- Hey guys, and welcome back.
You loved my video on how to make
the perfect soft-boiled and hard-boiled egg,
so I thought it only made sense to follow that video up
with today's video on how to make the perfect poached egg.
Now, here's the funny thing when it comes to poached eggs
and I find that most people love to order them for breakfast
when they're out at restaurants,
but they rarely make them at home.
And if you ask why I think most would say
that it's hard to get that perfect round spherical egg shape
in the poached egg, without getting lots
of crazy white wispies all over the place.
Well, for the last several weeks,
which you might have seen on my Instagram stories
I have tried every single egg poaching method under the sun.
From adding salt to the water or not adding salt,
to adding vinegar or not adding vinegar
to swirling a vortex pattern in the pot,
to using a fine mesh sieve to get rid
of some of that loose egg white,
to using brand-new fresh eggs versus old eggs
and even changing the depth of water in the pot
from a very deep pot of water to a shallow saute pan.
And needless to say I have definitely learned
a few things in this process,
so in today's video I'm happy to share with you
all of the tips in what works the best
for the perfect poached egg, so let's dive in.
When it comes to the depth of water
I'd recommend a pot with at least
three to four inches of water.
If you use a shallow saute pan with only an inch or two
you'll end up with a flatter poached egg,
that may have more of a fried egg shape.
So, heat the pot of water on high and bring it to a boil.
While we're waiting for our water to boil
we'll get our eggs ready.
Now the number one most important factor
when it comes to a perfectly poached egg
is having the freshest eggs possible.
And ideally that means that you'd purchase them
just that morning.
Fresh eggs are gonna have tighter whites,
and keep more of that spherical shape
that we're going for.
Eggs that have been sitting
in your fridge for a week or more, like this one
are gonna have more of that looser liquidy white
and that's what causes all of those white wispies.
But as I know running to the market
before breakfast may not be feasible for most,
here's what you can do to ensure poached eggs success.
And you should do this no matter how old your eggs are.
Just crack your eggs into a fine mesh sieve,
give it a little swirl,
and remove that liquidy egg white.
And as you can see on this egg
which I just purchased this morning,
there's a lot less of that looser egg white
than in the previous example.
Once all of the very loose egg white has been strained out
transfer your egg to a small bowl or ramekin
as this will make it much easier
to pour the egg into our pot of water.
And repeat this process
for as many eggs as you plan to cook.
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Now, just like we do when we're making
soft and hard-boiled eggs,
if you plan to make these poached eggs
for meal prep or ahead of time,
get an ice water bath ready
as this will stop the poached eggs from cooking.
Alright at this point our water should be boiling,
so now reduce the heat to low.
You just want some slight bubbles on the bottom if any,
but no bubbles breaking the surface.
Many people say to add salt to the water when you poach eggs
but I found that this actually created more white wispies
and splayed the egg white all out,
then the reason this happens
is because salt changes the density of the water.
So definitely, don't add salt to the water
but just so you can see what happens with your own eyes
here's an attempted poached egg in salt water,
and you can see that it doesn't hold its shape very well.
When it comes to vinegar,
it's true that vinegar does help to coagulate
and keep the egg white all together.
Now I was against this method at first,
as I didn't want my eggs to taste like vinegar
but if you use one to two tablespoons
you definitely can't taste it at all.
And for the type of vinegar
you can use white vinegar, apple cider vinegar
or any type of lighter colored vinegar.
So let's get to poaching some eggs.
Add a tablespoon of vinegar to the water then stir it
and create a vortex.
And yes the vortex definitely works,
and I recommend it if you're making just one or two eggs.
So once you've got a nice fast vortex
drop your egg right into the middle,
and look at that lovely poached egg shape.
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Set your timer for three minutes
for a firm white and liquid yolk,
if you'd like your yolk a bit firmer
just add another 30 seconds, and once the time is up
use a slotted spoon to remove your beautiful poached egg
You can also give your egg a gentle tap
to see how cook through it is
and place it back in the water
if you'd like it a little bit firmer.
If it's to your liking,
just dab the poached egg on a paper towel
to remove any excess water and serve it up.
If you're making these for meal prep
or to make an advance for a crowd,
add the poached egg to your ice water bath
which will ensure the egg yolk stops cooking
and I'll show you in a second
how you'll warm it back up later.
Now, if you'd like to make several eggs simultaneously
without the vortex method, you can do that as well.
The shape may be a little flatter,
but it's really not a big deal.
So gently pour each of your eggs into the water.
And on this last egg you can see
that there was a little more liquidy white
but that the main egg shaped still held together.
You can also use a spoon to move the water
and help create a rounder egg shape if you'd like.
And when three minutes is up
again use a slotted spoon to remove your poached eggs.
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If you have any leftover white wispies still attached,
you can use kitchen scissors to snip those off,
and this is actually what restaurants will oftentimes do
for that perfect poached egg shape.
They'll actually trim it into shape.
Now, I think that's a little silly
and I'm all for a more natural poached egg shape
like this one.
All right you've now got this beautifully poached egg,
so let me show you one of my favorite poached egg
breakfast recipes.
Just add a little olive oil to a pan
along with two cloves of minced garlic,
then squeeze a lemon into the pan
and add the zest of the lemon as well.
Add a bunch of asparagus and use some tongs
to move them around and saute
for about three to five minutes or until they're tender
but still hold their shape.
Add the asparagus to a plate and top them
with a slice of prosciutto.
Now, at this point we don't wanna add a cold poached egg
to our breakfast, so to warm up our poached eggs
just add some boiling water to a bowl or large mug,
then place the poached egg in the hot water
for about 20 to 30 seconds
or until it's warmed through.
Remove it from the hot water
and now it's ready to be topped on our asparagus.
Add a little salt and pepper and if you'd like
shave on some fresh authentic parmigiano-reggiano cheese.
All right, let's cut into this poached egg
and see how we did.
Yep I'd say that's pretty darn perfect.
I hope you guys enjoyed this poached egg tutorial,
and if you did, hit that thumbs up
and while you're at it hit that subscribe button below
so you don't miss next week's video,
and I am now gonna finish enjoying my breakfast.
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