Why Boil an Egg at All When You Can Boil It Softly?
There are many tricks for making poached eggs. Add vinegar to the water, stir the water in a vortex, gently dip the egg into the water from the mug, dip the egg into the water so that its momentum holds it together. Boil water, simmer, as soon as the egg turn off the heat completely. Well, here’s my number one tip of poached eggs: don’t.
Poached eggs are great – in the restaurant. Professional chefs know how to cook them, and I will not detract from the pleasure of slicing a perfectly cooked poached egg, decorating with a kind of Benedict’s tower, mixing warm yolk with hollandaise sauce . But without special skills or special equipment, a homemade poached egg can become lumpy, misshapen, half of its protein is lost due to boiling water with foam, undercooked proteins or overcooked yolks, and, frankly, it is usually very ugly.
If you want to cook whites and liquid yolks with consistent results every time, I have two words for you: gentle boil.
The only advantage of poached eggs over boiled soft-boiled eggs is that they are flatter and about the same diameter as an English muffin. But soft-boiled eggs are better in all other respects: they are lighter, cleaner and more stable than poached eggs. You can cook them in large batches. I love them. As long as I live, I never cook another egg at home.
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil – just enough water to cover the eggs. Add eggs slowly to avoid cracking. Cook for six and a half minutes, gently moving the eggs once or twice so that the yolks are in the center of the egg. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon and rinse under cold water for thirty seconds. Clean. Place whatever you want on top. Admire their symmetry, beauty and lightness. Never look back.