Easy Poached Eggs

The humble poached egg has a reputation for being the hardest kind of egg to cook.  It’s also my favourite way to eat eggs (I love a gooey yolk that oozes out all over my Sunday brunch), so I had to work out a pretty foolproof way of cooking them and I think I’ve got it down to a fine art now.  With my Easy Poached Eggs method, you’ll get perfectly poached eggs every time.  There really is nothing to be scared of, once you’ve practised a few times it will be as easy as making a boiled or fried egg!

To start, make sure the eggs are at room temperature or they will cool the water down too much and not cook properly.  Then, I like to boil the water in a kettle and add it to the pan.  This just saves a bit of time.  (You can just add tap water to the pan and heat it from cold if you prefer though).  Use a deep frying pan or large saucepan (something with a wide rim) so it’s easy to remove the eggs at the end and fill it about 2-3ins full.  Wait for the water to boil so there are large bubbles popping on the surface and then turn the heat off completely.

Crack the eggs into the pan, trying to keep them separate from each other.  (Don’t crowd the pan, maybe 3-4 at the most each time) and then just leave them for 5 minutes.  The residual heat from the hot water will cook them without overcooking. Then, after 5mins or so you can check them by lifting them out.  If the white is cooked all the way through then the yolk will be perfect.  It always produces the most amazing gooey yolks that ooze out as you cut into them

If the eggs have cooled down the water too much and you don’t think they’re cooking enough, after the 5 mins you can turn the hob on and give it a short burst of heat.  As soon as you get bubbles again, turn the heat off and leave for another minute or so.

Once you’ve mastered the skill there are so many dishes you can cook.  From Eggs Benedict to Nicoise Salads to the humble poached egg on toast.

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