I remember watching "Julie & Julia," the scene where Julie, the main character, attempts to poach an egg. She, being such a neurotic character anyways, spazzes out about the whole process & after one failed attempt, produces a beautifully sculpted poach egg which she devours despite a lifelong hatred of eggs. In preparation of a Mother's Day brunch that I'm putting together with my sister for the coming weekend, I decided it was time to master the art of egg poaching...how hard could it be?
Well, pretty darn messy sums it up nicely. I, being the geek that I am, researched the heck out of egg poaching. I Googled, I YouTubed, I consulted FoodNetwork.com, MarthaStweart.com, and even Allrecipes.com. I poured over the poaching techniques in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, reading and rereading it to make sure that the steps were burned into my brain. I went out and bought some new, organic eggs because apparently old eggs do not congeal enough to poach. I followed the steps, heated up the water to a simmer but decided to forgo the vinegar part, since it seems like there are two schools of thought regarding the use of white vinegar in poaching an egg-well that & I forgot to pick up the white vinegar when I went grocery shopping.
I carefully cracked the egg and watched it ker-splash into the swirling vat of simmering water (a drop of water even hit me square in the forehead...or was it egg white? I'm not quite sure) & then disaster struck hard. Have you ever ordered egg drop soup from a Chinese restaurant? The egg is thin & wispy, permeating the soup and making a really cool suspended design. That's what I got...actually, the egg yolk shot off in one direction, and the white swirled and dissipated into the simmering water. Well crap. I thought that maybe I didn't let the water simmer enough or that maybe I didn't swirl enough, so I cleaned out the saucepan and went for a take two. This time it was even worse, if that's even possible. The white didn't even attempt to surround the yolk...I think I was a little vigorous in my swirling technique.
When all else fails and all other resources have been exhausted, ask Mom. Even though she doesn't cook nearly as much as she used to, my mother definitely knows her way around a kitchen. I asked my mom if she had ever poached an egg & she looked frankly insulted, like I questioned her ability to tie her shoes or feed herself-I took that as a yes. She is of the vinegar school of thought-note to self, vinegar=good-and she got her saucepan ready with a little water & a dash of vinegar. Let the simmering being. After a few jokes between my dad and me about how the slotted spoon looked like a kitty litter scooper & Lord only knows what's still stuck on it, the water had reached a perfect simmer & it was go time. My mom did the honor of cracking the egg into the water. It immediately sank to the bottom of the pot like my two failed attempts had (Oh great, there goes another egg). Oh and a little noteworthy tip, there was no swirling involved in the making of this poached egg. So the egg sank to the bottom & the whites started to spread. I was instructed to carefully fold the white back over the yolk in order to cover it, like a blanket. Then we simply waited for 4 minutes and retrieved the egg from the water and slid it onto a waiting plate. A little salt & pepper later and the finished product was ready to go. Yum with a capital Y! I hope my husband likes eggs, 'cause I can't wait to try it on my own.
Poached Egg Technique
Bring 2 inches of water and 2 tsp. white vinegar to a simmer (not a boil, it's much to harsh for the egg and will tear it apart, not allowing the white to congeal properly) in a 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Once it reaches a simmer, crack a fresh egg into the water (a fresh egg white will be gel-like, an old egg white will be watery and will not congeal properly). Immediately fold the egg white over the yolk to envelop it, taking care to keep the yolk intact. Cook for 4 minutes, until the white has set and the yolk remains liquidy. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon, allowing the excess water to drip from the egg. Salt and pepper to taste & devour warm. I've been told that you can make these ahead of time and refrigerate them for a few days. When you're ready to serve them, bring a few inches of water to a simmer & heat the eggs in the water for 2-3 minutes.
Note: I've read that you're supposed to put the poached egg in an ice water bath once you've cooked it in order to rinse off any vinegar that remains and to stop the cooking process. However, I did not find the vinegar taste to be overwhelming or adversely affecting the finished product, so I skipped the step. You may or may not find otherwise.
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