How (Not To) Poach an Egg
Lightly oil a small ramekin, drop in an egg and nuke it. Time will depend on your machine. There is a short window between under and overdone. For my microwave it is about 20 seconds.
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How (Not To) Poach an Egg
I agree with all who've suggested that the plastic bag and poaching pans methods do not produce genuine poached eggs. Eggs cooked directly in water is the only way I'll consider it poached. ...and they look so much more appetizing that way too! Poaching pans make the egg look far too "perfect" (in a bad way), like an Egg McMuffin. The plastic bag makes that same, too rubbery, smooth texture. Ick.
How (Not To) Poach an Egg
i did the plastic wrap method as instructed but the eggwhite kind of stuck to the wrap so i sprayed it the next time with some olive oil. it works very well. no clean up.
i own the 4 cup egg poacher - cute little gizmo but a pain to clean the pan, the lid, and the cups every time...
How (Not To) Poach an Egg
An egg white coagulates 140F and the yolks at 149F. This is a safe temperature for almost all plastic wrap. Saran Wrap and Stretch Tight brand are safe up to near boiling temperatures (I'm not sure about other brands). If you are really scared about it, don't eat in restaurants because they use methods like that all the time.
How (Not To) Poach an Egg
I bought a set of "Poach Pods" at Sur La Table and find that they make a perfect poached egg. I tried the cling wrap method before as well and I felt that the egg looked weird and I found cooking in cling wrap kind of creepy. Most makers of cling wrap recommend that you not allow the plastic film to touch your food while microwaving it.
How (Not To) Poach an Egg
The vortex method has always worked fine for me, but the best way to prevent straggly, runny whites is to use FRESH eggs. The older an egg gets, the runnier the white, so look for the freshest eggs you can find. Not so easy in the supermarket, but if you have access to a farmers market and can find fresh, pasture-raised eggs, not only will they taste better but they will be much easier to poach. Looking at the photos on this post, it looks like those eggs are many weeks old!
How (Not To) Poach an Egg
I seem to recall the first time I saw a TV chef prepare poached eggs (Martha?) She gently took a pair of kitchen shears and trimmed off all the egg white that took away from the symmetry of the poached egg. After that she poured hollandaise all over it a la eggs benedict. I'll never forget that and I always think of it now when eating them!
How (Not To) Poach an Egg
Hey Robb, Do you use 100% milk or do you dilute it in water at all? That sounds like a nifty method.
How (Not To) Poach an Egg
Plastic wrap and ziplocs bags are not designed to be safe in contact with food at the temperatures needed to poach eggs, DO NOT USE PLASTIC unless you want cancer.
How (Not To) Poach an Egg
Always liked my own crazy technique, but I'm with Adam---going to try Robb's poaching in milk!
How (Not To) Poach an Egg
I poach eggs the same way Loco and BostonFoodMan (and other people) do. Worked on my first try! If I can do it, anyone can. :P
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