Cafe Style Poached Eggs
I love poached eggs. Not because it’s the healthiest way to enjoy them, but because it’s the best way to get the runniest yolk - my favourite part! I had tried so many different ways, using glad wrap, swirling water, I’m sure I’d watched 5’s and 10’s of you tube videos, but I could never get something to work consistently to give me café quality poached eggs!
A few years ago I was away for work in a remote outback area and ordered poached eggs, fully expecting to just push them around my plate and try and extract any yolk I could. I was pleasantly surprised when the waiter brought out 2 of the most perfectly poached eggs I had seen! My pickiness when it comes to food and the pleasure good food brings me, comes out when something so simple bring me so much joy!! Given I was in the middle of nowhere and the only person at the restaurant I plucked the courage to ask the waiter if I could go in the back and watch the chef make another round of poached eggs. I think the request was so unusual that he walked me into the kitchen before he fully realised why. The Chef also found it quite amusing and I think purely out of boredom himself, obliged. I ate eight eggs that morning, made two friends, and finally learned how to poach an egg! I won’t lie, it still takes a bit of practice, but here’s what I learned;
Tip 1 - Use Fresh Free Range Eggs
Firstly, and most importantly, the eggs need to be fresh! If you have a good supplier, then great .If not, don't be shy when buying eggs from a market- ask roughly when they were laid. If a supermarket is more for you, just make sure that the expiry on the carton is at least 4-5 weeks away. This means that the egg is under a week old.
You can also check the eggs by putting them in water. (See the diagram below.)
Tip 2 - Don't crack the egg directly into the water
You should always crack the egg into a small bowl before putting into the water, this acts as another check of freshness. The egg on the right is perfect. How nice does that look?! you can tell you're going to get a perfectly plump poached egg. If you don't want any stringy bits, strain out the runny whites. The egg on the left, means we’re having scrambled or fried eggs that morning.
Tip 3 - Ratios
The water needs to have vinegar and be simmering, not boiling. 30 ml to every 1 Litre of water is the ratio I recommend. On my induction top, I have the setting on 7 (out of 10). These, paired with the firm white of a fresh egg, helps create a cocoon around the yolk. Crack the egg into a small bowl and gently drop into the water. After 3-4 minutes the egg will have floated to the top. 3 minutes for a runny yolk, and 4 for a firmer white and yolk. The next must do is dunking the poached egg in a bowl of fresh water. This will get rid of the vinegar taste. (if you get this when you go to a café, it’s because they haven’t water washed the egg!). Drain on paper towel and serve.
General Tips You can make multiple eggs at one time if you have guests. You can also part make them as they will hold after 2 minutes in the water, remove and then dunk back in, to finish and serve. The most I’ve done is for 8 people for breakfast, with 2 eggs each and this worked well.
If you’ve put too much vinegar in the water and the water boils, then you’ll get an egg white foam appear on the surface of the water. Too little vinegar and your poached eggs will be less like bulbous cocoon shape you get at a café and more flat.
If the water isn’t simmering, then the egg will stick to the bottom of your pan. The small bubbles coming off the bottom, help separate the egg and keep it clear.
Expect that not all of the eggs will work! You can see my picture the one in the background is a little flat.
