Poach an egg properly and you’re gifted with an utterly cloudlike pillow of protein. But pulling off a poached egg in a pot of boiling water — the traditional method — can be tricky, so this classic prep for the breakfast staple is often reserved for a fancy brunch Benedicts and overpriced avocado toast. Not anymore. With this trick, you can nail a poached egg in under 60 seconds with no special skills, tools or even a timer required.
The best kitchen hacks happen in that liminal space between hungry and lazy or completely strapped for time. Cooking bacon in the oven nets crispier strips with a far less daunting mess to clean up after, and a quick boil of water with a dash of these two pantry ingredients will lift stubborn stains from your best cookware with minimal effort. For poached eggs cooked perfectly in under a minute with no mess to clean, we turn to the microwave.
Beyond ease, speed and precision, making poached eggs in the microwave leaves almost no mess to clean up afterward. Unlike fried or scrambled eggs which require dirtying a pan or hard-boiled which takes time and energy to cook and peel, a microwave turns out perfectly cooked and pillowy protein toppers to cradle atop your morning toast, with nothing more to do in terms of cleanup than rinse a small bowl or ramekin.
You’ll want enough water to submerge the egg but not spill over the top of the ramekin.
Step 3: Place the ramekin in the microwave and cook on high for about 45 seconds, longer if you prefer a firmer yolk.
LIft your egg carefully out of the water with a slotted spoon or mesh strainer.
Step 5: Serve over toast or a bed of greens with avocado, hot sauce, chili crisp and other accompaniments.
