It seems over the top. Not at all. Gordon Ramsay explains very well that scrambled egg continues to cook even after you take them off the heat and so to get the exact degree of set you want, you alternate between heat and off-heat. The heat is held in the bottom of the pan - obvious and simple science really.
Instead of cooking scrambled eggs over low heat, Ramsay cooks them over medium-high heat, removing the pan from the heat as soon as the curds begin to thicken, and continuing to cook the eggs off the heat source for about 10 seconds before returning the pan to medium heat for 3 minutes.
"Vinegar is an inherently acidic material, so if we add a few drops of vinegar into that boiling water that is going to increase the rate of denaturing and it's going to make that happen faster and help the poached egg hold its shape better."
Take the eggs out of the water with a slotted spoon and drop them into an ice and water bath. This will stop the cooking process in its tracks, making sure residual heat doesn't keep the show going, and helps guarantee that perfectly runny yolk. You can store them overnight like this in the refrigerator. Let them swim.
Right Water Temperature For Poaching Eggs
Keep the water between 180 and 190 degrees Fahrenheit (82 and 88°C). Using a kitchen thermometer to keep a steady temperature is very helpful. The water should not be boiling.
The poaching water should just barely simmer; rapid boiling will cause the eggs to break up as they cook. Poached eggs can be made ahead of time and held for up to two days. Undercook them slightly so the yolks remain runny when reheated. Refrigerate in enough water to cover the eggs.
The swirling water will help prevent the white from "feathering," or spreading out in the pan.
You can poach an egg without vinegar by substituting with lemon Juice! It might give your egg a slight lemony flavor, but lemon juice serves the same purpose as vinegar when poaching eggs.
How long do you poach eggs? Poaching eggs only takes a couple of minutes. Once the water is boiling, cook the eggs for 2½ to 3 minutes. They'll be firm on the outside, runny on the inside, and delicately delicious every time.
The vinegar in the water makes the eggs easier to peel. Here's why: The vinegar's acid not only dissolves some of the calcium carbonate in the shell, it also helps the whites set faster. Running the hard-boiled eggs under cold running water as you're peeling, meanwhile, helps the shell separate from the membrane.
If you soak this egg shell in vinegar (which is about 4% acetic acid), you start a chemical reaction that dissolves the calcium carbonate shell. The acetic acid reacts with the calcium carbonate in the egg shell and releases carbon dioxide gas that you see as bubbles on the shell.
Chef Ramsay opts to boil his eggs for four and a half minutes to keep the egg's center slightly soft. When your eggs are finished boiling, drain the water and run the eggs under cold tap water in the pot. According to Chef Ramsay, cooling the eggs as quickly as possible prevents their yolks from turning gray.
There, chefs baste the meat with Devonshire Butter, like you would a turkey on Thanksgiving day. You don't have to babysit the meat on the grill like that to take the technique to the next level, though.
Bring a pan of water filled at least 5cm deep to a simmer.
Don't add any salt as this may break up the egg white. Stir the water to create a gentle whirlpool to help the egg white wrap around the yolk.