Courtesy of lifehacker, here is the account of one intrepid hacker attempting to learn the secrets of egg poaching. Interestingly, he comes up with a solution that I’ve never heard of before.

I did have a couple of thoughts though. His attempt to use the conventional method (simmering water bath) was flawed by something simple: his pan was boiling, not simmering. Simmering occurs below the boiling point. You want to minimize convection to keep the yolks tight.

While I am far from poached egg perfection, I have made a few of them that seemed okay. I suspect that if my diet could suffer the assault that is Eggs Benedict (among the three or four perfect breakfasts in my estimation) then I’d probably get better at it. Here are my tips for a slightly more conventional approach to poached eggs:

1. Use fresh eggs. This should go without saying, but it really does help. Older eggs tend to have looser whites, and you want nice tight dense whites.
2. Use a wide pan, with about an inch of water. Bring it to a simmer, not a boil.
3. Add a small amount of vinegar to the water. To be honest, I’m not sure how important this is, but the idea is that the acids help keep the egg whites together.
4. I usually also lightly salt the water.
5. If I really want a perfect poached egg (like, say for the aforementioned Eggs Benedict, where such an egg must sit serenely atop a toasted english muffin) then I take my egg rings (usually used for frying eggs) and spray them with nonstick spray and then put them into the water and gently slide the egg into the circle after them.
6. Don’t overcook them. For the aforementioned Eggs Benedict, you really want the yolks to be rich and creamy, not solid.

Damn, wish I could have an Eggs Benedict right now.

Maybe next time I’ll describe my recipe for scrambled eggs with smoked salmon.