A few little handy tricks I have learnt to cook the perfect poached egg...
PREPARATION
Bring water to the bowl in a medium size saucepan - I normally fill approx. 2/3 full.
Crack the egg into a small bowl rather than straight into the pan. This gives more control for placement.
Add a small amount of apple cider vinegar - a tablespoon or cap full should do the trick. White vinegar also works fine.
COOKING
Once the water is boiled, swirl the water around with a spoon to make a small whirlpool - it doesn't have to be a tornado, just enough so that the egg sticks together in the centre.
Pour the egg from your bowl into the centre of the whirlpool, it should spin around and take shape within the centre of your pan. You can do a couple of eggs at a time but I try not to do more than 3 as they tend to lose a bit of shape if there are too many in the pan.
The temperature of the water will have decreased a bit once the eggs are placed in so I keep the pan on the heat for approx 30 seconds so it heats back up to provide little bubbles then I remove it from the heat entirely to continue cooking. Give the water a little swirl after it has bubbled so the eggs don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
Depending on how you like your eggs (runny or hard) will depend on the amount of time it takes to cook as well as if you keep your eggs in the fridge or at room temperature. I like my eggs a little runny (like the image above) so 2-3 minutes is about right for me. It takes a bit of trial and error.
A trick to check if they are ready is to grab them out with a slotted spoon and give them a little wiggle or touch the yolk with the back of a spoon (carefully as you don't want to split the yolk). I take them out when they still have a jiggle and are soft but the egg white is cooked as they still continue to cook a little more once they are removed from the heat.
When you take them out, place them onto a slice of bread (I use the crust as I am not a fan of crust) this is to help drain the water from your eggs so they don't make your toast soggy. Move them around on the bread a bit and when the water is mostly drained you can throw the bread away.
Be sure to prepare your toast whilst your eggs are cooking as they tend to cool down quickly once removed from the heat and it's best to eat them straight away rather than reheating them.
TIP: If you do need to reheat them, I find placing them in some hot water in a small bowl is best rather than the microwave (the microwave tends to keep cooking them) they won't need very long in the hot water. Then you will need to place them back on a slice of bread to remove the excess water again before you eat them.
Enjoy ! xx
PREPARATION
Bring water to the bowl in a medium size saucepan - I normally fill approx. 2/3 full.
Crack the egg into a small bowl rather than straight into the pan. This gives more control for placement.
Add a small amount of apple cider vinegar - a tablespoon or cap full should do the trick. White vinegar also works fine.
COOKING
Once the water is boiled, swirl the water around with a spoon to make a small whirlpool - it doesn't have to be a tornado, just enough so that the egg sticks together in the centre.
Pour the egg from your bowl into the centre of the whirlpool, it should spin around and take shape within the centre of your pan. You can do a couple of eggs at a time but I try not to do more than 3 as they tend to lose a bit of shape if there are too many in the pan.
The temperature of the water will have decreased a bit once the eggs are placed in so I keep the pan on the heat for approx 30 seconds so it heats back up to provide little bubbles then I remove it from the heat entirely to continue cooking. Give the water a little swirl after it has bubbled so the eggs don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
Depending on how you like your eggs (runny or hard) will depend on the amount of time it takes to cook as well as if you keep your eggs in the fridge or at room temperature. I like my eggs a little runny (like the image above) so 2-3 minutes is about right for me. It takes a bit of trial and error.
A trick to check if they are ready is to grab them out with a slotted spoon and give them a little wiggle or touch the yolk with the back of a spoon (carefully as you don't want to split the yolk). I take them out when they still have a jiggle and are soft but the egg white is cooked as they still continue to cook a little more once they are removed from the heat.
When you take them out, place them onto a slice of bread (I use the crust as I am not a fan of crust) this is to help drain the water from your eggs so they don't make your toast soggy. Move them around on the bread a bit and when the water is mostly drained you can throw the bread away.
Be sure to prepare your toast whilst your eggs are cooking as they tend to cool down quickly once removed from the heat and it's best to eat them straight away rather than reheating them.
TIP: If you do need to reheat them, I find placing them in some hot water in a small bowl is best rather than the microwave (the microwave tends to keep cooking them) they won't need very long in the hot water. Then you will need to place them back on a slice of bread to remove the excess water again before you eat them.
Enjoy ! xx