#MACEATS: How to Poach an Egg Correctly is Quintessential #MACtion

First you tune into a shopping channel at 3 A.M. and wait. Eventually an egg poaching dish will appear. Purchase that, follow the ridiculous instructions, and look at the finished product. It may, or may not, be an edible poached egg. That is major college athletics. A convoluted, marketed mess.

Now, let’s do it the Midwestern way. The MAC way. The correct way. Unlike many food blog posts, I will not include pictures. Why? Because this correct way is so simple, you don’t need pictures. You need a pot (thought can be done in many different cooking devices). Water. An Egg. Vinegar. A spoon. A heat source. That’s it.

My preferred heat source is a gas stove. I generally use a sauce pan. I fill the pan about half full of water and turn my gas stove to high. Once the water is boiling, I turn it down a few notches. If there are a few bubbles, I turn the heat back up a notch or two. What I am looking for is little tornadoes in the bubbles. Then I add my vinegar to the water. Any vinegar will do. I usually use red wine vinegar because I always have plenty on hand, but my preferred is rice wine vinegar. It’s clean and crisp and there is a bit of transfer of taste to the egg. A teaspoon is enough, though if you want more of an infusion of flavor, add more. It’s your world.

No need to swirl or mix, the soft boil will do that. Next, add your egg. If you want to look cool, take your index and middle finger and straddle the small point of the egg, use your thumb in the middle of the base, and smack it twice on a flat surface. Then pull up with fingers and thumb and drop the egg into the water. That’s how you crack an egg with one hand!

Immediately take your spoon and fold the egg whites over the yolk. Wait a few minutes and you have the perfectly poached egg. It really is that simple. How much time depends on how you like your egg. I prefer mine runny, so I go about 2 minutes. It’s all taste.

Do it the right way, pay attention to the little details, and you have deliciousness. You don’t need the egg poacher 4300. You also don’t need 37 ESPN talking heads telling you why that Alabama vs. Kentucky game is must watch. Watch the two football teams in your back yard go at it. It’s not just good enough, it’s actual perfection.