[0 - 1] - Working in restaurant kitchens,
[1 - 4] poaching dozens of eggs a day for brunch service,
[4 - 7] we had to find a way to make foolproof poached eggs.
[7 - 9] You can't waste time and you can't waste products.
[9 - 11] So we came up with this method
[11 - 14] and you will not find it anywhere online.
[14 - 16] This is making the perfect poached egg 101.
[21 - 23] So the prep for this is super simple.
[23 - 25] All you're doing is combining vinegar
[25 - 28] and water and cracking eggs into it.
[28 - 30] In our solution, we use white distilled vinegar
[30 - 32] because it has a high level of acidity.
[32 - 34] For this size bowl,
[34 - 37] I'll probably use a cup of vinegar and a cup of water.
[37 - 41] Step two, crack le eggs.
[41 - 43] You can pull your eggs directly out of the refrigerator
[43 - 46] for this because as they sit in the liquid,
[46 - 47] they'll come up to room temperature.
[47 - 50] You can crack as many eggs as you want into your container.
[50 - 51] You just wanna make sure
[51 - 53] that they're not super duper crowded.
[54 - 55] So just every once in a while,
[55 - 57] maybe swirl your bowl a little bit
[57 - 60] just to make sure that the acid from the vinegar
[60 - 62] is getting the egg white all around.
[62 - 64] This is the fun part, it's like science.
[64 - 68] The acid in the vinegar is going to help set the outer layer
[68 - 71] of the egg white and it's gonna help tighten it up
[71 - 72] just to make a teardrop shape.
[72 - 74] It's not cooking it,
[74 - 76] but it's denaturing the outer layer of proteins
[76 - 79] so they're coagulating already.
[79 - 80] So when you put it in the water,
[80 - 83] you don't have to worry about it flying everywhere.
[83 - 86] You wanna let your eggs soak for about 10 minutes.
[86 - 88] If you let them soak for too long,
[88 - 90] they will pick up a little vinegar flavor.
[90 - 92] But if you don't soak them long enough,
[92 - 95] you still risk the whites running away.
[95 - 98] Whenever you see that outer layer turn opaque white,
[98 - 99] you're good to go.
[102 - 103] When your eggs look like this,
[103 - 105] they're ready to start poaching.
[105 - 108] I already brought up some water to a bear simmer
[108 - 110] and you don't want your water to be too active.
[110 - 113] You just want faint bubbles at the bottom
[113 - 115] and steam rising from the top.
[115 - 117] Your water should be about three to four inches deep.
[117 - 119] If you're only doing three eggs,
[119 - 123] about a three to four quart pot, half full will be perfect.
[123 - 125] So I'm coming into the bowl with a ladle.
[125 - 128] I'm gonna tilt the bowl and get the egg
[128 - 131] because even though this outer layer is set,
[131 - 135] it's not cooked so I'm going to be very gentle with it.
[135 - 137] And I'm gonna scoop it out
[137 - 139] with some of the vinegar solution around
[139 - 142] and I'm just gonna gently place it into the water.
[142 - 144] I don't add anything else to the water.
[144 - 147] The vinegar solution has not permeated the egg
[147 - 150] to flavor it, but with poached eggs, you're gonna cook them
[150 - 152] for such a short amount of time
[152 - 154] that it's not gonna pick up too much salt anyway
[154 - 157] so I just save the seasoning for the top of the eggs.
[157 - 160] So I cook the eggs for two to three minutes
[160 - 163] depending on how long it takes to set the egg white.
[163 - 166] What I'm looking for here is a soft yolk,
[166 - 168] which we still have,
[168 - 170] but it feels like the egg white is still a little soft
[170 - 172] so I'm gonna let it go for one more minute.
[172 - 174] One of the classic methods that they teach you
[174 - 176] in culinary school for poaching an egg
[176 - 178] is to swirl your water
[178 - 179] to create a tornado.
[179 - 182] That helps keep your egg white together,
[182 - 185] but it only works if you're doing one egg at a time.
[185 - 186] These look perfect.
[186 - 187] The whites have set
[187 - 189] so it's time to get them out of the water.
[192 - 195] So to remove the eggs, I'm using a slotted spoon.
[195 - 198] I'm just gonna scoop it up, pour off any excess water,
[198 - 202] blot them on a towel and go straight onto my plate.
[202 - 205] I don't like to use a paper towel for blotting the eggs
[205 - 208] because sometimes the paper towel sticks
[208 - 211] and you'll get pieces of it torn off onto the egg.
[211 - 215] So all of our eggs are out and you can eat them right away.
[215 - 218] If I wanna save these to heat up for later,
[218 - 220] what I would do is cook them a little bit less.
[220 - 223] Instead of three minutes, maybe closer to two minutes.
[223 - 226] I would put them in a pan with a little bit of water
[226 - 228] at the bottom and cover it with foil.
[228 - 230] And then when I'm ready to serve,
[230 - 232] I would pop it into a 350 oven
[232 - 236] for about three to four minutes just to warm up the eggs.
[236 - 239] So this is the time that I would season the eggs.
[239 - 242] Little pinch of salt, little grind of pepper on top
[242 - 244] and then have at it.
[246 - 249] Look at that golden runny yolk.
[249 - 252] The egg white on the inside is completely set,
[252 - 253] but not overcooked.
[253 - 256] It's not hard or chewy feeling.
[256 - 257] It still feels tender and supple.
[258 - 260] And the egg yolk is exactly
[260 - 261] what you're looking for in a poached egg,
[261 - 263] like that is the whole point of a poached egg.
[263 - 265] There's nothing more infuriating
[265 - 268] than getting a poached egg that has a set yolk,
[268 - 269] really makes me mad.
[272 - 274] You don't get any flavor from the vinegar either,
[274 - 279] but you get a perfect shape every single time, do this.
[280 - 283] Poached eggs are some of the most intimidating things
[283 - 284] for people to cook at home.
[284 - 288] However, you now have the answers to make it perfect
[288 - 290] every single time, you are fully empowered
[290 - 293] to go kick some poached egg butt no matter what.
[296 - 299] I used to be able to twirl a baton, not anymore.