Hello #LoyalRoyals
Breakfast has got to be one of our favourite meals here at the Palace. The thought of a perfectly poached egg, a few crisp rashers of maple bacon and a dollop of pesto has our mouths watering.
That said, cooking a perfectly poached egg can be tricky so we’re sharing our favourite poaching technique and a few tips to help you on your journey to breakfast heaven.
Wishing you a weekend of lazy breakfasts in bed 🙂
HRH Kathleen
You will need
2 eggs, as fresh as possible
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
4 slices of maple bacon (optional)
2 slices of sourdough or ciabatta bread
Butter
Your favourite Pesto Princess Pesto to serve
How to
1. If you are preparing bacon, preheat the oven to 200°C and place the bacon onto a lined baking sheet. Grill the bacon until crispy, about 5-10 minutes.
2. While the bacon is crisping, start poaching your eggs. Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a gentle rolling boil. There are a few key things to remember when poaching eggs.
- Use the freshest eggs possible. The fresher they are, the easier they are to poach. You can check how fresh an egg is by cracking it into a saucer. A fresh egg will have a firm albumen (the transparent liquid around the yolk). The older the egg, the more watery the albumen becomes and the trickier it gets to make a beautifully poached egg.
- Use the best quality eggs you can get your hands on, try your local farmers market for good quality free range eggs.
3. Add the apple cider vinegar to the water. If your eggs are super fresh you won’t need this but it is a fail-proof method to have up your sleeve. The apple cider vinegar helps the albumen solidify quicker and it has the least intense flavour out of all vinegars so it won’t affect the flavour of your eggs.
4. Crack your eggs into ramekins (or any small dish), this makes it easier to drop them gently into the water. Once the water is boiling, slowly tip the eggs into the water.
5. For a soft poached egg, cook your egg for about 1-2 minutes. The best way to test if it is done to your liking is to remove the egg from the water with a slotted spoon and gently feel it to see how soft it is. As all egg sizes vary, the poaching time will be dependent.
6. When ready, remove your egg with a slotted spoon and rest on a clean kitchen towel while you toast the bread.
Serve buttery toast topped with your crispy bacon, poached egg and a generous dollop of pesto.
Feeds 1-2 people.
Recipe and food styling by Michelle Parkin.
This is the first time I have learnt that one can pop eggs into boiling water to poach. I always though they must be in a poached egg type of container. Am I understanding it correctly that I just pour the egg from a small container or rameskins as you say, into the boiling water and it will then set accordingly. WOW this is going to be so much easier than I have ever had to make. Love the tip of the Apple Cider Vinegar. Thanks for sharing with us YRH.
Hello Lorraine!
Yes indeed! It is possible to poach without a poacher and just with boiling water but it does take a little practice so follow the steps carefully. We’re sure you’ll soon master it.
Let us know how you get on.
With love from all of us at the Palace.
WOnderful visit to the palace. I enjoyed meeting yr smiley workers.
Thank you so much, Louise! Lovely having you with us.