How do I poach an egg?

How to poach an egg that holds together — the freshness that matters most, the vinegar question, and the strainer trick.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 10 min
Read: 2 min

Short answer

Use the freshest eggs you can, strain off the loose watery white in a sieve first, then slide the egg into barely simmering water and cook for 3 minutes. The straining step matters more than vinegar or vortexes — the wispy mess is that loose white, and removing it removes the problem.

Poaching has accumulated more folklore than any other basic technique — vortexes, vinegar, special pans. Almost all of it is working around one variable: egg freshness. As an egg ages the white thins, and it's that thin outer white that shreds into the water. Remove it and the technique becomes easy.

What you'll need

Fresh eggs
Wide shallow pan
Fine sieve
Slotted spoon
White vinegar (optional)

Step by step

Fill a wide pan about 6cm deep and bring to a bare simmer.Small bubbles at the base, no rolling boil. A rolling boil tears the egg apart.
Crack each egg into a fine sieve over a bowl and let the loose watery white drain away.Ten seconds. What's left is the thick white that holds its shape — this is the single most effective step.
Tip the strained egg into a small cup or ramekin.So you can slide it in at water level rather than dropping it from height.
Optionally add a splash of vinegar to the water.It helps the white set slightly faster. With strained eggs you barely need it, and too much makes the egg taste of vinegar.
Lower the cup to the water surface and slide the egg gently in.At the surface, not dropped. Dropping breaks the yolk and spreads the white.
Cook for 3 minutes for a runny yolk and set white, without stirring.3 minutes for runny, 4 for a soft-set yolk. The water should stay at a bare simmer throughout.
Lift out with a slotted spoon and rest briefly on kitchen paper.Otherwise poaching water soaks into the toast underneath.

Tips

You can poach eggs in advance: cook for 2 minutes, transfer to iced water, refrigerate, then reheat for 30 seconds in hot water when needed. This is how restaurants do it.
The vortex trick works but only handles one egg at a time. Straining lets you poach three or four at once.
The freshest eggs poach best. If yours are more than a week or two old, straining becomes essential rather than optional.
A wide shallow pan beats a deep one — the egg has less distance to fall and more room to sit.

Common mistakes

Water at a rolling boil — The turbulence shreds the white before it can set.
Skipping the strain — The loose white is exactly what produces the wispy mess people blame on technique.
Too much vinegar — It flavours the egg and can make the surface rubbery.
Dropping the egg in from height — It breaks the yolk and disperses the white.

Questions people ask

Do I need vinegar?

It helps the white coagulate slightly faster, but it's a workaround for loose white. Strain the egg first and you'll barely notice the difference.

Can I poach eggs in advance?

Yes. Undercook by a minute, chill in iced water, refrigerate up to two days, and reheat for 30 seconds in hot water to serve.