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Poached Egg

Ready in 7 mins

Recipe by Graham 

Meester Graham's poached eggs have nice firm whites and moist yolks. This is the difficulty when cooking a poached egg... trying to keep the white of the egg soft and the yolk properly cooked. Egg poaching pans do not always overcome this problem which is why I explain here the other tradition ways of poaching an egg.

If you feel that it's really too easy to have a recipe for poached egg, please read my introduction. There, I say that the only assumptions I have made about you, the visitor to NeedaRecipe.com, is that you know what an egg is, and that you can tell the difference between the sharp end of a knife and the blunt end! Because of this, you may find some of the recipes a little elementary. If this is the case, don't worry because it means that you have a head start on some of your fellow site visitors. Even visitors who have some basic culinary skills will find that this site contains plenty of useful ideas and short cuts that they have not come across before.

Preparation Time

2 Minutes

Cooking Time

5 Minutes

Ingredients for Poached Egg

If you are not familiar with any ingredients, please check our International Cooking Terms page.

Currently displaying quantities in US Imperial Measurements
1 or more eggs

How to Cook Poached Egg

  1. METHOD ONE: Crack the egg(s) into a cup first... Heat a small pan of water. Add a little vinegar to the water then stir the water in a circle to create a mini whirlpool. Gently tip the egg(s) into the water. The moving water holds the egg together and stops it sticking to the pan. The vinegar helps the proteins in the egg whites coagulate (but don't use too much because it can affect the taste). Allow to simmer for four minutes then lift out the egg(s) with a slotted spoon.
  2. METHOD TWO: Crack the egg(s) into a cup first... If you have an egg ring - a metal hoop about 4" (10cm) in diameter and about 1" (2.5cm) high (you can use a mason jar ring) - place water into a small frying pan so that it is just above the level of the egg ring. Bring the water to very gentle simmer. Gently slide the egg into the water in the ring. Continue to simmer and, using a spoon, baste water over the top of the egg so that it cooks. After about 4 minutes, lift off the ring and remove the egg with a fish slice.
  3. METHOD THREE: Crack the egg(s) into a cup first... Fill a saucepan with a couple inches of water. Heat the water on high until it reaches a bare simmer and bubbles start appearing at the bottom of the pan (just a few bubbles coming up now and then). Gently slip the egg into the water. Add all of the eggs you are poaching to the pan in the same way, keeping some distance between them. Turn off the heat and cover the pan. After 4 minutes, the egg whites should be completely cooked, while the egg yolks are still runny. (the precise timing depends on the size of the eggs)
  4. METHOD FOUR: The easy poached eggs method involves using an egg poacher to create identical, consistent and light poached eggs every time. Very hard to get wrong! Remove the cups that you intend to use from the pan. Fill the pan with only ½ inch (1 cm) of water and bring it to a low boil. Spread a drop or so of olive oil in each of the egg cups you are using. Crack the eggs into the egg cups, one egg per cup. Place the egg filled cup back in the slot for it in the pan. Cover the pan and cook for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully lift the egg cups out of the pan. Slide the cooked eggs out of the cups onto serving plates.