A great way to poach an egg / Photos by Donna Turner Ruhlman
A couple years ago, nosing around in McGee's On Food and Cooking, I came across his suggestion that one could make neater poached eggs by getting rid of the liquidy, flyaway whites before poaching. And it works! (There's really no point in adding acid to the water.) Regrettably, I left my good perforated spoon at a Macy's demo and was left a generic slotted spoon with a shallow bowl and the egg always wanted to jump out.
So when my friend Mac suggested we make some kitchen tools, a great perforated spoon was high on the list. And here it is, The Badass Perforated (aka Egg) Spoon, now available at OpenSky, a new, still evolving e-commerce site (follow me there for weekly special deals they put together). It not only easily holds any egg, but it's also a great utility player in the kitchen scooping up big helpings of what ever it is you're lifting out of liquids. A good perforated spoon is a kitchen essential.
Also, I love to poach eggs. Eggs are one of the all-time great garnishes for, just about anything. I put them on a steak, on a salad, in a soup, on beans (a poached egg on Hoppin' John is a perfect weekend brunch). The egg gives muscle and delight to every thing. For an easy midday lunch with Donna, I'll sweat minced shallot in a little butter, wilt a pound of spinach in the pan and serve it as is, salt and pepper, with a poached egg on top and some toasted baguette. Easy, economical, satisfying.
By letting the liquidy part of the egg drain off, you don't wind up with all so many flyaway whites.
You get a gorgeous poached egg
Poached Egg with Sauteed Spinach for Two
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 pound baby spinach
- 2 large eggs
- salt and pepper
- Sweat the shallot in the butter in a large pan. Add the spinach and season with salt and pepper. (If you want, you can blanch and shock your spinach first which does affect the flavor, allows it to cook evenly, and you don't need to use so big a pan.) Keep warm.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil.
- Crack each egg into a large perforated spoon and let the loose white drain off, a few seconds, then slip each egg into a ramekin.
- Turn the burner to low. When the boil calms, tip the eggs out of their cups into the poaching water and cook just until the white is set, a few minutes.
- Serve on a bed of sauteed spinach (hold a towel to the bottom of the spoon when you do to help draw off excess water), with toasted and buttered baguette.
Introducing the latest from Dalton-Ruhlman tools. The spoon, about 13 inches long and 2.5 inches wide, is $27—we're trying to keep costs as low as possible but we have very little capital and so can only produce in small numbers; I apologize. The spoon is really solid, will last forever, and there's nothing like it out there that we could find. If we can get some volume going, prices will go down!
If you liked this post on poached eggs, check out these other posts:
- Food/Science Blog covers the Science of Poaching Eggs.
- The New York Times shares a recipe on a classic frisee salad.
- Facts on eggs can be found at the Incredible Edible Egg
- Watch my video on making deviled eggs.
© 2011 Michael Ruhlman. Photo © 2011 Donna Turner-Ruhlman. All rights reserved.
Very cool. I will try it this weekend.
I always transfer the egg from a bowl to a slotted spoon for just that reason, your poached eggs look so much prettier that way.
Didn't realize I missed that spoon (Grandmother had one) until I saw it. Ordering now.
I have a mini one that i use for " molecular gastronomy " stuff , but this is a great idea. Gotta love McGee. I love poached eggs but i hate that "watery" feeling sometimes, so I poach in plastic wrap sometimes.
HOW????
Lovely and perfectly shaped. Do you crack directly into the spoon, or pour from a bowl to the spoon to the pan?
If youre dextrous enough to crack an egg with one hand, you could go right into the spoon.
I really love poached eggs when I eat out for breakfast, I need to learn to do this at home. I'd sprinkle that lil dish yah got there with some fresh ground cumin and be in heaven!
Any reason why you can't use the spoon to put the eggs in the water, eliminating the need for ramekins? (i hate to unnecessarily dirty a dish).
no reason you couldn't
Is the spoon made of stainless steel? How long is the handle? Does the handle have an opening to hang from a hook? How big is the bowl of the spoon? Sorry to ask such mundane questions, would really like this spoon to end my search 🙂
The spoon is 13-1/4 inch long, the bowl is 2-5/8ths inches wide and 4 inches long and it looks to hold about a half a cup--hard to know because the water keeps falling out!
and yes, there's a howl to hang it.
The last thing I need is more kitchen equipment. Looks like I am making room for an egg spoon though. Good poached eggs just make my wife so happy.
That is one nice looking poached egg Michael. Never thought to use a slotted spoon. Thanks!
thanks, elise!
I love poached eggs and this is a good example of it. it can be difficult to make poached eggs nice looking! also this is great recipe thanks!
thanks
So there's no need to stir the water so that it swirls and creates a vortex, before sliding the egg into it?
So completely brilliant!
Great idea with the perforated spoon. This is brilliant.
Ok, referring to a spoon as "bad ass" is kinda nerdly!
It is a little pricey but so utilitarian it's well worth the cost. Buy it once, use it forever. This Badass spoon is made to last.
Nice spoon!
I've made poached eggs this way for years.
I also dunk the egg in cold water or carefully run a stream of cold water near the edge of the egg to remove all the 'watery' albumen before cooking.
Of course using the freshest of eggs makes a big difference too! : )
Eggstrordinary idea!
fantastic looking spoon! What a great idea for getting the perfect poached egg. Thank you for not doing a picture with you cradling the spoon, and staring at it lovingly..
So simple. So sensible. Why didn't I think of this? I love these kinds of tips!
Thanks!
🙂
valerie
Michael,
Great stuff! That looks like an awfully good size and shape for a general purpose spoon for basting, etc. Any plans to make an unslotted version?
TT
I'm probably at risk for sounding like a complete dolt, but won't you just have yolk if you let the white run through the holes of the spoon?
Tried this and realized I need a larger perforated spoon, or I simply need to pay more attention.
Poached yolk anyone?
Really?
27 bucks?
Nothing like that out there?
http://www.google.com/search?aq=f&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=perferrated+spoon#q=perforated+spoon&hl=en&safe=off&sa=X&prmd=ivns&source=univ&tbs=shop:1&tbo=u&ei=GQ9oTcWHBIi5twe53r3mAw&ved=0CEgQrQQ&biw=1280&bih=939&bav=on.1,or.&fp=4902f885a984d5ed
exactly. the American Metalcraft 131PE - is one dollar.
thank you !!!
Is there a foolproof way to tell when a poached egg is done and the icky white is all cooked?
$27 for a spoon? Just a tad overpriced, no?
Ruhlman -- Big Mac:
No, I will never pay $27 for a spoon. No matter how much I like them and admire them.
I love eggs any way I can get them but am particularly fond of poached eggs, which I usually make for breakfast on Sunday mornings. I have a sort of weird tool, which is essentially a flat strainer with a right-angle handle, so I scoop the egg off in it, set it on a paper towel to drain, then cut away the fly-away white with a parting knife. Now with this spoon I won't have any of the fly-away white. Simply brilliant.
When I make anything with a bound breading, after I beat the yolks, I put them through a strainer so that when I dip the floured pieces of whatever I am breading into the bread crumbs, the egg is smooth with no gloppy pieces that wreck the smoothness of the breadcrumb coating. Just saying.
Michael, yesterday I made homemade ricotta cavatelli for the first time with the little Beebo that I got years ago. (Alas, it is out of production, although some company has apparently gotten the mold and is making a reproduction.) I got this idea from a YouTube video: When making the pasta ropes to put through the Beebo, I put the pasta dough through the larger-of-the-two KitchenAid sausage stuffer attachments, and ropes of pasta just came sliding out, completely even, all ready to be lightly dusted with flour and put through the Beebo. You could probably use the smaller attachment, cut pieces off the rope, and roll them on a gnocchi board to get the ridges.
My bad-ass spoon arrived today, and I love it! Very heavy, but no markings that it is stainless steel, and you did not answer the question earlier when asked!
Mine arrived today, and I was intrigued that it was sent from Vocational Guidance Services in Cleveland. Could it be that the land of Kid Leo and Michael Symon might be the new source for quality kitchen tools? Nope. The bag that held the spoon had a "made in China" stamp.
Looking forward to trying it.
I made the perfect poached egg last night without a spoon! Or a mold.. a technique I saw on a food competition show that really works, and I avoid sharing it on my blog in tommorrows post- it is a blog about Atention Deficit and not cooking, anyway. It offered your site as a linked article, so I posted it so that if readers are interested, they will show up here to learn to poach. In fact, I never tried a spoon before, but now must compare techniques. Thanks, this is a very professional site!
- Silky Sienna
I love this idea, and wonder why we all haven't been doing it before? What a great simple solution when you need quick, presentable eggs in the middle of service! Thanks for the great tip.
Nice looking spoon. Free marketing advice: Saying "if volume is high, prices will drop" isn't incenting people to buy now. That said, I'm buying one now.
keller cuts the flyaway whites off with scissors
his poached eggs are...perfectly & individually tailored
as you would expect
still, you've made a beautiful spoon
good for many uses
I recently decided that I WAS going to conquer the poached egg and become adept at making visually appealing eggs. I can't tell you how many variations I tried: faster simmer, slower simmer, vinegar and/or salt, swirling water, letting simmering water seep into the ramekin hoping to set the albumin a bit before putting it in the water... etc.
This works - many thanks!
thanks, annie!
This is a revelation! I used a slotted spoon for the first time yesterday--- absolutely PERFECT. FINALLY!!!! Thank you!!
In Japan, we have the perfect tool you describe... the Marna Colander spoon. $7 and shown here. http://shop.marna-inc.co.jp/products/detail.php?product_id=340
Just got the spoon in the mail. Ran inside to poach an egg and it worked perfectly! I have been trying to poach eggs for a while now and they never came out like the would at a resto. Resisted paying $27 for a while and I am really glad I finally gave in. Thank you!