How To Tuesday – How to Poach an Egg and Avocado Benedict

Poached eggs are the best type of egg. Ever. This is a statement of fact and thus, not debatable. I should tweet it to Uber Facts and see if they accept it and help me spread it around the Twittersphere, getting hundreds of retweets from people who are smart and believe the same thing I do. And if you do not yet know if poached eggs are for you. Well, is breathing for you? In that case, poached eggs are totally for you. And learning how to poach an egg is absolutely for you!

I’m here to spread the word of these buttery eggs, these eggs on high with their delicate whites and yolks made of butter. The only thing that might rival my obsession with poached eggs is my new fangled obsession with everything mint. Robin’s egg blue? Puhh-leeze, move on over – everything is coming up mint here people. After a shopping trip to Target with a friend I ended up dumping everything in my basket out at the register and realized – it was all pastel green. The tank top, the nail polish and the new t-shirt. When I get a full blown blog redesign done and it’s all mint – you can commit me. I can’t be stopped.

And if that is any indication of the rivalry that mint and poached eggs have on me, I’m half surprised on not in the fetal position on the floor cuddled up with Huck trying to get away from me. Come back HUCKkkkkk!!!

After a classic case of the Monday’s yesterday, I had to do this how-to before the light went down and after the first fork full of poached egg went into my face – the whole afternoon turned around.

It probably also had something to do with the remaining opened bottle of bubbly from the weekend that HAD to be consumed before it went flat. Champagne and poached eggs? It’s totally a thing.

Learning how to poach an egg is much easier than you think and with a couple of simple tricks you do it with one spatula tied in your apron strings.

Into a large sauté pan that is at least three inches deep, bring your water to a heavy simmer. The biggest key I found was adding 1 teaspoon of vinegar to the water. This effectively lowers the pH of the water and helps keep the egg whites together so you’re not poaching in a cloudy milk water.

Next, crack your eggs into shallow dessert bowls or ramekins. I adore my Fiestaware fruit bowls because they have a swooping edge that pours the egg into the water instead of Plopping it in an separating the yolks and whites.

Once your water is simmering, ever so gently slip the edge of the ramekin into the simmering water and gently pour the egg into the water. The beauty of the saute pan is that the egg doesn’t have to fall very far and risk pulling apart the whites – they just settle at the bottom together nicely.

Someone please acknowledge that is was very difficult to do this all while looking through a camera lens. I mean, holy crap – no pressure!

Gently use a spoon to fold the white around the yolk if they have started to stray too far. This is a no wake zone people – so move slowly through the water. Much jostling will disrupt the zen here.

Let it simmer for about 2 minutes, or until the whites set, and then gingerly lift it out of the water and allow the remaining water to drip away.

Slip it onto the top of a toasted english muffin slathered in avocado, topped with pan fried Canadian bacon and a poached egg. Ohhhh, MAMA!! This was gone in 2.72 seconds, thanks for asking. I have an uncanny ability to unhinge my jaw like a snake for poached eggs. No egg or benedict is safe. Now go forth and poach!!

For other How-To Tuesday’s check out this whole list here! Including how to brown butter, make multigrain bread and chicken stock – to name a few!

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