Make Pefectly Poached Eggs WITHOUT Fancy Gadgets

When you want to make a perfectly poached egg you don't need one of those fancy gadgets you see on those late night infomercials. Instead of paying 3 easy payments of $19.95 and one complicated payment; you can simply read on and learn how making a poached egg with items you have in your home is just as fast and much cheaper.

Eating poached eggs is much healthier than having fried eggs because you won't need any oil or butter to make these delicious and healthy eggs. What you will need is a sauce pan, water, the eggs and depending on your preference vinegar. We'll explain the vinegar part later on.

For the most perfect poached egg it is better if you have the freshest eggs possible. If you could use an egg that just came out of a chicken the cooking of it will be easier and will make for a better presentation. I say presentation because to be considered a perfectly poached egg the delicious dish should have a beautifully yellow colored yolk that has been undisturbed and a shiny opaque oval of the egg white surrounding it.

Poached eggs should be served almost immediately after they are taken from the pan. The poached egg tastes much better when warm so you should cook all other portions of the breakfast dish first and save making the poached egg for last. All the other foods that need to stay warm can be placed in the oven on low or warm heat setting to keep them warm while you are cooking the poached egg.

The first thing you want to do is bring a sauce pan of water to a boil. Usually you will want the pan be at least a half or two thirds full of water before you bring it to a boil. While you wait for the water to come to a boil, crack an egg into a small bowl or into a soup ladle. Some suggest adding a tablespoon of vinegar to the water because the vinegar will help the egg whites coagulate better and the appearance of the finished poached egg will be better. The vinegar will not affect the taste.

Now that the water is boiling, use a spoon and stir the boiling water in a way that creates a "whirlpool" effect in the pan. This is done to cool the water because you do not want to drop the egg white and yolk directly into the boiling water. It will make the egg tough and possibly break the yolk. Once you have the whirlpool effect going, add the egg into the funnel and then let it spread. It will take about three or five minutes to cook.

Once the poached egg is cooked, remove it quickly with a slotted spoon or slotted spatula. Let the excess water drain back into the pan, otherwise the poached egg will be rather soggy. Carefully handle the freshly cooked poached egg so you don't break the yolk. Serve immediately because the consistency and flavor of the poached egg dramatically change once they are cool.