Pretty Good Poached Eggs

I was going to call this post 'Perfect Poached Eggs', but perfect is a very scary word. So, these are the Pretty Good Poached Eggs, as taught to me by our family friend Julie. Not only are they pretty good, they are pretty good every time and there's a sneaky trick in there to get your timing right so you can focus on your bacon, which we all know is the important bit.

Before I crack into the eggs though (so sorry, couldn't resist), I'll tell you about the rest of my morning. Suzie and I drove out to Julie and Pip's house in the country to meet everyone for breakfast, never mind that I wasn't paying attention to the motorway exits and drove about 10km too far in the wrong direction, we got there in the end.

They have a gorgeous section with chickens, sheep, dogs, ducks and a constant stream of visitors coming to escape the city, myself included. I think one of the best things about heading out of the city is the produce; sometimes we get so accustomed to the average quality at the supermarkets that it's easy to forget how amazing food can really be. C'mon get down to a farmers market or your local butcher and surprise yourself.

Anyway, as promised here are the poached eggs a la Julie.  The key here is to have the freshest eggs, have you ever noticed how older eggs are runny and don't hold their shape? If you're going to dig out 3 week old eggs from the back of the pantry then give up on your poached egg dreams now.

Here we go:

1. Fill a pot with recently boiled water and bring to a temperature where it is still calm, but almost bubbling. 
2. Crack your eggs onto a plate
3. Whisk a teaspoon of white vinegar into the water
4. Continue whisking the water, but in a circular motion to create a mini whirlpool in the pot
5. Now take your plate and ease the eggs into the swirling water in the direction of the flow
6. Cook the eggs for about 3 minutes until the white is cooked, but they are still soft to touch
7. Using a slotted spoon remove the eggs

Now, if you're ready to serve then drain them on a paper towel and plate up, but if you want to prep your eggs in advance here is the trick. Take the eggs out of the pot and place them in a bowl of cold water, this stops the cooking process and puts your poached eggs on pause. You can leave the eggs in the cold water for as long as you like- say you were serving poached eggs as part of a dinner dish then you could cook them in advance and whip them out when you were ready to plate up.

But, even if you're just doing breakfast now is the perfect time to sort out your toast, bacon, mushrooms and a trip to the herb garden.

If you have chosen to pause the eggs in water, then when you're ready to serve just dip them in the hot water again for a few seconds to warm through. You might wonder what the point is, but when you're trying to serve poached eggs for 7 people you'll thank me!

Like I said if you want a good poach you need fresh eggs, even if it means chasing chickens around your garden like Julie (much to our amusement).

Well if that isn't love I don't know what is.