Yesterday we provided step-by-step instructions on how to poach the perfect egg.

In this video, Alton Brown demonstrates it. Join him and poach a few.

Know the different types of eggs? There are many more options than “white” and “brown.”
Check ’em out.

Discover more about eggs, plus recipes, in our Eggs Section.

You need practice to poach the perfect egg, but consider it an important part of your culinary skills. If you listen to television’s Top Chefs, you’ll hear the masters say that their first challenge to a prospective line chef is to poach an egg.

Today, chef Johnny Gnall takes you through the process. Tomorrow, we’ll present a video.

Says Chef Johnny: A poached egg is surely the most elegant of egg preparations. Under hollandaise at a Sunday brunch, a Mimosa nearby, all atop a white tablecloth, it promises a silky, runny yolk within a delicate white pillow.

But getting that perfect pillow at home can be quite challenging if you haven’t mastered the technique. A poached egg requires the most finesse in the kitchen.

Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do (and look out for) that will make the poaching egg-sperience much easier to master. Your first few tries will probably be learning experiences, but if you use these guidelines, it shouldn’t take long before you hear egg-sclamations of excitement at your breakfast table.

Portabella Eggs Benedict substitutes a grilled mushroom for the English muffin. Get the recipe. Photo courtesy Mushroom Council.

1. Get a large pot. To begin, get a pot of water on the stove. A large pot is ideal because the more space the egg has to get comfortable, so to speak, the easier it will be for things to turn out right. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of distilled white vinegar and a couple pinches of salt.

2. Heat the water. Start with the heat on high, as if you were going to bring the water to a boil. You’re aiming for a temperature of 160° to 180°F; but if you don’t have a thermometer, look for little bubbles escaping from the bottom of the pot. The big bubbles from boiling water (212°F) will jostle your egg as it cooks, making it hard to achieve that attractive pillow shape. TIP: I find it is easier (and faster) to get the water to nearly boiling and then lower the heat to attain the ideal temperature.

3. Crack the egg. Once the water is at the right temperature, watch it for a few minutes to make sure the temperature stays constant. Then crack the egg into a glass, mug or dish (Editor’s Note: We use a Pyrex custard cup). This will ensure that any pieces of shell that fall in can be picked out. The best tool to use is actually a larger piece of eggshell. While fingertips, spoons and other utensils create a game of “catch the egg shell,” pushing the shard away, another piece of eggshell actually attracts the shard—almost magically.

4. Lower the egg. Give the pot a few swirls with a slotted spoon, then gently drop in the egg by placing the glass or dish close to the water’s surface. The swirling will help the egg white form tightly, as opposed to dispersing bits of white in the pot. Then let everything sit for a bit; if you mess with the egg or the water before the proteins have a chance to coagulate (set), the egg is likely to come apart. Watch and wait for at least ninety seconds before you do anything else.

5. Check the white. Once the egg looks like it has begun to come together, use the slotted spoon to very gently lift it to the surface of the water. The white is the part you should be checking, as it will cook first. If it is still translucent in some parts, give it another 30-60 seconds and check it again. You want the white to be opaque, and the yolk still runny. You can check the yolk’s consistency by lightly poking it with your finger. If it gives, sort of like a water balloon, you’re in good shape.

6. Remove the egg. Once the white is opaque (and your yolk is still deliciously runny), you’re ready to remove the egg. Use the slotted spoon to lift it gently out of the water, scooping under it to catch all of the white. Rest the spoon on a towel for a moment to drain as much water as possible (this is why you have been using a slotted spoon). When you plate the egg, you can let it slide gently from the spoon or you can delicately flip it over (a useful move if your topside ended up less attractive than your bottom side).

7. Season. Don’t forget to season with salt and pepper, a necessary finish. The best choice is coarsely ground black pepper and sea salt.

Now get cracking!

Need visuals? Watch for a video, tomorrow.

An eggcellent overview of the different types of eggs.

Common misconceptions about dietary cholesterol and its impact on heart disease keep many people from eating eggs, despite their nutritional benefits and “comfort food” taste. However, almost 40 years of research* shows that healthy adults can enjoy an egg every day without significantly impacting their risk of heart disease.

Since February is American Heart Month, if you’ve been limiting your egg consumption, it may be time to revisit it with your healthcare provider.
 
 
*The research was analyzed by the Egg Nutrition Center (ENC), the health education and research center of the American Egg Board that provides science-based information to health promotion agencies, physicians, dietitians, nutritional scientists, media and consumers on issues related to egg nutrition and the role of eggs in the American diet.

Is it time to add eggs back into your diet? Photo courtesy AEB.org.

Cracking the Cholesterol Myth

According to information provided by the American Egg Board and the Egg Nutrition Center, USDA data shows that:

 
Visit EggNutritionCenter.org or NutritionScrambled.com for more information. For delicious recipes, visit IncredibleEgg.org.

HOW MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF EGGS HAVE YOU HAD?

You’ll be surprised at the different types of eggs that are available. Check ‘em out in our most eggcellent Egg Glossary.

Plan your Cinco de Mayo cuisine, starting with a breakfast of “taco eggs.”

A scrambled egg taco. Photo courtesy
American Egg board.

A 70-calorie snack with 6 grams of protein.
Photo courtesy American Egg Board.

Have you awakened with a New Year’s resolution to eat healthier?

Snack on hard-cooked eggs. Most people call them hard-boiled eggs, but the proper term is hard-cooked: The eggs are not boiled. After the water comes to a boil, the eggs are removed from the stove to cook in the water.

But boiled or hard-cooked, January is National Egg Month. According to the American Egg Board, one large egg contains about 70 calories and 6 grams of protein, 12.6% of the Daily Reference Value (DRV) for protein.

Eggs are an all-natural food that are packed with nutrients. One egg has 13 essential vitamins, unsaturated fats, antioxidants and high-quality protein—all for 70 calories. Egg protein is the highest quality protein of any food. One egg, any size, is equal to one ounce of lean meat, poultry, fish or seafood.

High-quality proteins are foods that are high in protein and low in saturated fat. They provide all the essential amino acids the body needs to function properly and to develop, build and maintain muscles. Animal proteins such as lean pork, skinless poultry, lowfat and nonfat dairy products and eggs are examples.

Beyond weight management, egg nutrients help with muscle strength, brain function, eye health and a healthy pregnancy.

Convinced? Here’s an easy way to integrate hard-cooked eggs, a healthy snack, into your life:

Instead of grabbing a snack with empty carbs, too much fat, sugar and/or sodium, you’ll have made an eggcellent choice.

What about eggs and cholesterol? If you have high cholesterol, discuss how many you can eat with your healthcare provider. Everybody else: enjoy and read these egg cholesterol facts.

Why do deviled eggs endure as a party favorite?

Of all the retro hors d’oeuvre—including stuffed celery and rumaki, a skewered chicken liver and water chestnut invented by “Trader Vic” Bergeron—deviled eggs keep holding their own.

Even people who rarely, if ever, eat a boiled egg can’t help plucking a stuffed egg off the tray. And speaking of trays: how many other hors d’oeuvre have specially designed trays? There are even carrying trays, to help you safely transport your eggs to the party; and Spode porcelain trays shaped like Christmas trees and a Lenox butterfly stuffed egg platter.

So join the stuffed egg lovers parade, and make a recipe for New year’s Eve:

A party favorite with many recipe variations.
Photo courtesy Zabar’s.

Here’s a tip from Andrea Watman, catering manager at Zabar’s in New York City, to boil the perfect egg:

The day before I am going to hard boil the eggs, I turn the carton on its side. First, make sure the carton is closed securely and second, be careful because eggs are more likely to crack on their side. (It has to do with Mother Nature protecting the eggs: The shells are harder vertically to protect them when they are laid).

Then, place the eggs in a sauce pan and cover with cold water and add one tablespoon of salt. Bring water to a full boil, turn heat down and boil for one minute. Turn off heat and allow eggs to stay in pan for 15 minutes. Rinse eggs in cold water for 5 minutes. Peel the eggs under cold running water.

There’s a key difference between “stuffed eggs” and “deviled eggs.” Deviled eggs refer to the use of hot spices or condiments in a recipe—paprika, mustard, hot sauce, horseradish, chiles, etc. The concept originated in 18th-century England.

Egg nog French toast. Photo courtesy
The Blackberry Patch.

You’ve had egg nog and egg nog ice cream, but how about egg nog French Toast?

As long as there are bread, egg nog and eggs in the house, whip up a batch of seasonal French Toast. It’s an even richer version of one of our favorite breakfast and brunch foods.

Just substitute egg nog for the milk in your recipe. Here’s a variation of the recipe we published recently.

1. In a shallow bowl, beat 4 eggs with 1 cup of egg nog and optional spices: 1 teaspoon of cinnamon or nutmeg, or a combination of both. The egg nog should have a bit of rum extract flavor, but you can add another half teaspoon.

2. Soak slices of bread 30 seconds on each side in the mixture.

3. Fry in butter on both sides. Additionally, you can caramelize the toast with extra butter and sugar in a hot pan.

4. Serve immediately, garnished with berries, bananas or almonds.

Extra egg yolks? It’s easy to keep them
fresh. Photo by Michael Lorenzo | SXC.

If you have egg yolks that you won’t be using immediately, they’ll keep longer if you store them under a layer of water or milk. Drain off the liquid before using the yolks. Use within five days or freeze.

To freeze egg yolks, you need to keep them from drying out by adding the equivalent of a teaspoon of salt per pint or a tablespoon of sugar or honey.

Another freezing tip: Place one yolk in each compartment of an ice cube tray. (After they freeze, move them to freezer bags.)

What can you do with egg yolks?

Make hollandaise sauce, aïoli or other sauces. You can use yolks to enrich sauces that don’t call for yolks. On the sweet side, there’s crème brûlée, French-style ice cream, mousse and zabaglione.

If you’re making deviled eggs for New Year’s Eve, serve them in flavors. Fresh dill, curry, infused tobiko roes and wasabi are popular choices.

Just divide the mashed yolks mixture after you’ve added the binder (mayo, dijon, sour cream) and salt.

But filling the eggs—even just one flavor—can be a devilish chore. Instead of struggling to spoon in the filling, do what caterers do and put it in a Ziploc-type bag. Cut off a corner of the bag and simply squeeze the filling into the egg whites.

Now that you know the easy way, here are more favorite flavors to try: bacon (“bacon and eggs”), chopped chives, chutney, crab, crumbled blue cheese, jalapeño, kalamata olives, lemon herb and smoked salmon.

See our recipe for these deviled eggs, topped with caviar from The Little Pearl.

We also have a favorite caviar deviled egg recipe. It has a cap of caviar, but you can also mix tobiko into the filling.

See our recipe for these deviled eggs, topped with caviar from The Little Pearl.