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I think one of the secrets to perfect poached eggs is to use extremely fresh eggs. When eggs are less than fresh, their whites become runny and end up going all over the place. I usually have a dessert spoon handy to gather the whites If they spread out too much. I don't know about all this finicky taking it off the heat business. I find that using room temperature eggs in lightly simmering, vinegared water works just fine.

I have never poached an egg. I suppose it is about time I gave it a try.

I'm so glad to see poached eggs getting the respect they deserve! I posted my tips for making them just a few weeks ago. I'm a big fan of the vinegar in the water method and advise people never to salt the water since it breaks down the egg and makes it more difficult to poach:

http://danamccauley.wordpress.com/2009/03/23/rediscover-poached-eggs

I make my poached eggs in a similar manner. No vinegar or salt. Just lay an egg (cracked into a separate shallow bowl) into steaming hot water (on low) and let it sit for 4 minutes or until the whites have firmed. This will give you perfect poached eggs every time. You just have to be patient and not disturb the eggs until the white has become opaque

Thanks to those who mentioned the swirling vortex method, going to give it a try tomorrow. These days, while the eggs are poaching, I sautee a sliced tomato in a little olive oil, then put the tomato on a plate, throw some spinach in the tomato pan and cover it (tomato juices add enough moisture to cook down the spinach leaves), put wilted spinach on tomatoes, poached eggs on top, and voila--healthy breakfast!

Amen to the fresh eggs. Also, the colder they are (for me) the better they tend to set. I do crack in sep little prep bowls but that's so I can get them all in at about the same time so they cook evenly. I like higher temp water. I use the Julia Child vortex method for the first 2 but after that the vortex is gone. I always salt water and never, ever use vinegar.

I can't imagine spending 10+ minutes poaching an egg?! I have no patience when it comes to yummy, runny eggs. Four minutes in the hot water is about my capacity. Gimme gimme gimme!

I have poached eggs several times a week for lunch on a lightly toasted English muffin. I bring water to a simmer in a shallow pan. Crack two eggs into the water with no vinegar. I set the burner temp to medium and the timer to 3 minutes. I pop the English muffin into the toaster and both the eggs and English muffin will be ready at about the same time. Using a slotted spoon I remove the eggs from the water and blot with a folded paper towel. Add a little salt and freshly ground black pepper and the perfect lunch is served! Five minutes tops...

All the tips sound right to me. I am of the "cover" school, so I guess I like a bit of white over the yolk on mine, which is what happens when I use the cover. I prep like most--vinegar, vortex, drop, 2 minutes, cover, off heat, run toaster. Mine takes about 3 minutes. I check the eggs to make sure they are not getting hard after about 2 minutes. Salt, pepper, EAT!

I discovered a tip that changed forever my life of egg-poacher: crack the (extra fresh) egg into a metal ladle and dunk everything into boiling water with a splash of vinegar in it. The genius is by epicurious and you can see their enlightening video in my post here:

http://cazzarole.blogspot.com/2007/04/questione-di-mestolo.html

(yes the blog is in Italian but the video speaks English :)

@loosyjean - I don't know what they do in your family, but over here... YELLING AT PEOPLE IS CONSIDERED BAD FORM!!!