What are you cooking?

[lottabubbles]

I don't use it often but I actually have a steam egg cooker. It does hard/soft boiled and has a tray for poaching. It actually does quite well as to hard/soft boiled but I've never tried the poaching tray; need to give it a try sometime. The poaching tray has cups to hold individual eggs. In all cases it is all steam cooked. Now that I think of it a steak house where I worked as a cook did Eggs Benedict as part of their brunch menu and the poached eggs were steamed.

As a note on poached eggs done in water a bit of vinegar in the water will cause the whites to set a bit quicker so there is not as much waste as to bits of the whites separating and floating around as waste. Still have some waste but not as much. Should also stir the water to make a bit of a water funnel before adding the eggs. The bit of a whirlpool will help congeal the whites around the yolks making for better consistency of the white wrapping around the yolk.

this morning I cooked the eggs in those silicon cups in the microwave without any oil and they fell right out of the cups after cooking. I do like the consistency of the water poached eggs but I sure like quick cook chowing down while the cup of coffee is still hot.
I never did see why people would boil water and make the vortex and drop an egg in it and watch the egg whites spiral out while cooking. I've seen them cut off the egg spiral arms off and make it round again and I just consider that a waste of egg. see on the internet yesterday that the ones in the know say we won't get bird flu from the store bought eggs.
key lime pie doings tomorrow.

 

[jaylach]

Uh oh, jaylach, you lost me at vinegar & whirlpool. LOL, I think I'm not ready for egg poaching & I really need deviled ham...I think I did poach eggs once or twice long ago since adulthood...Probably the same can of deviled ham, lol.

Vinegar is supposed to help the whites form around the yolk. When I say a whirlpool I don't mean like a toilet flushing. It is just making the water go in a circular motion. In theory this makes the yolk spin a little making the white wrap around the yolk. You never want water actually boiling but, rather a fair simmer. Water at a real boil will just break up the whites.

Now for a good trick for poaching eggs. Put a half inch or so of water in a skillet and bring to a simmer. Put in the eggs just like you are doing sunny side up or basted. As the whites cook fold up over the yolk. This has a couple of advantages.
1) You don't lose any of the whites.
2) It leave a flat bottom which is especially good for such things as Eggs Benedict as the flat bottom prevents the poached egg from rolling off of the English Muffin.

BTW, poaching isn't only for eggs. Basically poached is defined as just cooking gently in water or other liquid. Poaching is also great for things such as fish. Also poaching does not need to just be water although that is the most common. Try poaching a fish fillet using my skillet method but add lemon juice to the water if you like lemon on fish. The fish will pick up the lemon flavor from the water/lemon mix. If you have ever made Salisbury steak (meat patty simmered in a gravy, usually a brown gravy) the meat patty is actually being poached. Even things such as sketti sauce and meatballs is technically poaching as you are cooking the meatballs in liquid. Of course we don't think of meatballs as poached but technically they are. Poached literally just means cooked in a liquid. Going back to eggs basted can also be seen as poached but just with melted butter as the liquid instead of water.

 

[lottabubbles]

Vinegar is supposed to help the whites form around the yolk. When I say a whirlpool I don't mean like a toilet flushing. It is just making the water go in a circular motion. In theory this makes the yolk spin a little making the white wrap around the yolk. You never want water actually boiling but, rather a fair simmer. Water at a real boil will just break up the whites.

Now for a good trick for poaching eggs. Put a half inch or so of water in a skillet and bring to a simmer. Put in the eggs just like you are doing sunny side up or basted. As the whites cook fold up over the yolk. This has a couple of advantages.
1) You don't lose any of the whites.
2) It leave a flat bottom which is especially good for such things as Eggs Benedict as the flat bottom prevents the poached egg from rolling off of the English Muffin.

BTW, poaching isn't only for eggs. Basically poached is defined as just cooking gently in water or other liquid. Poaching is also great for things such as fish. Also poaching does not need to just be water although that is the most common. Try poaching a fish fillet using my skillet method but add lemon juice to the water if you like lemon on fish. The fish will pick up the lemon flavor from the water/lemon mix. If you have ever made Salisbury steak (meat patty simmered in a gravy, usually a brown gravy) the meat patty is actually being poached. Even things such as sketti sauce and meatballs is technically poaching as you are cooking the meatballs in liquid. Of course we don't think of meatballs as poached but technically they are. Poached literally just means cooked in a liquid. Going back to eggs basted can also be seen as poached but just with melted butter as the liquid instead of water.

we do that with cod fish except I use milk instead of water. little healthier than frying but then that fried fish sure hits the spot.
last year took a large sweet onion and did about a 1/2 ~ 5/8th slice and took those large rings and put them them in a large skillet and started the frying and then cracked eggs inside those rings. little lemon pepper and salt and you have special breakfast.

 

[jaylach]

we do that with cod fish except I use milk instead of water. little healthier than frying but then that fried fish sure hits the spot.
last year took a large sweet onion and did about a 1/2 ~ 5/8th slice and took those large rings and put them them in a large skillet and started the frying and then cracked eggs inside those rings. little lemon pepper and salt and you have special breakfast.

Sort of sounds like 'Toad In A Hole' but with onion instead of toast. BTW, 'Toad In A Hole' is thick toast with the middle cut out usually in a ring. Put the toast in a skillet and drop an egg in the hole.

Tonight's dinner is a meatball sub with onion, bell peppers, black olives and Mozzarella cheese on top.

 

[lottabubbles]

just pulled this key lime pie with extra zest out of the oven
let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

 

[fishorama]

Oooh, key lime pie! I've never made it but love it when someone else does. I may have try the egg in onion rings too.

jaylach, what you call poaching I call braising for meats, especially pork chops. Same idea but less water. Meatballs are just simmered in sauce, lol. I now bake them first so they just "finish" in the sauce.

We're having grilled Italian marinated chicken & what we call fried rice (brown rice & lots of sauted veggies; onion, peppers, peas, carrots & often broccol & zucchini, little soy sauce & black pepper, no egg). My husband is doing his sous chef thing...so we'll be eating late...I appreciate his help but, man, is he slow, lol

 

[gwand]

If poached eggs aesthetics are important to you go with a poaching steamer. Mine was inexpensive. It is circular with six cups to crack eggs into. The cups sit in a rack above the waterline. The eggs come out perfect.