How to poach an egg

Everybody has their own way of poaching eggs, but they’re notorious for going wrong. Become a perfect poacher with our fool proof method.

You will need

  • medium eggs
  • shallow saucepan
  • water
  • slotted spoon
  • timer
  • cup

Method

Cold eggs are best – if the egg is cold the white is less likely to spread in the pan.

  1. Fill a saucepan with about 5 cm water.
  2. Heat the water until you see small bubbles in the bottom of the pan.
  3. Crack an egg into a cup - make sure the eggs are really fresh so that the white is thick and will hold together.
  4. Slip the egg into the water and set the timer for 2 minutes.
  5. Take the pan off the heat, leave the egg in the water for 2-3 minutes or until just cooked to your taste. You might like to spoon the water over the eggs as they sit there.
  6. Lift the egg out of the pan with a slotted spoon.
  7. Sit the egg on kitchen paper and then serve.