The true poached egg, part 1

Let me admit, I have egg on my face. I got into a discussion with Steve about poached eggs and he thought it was an egg cooked in water, whereas I thought it was an egg cooked in a poaching "cup". My mom used to have an insert that held four cups over a frying pan, letting the eggs cook via steam.

But true poached eggs are cooked directly in water. The steamed variant has become popular and is now commonly called a poached egg, hence the confusion. As I discovered, true poached eggs take some practice, so the poaching cup is a welcome face saver. To help keep the egg together in the boiling water, two tricks are (a) put some vinegar in the water, which hastens the solidification of the whites, or (b) create a vortex in the middle of the pan, by spinning the water. I liked the idea of poaching, because it is healthier and you can get a runny yolk that has been uniformly heated.

I tried making a vortex the first time, aka the "spinney" method and it was miserable failure, partly because I hadn't brought the water to a full boil before hand. The egg was also still a bit cold, so it handily dispersed into the swirling water into an embarassing egg cloud. After 45 seconds, I removed what remained of the egg (about 50% of the white with the intact yolk). I had found a fine sieve cleaning out a kitchen drawer yesterday, so I used it to scoop almost all of the remaining egg white. And then the water really started to boil, and the remaining 3% of white solidified and puffed up like a meringue. It was a bit surprising to see how much volume those dregs of egg white could produce. After more scooping, I finally had a relatively clear pan of water for try 2.

I added a bit of vinegar, brought the water to a boil, lowered the heat and slide the egg in from a bowl. And once again, slivery tendrils formed as the white spread. But what else could I do, so I let it cook. After about a minute or so, I carefully removed the egg, which was about 80% of the white around a soft yolk. It really was most of the egg. And I realized that this is maybe what they do at restaurants. If you lose 20% of the white, the customer isn't any wiser for it. Anyways, the next time, I'll put the egg in a ladle and let it solidify a bit in the ladle before letting it loose.

During this time, I also snuck the remainder of the first egg back in to cook it a bit more, since it was still a bit underdone. I put the two eggs on a thick slice of toasted rosemary potato bread, topped it with some sliced havarti and smoked gouda (which came presliced from Costco) and cut up some ripe Early girls from the garden.

It didn't seem like a premier sandwich. And the egg dripped all over the plate. But the tomatoes were superbly juicy and sweet, and the cheese added a rich almost buttery taste. All in all, a messy but delicious sandwich.

Messy, badly poached egg
(I haven't perfected this recipe, so follow at your own risk)

1 egg

Break egg into a bowl or a ladle. Bring a pan of water to a healthy boil and add a dash of vinegar. Lower the heat so the water is fairly calm.

Slide the egg as gently as possible into the water. Optionally put the egg in a ladle and let it firm up before letting it go. Some of the white will start to separate. Ignore this. Simmer until the white is done, but the yolk is still runny. Remove with a slotted spoon. Serve immediately.