Jenn and Jill have challenged the Daring Cooks to learn to perfect the technique of poaching an egg. They chose an Eggs Benedict recipe from Alton Brown, Oeufs en Meurette from Cooking with Wine by Anne Willan and Homemade Sun-Dried Tomato and Pine Nut Seitan Sausages (poached) courtesy of Trudy of Veggie Num Num.
Eggs Benedict was the recipe I decided to try, mostly because it was the one I was most familiar with. I have never made it, nor have I ever poached an egg. I thought, hey how hard can it be?
Well, turns out it's freaking super hard. I decided to just attempt the poaching and not the Hollandaise sauce, and really the dish was fine without the sauce. The poached eggs, however, well.... they didn't really work out so great for me.
I attempted the first egg.
Hot mess.
I attempted the second egg.
Hotter mess.
I attempted the third, and final egg.
Hottest mess ever recorded.
So, I did manage to salvage the second egg, as seen above, then I just pan-fried 3 more. Yeah. Y'all should know by now that's how I was going to roll. So we wound up with an English muffin, topped with some sliced ham, and a fried egg. It was pretty dang good. Not Eggs Benedict good but poached eggs are not my forte. I highly doubt I will ever even try to make them again. It just isn't worth the stress of seeing that egg white break apart as soon as it hits the water.
Some people turn out awesome poached eggs though, so if you're one of those people, I am very impressed now.
XO
Eggs Benedict was the recipe I decided to try, mostly because it was the one I was most familiar with. I have never made it, nor have I ever poached an egg. I thought, hey how hard can it be?
Well it certainly was a valiant attempt! If I had to guess I'd say that your eggs might have been too old? That or maybe you needed a bit more vinegar in the water? I'm not sure... but great save with the fried eggs - I bet the sandwich was still pretty tasty!
ReplyDeleteFried eggs sound great! But did you try swirling the water before you add the egg? If the water is swirling in a circle when you add the egg, it should push the protein to coagulate around the yolk. Try it :)
ReplyDeleteAMEN! Poaching is sooooooo much harder than it sounds!
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Donna
Don't worry about making mistakes - we learn the most from them. The most important thing is that you ended up with something delicious!
ReplyDeleteYou totally get an A for effort - it is a HARD thing to do, and everyone who made it look so easy... well, they seriously lucked out with this challenge! :) That being said, I LOVE a fried egg, so your egg and ham muffins look absolutely fantastic to me! :)
ReplyDeleteI did try swirling the water, and I believe I had enough vinegar but it is possible the eggs were too old. But the fried eggs were super delicious anyway, haha.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Wrapping the eggs in plastic wrap helps with old eggs I think that was the trouble at the end. So a valiant attempt and the final fried egg version still my delicious I bet.
ReplyDeleteCheers from Audax in Sydney Australia.
Good save! We don't do pretty either, apparently. You should have made the sauce, it makes a great disguise...
ReplyDeleteStay JOLLY!
D&S