A Month-of-Eggs: Poaching Power

Poached Egg on Toast

I have shared a few techniques with you within the context of the recipes, but today’s post is all about technique. Just about five years ago I wrote about my new way of making poached, or coddled, eggs.

 

It was a big breakthrough for me, because making coddled/poached eggs as an adult, I realized why my mother only did them when we were ill, typically one at a time. Poached eggs are hard!

Hard to keep the yolk intact as you lift it out of the boiling water. Hard to scrub off all the little stringy whites stuff that sticks to the side of the pan. Yeah, Big Ma would never make enough for the whole family for breakfast. Too hard.

I'll bet you guessed poached eggs are much better for you than their fried sunny-side-up cousins. Poached eggs have no added fat. They are pure protein with only their native fat content. One reason I bake eggs or poach them is for health reasons. But they are a pain--if done the traditional way.

Poach Pods

Then I found Poach Pods, little silicon floaters to cook the eggs in. But, I can only cook four eggs at a time (which could serve anywhere from 2-4 people). Okay, I could buy more, but when I have guests, I usually made my omelets-in-a-bag for breakfast for a large number (I’ve done 12).

But then I read one of those things that periodically make the Internet rounds suggesting using coffee filters.

Eggs in Coffee Filters

I found I can serve a large number of people poached eggs by cooking them in cone-shaped coffee filters in boiling water. Sure, the eventually tip over, but by then the eggs are mostly cooked. And if you have enough of them crowding your pan of boiling water, they don’t tip over at all.

So put your eggs into a Poach Pod or into a coffee filter and boil away until your eggs reach your desired degree of hardness. I take mine out immediately after the last bit of egg white cooks. We like runny eggs.

Egg in Poach Pod

Egg in Coffee Filter

I crack the eggs right into the Poach Pods and put into hot water, then turn the heat up to boil them. I put the coffee filters into coffee cups and crack the eggs into the filters, lift them into the hot water, and turn up the heat. The cups are still clean, so I put them back into the cupboard. If you let them sit in the coffee cups for a while, do wash the cups to be safe.

Poach Pod eggs take about 10-12 minutes in boiling water. Coffee filter ones cook much more quickly, about 5 minutes, because they are closer to the water.

Poached eggs can be egg sandwiches instead of frying the egg. Just cook your eggs to a harder yellow state. I would do in my good nutrition by slathering on my mayonnaise and tomatoes. Oh, and some cheese. Love egg sandwiches!

Poached eggs are also essential to Eggs Benedict which you will want to serve with my Hollandaise sauce.

I use poached eggs on top of my quinoa and kale recipe, too.

Once poached eggs are easier to make, you will find yourself serving them more often for family and friends. You can buy your own set of four Poach Pods from catalogs or from Amazon at http://amzn.to/w6th1

DH’s Rating: 5 Tongues Up  He does love the more healthful poached eggs in all the ways I mentioned above. But he still has trouble seeing eggs as a dinner instead of breakfast or lunch.