Not surprisingly, June is proving to be as busy—if not busier—than May was, so we’re riding the egg-cooking train again.  Last month, I introduced you to J. Kenji López-Alt, the author of The Food Lab, a veritable ‘food Bible’ of sorts to which I refer regularly.  If you’ve checked him out and fallen in love with his book, you’re welcome.  If you haven’t, why not?!

Does anyone poach eggs anymore?  I think I tried once and failed miserably, which isn’t hard to do if you don’t know what you’re doing.  López-Alt to the rescue!  It’s so simple—or at least in theory—I’m going to have to give it a try again soon.  You’ll need fresh eggs, a pot with salted water, and a mesh strainer.  First, start with fresh eggs.  As in, the freshest you can find.  Eggs from the grocery store could be more than a month old, so perhaps it’s time to start shopping at the farmers’ market… 

Fresh eggs have a strong membrane that keeps the whites together, the older they are, the weaker that membrane becomes.  Second, let the water simmer, then lower the heat after the eggs go in.  Boiling simply creates too much agitation, which can cause the whites to spread out.  Lastly, crack your eggs into a mesh strainer first.  It will allow some of the separated white to drip away, and then lower the strainer into the water.  The eggs will begin to cook, so gently roll the egg out of the strainer and then use a spoon to gently flip them in the water while they cook.  Flipping the egg while it cooks creates the oval shape of a poached egg.  Doesn’t sound that hard, does it?

Perhaps poaching still seems too complicated.  In addition to scrambling and hard-boiling, frying is another quick and easy option for cooking eggs.  I’ve recently embraced the fried egg and found it to be a new favorite!

However, I’m learning right along with you, just liked the poached eggs.  It seems López-Alt likes the mesh strainer for fried eggs, too.  Same concept as poached eggs, above: you want fresh eggs, with whites that stay together and yolks that sit nice and high in the pan.  Ultimately, according to López-Alt, the yolks begin to cook faster than the whites, so you risk overcooking the yolks before the whites are set.  His solution: use a spoon!  After straining your eggs, he recommends heating a few tablespoons of butter or oil in a small skillet. Gently pour the egg into the skillet, but then tilt the skillet so the fat pools on one side, and then spoon it over the egg whites to help them cook more quickly.  This should allow for set, and perhaps a bit crispy, whites with a runny yolk.

Come to think of it, a friend makes his eggs this way and taught my husband to do it, too.  I thought it was genius!