<\/p>\n
I had a foodie friend home from the UK last week and during the many hours that we drove our taste buds to distraction discussing food, the subject of poaching was raised.\u00a0 We both agreed that poaching has become quite fashionable again and poached pears seem to be popping up on menus across the land.<\/p>\n
I tend to associate poaching with eggs and fish only and even then I\u2019m not sure if it would be my chosen method of cooking.\u00a0 There are so many other things you can do with an egg that it fails to register on my method radar.\u00a0 That has now changed and I have a new regard for this old technique.\u00a0 I suppose my interest was really piqued when I was reminded that it was a healthy way to cook. Our conversation had strayed onto my current health regime and while I haven\u2019t gone completely to that lettuce chewing, lycra wearing, green juice swilling side of life just yet, I am making small lifestyle adjustments and enjoying the benefits.<\/p>\n
Poaching is a simple and low fat way of cooking that tends to allow foods to retain their inherent flavours very well.\u00a0 From a scientific stand point poached food is easy to digest and so is very easy on the human system.\u00a0 The foods best suited to poaching are naturally tender so eggs, fish, fruit and poultry are ideal candidates.\u00a0 I do remember reading somewhere about poaching beef but I think I need to master the method with an egg first.\u00a0 Given my novice standing I felt a sirloin strip was a tad ambitious.\u00a0 So discovering that I had an experienced poacher in my midst and always willing to learn something new it didn\u2019t take long to get him into the kitchen for a poaching lesson and a half.<\/p>\n
Poaching is basically when a food is cooked in a liquid that has been heated to just below boiling point.\u00a0 This is where the liquid is barely moving.\u00a0 Poaching temperature is very important because if you allow the water to boil then, effectively, it\u2019s game over.\u00a0 Boiling will cause certain foods like unshelled eggs to disintegrate while it can toughen fish or meat.\u00a0 You also need to make sure that the food being cooked is fully covered with the liquid but not completely drowned.\u00a0 While we tend to associate poaching with water, stock, syrup and alcohol are also used in order to add taste or texture depending on what is being poached.\u00a0 Liam also pointed out that the food being poached is infusing the liquid so, depending on the menu, he would often use the poaching liquid to cook other parts of the meal also.\u00a0 When poaching eggs or fish it is common to add a little vinegar or lemon juice to the liquid and this helps to keep everything firm.<\/p>\n
When choosing a pot to poach in, the pot should be a bit larger than the food with enough room to cover it with the liquid.\u00a0 If all you plan on doing is eggs you should have plenty of choice.\u00a0 It is also a good idea to match your food with the poaching liquid.\u00a0 Chicken stock if you are poaching chicken, a vegetable stock or fish stock for fish or, of course, the catch all; plain water.\u00a0 When poaching meat and fish it is also important to add all the herbs, spices and vegetables to the water before you add the meat.\u00a0 These flavours will be absorbed by the food and that\u2019s what poaching is really all about.\u00a0 Don\u2019t forget the vinegar or lemon juice!\u00a0 I was advised that it is best to use fresh herbs where possible and you needn\u2019t chop everything up, just stick them in the pot!<\/p>\n
By all accounts at that point poaching was the holy grail of cooking, but I insisted that there must be a downside.\u00a0 It would appear that the greatest disadvantage is that it isn\u2019t a suitable method to cook many foods.\u00a0 Also there is, without a doubt, a certain amount of skill required as the main difficulty seems to be in knowing when the food is properly cooked.\u00a0 If you are frying or grilling something you can touch it during cooking and test it as it goes along.\u00a0 With poaching, every time you want to check if something is done you must carefully remove it from the liquid.\u00a0 Again this is where repetition is the mother of skill.\u00a0 If you poach enough eggs or pears or chicken pieces eventually you will have a good feel for how long it takes without constantly needing to take it in and out of the liquid.<\/p>\n
So here is my simple first lesson on how to poach an egg.<\/p>\n
Fill a pot with three inches of cold water, add a pinch of salt and bring it to the boil.<\/p>\n
Carefully break the egg into a small cup plate or bowl.<\/p>\n
As the water reaches boiling point, reduce the heat and allow the water to simmer.<\/p>\n
Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the water.<\/p>\n
Carefully (and I mean carefully as I failed in this step on my first attempt!) slide the egg from the cup into the water.\u00a0 Keep the cup as close to the water as possible before tipping in the egg and you should be fine.<\/p>\n
Once the eggs are in the water don\u2019t be tempted to move the eggs around.\u00a0 Allow them to cook for 3 to 4 minutes.\u00a0 The time difference will depend on the size of the egg and how firm you like your egg yolks.<\/p>\n
When done remove the egg with a slotted spoon.\u00a0 You can trim any dangling bits of egg white with a knife.<\/p>\n
Serve immediately on warm toast.<\/p>\n
While I have to admit that the resulting egg on the buttered toast was delicious I do think that cooking eggs is probably the least you should do with poaching.\u00a0 I\u2019m definitely going to poach again and who knows, I might even get to the stage where I just might attempt that classic, poached pears in red wine. I welcome your feedback to pat@jwb.ie<\/a>.<\/p>\n We hope you enjoyed reading this post by Pat Whelan of James Whelan Butchers. Pat is a 5th generation butcher, cook book author and the director of \u00a0James Whelan Butchers with shops in Clonmel, the Avoca Food Market Monkstown and Avoca Rathcoole.\u00a0Sign up to our newsletter for more updates from James Whelan Butchers<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I had a foodie friend home from the UK last week and during the many hours that we drove our taste buds to distraction discussing food, the subject of poaching was raised.\u00a0 We both agreed that poaching has become quite fashionable again and poached pears seem to be popping up on menus across the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[25],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n