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Poached Eggs VIII - Delia Smith - The Marathon

Blog: Norfolk Single Dad
Posted by: Eddie2sox Tuesday 25th December 2007, 1:26pm
Last edited 25/12/2007 1:26pm by Eddie2sox

Britain‘s culinary matriarch is back!

Following a poor 5th for her scrambled egg, and a 3rd in the Welsh Rarebit, will Norwich‘s chairman-ess continue her rise up the rankings? My initial feeling is no. I’ve waffled on about cooking times being too short, but a quick perusal of the Delia Way shows a timing of TEN minutes! Is this insane? We shall see.

Insane turned out to be an appropriate word for this shambles of a recipe. Delia may have a reputation as a domestic goddess, but she can’t do eggs to save her life. Amazingly, the cooking time (well, the “calm and happy sitting time”) was a little short. Plus I was glad I set an alarm for the end of the time, as I sort of forgot about it. Delia, lovey, leave the omelettes to someone else? Altogether, possibly the worst end product in Norfolk Single Dad history.

You can find this recipe here : http://www.deliaonline.com/cookery-school/how-to/how-to-poach-an-egg,12,AR.html

Ease & Effort:

1.5 - Too much faffing about. For a start you need water “1 inch” deep - how the chuff are you meant to know how much that is? I filled the frying pan up to the required level, using a ruler, then tried to pour this exact amount into the kettle - uh oh. Due to the width of the pan, loads of the water didn’t make it into the kettle. So I gave up on that idea, filled the kettle to Full, then decanted 1 inch depth once it had boiled. Used a ruler and everything. Delia then says that almost straight away small bubbles appear all over the base of the pan - not in mine they didn’t. It took 4 minutes before even a few bubbles showed up, grrrr, how annoying having to wait. Then, after simmering the egg for a minute, the ten minute wait after removal from the heat. I have no idea why Delia chose this way of poaching, but ten minutes simply allowed the egg enough time to anchor itself to the bottom of the pan - and with no vinegar or whirlpooling in sight, there was nothing to stop the egg spreading hither and thither as it pleased. The yolk broke as I triend to scoop up as much of the egg as I could, and then the whole thing, spoon included, stuck to the “wodge” of kitchen paper. By the time it reached the toast I guess there was maybe only half the egg left! Dismal.

Presentation:

1 - The term “dog‘s dinner“ sprang to mind, but I don‘t think a dog would find this an attractive look either. Due to the inevitable separation during cooking, the yolk had left the white completely, and looked unpleasantly sac-like (is that a word? It is now). The white, despite the length of the operation, was rather undercooked here and there. Not a good look.

Yolk:

1 - Separated from the white, broke during the delicate removal from the pan, stuck onto the kitchen towel. Tasted just about edible. 1 point is generous.

White:

1 - Spread all over the pan in the cooking phase, but was still not properly cooked in places. A lot of the white evaded capture thanks to the separation. Not very pleasant.

Scores On The Doors

Mahalo - 12.5

Vash The Stampede - 12.0

Old Bob - 11.5

Rick Stein - 10.5

Mrs Beeton - 9.0

Ainsley Harriott - 6.5

James Martin - 6.0

Delia Smith - 4.5

Running Order:

9 - Mr Breakfast

10 - Wally Webb

11 - Australian Egg Board

12 - Woolpack Wally

TBN - Poached Egg Machine

Your Points Of View

One of my fab sisters made the following comment about Sweet Baby James’ recipe : “Not even going to try this one. My rule of thumb for cooking times is that there has to be time between starting to cook and serving up to do at least one other useful job - wash-up, go to loo or similar. This obviously doesn't meet the criteria. Looks 'orrible.” Well said sis!

Send Me Your Comments!

New this time - YOUR chance to participate in the world’s best blog-based cooking/tasting eggy competition. The Welsh Rarebit thread prompted loads of comments and emails, and I wish I’d shared some of them with you. So. Email me at trix68@hotmail.co.uk or leave a comment on the blog.

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