespoon of water into each compartment and carefully place one egg at a time in them. Place in a preheated oven at 200°C for 12-15 minutes. The shorter the cooking time, the more liquid the yolk will be.
5. In the microwave
thekitchn.com There are even special molds for making poached eggs. However, this can easily be done in an ordinary mug or bowl with a wide bottom.
Fill it halfway with water, add vinegar and break an egg into it. Cover the mug with a saucer and put in the microwave at full power for a minute. If the egg seems too runny, cook it for another 15 seconds.
6. In a slow cooker
eatsmarter.com You will need silicone or other heat-resistant containers. For example, cupcake molds or small glass bowls. Lubricate them with liquid oil and break one egg at a time. Can be seasoned with spices.
Pour 1-2 cups of hot water into the cavity of the multicooker, install the grate and place the molds on it. Close the slow cooker, set the "Steam" mode and cook the eggs for 2 minutes. Then open the lid and cook for about 2 more minutes.
Bonus: how to make breaded poached eggs
Ingredients
- 4–5 eggs;
- 100 g breadcrumbs;
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper;
- 1-2 cloves of minced garlic;
- ¼ teaspoon salt;
- 50 g flour;
- vegetable oil - for frying.
Cooking
Pre-boil 3-4 poached eggs in any way convenient for you. Whisk 1 raw egg in one bowl. In another bowl, mix breadcrumbs, pepper, garlic and salt. Roll the poached eggs first in the flour, then dip in the egg bowl and finally roll in the breadcrumbs mixture.
Place the eggs in a skillet with hot oil. The oil should completely cover the eggs. Fry them for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown.
For several posts now, we have been boiling eggs in the shell. This post will be about how to boil eggs without shells. Such eggs are called poached. And the process of boiling eggs without shell is called poaching.
Poached eggs are very tasty. To weld them correctly, you need to understand the technical issues.
This time I turned not only to Harold McGee, but also to Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Academy and, finally, Wayne Gisslen.
It is more difficult to boil a poached egg correctly than a hard-boiled, soft-boiled or bagged egg. The process is complicated by the fact that we boil an egg without a shell. And our goal is to get an egg that keeps its shape at the exit. What is a poached egg? This is an egg that has been boiled without the shell and forms its own "skin" by coagulating the protein. Such an egg is dipped into a saucepan with slightly boiling water and boiled for 3-5 minutes. As a result, the protein will be cooked, but will remain tender, and the yolk will be liquid and hot. This is essentially. But how to achieve such a result in practice?
The sloppy protein problem
As I said, we want to get a neat round egg as a result. But often, when poached eggs are boiled, we get unattractive "rags" of protein. They are absolutely edible, but unpresentable. I think many of you have already tried poached eggs and know what we are talking about. If not, then the photo below will explain everything to you.
What to do?
- Use very fresh high quality eggs.
- The water should not boil strongly, but only slightly boil.
- Add vinegar to water
- Add salt to water.
But the last two are not so simple. The authors disagree. Julia Child and Jacques Pepan do not salt the water, but add vinegar. Giesslin and Le Cordon Bleu salt and add vinegar, just like the chef in the video I'll show you later.
And what will our chemist McGee tell us on this subject?
He considers adding vinegar and salt to be ineffective methods. Although they speed up the coagulation of the egg, they also lead to tatters. In addition, an unattractive torn film appears on the protein.
At the same time, Pepan does not use salt, explaining that salt leads to the opposite effect and thins the protein.
McGee offers an interesting non-traditional way to solve the problem. Break the egg into a bowl and then lift it up with a slotted spoon. Thus, the excessively liquid part of the protein will drain.
Another interesting way is suggested by Julia Child. Namely, dip the eggs in low-boiling water for 8-10 seconds before breaking them.
Giesslin only adds vinegar and salt if the eggs are not very fresh. And he suggests not to add either one or the other if the eggs are fresh, since the protein is less tender and shiny due to salt and vinegar.
I feel that experiments cannot be avoided. But first, I will tell you how to cook a poached egg after all.
Pour water into a saucepan. Pepan recommends 1.5 liters of water for 6 eggs . Although it seems to me that this is not enough. The bottom line is that the eggs should not be crowded, and should be deep enough.
Let the water boil. But! It should not boil, but only slightly boil.
If you add vinegar and salt, then this must be done before pouring in the eggs. Pepan recommends 1/4 cup per 1.5 liters of water, and Julia Child 1 teaspoon per 500 ml of water.
You can pour the eggs directly into the water by keeping it as close to the water as possible. A more convenient way is to break each egg into a separate bowl, and then carefully pour it out of the bowl into the water.
Try to pour the eggs one after the other so that they boil the same way in the same time.
When you have lowered all the eggs, stir the surface of the water with a spoon so that the eggs also move a little and do not stick to the bottom of the pan.
On average, a poached egg takes 4 minutes to cook.
Test for doneness by removing the egg from the water and pressing it with your finger. (You can clearly see how to do it in the video). The protein should be cooked, and the yolk should remain liquid.
Once the egg is done, transfer it to a bowl of ice water to rinse off the vinegar and stop the cooking.
To give the eggs a neater look, cut off the dangling bits with a knife or scissors.
It will turn out so beautiful:
If you are going to serve the eggs later, you can leave them in cold water, or take them out of the water and refrigerate them.
If you want to heat them up again, dip them in hot water for 30-60 seconds.
And now let's watch a video recorded by The Culinary Institute of America to make it clearer. Since it is in English, I am translating important points that have not been said before for those who do not know the language.
The cook also insists on a low boil and a temperature of 70-80 degrees Celsius. .
We see very small bubbles in the pan. For greater persuasiveness, you can use a thermometer. For half a liter of water, the author uses 30 ml of vinegar and 1 tsp. salt.
The author uses the "funnel" technique for better protein coagulation. He creates a funnel in the water with a spoon, immediately lowers the egg into the water. I was told that the Funnel is done just in order to eliminate the extra lumps right away, then the eggs turn out to be more even at the exit.
The pot he uses holds 4 eggs. He immediately removes excess protein with a spoon with holes. In the process of cooking, carefully pry the eggs with a spoon so that they do not stick to the bottom.
The egg is ready when it starts to float.
So, we got acquainted with the theory, looked at the photos and videos. Now some of my personal practice.
I boiled eggs three times.
My eggs were pretty fresh. Used all three times eggs from one box.
Experiment #1
The first time I decided to do without vinegar and salt.
I heated the water to 80 degrees. And to such bubbles.
I reduced the heat to 2k (9 is my maximum), and carefully lowered the eggs. They immediately went down. There were almost no rags.
I did not lower it into cold water, since there was no need to wash off the vinegar.
Result: almost perfectly even eggs, very tender and tasty.
Experiment #2In the same water where the first eggs were cooked, I added vinegar (4 tablespoons) and salt (1.tsp).
The water was already boiling a little more.
Result deplorable - solid rags, the eggs are like this:
The taste of protein is not very pleasant.
Since, nevertheless, I violated the conditions a little by sending the eggs into the same water as the first ones, in the morning I conducted a third experiment. Also, I think I overdid the vinegar.
Experiment #3
Like the first time, I brought the water up to 80 degrees. Reduced the fire to 2k. Added 1 tsp. vinegar, and half a teaspoon of salt.
The result is already better, but the first time was still better. Although the result of the first time confuses me. It seems to me that ideally, a poached egg should be rounder. That is, it looks like a soft-boiled egg without a shell. Mine is more like boiled eggs.
Pay attention to the torn film on the squirrel in the third option. McGee warns about this effect of salt. And by the way, in the first case, the protein is smooth and shiny.
For a complete picture, it would also be necessary to boil eggs with vinegar and salt, but I can no longer see them :)
But I think now you can experiment on your own, and gradually achieve the ideal option for you. As you can see, perfect poached eggs are no easy task. But the main thing is that in this post you will find the basics.
I will continue to boil eggs without salt and vinegar, and achieve that very ideal shape. I will definitely share the results!
Information taken from books:
- Le Cordon Bleu Cuisine Foundations by LE CORDON BLEU.
- McGee on Food and Cooking An Encyclopedia of Kitchen Science, History and Culture, Harold McGee
- Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child
-Complete Techniques, Jacque Pepin
- Essentials of Professional Cooking, Wayne Gisslen
Refined French cuisine has firmly won one of the first places in the world of cooking. Today we will get acquainted with a simple and incredibly spectacular dish - a poached egg. It can be easily and quickly prepared for breakfast, combining with a variety of products. Poached eggs have a soft creamy texture and it is for this that they are very loved not only by the French themselves, but also by many fans of European cuisine around the world.
The secrets of the French charm of this dish
The name of the dish includes a cooking method that comes from the French word poché, which literally means bag, pocket, and in cooking - a variant of the heat treatment of food. This method of heat treatment is used for delicate products and is simmering in a liquid at a temperature below the boiling point.
The poached egg is one of the most popular dishes prepared in this way. In short, this is a way of boiling eggs in hot water without shells.. At first glance, the procedure may seem complicated, but making poached eggs at home is not difficult. The article describes several options for boiling poached eggs and gives all the necessary recommendations for their preparation.
Even an inexperienced cook can handle this dish. Various accessories and household appliances come to the rescue. Let's take a closer look at the following cooking methods:
- classic cooking in a saucepan with water;
- an easy way to cook in cling film;
- express method for ;
- an adapted version for a multicooker.
What are poached eggs served with?
This dish is served most often for breakfast, sometimes for lunch. You can make a salad with such eggs, or you can present them in portions. The most common option - the egg is laid out on a toast or a piece of bread dried in a pan, a slice of ham, bacon and / or cheese is added to it. You can complement the taste with a leaf of lettuce, a circle of tomato or any other vegetables. Hollandaise sauce is popular among the French.
If you serve an egg on toast, covering it with a slice of ham under hollandaise sauce, you will get another dish -. It is permissible to replace ham with lightly salted fish.
Photo gallery: the most successful companions for poached eggs
French baguette croutons 
Steam vegetable mix 
Grilled vegetables 
Arugula 
Whole grain toast and cherry tomatoes 
fresh spinach 
Ham and Hollandaise Sauce - Egg Benedict
"How much to cook after boiling" and other nuances of cooking
Actually, you need to start with the product itself, and not with the intricacies of cooking. The first and foremost requirement for cooking poached eggs in the classic way is the freshness of the egg..
Ideally, the egg should be no older than three days. A stale chicken egg has a watery protein structure, so it will be difficult to cook it without a special form: the protein will dissolve in flakes in hot water and separate from the yolk.
Now about the water: it should not be boiling, but only boiling. This is important so that the egg acquires a delicate texture and does not boil into an ordinary “pouch”, and even more so soft-boiled. The optimum temperature for poached eggs is 97 degrees Celsius.
Average cooking time is 4 minutes. The duration can be adjusted depending on the desired end result.
For the softest consistency, the cooking time can be reduced to 2 minutes.
In order for the finished egg to have a beautiful oval shape, before cooking it can be held in water at a low boil for 10 seconds.
Pashotnitsa is a true friend of lazy gourmets
Owners of special molds have a great opportunity to cook a perfectly shaped poached egg. With their help, preparing a French breakfast is not difficult.
One of the popular devices is a round silicone mold. There are also special hanging plowing machines, and products designed for a microwave or double boiler, and simple plastic models that resemble a slotted spoon, but have the shape of an egg.
Even a poacher was invented in the form of a saucepan with removable forms, which can simultaneously cook several poached eggs.
Photo gallery: what are arable land
Silicone mold for poached eggs 
Closed mold for poached eggs, suitable for microwave oven and steamer 
Attached to the edge of the pot for poached eggs 
Special saucepan for poached eggs on the stove
The process of cooking in pashotnitsa is quite simple. You just need to pour the egg into the mold, with or without water (depending on the material of the device), and send it to languish until cooked.
Attention! Read the manual for the use of the tiller. In addition to adding water, you may need to pre-grease the molds with oil.
Step by step instructions with photo
The classic way to boil a poached egg
This method is not at all difficult, but still requires manual dexterity.
- Pour about 2/3 of the water into a small saucepan. Add a tablespoon of vinegar and put on the stove to boil.
- In the meantime, gently crack the egg into the bowl, being careful not to damage the yolk.
- Now you need to watch the water in the pan. This is important, the water should not boil. You should wait until small bubbles form at the bottom and the contents begin to sway. At this moment, armed with a spoon or a whisk, you need to twist a funnel in the container, into which then quickly and carefully pour the egg from the bowl.
In order for the egg to boil most accurately, it is better to pour it from the bowl as close to the surface of the water as possible. In this case, reduce the fire to the smallest.
- The egg will languish in water for about 3 minutes. After this time, the yolk will acquire a creamy consistency.
- You need to get the egg out of the water with a slotted spoon.
To get rid of the taste of vinegar, the egg can be dipped in a bowl of cold water for a few seconds. And if protein threads still form during cooking, they should be carefully cut off with scissors.
Home tricks: poached egg in a bag or film
To facilitate the process of boiling poached eggs, smart housewives came up with this unpretentious method. Of course, such an egg is not a true French dish, and cling film or a plastic bag heated in water causes many people to be wary. However, it is still worth mentioning this method of cooking poached eggs.
- You will need cling film. For one egg, it is enough to cut out a square about 20 by 20 cm in size from it, which will serve as a bag for cooking.
- Lubricate the inner surface of the film with oil and put it in a deep dish.
- Carefully, without damaging the yolk, beat in the egg. Gather and tie the ends of the film, forming a bag.
- Put the eggs prepared in this way into water, almost brought to a boil. In this case, you do not need to add vinegar to the water, and you do not need to twist the funnel..
The time of heat treatment of eggs is 4.5 minutes.
In the microwave - cook for no more than a minute
In order to cook poached eggs in the microwave, you will need a minimum of effort and time. This dish is amazingly easy and quick to prepare.
Cooking for a couple in a slow cooker or double boiler
A slow cooker and a double boiler are quite suitable for cooking eggs without shells. You will need silicone molds of a suitable size: one for each egg. You can use cupcake molds.
Instruction:
Easy recipes with poached eggs from famous chefs
Now that the secrets of making poached eggs and how to cook them are considered, you can try to master several options for serving it. As mentioned above, eggs are paired with toast or toast, vegetables, bacon, cheese, or ham. Each time, taking a poached egg as a basis, you can diversify the menu with a unique ensemble of different ingredients.
Cook from the UK Jamie Oliver shared the secrets of cooking first-class tender eggs in his video. He offers three variations with eggs at once and describes the process in detail.
Video: Jamie Oliver's Triple Poached Egg Masterclass
The famous culinary specialist and presenter Yulia Vysotskaya suggests, for example, serving crispy toasts with a poached egg with sauce.
Video: croutons with poached eggs and butter sauce from Yulia Vysotskaya
No less famous chef Hector Jimenez-Bravo gives his favorite breakfast recipe a kind of egg benedict, but, strictly speaking, there is no poached egg here, a fresh egg is simply baked in the oven.
Video: Healthy Egg Breakfast Sandwich by Hector Jimenez-Bravo
It is worth preparing poached eggs for breakfast - they will pleasantly surprise you with their taste. The list of ingredients that poached eggs are combined with is very rich and varied. Everyone can find the perfect combination for themselves and enjoy this simple and very healthy dish.
A poached egg is a boiled egg without the shell. It seems complex and intricate, but at the same time very elegant. Like many French dishes, it is eye-catching. The boiled protein, which formed the pouch, stores the tender yolk. Feeling its creamy texture on your tongue, you will want to eat this dish again and again.
This product has a lot of protein, and due to the peculiarities of preparation, more useful properties are preserved compared to the usual recipes. You can make it at home, diversify your breakfast or use it as a snack.
Origin story
The poached egg appeared in the 14th century in France. The elite loved to feast on them. There was no noble lady or eminent gentleman who did not know this taste. The recipe ended up in a cookbook containing housekeeping tricks, Le Menagier de Paris.
An interesting name in French sounds like oeufs pochés (of posh). When translated literally, it turns out "an egg scalded with boiling water." Also, there is the word pochette (plows), meaning "pouch". It is impossible to strictly say which expression served as the basis for its name. Both are close to the point. One displays the technology, the second - the appearance.
So the term "poached" entered the kitchen. It is used to indicate the way of preparing delicate dishes. The process is similar to quenching, which is aimed at softening coarse tissues. And the poached technology is designed for products that initially have a fragile structure.
For aesthetics in Russian-language cookbooks, the French word "poached" is used. But initially, this dish came to us as “bags”. A funny and tasteless word quickly transformed and became “in a bag”. Perhaps the adaptation of the name led to the intensive spread of poached eggs in Russia.
Required Ingredients
You will need:
chicken eggs - no more than 5 pcs. Necessarily fresh, not older than 3 days;
water - 2 liters;
vinegar - 1 tsp It is better to use grape, but table is also suitable;
salt - 1 tsp
Step by step cooking instructions
There are several recipes for how to cook a poached egg. Next, we will consider the classic and with the use of cling film.
Classical
It may seem complex and ornate. But following the recipe, you can easily remember the algorithm for making poached eggs.
Put a pot of water on the fire. Add vinegar and salt. Wash your eggs. Crack one into a cup, being careful not to break the yolk. Wait until the temperature of the water in the pot rises to 97°C. Measure it with a special thermometer, or wait for the first steam and bubbles to appear at the bottom of the pot.
Adjust the heat so that there is no boiling. Otherwise, the protein will instantly curl up, forming white rags. Take a whisk or a tablespoon and stir the water in a circle. A funnel should form. Carefully pour the egg from the cup into the pan.
Do the same with the rest one by one. Don't go overboard with the quantity. They should not be adjacent to each other. Cooking time can vary from 3 to 6 minutes. During the cooking process, it is worth monitoring the degree of readiness of the eggs. Scoop out one with a slotted spoon or a tablespoon.
Press lightly on it with your finger and evaluate the firmness of the protein. Not done - put back. Catch the eggs and dry them with a paper towel. The ideal result is a smooth ball without tatters. But if this could not be avoided, then just cut off the excess.
Using cling film
This method is suitable for beginners, but even professionals do not disdain them. It is lightweight and reliable. But do not forget about the fusibility of the material and be careful.
Put a pot of water on the fire. Lay cling film on a plate and flatten it out. Lightly brush the surface with olive oil. Crack an egg in the middle. Then tie it up to make a bag. Tie the end with thread.
Tie it to a wooden spoon. Its size should be larger than the diameter of the pan. With a spoon, you will avoid contact of the walls and bottom with the film. When the water is hot enough (up to 97°C), turn off the heat and dip the bag into it. Hold for 2-4 minutes.
The finished poached egg is served on toast. For a more attractive look, it is cut so that the bright yolk stacks on the bread. You can add lettuce, fried bacon, ham and your favorite sauce to the dish.
A poached egg is the perfect option for a delicious and nutritious breakfast. It is served with bacon and herbs, on fresh toast with garlic and cheese. Its main secret is a properly cooked yolk. It should be hot, not fresh, when cut, it should flow to the surface.
Cooking methods
Depending on the skill level of the chef, there are two ways to prepare breakfast.First way
You can quickly boil an egg without a shell immediately in water, as professional chefs do. To do this, you will need the following products and ingredients:- Two raw chicken eggs;
- A liter of boiling water;
- A pinch of salt;
- A teaspoon of vinegar;
- Skimmer;
- A saucepan or bowl with a wide bottom;
- Tablespoon.
Step-by-step instruction
1. Put the water to boil over high heat. As soon as the water begins to boil, reduce the boiling power.2. Season boiling water with salt and vinegar (optional).
3. With the help of circular movements of the spoon, make a small whirlpool in a saucepan with boiling water.
4. Pour an egg into the center of the whirlpool. To do this, it is gently hit on the side of the shell, opening it above the epicenter of the whirlpool.
5. Using a tablespoon, collect the edges of the egg into a single whole. With a spoon, you need to slightly direct the formed egg threads to the center, which try to blur in different directions. It is important not to touch the protein too much, so as not to accidentally hook the yolk and break its integrity.
6. As soon as the water with the beaten egg boils, set the timer for 90 seconds.
7. When the timer goes off, the poach is removed from the boiling water with a slotted spoon. It is necessary to hold the finished dish over the plate for a few seconds to drain excess water.
Second way
An easier way to poach is to use additional equipment. With it, pouring an egg into boiling water with one ball becomes easier.Equipment and products
- Pot with boiling water;
- A pinch of salt;
- Tablespoon;
- bowl;
- Skimmer;
- Chicken eggs.
Step-by-step instruction
1. Boiled water is stirred with a spoon, making a whirlpool.2. A pinch of salt is thrown into boiling water, the fire is reduced to a minimum.
Advice. Using this option, try not to pour in the vinegar. The egg will form anyway due to the use of the bowl.
3. A raw egg is broken with a sharp knife over a bowl. It is necessary to hit with a knife in the floor of the force, so as not to break the yolk.
4. Having tilted the bowl over the epicenter of the whirlpool, the egg is poured out.
5. The blurry edges of the protein are also collected towards the center with a spoon.
6. The egg is boiled for one and a half to two minutes.
7. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon, let the water drain.
How to apply
A hot egg, boiled without the shell, acquires a pliable texture. The protein turns out soft and silky, the yolk acquires a caramel consistency and stretches a little.To make poached an addition to a healthy and nutritious breakfast, it is served with toast grated with a clove of garlic (on a day off when you don’t have to go anywhere and the smell will not interfere with communication). A piece of cheese and herbs are placed on top of the toast. Poached on the greens. You can cut the protein so that the yolk flows onto the toast.
