A poached egg is a shell-less egg that has been cooked in hot – but not boiling – water for several minutes. This creates an egg that consists of a generally runny to semi-firm yolk surrounded by fully cooked egg white. Poached eggs are best when consumed immediately after they are cooked, as this does not give the yolk time to solidify and become lumpy. If you cannot eat your poached eggs immediately, however, you can store them in the refrigerator for several days and then reheat them. The reheating process must be done correctly to preserve the texture of the egg.
Pour several inches of water – enough to completely cover your egg or eggs – into the saucepan and bring the water to a boil.
Reduce the heat until the water is simmering gently. A few occasional small bubbles should rise to the surface, but the water should not be rapidly boiling or have large, constant bubbles.
Put a poached egg in the slotted spoon and lower the spoon into the water. Tilt the spoon to let the egg slide off gently into the water.
Simmer the egg for approximately 1 minute, or slightly less if you do not want the egg to be piping hot. The longer you simmer the egg, the more likely the yolk is to be hard and overcooked.
Remove the poached egg from the water with the slotted spoon. Repeat this process for each egg you want to reheat.
Tip
Depending on the size of your saucepan, you may be able to fit two or more poached eggs in at once. The eggs should not be squeezed together in the water or stacked, but you can add more eggs as long as each one has plenty of room.
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Writer Bio
Morgan O'Connor has been writing professionally since 2005. Her experience includes articles on various aspects of the health-insurance industry for health-care newsletters distributed to hospitals as well as articles on both international and domestic travel.