Froached Eggs Sweep the Nation
A couple of years ago I learned how to properly poach eggs; by properly I mean in a pan of boiling water, not in one of those little plastic things you stick in the microwave (a cheat if I ever could spot one!) The keys are the swirl and the vinegar in the water, which repels the albumin protein of the egg white (I think, ask Alton Brown!), and thus keeps it together. I’ve since come up with a few recipes I really love with poached eggs, and my own way to cheat. FROACHED EGGS! It’s more of a time saver than a cheat, really.
Learn how after the jump.
Ok- so if you haven’t figured out already, froaching is a combination of frying and poaching, and this is how it’s done.
Wipe your frying pan with some oil on a paper towel, or you can use cooking spray if you like, but you don’t want excess oil, because it will float up in your pan. Then put about 1/2 inch of water in your pan and a generous splash of your favorite white or light vinegar and get it boiling. Once boiling, crack your eggs in there, and cover with a lid. After a couple of minutes, start checking your yolks by poking them with your finger or a spoon, and remove with a spatula when they are perfectly cooked to your liking.
Here’s my favorite recipe that can be done with poached, froached or soft boiled eggs.
- Light and Summery Dill Froached Eggs
Toast an English muffin and spread with a little mayo (or veganaise if you want this dish even lighter) when it is nice and toasty.
While your muffin is toasting you should be cooking your eggs, if you are poaching/froaching, use an infused vinegar to add some eggstra flavor. If you are soft boiling, you can just sprinkle some on top. I used a homemade basil and garlic infused white vinegar this morning.
(Yum!! Sorry I don’t have a proper picture,
but I’m out of English muffins 😉 )
When your eggs are done, lay them on top of your mayo’d muffin. Season with salt and pepper, and a generous sprinkle of dill. You can use fresh if you like, but I actually prefer dried in this dish because it sticks to the egg and lends more flavor.
Enjoy!
okay, three things.
1) this looks a-mazing! i may make this by week’s end.
2) i need explicit directions on how to poach (the stirring and whirling…help!)
3) we need a full blog post on this infused vinegar
sounds egg-ceptional
Wow! I know what I’m making for breakfast Saturday morning!
I too could use a little eggstra help on the swirling thing.
ok, this is way easier to demo than to describe, but I’ll try. For poaching, you want about 2 1/2 – 3 inches of water plus your generous splash of vinegar in your sauce pan. Bring to a low/medium boil, take a large slotted spoon and scoop the water around the edge in a circle to get it whirlpooling, or you can just swirl your pot around on the burner to get it going. While it’s still swirling, gently crack your egg or two in there. You should probably re swirl and re boil in between eggs. The boiling should free the egg up from the bottom of the pan, but if not, encourage it with the spoon so it is free floating. After about 3-4 min scoop the egg up with your slotted spoon and poke at the yolk with your finger. If it’s not done to your preference, drop it back in, if it is, then eat it.
So I just made my first *froached* egg! It worked out perfectly…I put it on top of a salad with brown rice, avocado, tomato, feta, lemon juice, evoo, s&p.
Thanks, Rooms!
I have an alternative method of froaching. I love the taste and texture of poached eggs yet I also love a crispy base to my fried eggs.
Put some oil in a frying pan (or wok) and start frying the eggs. Turn up the heat so they really begin to crisp. Then take half a cup of water and a lid that fits the frying pan. Throw the water into the pan and quickly put the lid on. The water steams off cooking the tops of the eggs.
Be warned though, be quick with the lid and keep it in front of you as the fat obviously does spit a lot when you throw the water on.
They taste fantastic though.
this way of cooking eggs is really cool and good, i accidentally put in to much vinegar, giving the eggs a strange taste, but still delicious. perfect on toast of English muffin.