Poached Eggs: How to Poach an Egg

Poached egg sliced open with a runny yellow yolk on a white plate with sliced toast and two more poached eggs in the background.

5 from 5 votes

Poached Eggs: How to Poach an Egg

Learn how to make perfectly cooked Poached Eggs with minimal ingredients or equipment, and in less than 10 minutes! It’s so easy that you’ll be wondering why you never started poaching eggs sooner!

Prep Time5

Cook Time3

Total Time8

Servings: servings

Calories: 74kcal

Chef: Jessica Randhawa

Ingredients

▢ 4 large eggs - at room temperature
▢ ¼ cup distilled vinegar

Instructions

Bring 4 inches of water to boil in a large pot or saucepan and pour in the vinegar.
In the meantime, crack the eggs one at a time into a small strainer over a bowl to catch the “loose” whites.
Gently swirl the egg around the strainer to remove as much liquid as possible, leaving only the jelly white part and yolk.
Gently slide each egg into its own separate small bowl or ramekin.
Once ready, turn the heat down on the stove so that the water is just barely boiling.
Use a wooden spoon to gently stir the water a few times to get it moving. (Don’t stir too much or the egg white won’t wrap around the yolk and will instead feather and separate.)
Gently slide each egg into the water one at a time, and turn the heat up a notch just until bubbles start to resurface. (When you add the egg, the temperature of the water will automatically cool so it needs a bit of extra heat to come back to a low simmer.)
Let them poach for 3 minutes, stirring the water every so often to make sure the eggs don’t stick to the pan and the egg white forms properly around the yolk.
Strain out any feathered egg whites that float to the top and discard.
Once ready, take each egg out of the water using a slotted spoon or strainer and set aside on a plate to cool. (You can line a plate with paper towels beforehand to soak up any excess water, but I usually just let my eggs cool a bit while I’m prepping the rest of my breakfast then dump off the excess water before plating my eggs.)
Serve with toasted bread, salt, and pepper if desired.

Nutrition

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