Test, test
In this series, I methodically and relentlessly test new products to tell you whether they’re worth it or not, so you don’t have to do all the work yourself. You can see more reviews here.
Photo illustration: The Strategist, Photo: Emma Wartzman
A while back, I was given the assignment to put together the best egg poachers. To be honest, I was skeptical from the start. No matter how many professional chefs, recipe developers, and great home cooks I consulted, not a single one had actually used an egg poacher. To them, poaching eggs is a very delicate task that must be done by hand to get just the right texture. Just like frying potatoes or carving chicken, poaching is a skill that takes practice and honing.
After a period of disappointment (and, frankly, procrastination), I decided to do it on my own, and with the help of my fellow Strategist colleagues. I sat down at my computer, searched for egg poachers online, and eventually narrowed down the models I would put to the test. I based my choices on trusted brands, reader favorites from older Strategist articles on the subject, and ones with a significant number of positive reviews. It was an unscientific process, but it still resulted in a balanced list of eight egg poachers in various styles: an electric machine, a microwaveable gadget, a specially made frying pan, and two small silicone poachers.
I sent six to my coworkers, who were kind enough to each give their time to try them. My only instruction was to use large room temperature eggs and otherwise follow the instructions of each of our poachers. I kept two for myself (similar silicone holders that you submerge in a pot of water).
The feedback that trickled into my inbox was… disappointing. It confirmed my suspicions! Writer Erin Schwartz, who tested a microwave-safe model, detailed a doughnut-like egg with overly firm whites surrounding a soft-boiled yolk in the center. Associate Editor Jenna Milliner Waddell’s eggs ended up sticking to the sides of the insert, a device with two Teflon-coated pods and stainless steel legs that you steam in a pot of boiling water with a lid on. The same thing happened every time, even after spraying it with cooking spray. Senior Editor Crystal Martin and writer Lauren Law also tried a similar model with a built-in egg holder. Both said it had too many parts and called their respective models “unwieldy,” with Martin adding the terse conclusion: “No good.”
In fact, some of them worked well. Two models in particular produced eggs that were closer to soft-boiled. That’s not a bad thing for those who value tools that help with this technique. Senior Editor Jen Trolio liked how easy it was to use Sur La Table’s poaching egg pan, explaining that the resulting eggs had evenly cooked whites and soft-boiled yolks in little chunks. “It seems convenient because you don’t get wet, fuzzy whites dripping all over,” she said. Plus, there were some plus points. “I like that it’s just a regular stovetop pan that doesn’t need to be plugged in and that happens to have an egg insert,” she said. “I also like that it’s made of stainless steel and glass, which are very common and well-known materials in kitchenware.”
Writer Katherine Gillespie also likes the electric Dash model (which has the ability to cook just about any kind of egg), but at the end of her testing, she declared that it’s far better for boiling eggs than poaching them. “The eggs it produces don’t quite meet my definition of poached,” she says. “The yolk is the perfect consistency and you get a satisfying liquid pop, but the egg whites are thicker than you’d get using traditional methods. I think this is a must-buy for anyone who wants to boil a lot of eggs to snack on, put in salads, or make deviled eggs.”
This is the first poacher I’ve tried and can only be described as a bad egg.
While Trorio and Gillespie were well received overall, I felt that neither was suitable for poaching eggs and felt that I might have to petition my editor to reject the whole article. Still, I decided to at least try the two that were in the box in my kitchen. As I mentioned before, they’re both similar, both being two plastic bowl-like devices with holes in them that you insert all the way into boiling water.
The first one was the worst. The holder itself was unevenly weighted and tipped sideways in the pan. The eggs were too big to fit in nicely, resulting in long, thin strips of white splattering everywhere, leaving an uneven protective layer around the yolk, and the whites overcooking before they set. They ended up sticking together a bit. I tried oiling them, but it was the same.
Finally, at the very end of the line, I found a ray of hope: the OXO Egg Poacher. It’s affordable, compact, well-made, a bright, attractive yellow color, and, best of all, it just works.
The device consists of two tall silicone bowls connected at the base with a fairly large hole in the middle. You fill a pot of water with water and bring it to a boil, then place the bowl inside the pot so that the holed part is completely submerged and the top (which is solid and has a little tab to make it easier to lift once boiling) sticks out. You then crack an egg into the top chamber, and the egg slides gracefully through the hole into the lower cage. Because the lower cage is smaller, this creates a more controlled environment than if you filled the entire pot with water, meaning the egg remains completely trapped. Yet the cage is large enough for the eggs to rock and roll a little without sticking, and the holes allow the water to flow evenly around it. This is what makes the device so effective, in my opinion.
This process results in a truly poached egg, with a perfectly runny yolk that runs beautifully when touched with a fork, surrounded by a delicate and unique outer layer of soft white. My skepticism was (mostly) proven wrong, and these poached eggs are now a permanent fixture in my cupboard, and I couldn’t be happier.
Updated 7/24/2024: We’ve updated prices and verified availability for all products.
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