A Michelin-starred chef has shared his secret to making the perfect poached egg – and it doesn’t involve vinegar.
Paul Foster, who owns the fine dining restaurant Salt, posted a video on TikTok showing his fool-proof method for poaching eggs.
He said: “I was shown, when I was a young chef, to use vinegar but I’ve learned a better way. This is the better way.”
Only a few simple things are required to cook the eggs, including a pan of water heated on a stove, and an added pinch of salt.
The next step is to crack an egg into a sieve to remove any watery bits from the white.
The egg should be as fresh as possible and at room temperature rather than fridge cold, according to Paul.
He added: “Give it a stir, you don’t need to whisk it and create a vortex. The stir just helps it to move so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.”
According to the TikTok content creator, this way, the protein can set and “just curls up lovely”.
Once he put his egg into the nearly boiling water, Paul turned the heat down on his stove and set a timer for two minutes. While he admitted it wouldn’t fully cook the egg, he prefers to “check it before”.
He pointed out: “See how the water is not boiling. There’s no vinegar in there, it’s not gone all scummy and it won’t taste like c**p.”
After his egg spent two minutes in the warm bath, Paul checked it and decided it needed another 30 seconds in the bubbling water, recalling: “Don’t be tempted to turn it up and start boiling it.”
When he finally took his egg from its watery home, he shook off any extra droplets on a piece of kitchen roll. He reminded us it stops anything that you put the egg with – like toast – from becoming too soft.
Getting ready to tuck into his prized creation, Paul cut open the egg which was cooked flawlessly and had a runny yolk.
Proudly, he said: “That is a perfectly cooked runny yolk, and a nice soft white. You can’t get better than that.”
Paul noted that while many people thing a microwave or egg poachers are essential for perfect results, they’re not necessary at all.
He reiterated: “You just need a pan with some water, with no vinegar in it. Just a little bit of salt.”
