How do you poach eggs without making a mess?

Answer 1

Fill a medium-sized saucepan nearly full with water. Add a splash of regular white vinegar to the water to keep the egg from breaking down into a stringy mess. Bring the water and vinegar to a boil.
While waiting for the water to boil, crack each egg into its own small bowl.
Put your bread in the toaster, but don't begin toasting yet!
When the water is boiling, turn the heat down so the rolling boil subsides to a gentle boil or simmer.
Check your watch and notice the time, or set an egg timer for three minutes.
Begin toasting your bread.
Place the first bowl with its side just breaking the surface of the water. With a gentle quick motion, dump the egg into the water. Quickly repeat this step with the other eggs.
Begin timing the eggs. Three minutes will produce the perfect poached egg.
Your toast should pop just before the eggs are done. Butter the toast if you like. If you are like me, now is when you tear the toast into bite-sized pieces on your plate. Watch out — toast is hot!
Remember, your first egg has been cooking for about 10-15 seconds longer than your last egg; therefore, with about 10-15 seconds to go, bring the first egg out of the water with a slotted spoon. Center the yolk in the bowl of the spoon and gently lift out. The perfect poached egg will have a nice undisturbed yolk surrounded evenly by a shiny opaque oval of egg white.
Working quickly, transfer each egg onto the plate, letting excess water drip back into the saucepan.
Presentation is everything: before you break into your perfectly poached eggs, be sure to show your guest how perfectly poached they are! If you are eating alone, find your roommate or a neighbor and show him or her. And be sure to say you poached the eggs without an egg poacher!
When your guest tells you how impressed he or she is, shrug and act like it isn't any big deal, it's just how you do it.
As you are eating, say to your guest, "Are the eggs cooked all right?" so he or she has another chance to tell you how perfect the eggs are.



Tips
Get everything else ready before you start cooking eggs. You will be amazed at how quickly three minutes goes by. While you are messing around pouring your juice the perfectly poached egg becomes a hard-boiled egg in the blink of an eye.
Sometime poached eggs can separate in the pan - a great way to keep them together and neat is to crack the egg into a small piece of plastic wrap, twist the end, then place in the water. This keeps the egg whole and it still poaches perfectly.
If the yolk breaks as you crack the egg or as you are putting the egg in the water, that egg is a goner. Pull it out and use it for something else if you can.
Leave plenty of space for the eggs in the saucepan. Depending on the size of the pan, two or three eggs at a time is about right.
Cook only one person's serving at a time.
Poached eggs should be served as soon as they are pulled from the water. Poached eggs get cold quickly, and cold poached eggs are decidedly less than perfect.
As in life, timing is everything. All the different parts of the meal, such as toast, meats and hash browns, should be finished at the same time. If cooking for a few people, it may be necessary to keep the other parts of the meal warm in the oven. This is fine, but always do the eggs last.
You can also poach your eggs in a small teflon skillet. It holds enough water to cover the egg, you can fit two eggs in at once, and it's easier to get the eggs in and out without breaking.
Serve these babies over toasted buttered English muffins and topped with Bearnaise or Hollandaise sauce. Maybe a little bacon or grilled ham on the side—yum, yum. Cholesterol bliss!
enjoy

Answer 2

You need very very fresh eggs to make succesful poached eggs. Bring a pan of water to the boil, swirl with a spoon and drop in the egg and turn off the heat. Poach for 3 or 4 mins. Remove with slotted spoon and dab dry on kitchen paper.

Answer 3

If you can find out when your local gamekeeper is going on a holiday, then take advantage of his absence.

You should be able to poach as many eggs as you want without his gun making a mess of you.

Alternatively I could give you the start of a recipe for "Scotch Eggs" - 'First borrow a couple of eggs'

LOL Herb

Answer 4

my mum used poach egg rings but can't buy them anymore so I use biscuit cutters the round ones, once poached an egg in the shape of a heart

Answer 5

Use only very fresh eggs, put a little vinegar in the water, bring water to the boil then swirl it round creating a whirlpool break egg into the middle & turn down the heat.

Answer 6

Get a plastic egg poaching mould from a pound shop and bung it it the microwave.
Eggs would be handy too.

Answer 7

heat the water and then take it off the heat. then swirl it around with a spoon. while the water is spinning, break the egg into it. the centrifugal force created by the spinning water, will hold the egg together. then put egg back on heat and let cook.

Answer 8

Put a teaspoon of vinegar in the water, it helps to bind the egg together. You also need to introduce the egg slowly to the boiling water...putting it in a long-handled spoon helps.

Answer 9

if you are fond of poached eggas do as i did and invest in a small pan that does 3 eggs it is so much easier and the eggs are much more presentable at the table....they are not expensive....

Answer 10

Use an egg poacher or if you don't possess one use a small circular pastry cutter to contain the egg in shallow water.