I eat a lot of eggs, in all sorts of ways but getting a properly poached egg has eluded me for so long. I have tried little silicone poaching devices, swirling the water, adding vinegar and most successfully but very unpredictable, heating the eggs in the pan with their shell on, before dropping them into simmering water. My mother recently gave me some advice that it took me a few weeks to take, but I’m glad I did.
Use a sieve.
You will need a metal sieve that will sit in the top of a medium sized saucepan.
I boiled a kettle to save time, then filled the pan almost to the top with the boiling water. Enough water, that when the sieve is rested on top, dipping into the water, you can crack the egg straight into the sieve and it will be immersed.
A rolling boil will be too much, but a simmer will take too long and will solidify the yolk, so aim for a gentle boil. It will only take a couple of minutes, and you can take the sieve out to test the egg, returning it if you want to cook it a little more.
Very carefully tip the egg onto some kitchen paper to drain, you might need to help loosen it with a spoon.
I will happy accept thanks on behalf of my lovely Mum…
NB I’ll add more pictures of the process next time I do these.
Family Fork 
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