Poached to Perfection: A Poached Egg Recipe to Boast About

I will give you my favorite poached egg recipe. You're right, I ate it growing up and still enjoy it when I want to give myself a special breakfast treat.

Poaching has been called "the acid test of a fresh egg." To make a poached egg may also be the "acid test of a good cook."

A few tips can help. Even the freshest egg will not be a success if there is not enough water or milk in the pan to keep the eggs from sticking to the bottom of the pan or to cover the yolk. Don't boil the liquid when making a poached egg recipe. Why not? Boiling water or milk disturbs the egg white, tosses it around and the result is a tough egg with most of the white floating as a frothy waste on top.

Adding vinegar toughens egg whites and gives an acid flavor. It does not keep whites together (as is sometimes thought) if the poaching liquid is allowed to boil.

Ingredients:

grassfed milk (if you can't find it, use regular milk)
2 eggs from grassfed hens (otherwise use regular eggs, but they won't be so pretty or as healthy)
2 shredded wheat biscuits
some honey or sugar
a dab of butter
a dash of salt
a sprinkle of pepper

Procedure:

Lightly oil or butter a medium-sized saucepan. Place pan on burner with medium heat. Pour milk into pan deep enough to cover eggs (about 1 1/2 or 2 inches deep of milk). Bring milk slowly to boiling point at 212 degrees F. REMOVE PAN FROM HEAT.

Carefully break eggs into a cup and slip eggs into the milk. Cover pan and leave off burner or return to low heat. Keep milk just below bubbling point. Cook until eggs are set to desired degree. (I prefer mine soft to medium cooked.)

Remove eggs from pan with slotted spatula or spoon and place carefully on shredded wheat biscuits. Then pour warm milk onto shredded wheat biscuits. (This is really healthy because shredded wheat--at least Post Shredded Wheat--has NO chemicals or high fructose corn syrup added.)

Place butter, salt, pepper and honey on top of eggs. Serves one. Delicious--my all-time favorite poached egg recipe.

Note Color Contrast Between Grassfed Egg on Right and Regular Egg

Steam Poached Egg Recipe (en Cocotte Eggs)

1 Place required number of eggs in well-buttered or oiled individual custard cups or jelly moulds.

2 Set in 1/2 inch of hot water or milk in covered pan and cook until set to desired degree.

3 Serve unmoulded on grated (or sliced) cheese.

Wondering what "en cocotte" means? It's egg cooked individually in cream or butter in a small cup or ramekin.

Poached Egg Recipe on English Muffin

Ingredients:

1 English muffin divided into 2 parts
2 cups water
2 eggs from free-range hens
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of paprika

Procedure:

Pour water into a 1 quart size sauce pan. Set it on the burner and let the water come to a boil. Add the salt to the boiling water.

Break the eggs into a cup one at a time. With a spoon stir the water round and round. Then slip the egg into the water. This makes the egg keep its shape better. Turn the heat to low right away. Cook the eggs 3 to 5 minutes depending on desired doneness.

Serve the poached eggs on the slices of buttered English muffin after you have dashed on a bit of paprika for color and flavoring.

Serves 2

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