For extra insurance, add a tablespoon of rice vinegar or mild-tasting vinegar to the boiling water. It helps the loose, billowy white stay intact, forming a more tight and compact shape. And don't worry about the taste of the vinegar — it's mild and unnoticeable in the finished egg.
The biggest challenge with poaching eggs is that you want the water as hot as possible, so the egg sets quickly, but if the water is boiling, the turbulence will make a mess.
The main reason for adding vinegar to the water when poaching eggs is because the acid in the vinegar helps to coagulate the whites in the egg more quickly resulting in them cooking quicker as well.
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.
If the water is hot enough (near boiling), salt increases the density of the cooking liquid just enough to make the egg bob to the surface when it's about perfectly done. While you can certainly poach eggs without the salt and vinegar, they'll want to sit on the bottom of the pan and thus cook unevenly.
"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."
To make the best possible poached eggs, bring the eggs to room temperature before poaching. This is because cold eggs will lower the temperature of the water and slow the cooking process.
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.
There are three poaching methods: shallow poaching, submersion poaching, and par-poaching. All poaching methods are great for gently cooking delicate foods like fish, eggs, meat, vegetables, and fruit.
How Long Do You Poach Eggs? For a firm white and runny yolk you'll want to poach the eggs for 3-4 minutes. I prefer a 3 minute poached egg. And if you plan to poach a batch of eggs ahead of time and reheat later, just keep in mind that reheating may firm up the eggs a little more as well.
A really soft poached egg should take around 2 minutes and a soft-to-firm one will need 4 minutes (it depends on the size of the egg and whether you're using it straight from the fridge). To check if it's done, carefully remove your egg from the pan with a slotted spoon and give it a gentle prod with a teaspoon.
Work your way around the pan clockwise, so you know which eggs are done first. Tip: Fresher eggs cook faster and have firmer whites. Cover the pan and turn off the heat. The key to poaching is a gentle heat that will give your eggs a firm white and a loose yolk.
Use a deep, large pan to poach an egg. Fill it with plenty of water and add a pinch of salt and a dash of white wine vinegar. This will help set the egg.
Second, when you swirl the egg, it means that the outer white and the inner white merge together, meaning you can't trim the outer white away to make it a gorgeous, Thomas Keller-worthy egg. What should you do instead? Use a lot of vinegar in your water.
There are two types of poaching: shallow and deep. No mystery here: in shallow poaching, a bed of aromatics (onions, carrots, celery, herbs etc) is used to keep the food off the bottom of the pot, and then liquid is added to partially cover. In deep poaching, the food is completely submerged.
Heat the water: Add enough water to come 1 inch up the side of a narrow, deep 2-quart saucier. Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 2 teaspoons white vinegar and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, crack 1 very fresh cold large egg into a custard cup or small ramekin.
You are, of course, referring to the spherical poached eggs seen at fashionable cafes. They're made by lining a small bowl with a sheet of plastic film, brushing it with oil, adding a knob of butter, cracking in an egg, seasoning with salt and pepper, then gathering up the edges and tying in a tight knot.
Olive oil-poached eggs are extra-rich
When poached in olive oil, according to Lifehacker, eggs turn out extra rich — like a fried egg, but with a soft, creamy yolk. Plenty of chefs are fans of poaching eggs in olive oil.
Optimal poaching temperature
The most important thing is maintaining a low and steady water temperature between 180 and 190°F (82 and 88°C). I recommend using an instant-read thermometer. This range should provide simmering water with no bubbles or just a few breaking the surface.