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Poached Eggs V - James Martin - The Whirlpool

Blog: Norfolk Single Dad
Posted by: Eddie2sox Friday 21st December 2007, 1:58pm

“Sweet Baby James“ (as some female pals call him) appears for the third taste test challenge in a row…..

After being crowned King Of Scrambled Egg, he was deposed rather unceremoniously when he finished last - by a massive two and a half points - in the Welsh Rarebit contest. I was intrigued how he would fare in this challenge, a return to the fantabulous-ness that earned him a first place, or another abject failure? As it turned out, there seems to be no middle ground for James Martin, and his recipe for poached egg did come in at the extreme end of the spectrum - but which end?

Alarm bells sounded when I noticed the phrase “cook for one minute, until the white is firm and the yolk soft“. There was a disclaimer added to this sentence - “or leave to cook for longer according to your taste”. That’s all very well, but why specify “one minute” if it’s all down to personal preference? As I wrote in the “Rules” thread, timings will be adhered to as laid down by the author. Ainsley used the same “Get Out Of Jail Free” card in his version. Hmmmm……

His nickname may be Sweet Baby James, but when I was about to eat the finished article I thought to myself (to quote Brian Potter, owner of The Phoenix Club) “Sweet Baby Jesus”! It was a leap of faith to actually tuck in….

You can find this recipe here : http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/poachedeggonsodafarl_79709.shtml

Ease & Effort:

3 - The poached egg method was part of a longer recipe, and as such was very short but very specific. Although there was no mention of how to remove the egg from the water, and with a cooking time as short as this, that was a problem. Also, the egg had secured itself to the base of the saucepan. Easy to follow though.

Presentation:

1 - Messy. One minute cooking time, albeit it utilising the “Whirlpool” method, produces a spread-out egg. Lots of transparent white too - see bottom left of pic for the worst bit....

Yolk:

1.5 - Tasted “fairly” good. I was a little nervous about eating it though, what would an undercooked egg do to my insides? Or more specifically, to the exact place where the insides meet the outsides? It was "OK", which is a bit of a result considering the way it was cooked.

White:

0.5 - Diabolical. The whirlpool of the water quickly wore off and the egg white spread its tentacles here, there and everywhere. Sixty seconds is nowhere near enough for my tastes, and there were several parts that were completely see-through and looked almost raw. Off-putting to say the least.

Scores On The Doors

Old Bob - 11.5

Rick Stein - 10.5

Mrs Beeton - 9.0

Ainsley Harriott - 6.5

James Martin - 6.0

Running Order:

6 - Vash The Stampede

7 - Mahalo

8 - Poached Egg Machine

9 - Delia Smith

10 - Mr Breakfast

11 - Wally Webb

12 - Australian Egg Board

13 - Woolpack Wally

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