It's an egg of pure perfection. No grease, goo, hardness, or lumps. And it only takes 10 minutes.
You'll need a pan of water and a large spoon. I usually use a deep skillet. Make sure there is enough water to cover the egg.
Boil the water. Turn it down to simmer. Carefully crack the egg into a small bowl. Slide the egg into the water, using the spoon to keep the white from going all over the place. Simmer for about 2 minutes (closer to 3 if the egg came straight from the fridge), until the egg is firm, but is still soft and yielding at the pressure of the spoon.
Remove the egg from the water with the spoon. Run cold water over the egg for a few seconds to cool it (very low pressure, you don't want to break the white). Serve on bread or toast.
Tips: Even as little as 30 seconds of cooking time makes a significant difference in a poached egg, so watch it closely. Don't exceed three minutes. Also, you will want to scrub your skillet in water right away as soon as you remove the egg. Boiled egg white is a pain to try to wash once it has a chance to stick, but it takes 15 seconds if you get it right away. Besides, washing the skillet gives your egg time to cool to just the right eating temperature!
I usually put the egg on toasted buttered french bread, and sometimes use cheese, and hollandaise or ranch sauce, to make a Benedict.
Bon appetit!
p.s. What you're going for: The 'perfect' poached egg has smooth, soft, well rounded white and a yolk that has just started to firm around the outside but is still a little runny in the very middle. A little overdone or underdone still tastes about the same. It may take a few tries to get a feel for it, but once you know how to poach an egg, you can make all kinds of lovely fancy-looking, sounding, and tasting dishes with it. Sky's the limit. Or, like me, you can just enjoy it on simple toast every morning, with a rotating variety of fruit side dishes. :)
