Poach an egg

One of my friends had a dream about a breakfast that I made. He dreamt about my Pacific Northwest Eggs Benedict with lox in place of the ham. I cooked this on the morning of a beer and wine sampling excursion in Woodinville, near Seattle. Something about the boozy day crammed the hollandaise sauce and muffiny goodness into his subconscious and kept it there for later dreamy inspection. Good work brain. To make this tasty breakfast you must first poach an egg. For some reason people have a lot of trepidation toward this task. You will ruin a few, or not, in your quest for that one-of-a-kind texture, but it is worth it.

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1. Getting those eggs. If you have a chicken you are at a clear advantage over the non-poultry raising masses to which I am a part. The reason for this is not only flavor (a home laid egg is going to be yummier), but in the freshness. Fresher eggs will hold their shape better and give you a greater chance of poached success. You can see this most easily when frying an egg. The older ones spread out more and rob you of that classic cooked egg look. The same thing happens when the egg is cooked in a liquid instead of on a solid. Organic eggs are a good bet, but be sure to check those expiration dates and look for the ones that are the farthest out. This may anger the grocer, so be discrete.

2. Poaching liquid can come in many forms. The French have many different liquids for many different applications. Court bullion, it is called, can vary greatly in its composition. For our purposes we will be using water, salt and vinegar. Put water into a pot to a level of four or five inches. Bring it to a boil and add a slash of vinegar and a big dash of salt. We are not going for flavor here, but instead, the chemical actions of the salt and vinegar; specifically, that they firm up the exterior of the egg to help it poach better. Bring this liquid to a low simmer. You want just a few bubbles forming and popping below the surface.

3. Doing the thing. Crack your egg into a ladle, being careful not to break the yolk or get shell fragments into the albumen (word of the day.) Gently lower the ladle into the water and let the egg slide out of the side of the ladle just above the water line. Next, bring the ladle out of the water by turning it in a fluid motion away from the egg. Then you wait for three or four minutes. Using a slotted spoon, slowly fish the egg out of the poaching liquid and place it on a warm plate. Do this again and again until you are surrounded by poached eggs.