Have you ever heard of the Arzak egg before? Here is how to make perfect poached eggs: take a look at this easy cling film method with pictures!
I found out how to make perfect poached eggs.
Finally, I have to add!
There was a time that the mere thought ‘poached eggs’ sent shivers up my spine. Because it just looked far too difficult and the attempts I made were a total disaster.
I mean that, no joke.
The poaching water looked more like an egg drop soup gone badly wrong in the end. And the egg or what was left of it looked more like something from out of space.
Such a let down.
How To Make Perfect Poached Eggs
But I kept my foot down and kept on trying it.
I love poached eggs and so does the hubs. So while browsing the internet I came across a rather unusual method but one that made sense: the cling film or plastic wrap method. Tried it and it worked.
Here is how to make perfect poached eggs: fail proof!
Do you need some recipe ideas for poached eggs?
Then you should also check my smoked mackerel and lentils with poached eggs! Or my salade lyonnaise. And how about a Belgian classic: buttermilk mashed potatoes with poached egg and brown shrimp?
Try it!
The Arzak Egg
It was only recently that I realised that this technique is not new at all!
I was watching a series on Netflix called ‘The Mind of a Chef’ with David Chang (of restaurant Momofuku), more particularly the episode about Spanish food.
There David Chang meets up with reknown San Sebastian chef Juan Mari Arzak and he tells about watching Arzak preparing an egg in cling film on TV when he was little.
So apparently the Arzak egg (also known as flower egg or egg blossom) is actually not a recent kitchen hack at all!
So here is how to make perfect poached eggs: take a look at this easy cling film method with pictures!
Enjoy!
How To Make Perfect Poached Eggs: Cling Film Method
How to make perfect poached eggs: here's the Arzak egg!
- 1 medium egg
- ½ tsp vegetable oil
- plastic bag clip or rubber band
- cling film
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1. Fill a saucepan with water and bring it to a gentle boil. In the meantime place a square piece of cling film on a surface and pour the vegetable oil in the middle. With kitchen paper or a brush, spread the oil over the cling film.
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2. Chose a small cup or ramekin. Place the cling film in it and shape it against the inside of the ramekin using your fingers. Don't tear it or you will have to start over!
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3. Then carefully break the egg and gently drop it in the ramekin.
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4. Fold the cling film around the egg. Then take it out of the ramekin.
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5. Close the egg pocket with a plastic bag clip (or rubber band). Make sure that there’s no air in the parcel anymore. You'll end up with a neatly wrapped egg. Check if there's no egg white dripping down through a tear in the cling film.
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6. Then place the wrapped egg in the warm water.
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7. Poach the egg for 5 minutes. Then remove the egg and place it on a chopping board.
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8. Carefully open the clip (or cut the cling film off right under the rubber band using scissors). Careful, the cling film is still hot so don’t burn your fingers. Then gently start peeling the cling film away from the poached egg white. This should go pretty fast if you greased the cling film well. Make sure the egg white doesn’t break.
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9. Pull the cling film from underneath the poached egg. Now gently scoop up the egg with a tablespoon and flip it over gently on a clean plate, salad or piece of toast. Sprinkle with pepper and salt and serve immediately while the yolk is runny.
Toast with Poached Egg & Buttery Samphire
Have you ever cooked with samphire before, let alone tasted it at all?
It is quite salty and crisp, I love it.
Here is my buttery pan fried samphire recipe with garlic, with a freshly poached Arzak egg on top. And it tastes even better on toast, sprinkled with some peeled brown shrimp and freshly ground black pepper…
I also like to spread some truffle butter on that toast from time to time.
Samphire
This is the perfect lunch if you ask me!
I only found out recently that this tasty green delicacy samphire is also called sea beans! I saw them in a supermarket in the US while we were traveling. I am not sure if it was at a Whole Foods or another organic supermarket.
I am using grey (aka brown) North Sea shrimp here. Their salty sweet taste also goes very well with the rest of the ingredients. If you can’t find any, you can always replace them by bacon, panceta or ham if you like.
Does the idea of poaching eggs scare you?
Arzak Egg
Then you haven’t tried my fail proof method above by chef Arzak: how to make perfect poached eggs in cling film. No mess and perfectly executed…
Do try it out!
Do you love samphire?
Then you should also check out another hearty dish with samphire that I made recently: my cod steaks with winter vegetables in cream sauce!
Enjoy!
Toast with Poached Egg & Buttery Samphire Recipe
Here's my buttery pan fried samphire recipe with garlic. Great on toast, grey shrimp and a poached egg... the perfect lunch!
- 2 handfuls fresh samphire
- 3 tbsp grey North Sea shrimp peeled (optional)
- 2 large slices bread
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1 tsp unsalted butter
- 2 medium eggs
- 1 tsp truffle butter (optional)
- vegetable oil
- pepper
- salt
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1. Poach the eggs. Use the method you like best, or take a look at my method: how to make perfect poached eggs in cling film above.
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2. Then rinse and drain the samphire. Peel the garlic clove and slice it finely. Add the butter to a medium non-stick pan and place it over medium-high heat. Once the butter has melted, add the sliced garlic and a pinch of pepper.
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3. Gently fry the garlic for 3 minutes. Then add the rinsed samphire to the pan.
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4. Stir and quickly stir fry the samphire for 3 minutes. In the meantime toast the bread. Take the samphire off the heat and check the seasoning. Then add extra pepper or salt to taste. Watch out, the samphire is very salty already. Place the toasted bread onto plates (spread them with truffle butter if you like) and top with the samphire. Place a poached egg on top and sprinkle with the grey shrimp (optional, you can replace this by bacon or ham). Finish with a last dash of freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately.
Looks like a great method June, we’ll try it soon, as Panos loves runny yolks, and poached eggs are food porn for him:)
Thanx so much dear, have an amazing week ahead!
xoxoxo
I like putting poached egg over rice