I love eggs. They’re super versatile and a great way to add extra protein (and oomph!) to a dish. As a breakfast lover, I pretty much enjoy all styles of eggs, but poached hold a special place in my heart. See, I’ve never made a poached egg…at least not the traditional way.
Poached eggs done well are soft, creamy, and ooze perfectly over toast or crispy potatoes. Badly poached eggs on the other hand are all over-done whites and hard yolks. Because I’m so particular about my poached eggs and because I’ve had my share of over-done eggs, I’ve convinced myself that poached eggs are the most difficult egg cooking technique. The holy grail of eggs, if you will.
In my search for the easiest poached egg recipe I saw multiple egg poaching methods: water-swirling, vinegar-ing, plastic wrapping, and silicone podding. All the methods seemed too persnickety to try, so I went with the simplest method possible.
Turns out that the simplest way to poach eggs is to slow poach them. I found the technique in New York chef David Chang’s cookbook, Momofuku. Chang’s slow poached eggs are based on onsen eggs, a Japanese egg cooking technique. Eggs are slowly cooked in their shell in 145 F hot water for 45 minutes. Because the eggs are cooked so slowly, the eggs are super creamy: the whites are just set and the yolks gloriously oozy.
The beauty of slow-poached eggs is that they are cooked in their shell. Because they’re already naturally packaged, you can make a bunch at a time and have them in the fridge on hand anytime you have a poached egg craving. You can use these eggs anywhere you’d use regular poached eggs. If you’re having people over for brunch, it’s awesome because you can prep all of your eggs the night before and just heat them up in a bowl of hot water. Crack them open and watch your friend’s faces light up in amazement when your “raw” eggs slide out of the shell perfectly poached.
I am oozy, I am unctuous: I AM SLOW POACHED EGG!
Slow Poached Egg Recipe slightly adapted from Momofuku
- large eggs, as many as you like
Place a steamer rack in your biggest pot and then fill the pot with the hottest tap water possible. Put the pot on the stove on the lowest heat.
Clip a thermometer to the side of the pot and monitor the temperature. You want the water between 140-145 F. When the water is the right temperature, add the eggs to the pot and let them hang out for 40-45 minutes checking the temperature regularly. Add a couple of ice cubes if the water gets too hot.
The eggs can be enjoyed immediately or you can keep them in the fridge for a few days. If you want to keep them in the fridge, chill them in an ice water bath before storing in the fridge. To warm up, place in a bowl of piping hot tap water for a couple of minutes.
To eat, simply crack open the egg into a small saucer. There may be a tiny bit of white that is a bit loose, tip the dish to pour it out then slide the egg on the dish you’re using it in. Enjoy!
**Fried Slow Poached Eggs
If you’ve made a big bunch of slow poached eggs and you’re wondering what to do with them (as if!), try pan frying them in a bit of oil over medium high heat. You’ll end up with perfectly runny yolks, creamy whites and crispy brown sides.
I use an electric pot. It holds the set temperature and I use a digital thermometer to beep if for some reason, it gets too hot. (Which it shouldn’t and doesn’t.)
I find this method intriguing. But I’ll try it only if I can be sure of maintaining a constant low temperature of the water. I may have to do some shopping for equipment. In the meantime, I should share my no-fuss method:
1. Break eggs in a small coffee cup.
2. Bring water to a boil in a medium sauce pan.
3. Pour in the eggs — not carefully. Just dump them into the boiling water. You don’t have to swirl the water or add vinegar.
4. Maintain the heat, until the eggs return to a boil. For me, about 30 seconds on a gas stove. Keep an eye on it to avoid boiling over.
5. Turn the heat off. Wait four minutes (for soft, liquid-y egg yolks).
6. Prepare a bowl for the eggs merely by placing a half-paper towel on the bottom.
7. Pour one or two eggs in a strainer with large holes. Drain it a bit.
8. Place the eggs into the bowl. Remove the wet paper towel.
9. Eat.
<3 thanks for the awesome post! I've always wondered what onsen eggs would be like (I only knew of them from anime and playing Harvest Moon *blush*) and I'd been looking for a good egg poaching recipe. It's kinda neat that something I've only known about in passing is actually the best way to poach an egg!
Another tric is to use a domestic bench fryer with a dial-set temperature. Clwan the bowl before adding the water and experiment with the temperature setting (I’ve never found one that is 100% accurate) then use a white-out pen to put a small dot on the exact temperature mark on the dial. You still need a cake cooling rack of some kind to keep the eggs off the bottom, (which is usually in direct contact with the heating element underneath) and it’s still desireable to have the eggs at room temperature before adding them to the water.
But because the pan is thermostat controlled, it takes some of the effort out of maintaining the temp with ice cubes etc. for the whole 45 minutes.
Another method you can try is to bring the water to the boil, then lower in an egg at room temperature, immeadiately place on lid and REMOVE from the heat source for EXACTLY 4 minutes.
this only works for one egg of 65-70gms (and fairly close to sea level.
Though it works for me, I haven’t experimented with high & Low air temperatures or different altitudes, which change the temperature at which water boils.
Sounds like a lot of time and effort for an egg. They must really be wonderful, because I can’t imagine waiting 45 minutes for breakfast! My no-fail poached egg method is very simple: Bring water to boil, crack egg in it, time for 3 minutes. Perfect every time.
I just tried this and this method is definitely the best. The egg stays clean and together rather than running into a big splattered mess which doesn’t fit correctly on the toast. I will always use this method. =)
Holy shit– this was delicious and easy. Toast with porcini pate on top