How To Make Perfect Poached Eggs

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Enjoy Your Poached Eggs over Salad Too!

Recipe Sponsored By Primal Kitchen

How to Poach Eggs

These five steps, and you’ll be well on your way to pro-status poached eggs:

1. Use fresh eggs: The egg whites become more fluid as they age. If you poach older eggs, you could end up with wispy white tendrils in the water. No big deal to this home cook, but if you want poached perfection, use the freshest eggs you can find. How to test your egg for freshness? Place the egg in a small bowl of water—if it lays on its side at the bottom of the bowl, it’s fresh.

2. Crack the eggs in a separate small bowl first: Resist the urge to cut this corner (it is just one more tiny bowl to wash). You want to cradle the egg into its warm bath, so it cooks gently. It might sound tedious, but poaching is delicate.

3. Use a big-enough pot of water: Like toddlers who like to frolic and splash in a warm bath, your fresh young eggs need plenty of space to swirl. A medium-sized saucepan filled with about three inches of water should suffice for a couple of eggs to poach.

4. Simmering water is the right bath temperature: Let's stick with the small-child-at-bath-time theme here to illustrate these points. If you haven’t bathed a young buck before, file these learnings away for future use. Try submerging the tender flesh of a youngin in scalding or chilly water, and the shrill protest you’ll hear will make you shrivel—the same principle applies to poached eggs. Boiling water will cause the eggs to separate into wispy bits, and tepid water can cause separation of yolk and white. And don’t swirl the water before adding the eggs; the agitation aggravates the eggs' delicate protein.

5. Set a timer: Nestle the eggs into the simmering water and set the timer for three minutes to get a hardened white with a runny yolk; cook for one additional minute for a soft but not oozing yolk.

Bonus tip: Add a tablespoon of white, rice, or apple cider vinegar to the simmering water before adding the eggs. The vinegar should help the egg whites stay intact and form a more compact shape. You won’t taste the vinegar if you use a mild one.

Note: . The most common poached egg mistakes:

• Not using fresh eggs

• Not using the right size pot

• Not having the water at the right temperature when you add the eggs

• Cracking the eggs directly into the pot of water

• Not cooking the eggs for the right amount of time.

Keto-friendly bread alternatives:

• Cloud bread: Beat three egg whites with ¼ teaspoon baking soda until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl, combine three egg yolks with three tablespoons Primal Kitchen Mayo. Gently fold in beaten egg whites. Use a ⅓ measuring cup to place onto the baking sheet; bake for 30 minutes at 300ºF.

• Keto Bread: The dill and cheddar keto bread in this recipe could add a sharp, herbaceous note to your eggs benedict. If you’d prefer a no-dairy version, leave out the cheddar cheese and swap the butter for coconut or avocado oil.

• Store-bought keto-friendly English muffin

• Chaffles: If you’re not adverse to dairy, these five-ingredient keto waffles (cheese + waffle = chaffle) crisp in the waffle iron in less than five minutes.

If you’d prefer a keto and veggie-friendly English muffin replacement, try:

• Grilled or baked eggplant round

• Grilled or baked portobello mushroom

• Grilled or baked cauliflower steak

Keto Eggs Benedict Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. white or apple cider vinegar

• ¼ cup Primal Kitchen Hollandaise Sauce

• 2 slices baked ham or Canadian bacon, cooked

• 2 eggs

• ½ tsp. paprika

• 1 Tbsp. chives, chopped

• 5 slices avocado

Directions

1. Warm the hollandaise sauce in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally while you prepare the other ingredients.

2. In a skillet over medium heat, warm the slices of ham for about 3 minutes per side.

3. Meanwhile, in a medium-sized pot over medium heat, bring three inches of water to a simmer. Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the water.

4. Crack 1 egg into a small bowl. Lower the bowl gently into the simmering water. Use the same bowl to crack the other egg—lower the other egg in the simmering water.

5. Set a timer for 3 minutes. When the time is up, use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs. Place a clean kitchen towel underneath the slotted spoon to catch any excess water.

6. Place the poached eggs on top of the ham slices. Spoon the warmed hollandaise sauce gently on top of the poached eggs. Sprinkle the eggs with paprika and chopped chives.

7. Serve the keto eggs benedict with slices of avocado on the side.