You Have to Boil an Egg in Maple Syrup
I rarely get professional jealousy, but it does happen, and I was hit hard by it yesterday morning when I read this Maple Butter Poached Egg recipe on Food52. The only thing I love more than eggs is being weird and those weird little eggs seem like something that came out of my weird little brain. But they didn’t. They came from the brain of Maple Syrup author Casey Elsass, and we should be grateful to them (and his brain).
( Edited to add : I was informed that this is not really a new dish, but an old French one, but I thank Alsace anyway for getting my attention.)
As Alsace points out above the recipe, this pairing is ambiguous, but if you like the great taste of McGriddle, you’ll love these eggs. They are rich, sweet, slightly salty, with a distinct mineral note. In short, they are perfect for buttered toast.
But even I, with my high tolerance for unusual flavor combinations, was initially skeptical that an egg cooked in a puddle of maple syrup would “work.” It not only works, it works , and it requires very little effort on your part. All you have to do is bring the maple syrup to a boil in a small saucepan (I used an oil heater), bring to a boil, then drop in the egg and cook in the syrup until the white is set (about three minutes). Your main task will be to watch the maple syrup with keen and watchful eyes, as it tends to boil away.
All you need to make a poached egg with maple syrup:
- Pretty Potty: Farberware Classic Series Stainless Steel Oil Heater
- Real Maple Syrup: Butternut Mountain Farm Pure Vermont Maple Syrup
- Eggs (Obviously): Happy Belly Cage Free Big Brown Eggs
- For Further Maple Reading: Casey Elsass Maple Syrup
This is one of the times I have to insist that you use real maple syrup and not “pancake syrup” as you need that deep mineral note to secure the dish and keep it from turning into “weird sweet eggs”. (Save Mrs. Butterworth for breakfast salad .) Serve with deep toasted and buttered bread, topped with bacon. I like to eat a maple egg out of a small mold (to make it easier to dip), but you could just as easily put it on a piece of pancake bread for a breakfast sandwich that rivals McGriddle (if you can imagine such a thing) ).
Poached eggs with maple syrup
Ingredients:
- Eggs, at least one
- Maple syrup, 1/2 cup per egg
- Large pinch of salt
Crack an egg into a fine sieve set over a coffee mug and let the excess white drain off, then transfer the strained egg to a tea cup. Bring syrup to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, then reduce heat to a simmer.
Gently dip the egg into the syrup and cook for 3-4 minutes, pouring the syrup over the top of the egg until the egg whites set. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to tins, generously buttered English muffins or slices of pancake bread. Pour some syrup over the egg, season with salt and enjoy.