Kenji López-Alt Strikes again

October 1, 2024 7:45 AM

This is how to poach an egg. This is how to poach 30 eggs at once. Any questions?
posted by bq (21 comments total)

F YES I am going to poach some eggs this week.
posted by grumpybear69 at 8:19 AM on October 1

And this comment on the 30 Eggs At Once video is a game changer for my future brunch party:

Transfer them to an ice bath and you can save them for later in the fridge (even a few days later). Drop them into some hot water for a couple of minutes to warm them up, then drain and serve.
posted by grumpybear69 at 8:20 AM on October 1 [2 favorites]

oh yeah, that's how I was taught - ice bath, shock and then refresh in hot water. Odds are good that your eggs in your brunch eggs benedict were done exactly that way.
posted by drewbage1847 at 8:38 AM on October 1 [1 favorite]

I would like to be one of Kenji's kids please. Just for lunch or whatever. Thank you.
posted by The Bellman at 9:17 AM on October 1 [4 favorites]

import bourdain_brunch_service_rant
posted by mubba at 9:33 AM on October 1 [4 favorites]

Daaaad I can't believe you fucked up my egg for the internet agaaaaaain
posted by phooky at 9:33 AM on October 1 [11 favorites]

Right? Breaking the yolk on someone else's yolk is a crime!

I should try this though.
posted by advicepig at 10:38 AM on October 1 [3 favorites]

I have a question - what am I going to do with 30 poached eggs? We are two omnivorous adults, two picky children, and two cats.
posted by madcaptenor at 11:03 AM on October 1

Invite over a bunch of friends and/or neighbors. Or, as suggested above, shock them in an ice bath and keep them in the fridge, then each of you have an egg with every meal until you run out.
posted by Jon_Evil at 11:16 AM on October 1 [1 favorite]

what am I going to do with 30 poached eggs?

Here's 15 ways to get started!
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:17 AM on October 1

I was overly ambitious and tried to poach 24 eggs at once using this method on a charter boat for eggs Benny breakfast when I had to fill in as cook (Reader, i am not normally The Cook, I'm a dive instructor who happens to know how to cook better than anyone else scheduled to work the week that The Actual Cook got injured). It... did not go well. That method fails to mention it won't work unless the muffin tins stay absolutely still during the process which doesn't happen on boats even on the calmest day. Salvaged enough to make it happen but breakfast was late and I was panicking.

This method? Damn... wish I'd known of it. If there is a next time (please no), I'll have to try it!
posted by danapiper at 11:52 AM on October 1 [1 favorite]

I'm currently obsessed with onsen eggs, sous vide the eggs and hold them just right in the shell until you need them. Then crack that thing right into what you want. I first had them at a fancy tasting menu night, but recently was given one that was chilled at a udon shop, you dropped it in and the hot soup appropriately warmed it and the consistency was the same. Pretty neat.
posted by advicepig at 2:19 PM on October 1 [1 favorite]

If anybody gives you grief over all the eggs:

:)

https://boingboing.net/2024/09/25/harvard-med-student-eats-720-eggs-in-30-days-cholesterol-drops.html

"Harvard med student eats 720 eggs in 30 days, cholesterol drops"
posted by aleph at 2:33 PM on October 1 [1 favorite]

This BB post is vaguely written but, please do not sign on to any “lean mass hyper responder” bullshit, which usually refers to someone who doesn’t think having high LDL is bad because they are in good shape. This guy’s serum cholesterol did not go up because, like 2/3s of humans, he has a functioning cholesterol gateway that limits dietary cholesterol absorption after a certain amount.
posted by bq at 4:31 PM on October 1

Harvard med student eats 720 eggs in 30 days

I mean, I like eggs and all, but 2 dozen a day?? I'd be absolutely sick of them in less than one day no matter how many different ways I prepared them (and I'd be painfully full besides).
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:43 PM on October 1

In the :) didn't clue you in, I don't *care* if/what this is. I thought it was funny, given the current discussion. If I did a Charlie failure mode, I apologize.
posted by aleph at 6:53 PM on October 1

His hard-boiled eggs method was a serious game-changer for me.
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:49 AM on October 2

For hard, medium or soft-boiling of eggs, a simple egg cooker is the simplest and most reliable solution.
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:56 AM on October 2

Harvard med student eats 720 eggs in 30 days

While anecdotal, this is such a great counterexample for the pure bullshit firehose that is the current state of nutrition that masquerades as science.

I grew up on the barest scrape of fake-butter margarine applied to toast, skim milk, no eggs, low-salt fat-free everything (but corn syrup everywhere, and carb-loading supreme). And it was all complete and utter baloney based on the core assumption that what you send to your stomach is applied directly to your bloodstream and hips. Still is.

I love eggs. So much. I deeply resent the many years without them.
posted by Dashy at 8:30 AM on October 2 [2 favorites]

I just made poached eggs for lunch using this method, and it was a smashing success! The only note I'll make is that the timing (he says "about 4 minutes") will vary greatly depending on the size of the eggs. I took my eggs out after 3:45 and they were just ever so slightly overdone. So you need to just look at them and eyeball when they're perfect, probably starting at the 3 minute or even 2:45 mark.

As for what to do with the leftover egg whites, I like to whip them into stiff peaks and use them to make pancakes fluffier!
posted by grumpybear69 at 11:08 AM on October 2 [1 favorite]

By far the biggest hack here is just using a strainer to let the "loose" whites out. And using as fresh of eggs as possible. Some vinegar in the water. Everything else I've seen has never made a difference for me - the oiled ladles, the vortexes, etc. Granted - I think that there are factors that are not obvious, maybe like water hardness, or what the eggs are like where you live or something. It's one of those things where something that works great for me won't work for you and vice versa and we'll both insist we're right.
posted by RustyBrooks at 9:57 PM on October 4