Egg Poaching And Energy Versus Ease Of Use

[MEXICOWANDERER]

The last poacher I used was 120vac and it didn't take long before the eggs started sticking to the cups, even when heavily oiled.

I prefer electric because of 83F mornings. But the last poacher really draws down the AC ammeter. Borderline overload on the small inverter.

DC seems not to be an option

So that leaves stove top burner heating.

Being one foot is in the poorhouse and the other on a greased banana peel I sure could use some hints about getting a sensible egg poacher that avoids the almost immediate egg sticking problem.

Would appreciate hints

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Outside the bugs would knock me over getting at the goodies. Yeah I am fussy about pooched yeggs. They are unique. Mexicans prepare poached eggs in Huevos Divorciados. One egg has red salsa, the other green.

An alternative of course is, soft boiled eggs.

I bake my own croissants. Can you imagine, Mother fletcher's pop top microwave croissants? Well that's how I feel about poached eggs.

And yeah for some folks a spoonful of Nescafe in hot water from the sink means coffee.

[Naio]

Inspired by your other thread, maybe a small solar cooker? Too much trouble?

Like, for instance, I wonder how hot water would get in a dark (e.g. anodized) saucepan with a glass lid, in the sun....

[Naio]

I have always poached eggs in a pan of water, and did not know there was a thing called an egg poacher. It's true that you lose some of the white. In my experience, the freshness of the eggs is a major factor. If they are fresh the white is not as runny and you don't lose as much of it.

Is it impractical to cook outdoors?

[MrWizard]

i guess i do it wrong
when i want poached eggs, i use cooking oil in the fry, more oil than for frying
i spoon the oil over the top of the eggs, cook just long enough to make the egg white solid and not cook the yolk

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Slow roil, slotted spoon foamy centers and lots of "spume". Half the eggs white comes up unrecoverable. I could set metal cups in a pan of steaming hot water then abandon the 105F condensing humidity galley. When the temp is 88F with 90% humidity to begin with it does not take much. Poached eggs in the tropics are not common. When I was 20 I ate an awful lot of sandwiches, drank lukewarm 3-bells coffee on the dock and learned to hate green fruit laden (canned fruit) jello with a passion.

I'll try a splut of white grain vinegar

[SaltiDawg]

brulaz wrote:


Not if it's a slow roiling boil with vinegar. Keep the boil slow while cooking the egg(s). Pull out with a slotted spoon. May take some experimentation. ...

Exactly. I suspect a Century ago no one would have heard f an "egg poacher."

Slow boil, slotted spoon. Vinegar optional.

[brulaz]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Boiling water with an egg cracked into it seems to allow most of the white to foam and get near impossible to recover.
...

Not if it's a slow roiling boil with vinegar. Keep the boil slow while cooking the egg(s). Pull out with a slotted spoon. May take some experimentation. Not sure if water quality/hardness is important?

Dunno why it works, never thought it would. But my daughter just showed me how a few months ago. An old dog can learn new tricks.

But there's a lot of other good ideas here too. Will have to try the tin cup and and an inch of water in a fry pan methods, as well as the microwave.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Boiling water with an egg cracked into it seems to allow most of the white to foam and get near impossible to recover. My Samlex does not like +400 watts. The microwave is a no-go.

The best answer in my case seems to be a stove top cooker with pockets that actually are easy release coating. I toast on an open burner with a fine stainless steel mesh.

Thanks for the suggestions!

EGGS BENEDICT

[Gjac]

I put about an in of water in a frying pan crack 5 eggs into the hot water then cover with a lid with heat on low. The lid helps cook the top of the eggs faster, and also used less energy and no electricity just propane.

[JaxDad]

Use a tin cup with the burner on very low, it boils surprisingly fast, very little heat transferred to the room.

It doesn’t get much cheaper than a tin cup either.

[campinginthewoo]

I got silicone rings from Walmart and cook eggs in the skillet. All you do is spray the rings with pam and add the egg. They come out just like the eggs at McDonald's egg muffins. Doesn't take too long. Found them in the aisle where silverware etc is.

[Lwiddis]

“Being one foot is in the poorhouse and the other on a greased banana peel”

Eat cereal......cheaper.

[Almot]

Nothing is wrong with microwave, and takes only a minute. I bet there will be less heat released into your room than with simmering on stove.

[brulaz]

Boiling water is a waste of energy. Just fry the eggs on a small non-stick pan, tightly covered under very low heat. Use an induction heater and compatible fry pan.

Or if you insist upon poached eggs, boil a pot of water with a tablespoon of vinegar and carefully drop in the eggs when you have a medium boil. Keep it boiling and then use a slotted spoon to get them out. This actually works well for us. Again, induction heater and compatible pot if you don't want to use propane. EDIT: or maybe microwave as suggested above?

[Rog___Nan]

Go to Pintrist. If you have a microwave and large straight side mug your in business several recipes for this method. Also, when on pintrist just search poached eggs there are a lot of ways to do them.