[DC Sunshine]

This is for just for home cooking.....

My question is - does anyone out there have any experience of separating the yolk from its white, and just poaching the yolk?

I love poached eggs, but feel the white is a bit of a waste of time and don't really enjoy it. Would you still need a splash of vinegar in the water, or given that there is no white, you don't need it? And for how long for a soft poach? Or maybe just get rid of most of the white..... I know I could just experiment (and probably waste a lot of eggs), wanted to see if anyone else did this.

Any comments appreciated Thanks!

DC

P.S. I tried to search the net and this site for an answer, but couldn't come up with anything to help.

[tessa]

Originally Posted by DC Sunshine

This is for just for home cooking.....

My question is - does anyone out there have any experience of separating the yolk from its white, and just poaching the yolk?

I love poached eggs, but feel the white is a bit of a waste of time and don't really enjoy it. Would you still need a splash of vinegar in the water, or given that there is no white, you don't need it? And for how long for a soft poach? Or maybe just get rid of most of the white..... I know I could just experiment (and probably waste a lot of eggs), wanted to see if anyone else did this.

Any comments appreciated Thanks!

DC

P.S. I tried to search the net and this site for an answer, but couldn't come up with anything to help.

the vinegar sets the white, you could always give the whites to the cats or dogs, its very good for them,
Im sure you could just do the yolks why dont you give it a try, i think it would be really tasty

[Mezzaluna]

You won't need vinegar (as tessa said). Too bad we don't live near each other- I prefer the whites.

[boar_d_laze]

I really want you to try doing it and let us know how it works. My curiosity has been driving me nuts since the thread was started. What kept me from chiming in was not only a total lack of experience, but mystification in terms of motivation. The application escapes me in terms of how I understand a poached egg should be served; i.e., white set, and the yolk still (at least slightly) liquid. In practice, when poaching the white protects the yolk from overcooking. In service, it is a way of bringing "egg sauce" to the dish.

Of course eggs are definitely one of the most intensely personal of the "your mileage may vary" foods; and you may like your poached eggs cooked through. I don't mean to pass judgment on your taste in eggs -- and can almost guarantee that you don't like them as underdone as I prefer mine. To my mind, slow roasting in the shell, or proper "hard-boiling" does a better job of presenting a fully or near-fully set yolk.

To slow roast or bake an egg -- Place as many x-large eggs as you like on a baking sheet in a cold oven. Set the oven to run at 190 or 200 and bake the eggs for 1 hour. Ovens vary and you may have to fool around with this a little to get your temperature right. This assumes your oven can hold that low a temperature with reasonable stability, some old thermostats have too wide a deadband. You can also cook eggs this way in a crock-pot. If you want to serve warm, hard-but-not-overcooked eggs, as though cooked in a fire's ashes... this is a wonderful method.

The "French" method for boiling an egg, is to place between three and 18 eggs in a pot of appropriate size with enough (unsalted) water to cover by an inch. Bring, as quickly as possible, to a full boil. Cover and remove from heat. Allow to stand for 4-1/2 minutes ("French," with yolks just set enough to slice), or seven minutes (English/American, with fully set yolks but no dark band). After the desired time, drain the cooking water and replace with fresh, cool tap water, and allow the eggs to stand another 10 minutes before peeling.

At altitude, you may want to salt the water to raise the boiling point. The number of eggs limits are set so that a home stove will bring the water to a boil within a reasonable time range.

BDL

[longfellow]

He is a tick put a piece of clear wrap into a small cup. then separate the yoke and place in cup.wind the top part of paper and secure with wire bread wrap then place package in hot water. This is how i poach whole eggs sometimes.

[DC Sunshine]

I guess my motivation for doing it is that, yes, I like to add it like an egg sauce to a dish, but without all the fuss (and extra fat!) of all that butter normally associated with an egg sauce. I like mine warm but very soft, runny and barely cooked at all.

Coddled eggs are great - Mezz - I will post you the whites

Will give it a go as soon as time permits - my paying job is pretty demanding at the moment.

911 - I've noticed that method for getting a uniform shape to the eggs - a very pretty result it is too. It just might work with the yolk only.

What I'm basically looking for is the tasty, creamy yolk without fussin (sorry Mezz) with the white.

Shall give it a go!

Thanks all - stay tuned. Shall post any results.

DC

[RPMcMurphy]

take pictures!

[Mezzaluna]

Mezz - I will post you the whites

DC, I appreciate the gesture.

[DC Sunshine]

Results from some playing with egg yolks....

Room temp egg. Separated yolk from white, had plain filtered inch or so of slowly simmering water in a small pan, pinch of salt. Slid the yolk in from the egg shell - no swirling of the water as with a whole egg - 40 seconds on very slow simmer. There was of course still a touch of the white left clinging to the yolk, which gave it a slight casing to hold it together. Took it out with a slotted spoon, straight onto a rare and rested pepper steak.

Oh yes.....it was YUMMERS! The yolk was smooth, warm and runny, mixed in with the juices from the steak, it made a really delicious dressing. I'm sure this is not a new way of doing things, but I hadn't tried it before, and am very pleased with the result.

I'd like to have taken pictures, just ain't got the technology - one day

But I'd recommend trying it - at least once. Dead simple for a quick egg sauce. Imagine it on a hot piece of toast or a hot crumpet, or on that Caesars salad BDL posted. Or floating on chicken noodle soup (you could poach it in the soup at the end). The possibilities are endless.

Am glad I've tried it, and willl be doing it again. Thanks for the input everyone

DC

[teamfat]

Originally Posted by DC Sunshine

straight onto a rare and rested pepper steak.

Boy, that does sound good. I've put fried eggs, sunny side up, over a breakfast steak before and eaten them all together in one messy pile. I'll have to try this for dinner sometime. Most likely one night when the wife isn't home, she'd whine about my cholestrol, once for the beef and once again for the egg yolk!

mjb.

[teamfat]

Gee, what luck, my wife had a performance tonight, I was on my own for dinner. Beet greens cooked with red onion and bacon, topped with some crumbles of roquefort to go alongside a grilled ribeye with a poached egg yolk topping.





Well, it could have been better, I kept overcooking the yolks, didn't get one that was just warm and runny. I was getting hungry, so I ate an overcooked one anyway. Not quite what I was aiming for, but still pretty tasty.

Oh, and RPM, that 'wine glass' was chosen just for you.

mjb.

[DC Sunshine]

Teamfat - it goes well hey? Maybe lower heat on the water, or less time poaching. But it is delicious That steak looks nice and rare. Great looking side dish, will have to try that

[tessa]

so teamfat it was a nice low cholesterol dinner for you last night then hmmmmm

[RPMcMurphy]

Originally Posted by teamfat

Oh, and RPM, that 'wine glass' was chosen just for you.

mjb.

hehehe. thanks.

Much appreciate the pictures!!!

[teamfat]

Originally Posted by tessa

so teamfat it was a nice low cholesterol dinner for you last night then hmmmmm

Yep. Tonight the wife will be home for dinner, so it will be something more healthy, perhaps a grilled shrimp salad or such. So it goes.

mjb.