poached eggs the old fashioned way?

[HeyWayne]

Poached eggs - my favourite way to eat an egg.

I quite fancy a Benedict now.

Anyhoo. LadyWayne's always had trouble poaching eggs (I don't, but she likes to do them for me every now and then). A friend of ours recently said that someone told them a "non-messy" way of poaching eggs.

Get yerself a mug/cup and a sheet of cling film. Place the cling film in the cup or mug - effectively you are looking to create a "bowl". Crack the egg into the bowl you have made and then gather the cling film up and tie a know in it.

Bring water to the boil, turn off the heat and place the cling-filmed egg into the water.

Not sure it was entirely successful in being a "non-messy" way of doing it, but the egg tasted nice enough.

[Incy]

MMm sounds scrummy. Haven't had a real poached egg in ages. I do an alternative version by cracking an egg into a small dish. prod some holes in the yolk to stop it exploding and microwave for 30 to 40 seconds depending on the microwave. also delicious with cheese grated on top as soon as you take it out.

[piskieinboots]

I feel a Delia/Jamie rush on egg sales coming on

[Polly Fouracre]

I maintain that eggs done in an "egg poacher" are baked, not poached. A small pan of fast boiling water, crack the egg(which must be fresh ) into it, bring back to the boil, take off the heat, cover and leave for two or three minutes(or, as someone else said) until a perfect slice of toast is made.

[Hilary B]

If you cook eggs in the microwave, the yolks are set aren't they? Just what I DON'T want!
The poacher is much slower, as well as not being the 'proper' way (although it does allow for adding butter, to stop the egg sticking OF COURSE!)

[Alison]

Probably a stupid question but what on earth is an egg poacher? Had no idea there was any other way of doing them other than in a saucepan!

[MaureenHall]

I feel a Delia/Jamie rush on egg sales coming on

I'm one of the VERY lucky ones My girls give me delicious huge fresh eggs every day. Eggs for poaching are best when they're about 2 days old - don't ask me why, it's something Paul Rankin said .

Also, on the subject of cooking eggs, eggs for hard boiling are useless unless they're about 8 days old. The white sticks to the shell (or the membrane inside the shell) and you lose half of it

[ckfe]

If you cook eggs in the microwave, the yolks are set aren't they? Just what I DON'T want!

when you say the yolks are set do you mean they go hard? i only like runny eggs whether they be poached, boiled or fried

[piskieinboots]

Probably a stupid question but what on earth is an egg poacher?

Here ya go Alison

[Hilary B]

Probably a stupid question but what on earth is an egg poacher? Had no idea there was any other way of doing them other than in a saucepan!

Basically it is a device for holding a few 'cups' into each of which an egg can be broken, and then it is steamed.
Mostly it is a shallow saucepan with a platform that holds the cups for putting eggs into. The lower part of each cup sits in the cooking water. The lid is a shallow dome which sits on top, so the eggs get cooked by the heat from below and the steam from above.

[Incy]

when you say the yolks are set do you mean they go hard? i only like runny eggs whether they be poached, boiled or fried

My eggs done in the microwave are runny
It's all about timing

[ckfe]

My eggs done in the microwave are runny
It's all about timing

how do you do yours incy? do you just bung some water in a bowl and put it in the microwave?

[Alison]

Here ya go Alison

Basically it is a device for holding a few 'cups' into each of which an egg can be broken, and then it is steamed.
Mostly it is a shallow saucepan with a platform that holds the cups for putting eggs into. The lower part of each cup sits in the cooking water. The lid is a shallow dome which sits on top, so the eggs get cooked by the heat from below and the steam from above.

You learn something new every day. Seem to vaguely remember my mum had one in the back of a cupboard back in the 70s but don't remember her ever using it. Looks like it falls into the gadget category and I'm not really a gadget kind of girl (with the exception of my breadmaker), especially in the kitchen where I tend to prefer to use the tried and tested method - added to which I've not got enough storage room for all the stuff you can buy!

[piskieinboots]

... my mum had one in the back of a cupboard ..

yep, that is where mine is!

[Incy]

how do you do yours incy? do you just bung some water in a bowl and put it in the microwave?

No water involved, as I said it's an alternative and not quite the same as a real poached egg. a small bowl - I use one that had posh pate in originally - prod the yolk with a fork so it doesn't explode... Makes a right mess if you forget start with 20 or 30 seconds, you simply take it out as soon as the white looks done.