Poached eggs

I've never liked those gadgets with slots that are intended for poaching eggs.

To poach eggs I boil water in a shallow pan with an addition of a tablespoon of vinegar (to help eggs hold together).

I crack open the eggs and place each into its own espresso cup (fits perfectly). When the boil is raging, I run a wooden spoon clockwise through the water so that when I slide the eggs in from their cups they don't spread out but stay relatively in a small ball. I quickly cover the pan and turn off the heat. Wait five minutes. Lift each egg out with a slotted spoon to drain the water. Place eggs on bread, or whatever.

I don't like Hollandaise Sauce, so I simply salt and pepper the creamy eggs. I pinch the eggs with toasty bread to take up the yoke, most of which does not cook solid.

So, how do you poach eggs?

My Mom used to make poached eggs in boiling water when we were kids. However, after she moved to a nursing facility, I inherited her microwave egg poacher. Here is a video of it. Works great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yZOJW8ph8U

I love poached eggs in boiling water with vinegar. I put the egg in a small ladle, drop it gently into the water for a few seconds, then turn it out. Stays together pretty well. Served on buttered toast with salt on the yolk and black and red pepper on the white. I have been doing it this way since I was 19. I was working for an orthodontist as a chair-side assistant and lab tech. Everyday I picked up my coworker. One day I got there early and she was just making her poached egg for breakfast. I loved the smell of the vinegar in her kitchen and was hooked. I can still see her standing at the stove with her black, shiny, hair, and clean, crisp white uniform. Funny how simple memories like that stay with you forever.

[Robin Garr]

I give the eggs to Mary and say, "Let's have poached eggs, dear!"

She does it simply ... simmer, not a hard boil, and no vinegar, which in her opinion doesn't do anything but make the eggs taste like vinegar. But her real secret is to do it in a small nonstick skillet!

Gently add very fresh eggs to simmering water, NO vinegar, remove when done. Drain well then serve.

We have a heavy, stainless steel pan with a copper bottom with six compartments for poaching eggs and it really is perfect for the task. There is no brand name on it, however.
Often, we coddle eggs in small porcelain coddlers since Liz grew up having coddled eggs.
I have never had much luck with the egg-dropped-in-water method.