The Breakfast Thread

[Sload Soap]

I do the egg in a pan thing. Big, deep pan, bring water to boil then simmer, get a spoon and stir the water until you've got a bit of a current, then crack the egg in. The movement of the water should keep the egg together. Some people add a bit of vinegar to the pan but I've never actually seen any obvious benefit from doing this. You should add a pinch or two of salt though. Yummy.

Vinegar actually does help it hold together. My wife makes poached eggs for a particular dinner recipe we like and when she does it without the vinegar you can tell. The egg just spreads out and "shreds" in the water.

Hmm. Maybe I'm not using enough then? I only put in a dash.

[Ziggy]

I do the egg in a pan thing. Big, deep pan, bring water to boil then simmer, get a spoon and stir the water until you've got a bit of a current, then crack the egg in. The movement of the water should keep the egg together. Some people add a bit of vinegar to the pan but I've never actually seen any obvious benefit from doing this. You should add a pinch or two of salt though. Yummy.

Vinegar actually does help it hold together. My wife makes poached eggs for a particular dinner recipe we like and when she does it without the vinegar you can tell. The egg just spreads out and "shreds" in the water.

Hmm. Maybe I'm not using enough then? I only put in a dash.

Here's what Wiki says: "To prevent dispersion of the white of the egg, it can be strained before-hand, removing the parts of the white that are likely to disperse and creating a perfect, compact poached egg every time, with very little effort and without resorting to other risky methods such as vinegar.[3]

Another method states that a small amount of vinegar may be added to the boiling water. However, this technique is risky, as one may add too much vinegar into the water, resulting in a dry egg and an acidic taste. Stirring the water vigorously to create a vortex may also reduce dispersion."

[Luke]

The easiest way to perfectly poach an egg:

Decent sized saucepan, fill to about four inches deep of water. Get water to boil, bring it down to a low boil.

Here's the trick:

Crack an egg into a shallow ladle. Slowly lower the ladle into the low boiling water until water barley covers the ladle. Hold it there until egg is properly poached.

If you are new to poaching this helps as the ladle helps keep the egg together.

[Ziggy]

So I poached an egg. Didn't come out great, but tasted just fine.

I don't like my eggs to be runny at all, so I cracked an egg into a bowl then broke the yolk so it'd cook fully. My egg separated a little in the water, but I just took it out with a slotted spoon and it was fine. I didn't have any ham, my only substitute was bologna. I know, that sounds horrible. But you know what, it wasn't bad at all. I warmed up two slices of bologna and put it on a buttered English muffin with the poached egg. It tasted pretty good. Would have been even better but I forgot to add a little salt to the water. There's always next time.

[Luke]

So I poached an egg. Didn't come out great, but tasted just fine.

I don't like my eggs to be runny at all...

That's like saying "I don't like scrambled eggs, but I scrambled them in a pan".

The entire point of poaching an egg is to end with a cooked fluffy egg white, and a barely cooked runny yolk. If it isn't runny, you didn't poach the egg, you either soft or medium boiled it. Totally different. No runny yolk = not poached properly.


Can of tuna for breakfast with fresh grapes in the side. Grapes are basically water, but seeing as I need tons of protein, tuna is the most cost effective way to get it. I was thinking beef jerky, but holy cow (ho ho) that stuff is even more expensive than tuna (which is cheap but not so much actually) and doesn't pack the same protein punch per ounce.


You know you're getting older when you have a "food diary".

[foxhound1022]

Had a simple breakfast: bacon, egg, & cheese sandwich on a bagel.

Seasoned the eggs w/ some cayenne pepper, and shredded a block of cracked black pepper sharp white cheddar for the cheese.

[Hobie-wan]

All righty. My mother had a pan with the tray for steam poaching when I was little, so it's always been that to me. I suppose it does sort of end up like a boiled egg for the most part, but I think the steaming does make it different and of course if it's done that way it's flatter and easier to cut up with the toast or put on a sandwich.

I'm going to have some now myself.

[MrPopo]

You ever try making your own jerky Luke? It's cheaper than purchasing the prepackaged stuff, is easy to do, and you can more easily get the flavor you're looking for.

[Luke]

You ever try making your own jerky Luke? It's cheaper than purchasing the prepackaged stuff, is easy to do, and you can more easily get the flavor you're looking for.

Oh boy.

One day my wife came home to me slaughtering a full deer for venison jerk. My dog was lapping up blood and loving life, but she hulked out on me. Which is understandable.

A few hours and several arguments later, I bought a dehydrator and made venison jerky.

Talk about delicious. Deer + salt + cracked pepper. Boy was it something. And now my mouth is watering.

Great idea, but I'll stick with the tuna for now. And I emphasize "for now" as my local Fresh Market has some darned good sales on Tuesdays, and my dehydrator has gathered more dust than my Wii.

I'm guessing eye of round would be the best cut for jerky. Something I need to look into.

[Ziggy]

So I poached an egg. Didn't come out great, but tasted just fine.

I don't like my eggs to be runny at all...

That's like saying "I don't like scrambled eggs, but I scrambled them in a pan".

The entire point of poaching an egg is to end with a cooked fluffy egg white, and a barely cooked runny yolk. If it isn't runny, you didn't poach the egg, you either soft or medium boiled it. Totally different. No runny yolk = not poached properly.

All righty. My mother had a pan with the tray for steam poaching when I was little, so it's always been that to me. I suppose it does sort of end up like a boiled egg for the most part, but I think the steaming does make it different and of course if it's done that way it's flatter and easier to cut up with the toast or put on a sandwich.

I'm going to have some now myself.

When you say soft, medium and hard boiled egg, you're talking about boiling an egg in the shell. When you're cooking an egg in water, you're poaching it. That's what poaching is. If I boiled an egg it would still be egg shaped. If I poach it, whether or not the yolk is cooked or not, it's a more suitable shape to put on a sandwich like Hobie said. Also, poaching it, whether or not the yolk is cooked or not, gives the egg a MUCH different texture. You might like your fried eggs sunny side up but I like mine over hard. You wouldn't say "no runny yolk = not fried properly" in this case, would you?