Whats the best way to poach an egg and how long is it cooked for????

Kitty - how long you cook it for will depend on how you like your egg yolks (runny, medium, firm?)

Fill a medium sized frying pan with about 2 inches or so of water and a pinch of salt and slowly bring to a boil - - you'll want the water SLOWLY (small bubbles) boiling when you add the eggs. I like to break the egg into a small bowl or cup before dropping it into the water to make sure the yolk doesn't break (or the egg isn't yukky). After dropping it in the water - let it cook for about 1 1/2 minutes for soft, 2-2 1/2 for medium and 3 or 4 for firm yolks.

If, like me and you like it soft, use a slotted spoon when you think it's about done and just "jiggle" it a little to make sure the white around the yolk is cooked (nothing worse than a "snotty" egg white)!!

by "soft" above, I mean runny...

(sorry...editing capabilities disappeared)

Thank you Lydia

What they call "poached eggs" today is actually boiling them....

The true way for poached egges, is actually to steam them...

As far back as I can remember, my grandmother had a "poacher"...It was a small low pot, with a section that had holes in it to put little cups into...Water was put into the pot to boil, creating steam...A drop (t) of butter was put into each little cup and then an egg was dropped into it, lid put on , and in a couple of minutes you had a perfect "poached eggs".

A little more trouble than dropping into vinegar flavored water, but then again a hell of a lot better tasting.... Oh yes, a dab of S & P helps...

http://www.chefscatalog.com/store/catalog/iphrase_results.jhtml?_requestid=4296

gives you pictures of egg poachers.

to use you fill the bottom part with water (about an inch) and put the egg in the cups, then you cook for different times depending on how you want the yolk.

Different poachers have different times.

Cheers

David