Cook Incredible Eggs—Poached, Fried, Omelets, and More!Eggs are incredibleBut it's not always easy to cook perfect eggs. We can help. We'll give you instructions for poached eggs, fried eggs, and boiled eggs. You'll be cooking better eggs in no time. We'll even show you how to make eggs benedict.
How to Boil Eggs
There are several ways to boil eggs. This is our favorite. It requires bringing the water to a boil before placing the eggs in the water.
You cannot also boil eggs by placing them in cold water and then bringing the water with eggs to a simmer. Reduce the simmer time from the times listed below.
Regardless of which method you use, the eggs will continue to cook once you take them from the water. You can stop the cooking by rinsing the eggs in cold water.
- Place the eggs in warm water for five minutes. Warmed eggs are less likely to crack when placed in boiling water.
- Bring a pan of water to boiling.
- Place the warmed eggs in the boiling water. The eggs will lower the water temperature.
- Bring the eggs to a gentle simmer, not boiling, and cook for the allotted time: 3 to 4 minutes for soft cooked, 5 to 7 minutes for medium, and 12 to 14 for hard cooked.
- Drain and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking.
For easier peeling, peel while the eggs are still warm.
Cooking times will vary depending on the pan, the number of eggs, and other factors. To take the guess work out, we like our color-changing egg timer. It will tell you if the egg is soft, medium, or hard.
Source : http://www.preparedpantry.com/Recipes/How-to-Boil-eggs.htmHow to Poach Eggs
Poached eggs are classic. They be tender and egg shaped, round and compact. They are easy to cook but a few tips help.
- Use the freshest eggs possible. The yolks stand higher with fresh eggs. They are firmer and tend to stay together better.
- The whites should be cooked until they are firm but still tender and the yolks should still be runny.
- If the edges of your poached eggs are rough and unattractive, trim the edges with your kitchen shears.
Steps for cooking poached eggs:
- Bring the water to a simmer. It is important that the water is the right temperature. If it is not simmering, the eggs will spread too fast and not cook into a compact mass. Boiling water is too hot—the eggs will be tough and the turmoil of the boiling water will create misshapen cooked eggs.
- Slip the eggs into the water. Slip the eggs into the water one at a time. First, break an egg into a shallow dish. Tip the dish at the waters edge to gently slide the egg into the water. Doing so against the edge of the pan will help hold the egg together. You can cook more than one egg at a time.
- Cook the eggs. The eggs should be done in 3 or 4 minutes. The whites should be firm and the yolks runny. Use a slotted spoon to remove the cooked eggs from the water. Serve them immediately.
Source : http://www.preparedpantry.com/Recipes/How-To-Poach-Eggs.htmHow to Fry Eggs
Properly fried eggs should have set whites, shiny but not blistered or browned. They should be compact in shape and the yolk cooked as desired. Eggs can be cooked sunny-side-up, country style, or over easy, medium, or hard. Here’s how:
Steps for cooking fried eggs:
- Use very fresh eggs. Fresh eggs have firm yolks with a higher profile and will cook more attractive eggs with less yolk breakage.
- Place butter or grease in the frying pan. You should have about 1/8 inch melted grease. Too much will make the eggs greasy. Too little and the eggs will stick. (If you use a nonstick pan, you can reduce the grease.)
- Heat the pan over medium heat. A drop of water will sizzle when dropped in the hot pan. If the pan is not hot enough, the eggs will spread too much.
- Break the eggs into a dish or a shallow bowl then slip them one at a time into the pan. There is less chance of breaking the yolk than if you break the eggs directly into the pan.
- Once the eggs are in the pan, reduce the heat to low (very low for sunny-side-up) and cook the eggs.
Over easy: Fry until the whites are nearly set and flip over. Cook for one more minute. When done, the whites should be set and the yolks runny.
Over medium: Fry until the whites are nearly set and flip over. Cook for about two more minutes. When done, the whites should be set and the yolks should be partially set.
Over hard: Fry until the whites are nearly set and flip over. Cook until both the whites and yolks are set.
Country style: Add a few drops of water to the pan. Cover with a lid and let the steam cook the top of the eggs.
Sunny-side-up: Turn the heat to very low and cook slowly. The whites should be set and the yolks soft and runny. If the heat is set too high, the bottoms will be over-cooked and tough before the tops are cooked.
Source : http://www.preparedpantry.com/Recipes/How-to-fry-eggs.htm
