BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty

Subject: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 11:11 AM

as many of you know, I am a man with limited culinary horizons. (In fact my thread asking a way to get eggshells off boiled eggs drew some extremely unpleasant remarks.) I can't stand these tv programmes where they make rostis and coulis and the like.

However recently I have decided to get to grips with poached eggs, and to that end I bought one of those poacher tings a frying pan that you fill with hot water, a metal platform for four little black plastic cups.

You see my wife and mother always made poached eggs just cracked into boiling water and vinegar. And though they look great, basically they tasted like an egg cooked in vinegar and water - not very nice.

I think I've worked it out thus far:-

1) get the water boiling
2) olive oil into the plastic cups to stop the egg sticking
3) eggs cracked into little plastic cups
4) little plastic cups ( lets call them LCP's) onto the platform and the platform into the water

Now the questions start! If I want to have squidgy middle but solid white bit - how long do we boil for?
Also , can one flavour or season the egg? Pepper or curry powder into the LCP before cracking the egg....... Apropos this when the Squire says in Treasure Island - all I needed was to taste LJS's buttered eggs - was he onto something. Eggs poaced in butter perhaps....

Your thoughts on the subject appreciated, and give my new song for Lancashire a listen!

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 11:33 AM

Eggs lightly steamed in buttered ramekins are called 'coddled eggs' - amazing but true! I like mine on a bed of spinach.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Silas
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 11:42 AM

Hi Al

They are NOT poached eggs.

The way to make poached eggs is this, and its easypeasy. Put a medium sidezed pan 3/4 full of water on to boil, add about a tablespoonful of vinegar (this is important no matter what anyone says) make sure eggs are at room temperature and crack them individually into a cup and pour them (individually ) into the boiling water. TAkE THE PAN OFF THE HEAT AND PUT THE LID ON. Now toast and butter your bread, by the time you have done that the eggs will be perfect.

Works every time.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: David C. Carter
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 11:46 AM

They can also be done with sorrel.

Put raw egg in container,quickly melt the sorrel in butter.

Scatter sorrel onto egg,place in oven,leave untill egg is cooked.

Makes a nice starter if you have friends coming over to dinner.

Can be done with spinach too.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: gnu
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 11:48 AM

Why vinegar? I never used vinegar.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Silas
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 11:57 AM

Vinegar keeps the egg more 'intact' and stops the white goung all over the place. It can be done without, but MUCH better with.

And if you can't peel boiled eggs, its because they are too fresh.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 12:39 PM

so you actually bake the eggs Dave?

I find the vinegar/ water thing a bit messy - and the eggs a bit watery. The look good though - like ice cream.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Silas
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 12:51 PM

Drain them with a slotted spoon - its the taste you are after and this is the best way to get it.

Coddled eggs are good,

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: David C. Carter
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 12:53 PM

Yes Al,about 5/7 minutes.But keep your eye on them!

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: gnu
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 01:09 PM

Yer gonna call me crazy but, I had some left over canned cut green beans and into the egg scramble they went... tastey! Not as good as spinach but surprisingly tastey.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: David C. Carter
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 01:16 PM

Nah,you ain't crazy gnu,some of the best little meals come from throwing together tid bits sitting in the fridge.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 01:34 PM

Eggs, be they poached or coddled, are also nice served atop asparagus - sea salt, black pepper and a few shavings of parmesan to finish, a warm buttered crusty roll on the side = yummy. Someone else mentioned sorrel which is also good treated as a spinach-like green served with eggs. Shredded and wilted in hot butter then bung some eggs in and you have sorrel omelette, it's got a lovely lemony edge.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Silas
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 01:50 PM

Toasted hot buttered muffin with mackeral fillet touch of horseraddish and topped with a poached egg, sprinkling of black pepper - fit for a king.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: gnomad
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 01:58 PM

I'm no specialist on poached eggs (don't eat 'em, but have made 'em for others) so the following are observations acquired at various times and places:

Eggs poached in water (vinegar optional, but can help them hold together) require water that is just simmering, no vigorous boiling thanks. Freshness of the egg is critical in getting a good consistency - the older the egg, the more ragged the effect. To assess freshness crack an egg onto a clean plate; if the yolk stands proud and the white stays together and slightly gelatinous = fresh, good for poaching. Yolk flattens out, white does similarly and is more watery = not so fresh, if poaching is necessary use a poacher/ramekin, but scrambling is a better proposition.

You can substitute a pea-sized bit of butter in your poacher for the oil if you prefer the flavour, but neither should really be needed.

Buttered eggs is a term that used to be used in the UK for scrambled eggs.

I suppose you could poach in butter at just the right temperature, but it would be very easy to get the butter too hot and end up with eggs deep-fried in butter, a cardiologist's nightmare, and not the poached egg you wanted.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Penny S.
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 02:24 PM

Heston Blumenthal suggested, but I have not tried, this:
Perfect Poached Eggs

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Don Firth
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 02:27 PM

Just thinking of the Olde Times when one would creeping silently through the forest on the Lord's estate with one's bow and a quiver of arrows, carefully avoiding being spotted by the gamekeeper. . . .

How big a pan do you need if you want to poach a deer?

Don Firth

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 02:50 PM

http://www.deliaonline.com/how-to-cook/eggs/how-to-poach-an-egg.html

Personally, I thin they just try to make it harder in order to show off. I'd use LCPs

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 04:10 PM

Thanks very much. I wonder how Delia knows her eggs are less than four days old.   So if you were me, how long would you leave thegg cooking away in the lcp. Not sure how you'd stop the water boiling and keeping it a simmer.

I'll look out for sorrel - not sure what it is. And when you say muffin, d'you mean like a crumpet?

Not keen on horseradish not Heinz sandwich spread stuff - its a bit toxic - but I can see how the smoked fish might be okay in some form.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: gnomad
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 04:49 PM

Simmer? Leave pan where you were heating it, and turn the gas/electricity as low as it will go, the picture shows tiny little points of bubble forming, that's about right. Silas says to remove from heat altogether, and if you are somewhere warmish (not up a big hill!) that will probably be fine, especially if the pan is a large and/or thick one.

How long in LCP? Well, like with boiled eggs, individual taste varies. To start I would suggest your normal preferred time for boiling, plus maybe 30 seconds if the LCP is particularly thick, 60 seconds for a ramekin. Adjust as experience grows.

I believe that our nearest equivalent to what the States know as an English muffin would be a plain teacake, bap, breadroll, stottie (there have been previous threads on further names).

Unless you get your eggs at the farm gate they are probably 4+ days old when you receive them. My earlier post suggests a way of assessing those you have. If you have had an egg a week, then it is at least one week old (obvious I know, but sometimes overlooked).

Google will take you to sorrel, there's a good chance it is growing wild somewhere near you if you are in the UK.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Don Firth
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 10:05 PM

You can find English muffins in any well-appointed supermarket in the U. S. and/or A. In the bread section, labeled (strangely enough) "English muffins."

Some years ago (early Seventies), I'm in my apartment in Seattle's University District and it's evening. I'm hungry, don't have much in the fridge, and although there is a halfway decent restaurant cater-corner from my apartment building, it's raining buckets, snowing heavily, or there is a meteor shower or something, and I'd really rather not go out.

Time for a bit of inventiveness.

I really feel like pizza, or something in that neighborhood. So I pull out a bag of English muffins (pre-split). I line up two of them, so I have four halves, two tops, two bottoms, sitting there on the plate. I have no tomato sauce, but I do have ketchup. So I pour a dollop of ketchup on each half, cover it with a slice of cheese, chop up some lunch meat I have and sprinkle it on top of the cheese, and slice up a few black olives and put them on top. I added a sprinkle of oregano from a small supply of spices that the wife of a friend insisted I might need when I first moved into the apartment. Admiring my handiwork, I put them on a cookie sheet and slide it in the oven that I had been pre-heating as I did all this.

A few minutes later, I had four mini-pizzas. Tasty! Washed down with a bottle of beer and followed with a bit of fruit I had on hand. Not a big meal, but adequate for the occasion. In fact, I repeated it on a few other occasions.

Then, one evening, while watching television, a commercial came on that informed me that I had missed a possible opportunity to make a fortune. The commercial was for a new fast food thingy that had just come on the market. All packaged up, they were English muffin halves with a slice of cheese on top along with bits of meat and other odds and ends. You just popped them in the oven for a few minutes and chow down.

They called them "Piccadilly Circles."

CLICKY.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 07:13 AM

Years of poaching eggs in a pan of water tell me that cooks don't always know best.
The thing that cooks your egg is the temperature of the surrounding water. If you use a small pan of shallow water, the total water volume isn't much, so when you add an egg that is colder than the water, it will remove heat from the water, and the temperature will drop to a point where it is not hot enough to cook the egg. To combat this effect, they need to keep adding heat to the pan of water - hence the need to simmer. This slight boil causes movement in the water that can break up the white of an egg which isn't very fresh (that bit I do agree on).
My solution is use a deep pan, with a large amount of water in, vinegar is not required. That way, when you add an egg, the temperature will still be high enough to start to cook the outer surface of the egg.
Bring the pan to a good boil, then remove from the heat. Crack your eggs into the pan (Use a big spoon to lower them if it makes you feel more in control) and leave off the heat until he outer layer of the egg starts to cook. It will form a pale white "skin" which will then hold the rest of the egg safe. Put the pan back on the heat and warm the pan to the point where the water just starts to boil again, then turn heat down to keep it at that point. At this point the inner bits of the egg will be cooking, but if the pan starts to boil too much, the "skin" of cooked egg will protect the inside from the violence of the bubbles.
Test your egg with a blunt "butter" knife to find if the white is firm, or still not quite cooked. When it is the way you like it, lift out with a slotted spoon (plastic ones are thicker than metal, and more blunt, so less likely to cut into an egg), avoiding any loose stringy bits of white from your week old egg.
I quite like mine with cottage cheese straight from the fridge. The contrast of the warm egg and cold cheese is one I find pleasing.
Quack!
Geoff the Duck.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 07:18 AM

The other thing is you don't need to put eggs in a fridge. They contents will keep perfectly well at room temperature.
If eggs are fridged, they will need to be heated much longer to reach a temperature they cook at, so if you intend to use them from a fridge, allow them to warm to room temperature before trying to poach.
Quack!
GtD.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 11:28 AM

T
so you never use the lcp's? ever?

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 11:31 AM

from the first post:

Also , can one flavour or season the egg? Pepper or curry powder into the LCP before cracking the egg...

No, Al, not into the LCP. I would add pepper by using a pepper grinder at the table. I believe I would add curry by mixing a little curry powder into the butter which butters the toast.

You do have your poached egg on toast, don't you?

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: gnomad
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 12:20 PM

I notice nobody has recommended stirring the water to create a small whirlpool, into the eye of which the raw egg is launched. The vortex supposedly holds the egg in shape long enough to have formed a neat blob by the time the water stops rotating. I've never seen it work, and suspect it doesn't, a stringy mess is what I have seen. It also presupposes that you are cooking eggs one at a time.

Talking of the freshness or otherwise of eggs, I read Jack London's short story 'The One Thousand Dozen' about 45 years ago, and the memory has stayed with me ever since.
A good tale, but even as a youngster and before I had finished it I foresaw the eggs going off. In fact I still don't understand how the protagonist could not foresee it; the frozen north would help, but he started much further south.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Penny S.
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 02:18 PM

Geoff has the idea of setting the outside before continuing the cooking. I am convinced that when I saw Heston on TV, he dunked the unbroken egg briefly in the pan to start the white cooking in a similar way, before breaking them as in the link I posted. But maybe he did that for somthing else.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 02:25 PM

I don't use the 'Little Plastic Cups' to coddle eggs, but buttered ceramic ramekin dishes placed in a steamer - I decided to coddle them after becoming annoyed with the variable results I got poaching eggs. Wouldn't want a dedicated pan for it, though, too much stuff in my ickle kitchen already.

For Sorrel Al, buy a plant or three from a bigger garden centre, herb section. Can also be used sparingly in salads - better than baby spinach IMO.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: gnu
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 02:46 PM

Geoff the Duck... "The other thing is you don't need to put eggs in a fridge."

If you buy fresh eggs that have never been washed, true. But I buy mine at the supermarket in egg cartons and they have been washed so the MUST be refridgerated. Two hours at room temp and they should be discarded. So says Health Canada...

From http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/advisories-avis/_2011/2011_60-eng.php

Information Update
2011-60
April 19, 2011
For immediate release

OTTAWA - Health Canada would like to remind Canadians of the importance of proper handling and preparation of eggs in order to prevent foodborne illness.

Although Salmonella is not very common in Canadian eggs, some people are more susceptible to it, particularly young children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems. Therefore, it is recommended that eggs be cooked thoroughly when serving to people in these high risk groups. You can reduce your risk of contracting foodborne illness from eggs by following a few food safety tips.

Shop carefully: Choose only refrigerated eggs with clean and uncracked shells. Do not use an egg if the egg's contents are leaking through the shell or if the egg is stuck to the carton. Check the "best before" date on the package.

Keep eggs cold: Eggs should be refrigerated within two hours of purchase and should be placed in the coldest section of the refrigerator in their original carton; eggs should not be kept in the refrigerator door. The carton helps protect the eggs from damage and odours. Don't crack the shell of an egg until you want to use it. Hard-cooked eggs, in shell or peeled, and pickled eggs can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week. Hard-cooked yolks should be used within five days. If you include eggs in your lunch, make sure to include an icepack to keep the eggs cold.

Keep clean: Remember to wash your hands, utensils, cutting boards, and counters carefully with soap and warm water before and after handling raw eggs. This helps avoid potential cross contamination and prevent the spread of foodborne illness related to eggs.

Cook thoroughly: Eggs and egg-based foods should be cooked thoroughly to ensure they are safe to eat. This includes the yolk part of the egg, which should not be runny. Serve egg dishes immediately after cooking and store any leftovers in containers and refrigerate them within two hours. Uncooked cookie dough and batters made with raw eggs can contain Salmonella and should not be tasted or eaten until they are cooked thoroughly. You should use pasteurized egg products instead of raw eggs when you are preparing uncooked homemade foods that use raw eggs, such as icing or Caesar salad dressing.

Easter eggs: Decorated eggs that have been left out on display are not safe to eat. If you want to eat the eggs you decorate you should hard boil them thoroughly and then cool them (either by immersing them in cold tap water or on the counter until they have reached room temperature) before placing them in the fridge. Use a non-toxic colouring dye on eggs. Be sure that eggs are kept cold before and after dyeing. Between dyeing and cooling, they should be out of the refrigerator for no more than two hours in total. Coloured eggs can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

It is estimated that there are approximately 11 million cases of food-related illnesses in Canada every year. Many of these illnesses could be prevented by following proper food handling and preparation techniques.

For more information on food safety tips for eggs, please visit:

Government of Canada's Egg Safety Tips

Government of Canada's Food Safety website

Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education's Be Food Safe Canada Campaign

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 03:35 PM

I use a frying pan half full of water with 2 teaspoons of vinegar. When the water simmers I put in metal scone cutters (the large size) and crack the eggs into those. Once the eggs are a bit solid, I pull out the scone cutters and let the eggs poach. This stops them spreading out in a messy shape, but they aren't coddled, they're truly poached. A slatted plastic spoon gets them out when they're cooked to our taste (soft in middle but shaped on the outside) Once on the toast, I put a small knob of butter on each one. (The vinegar adds a delicate flavour, unmistakeable but necessary!)

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 05:03 PM

Some lore on eggs that might include some bits that are actually true.

"Buying at the gate" as mentioned above would not seem to assure freshness. When grand daddy sold eggs to the creamery we gathered about a dozen and a half per day, and they were stored in, as I recall, crates holding 16 dozen. The eggs went in to the buyer about once per week. A place that can sell you more than a scant dozen when you show up at the gate probably isn't your "little ol' family farm." It's an egg factory.

Fresh laid eggs are coated with a film of "mucous" from the hens' "delivery canal" and the film helps to prevent air from permeating through the shell. Fresh-gathered eggs should NEVER be washed, since that lets the air get in and the eggs will spoil much faster. Most small farms might use a scrap of "steel wool" to remove soil (farm hens do crap in their nests sometimes) but washing was never a good idea.

A "modernization" that appeared for a while where small farmers sold to a "collector" permitted washing the eggs when gathered, provided that they were immediately dipped in a "sealer" to make the shells "air tight." The sealer commonly used ca 1945 - '50 was the same "water glass" that was a main component in the radiator "leak stopper" used in old autos. [That stuff is now considered mildly toxic and is very hard to get for any use (in the US) - which is unfortunate since it has numerous other uses where it would still be appropriate.]

When small farms still could sell their eggs when they went to town to do their "Saturday night shopping and socializing," few farms had much in the way of "cold storage" beyond a cool corner in the pantry or sometimes a root cellar, but "cool room temperature" was generally considered good enough for about a week, by the buyers. The buyers would, of course have refrigerated storage for them (since about 1935 in my area).

The "factory eggs" sold by most grocers are delivered to the stores fairly quickly, but the eggs may be "a few days" old by the time they get there. Since the cartons are required to be marked with an "expiration date" (sell by date) here, one sometimes sees two (rarely three) different dates in the bin in larger stores. In larger stores at least, it would appear that new batches come in at about 3 day intervals, based just on the "steps" from one date to the next. At smaller stores the turnover may not be quite as fast but it's rare in my area to see dates more than a week apart in the same bin. It might be inferred that the "shelf time" in the point of sale stores probably is not much more than about a week, although I haven't found a legal limit stated. Any limits that do exist would be set by the state, so they may vary.

John

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: GUEST,giovanni
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 08:29 PM

Eggs done in those special pans with inserts are generally called "shirred", not poached.

The perfect poached egg needs no vinegar, otherwise it tastes of vinegar. And no salt in the water.

The whirlpool method does work. Crack the egg into a small dish. Get the water to a simmer then stir vigorously. Immediately drop the egg gently into the centre of the swirl.

Once it has turned white and is a little bit cooked you may add a second egg which will miraculously hold together even though you don't swirl the water.

You should know when they are cooked by feel - just lightly lift from the water to check. If it turns out too hard, you left it in too long. We call it learning by experience. (Not being snotty, just that there are too many factors at stake to give an exact time to cook them).

Ta dah - the perfect poached egg.

g

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 08:34 PM

wow this is amazing!!!

I could start my own religion - complete with fundamentalist eggsteemists and we could eggscomunicate the guys we didn't like the look of....

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: catspaw49
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 08:39 PM

Shirred Eggs are baked eggs with the addition of cream and a bit of cheese too if you like. I also add wine, but they are baked. This is one of the finest ways to eat eggs I assure you and they are worth the extra trouble.

As far as this thread goes, I really don't like gritty eggs so I'll leave those to you guys................


Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 09:41 PM

Hi, spaw. Now I know what a shirred egg is.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: catspaw49
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 10:47 PM

Hi leeneia!

Karen and I both love breakfast and it is often a very wonderful time of day for us. Karen comes home from work and we eat and talk before she heads of for a day's sleep. We have very catholic tastes from Krepples to basted eggs and hash to poached over toast to...........

One of our favorites is a variant on shirred which we really love. First, learn how to do shirred......Here is a Basic Shirred Egg Recipe. You can use any cheese you like and even add a little more to taste. I like more chives and parsley works well too.

Now a variant! Separate the yolks and whites. You'll need your baking dishes but also cups for two yolks each. Put all the whites in a small mixing bowl. Add the cream for the number of servings to the whites and then whisk briskly or break out a hand mixer. Add a Tablespoon of wine for each serving into this and beat this mixture to a froth. Pour a rationed amount into each baking cup and then carefully add the yolks to the middle. Bake and eat.

Use whatever wine you like for your taste. We like Riesling but we have used Merlot as well...they look a bit odd with the reds but unlike the Japanese, I don't care what they look like!


Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 15 Mar 12 - 05:23 AM

Gnu - I sometimes temporarily forget that that Mudcat spans the World, and what happens in one country isn't always the same as in other places. In 1988 a British politician made a public statement that "most of the egg production in this country, sadly, is now affected with salmonella". She was rapidly sacked, presumably because the statement was true, and Tory politicians are only allowed to lie to us.
The result of that statement, and the scandal that followed it, was eventually that all UK chickens are immunised against Salmonella, so eggs are much safer than at that time. British immunised eggs all are ink stamped with a lion. Eggs imported to Britain from other countries do not bear the lion stamp, and may not be salmonella free.
Quack!
Geoff.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Mar 12 - 10:15 AM

Al - try these: Egg poaching pods

Grease with butter, float in a pan of boiling water... perfect eggs every time.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Penny S.
Date: 15 Mar 12 - 10:58 AM

I slosh water over mine when they are in the pod, or they are just coddled - it also makes sure the top is cooked properly.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 15 Mar 12 - 01:30 PM

thanks guest!

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: gnu
Date: 15 Mar 12 - 02:07 PM

Penny... I just assumed everyone did that. Also, forgot who mentioned it above, the more water in the pan, the better.

As for salmonella, I have only eaten hardboiled eggs for a number of years. There were some cases of salmonella and I just decided, even tho over easy or or poached lightly (lightly?) are my favourites, never to chance it again.

I make my egg sandwiches with Miracle Whip (yeah, I know real mayo is better but I live alone and the shelf life doesn't suit my rate of use). Here's a twist. Mum uses the same... or various salad dressings. One is Kraft Coleslaw dressing that is a bit sweet. Try it... seriously, it's good. She sometimes uses M. Whip and adds a bit of sweet pickle juice and that's tastey too. Chopped up Gherkins and spanish onion is common, I expect. Anyone do anything exotic or uncommon when making egg sandwiches? Careful, Spaw.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 15 Mar 12 - 03:11 PM

The poaching pod things mentioned by GUEST are fun to use. They are silicone rubber, so very soft and flexible. When the eggs are done, you can turn it inside out for efficient removal of the egg. They also wash in a dishwasher.
We bought some (under a different brand name) for considerably less than the price Amazon are asking.
And Gnu - I like boiled egg sliced in a peanut butter sandwich.
Quack!
GtD.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: gnu
Date: 15 Mar 12 - 03:31 PM

THAT would have never occured to me GtD. I just might try that. Thanks.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Fossil
Date: 15 Mar 12 - 07:31 PM

With apologies to Mr Geoff, the very best poached or scrambled eggs are duck eggs, not hen's. Preferably very fresh ones, not always easy to come by.

I speak as one who has tried every variant of egg over many years. Trust me on this.

But thanks to Mudcatters, I am now going to try some of the suggestions above and will report back. One thing I won't be trying is the little-separate-pan idea. While capable of producing a good result, they are too standardised looking to make an interesting breakfast.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: GUEST,giovanni
Date: 16 Mar 12 - 08:42 AM

Also remember that what goes for truth in the USA has often been distorted beyond recognition of the origin - especially where food is concerned - so what your US grandmother told you may not hold true in the rest of the world.

g

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Mar 12 - 09:09 AM

I like the little silicone pods because they're not only cute, they also prevent bits of poached/coddled egg from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan. If there's one small household job I loathe, it's scrubbing shreds of cooked egg white out of a saucepan.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 16 Mar 12 - 09:20 AM

As for poached (or coddled) eggs, I'd second the suggestions for smoked fish - either smoked salmon or peppered mackerel for me.
I also do a very bastardised 'kedgeree' of spiced rice involving tinned tuna, fried onions and frozen peas, which I serve with eggs and buttered bread for brunch.

Ooh, hungry now!

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 16 Mar 12 - 02:02 PM

Poach the eggs in soup.

A quick hurry-up meal for me is a can of soup (Campbells Chunky, etc.) simmering in a pot, with an egg broken into the soup. Poach to the degree desired.
If you use leftover home-made soup, so much the better.
Serve with buttered toast.
A carrot on the side to nibble.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 21 Mar 12 - 06:39 AM

just had an idea - I'll get a bottle of that oil that's suffused with different flavours - put them in the little plastic cup.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: s&r
Date: 21 Mar 12 - 02:20 PM

The most disgusting food I ever had was a poached egg in french onion soup. Except the soup was cold, the egg was raw and I was being entertained by a new prospective employer.

Stu

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 21 Mar 12 - 10:23 PM

Got two bottles from Tesco. Garlic infused oil and basil infused oil.

Subject: RE: BS: poached eggs - the nitty gritty
From: Charley Noble
Date: 22 Mar 12 - 08:51 AM

Big Al-

I also have a similar set-up to yours, with the cups teflon coated. I also keep the eggs in the refrigerator. So our procedure is to lightly spray the cups with olive oil and add the eggs when the water is boiling, cover the pan and turn down the heat to a lazy boil, and run for 5 minutes, 47 seconds. That produces an egg which is still soft in the middle but fairly firm on the outside, the way we like it.

One caution about the Teflon coated cups: the Teflon coating tends to break down over time and its probably better for your health to have stainless steel or ceramic cups if you can find them, or sand off the remaining Teflon if it begins to flake off.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble