Hugh Acheson - Building Blocks and 100 Simple Recipes for a Lifetime of Meals

THE 25 BUILDING BLOCKS

POACHED EGGS

When I was growing up it seemed like poaching eggs was the most luxurious method of egg cooking, knowledge only privy to the finest of kitchens. I had no idea it was so easy. With it you can gussy up a meal in no time at all, nesting a soft, tender poached egg into a pillow of polenta, a dressed tangle of greens, or onto a simple stew. Poached eggs can reduce cost vastly, too. Top a steak with them and you can serve smaller steaks, amped up with the power of a luscious egg, softly spilling its yolk, a picture worthy of any social media platform.

Poaching an egg is an exercise in controlling heat, which is one of the most important things to know in cooking. When youre boiling food, you set your heat on full blast and cook the food in roiling water. To simmer, you adjust the heat so that some bubbles come up in the pot, but not like a Jacuzzi. To poach, youre turning the heat down even more, maybe a bubble or two comes up, but really you want the water to be steaming without much activity at the surface.

The difference in these heat levels is that lower heat takes longer to cook somethingduh!but it also makes things cook more evenly. A lot of heat will cook the outside of something, maybe overcook it, before the inside is done. A gentle heat will give the insides of the food time to heat up and cook before the outsides are annihilated. A well-poached egg is silky and luxurious and, lets face it, its a lot easier on the budget to practice with eggs than on a beautiful piece of salmon.

One more note: In eggs, you can tell the freshness by cracking them onto a plate and seeing how high the yolk sits up. The whites are thick when theyre fresh and they thin out as they age. So for a full, plump poached egg, we want the freshest eggs we can find.

Poached eggs with smoked salmon, dill, pickled shallots, and hash browns ()

Poached Eggs with Roasted Chicken and Grits with Broth ()

Poached Eggs with Sofrito, Buttered Kale, and Grits ()

Small steak with Brussels sprouts and a poached egg on top

Fancy salad with poached egg

Gussied-Up Instant Ramen ()

Eggs Benedict

Poached egg with smoked trout, sauted minced cabbage, and crunchy croutons

POACHED EGGS

MAKES 2 TO 4

1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

2 to 4 large eggs

Kosher salt

Fill a medium or large saucepan with 2 inches of water. Place it over medium-high heat and when it boils, add the vinegar, and reduce the heat so the water is simmering. Crack each egg into an individual teacup or ramekin and have them at the ready.

With a slotted spoon, stir the water vigorously in a clockwise direction, then, one at a time, gently lower a teacup to the surface of the water and tip the egg out of the teacup. Cook gently, never boiling, for 3 minutes for a soft yolk and just-cooked whites. Read a poem or something. Listen to You Are My Sunshine by Ray Charles, which is EXACTLY 3 minutes long. If you like your yolk firm, add another minute or two. Remove the eggs with the slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels to wick away excess moisture. Season the egg with some salt over the top and use as you wish.

If you have the time, pull the eggs out of the fridge to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes to 1 hour before you poach them. This gives them time to warm up and cook more evenly.

To me, a medium saucepan is a pot that is 8 inches in diameter and at least 4 inches high. If you want to make more than 4 eggs at once, use a wider pan.