Tier 4 · Wet Heat

TO POACH

Cooking gently in liquid held well below a simmer, for things that would be destroyed by any agitation at all.

Why it works

Poaching runs at roughly 70-82°C — hot enough to cook protein, cool enough that almost no bubbles form. That range matters because it sits just above where most proteins set and well below where they contract hard and expel water. A chicken breast poached at 75°C stays tender across its whole thickness; the same breast in boiling water develops a tough outer layer long before the middle is safe. Eggs are the clearest case: white sets from about 63°C and yolk from about 65°C, so a narrow band of temperature is the entire difference between runny, soft and hard. The acid often added to poaching water for eggs works by encouraging the white proteins to coagulate faster, so they set before they can disperse — it is not about flavour and a very small amount does the job.

How to tell

• The surface shivers, with occasional bubbles at the edge and none breaking the middle.
• Steam rises steadily but the liquid is visibly still.
• A poached egg white sets in a compact mass rather than trailing wisps — trailing means the water is too hot or the egg is not fresh.
• Poached meat feels resilient rather than firm; firm means it has gone past.

When it goes wrong

Poached eggs spread into ragged clouds.

Water too agitated, or an older egg. The thin outer white loosens with age and disperses before it can set — straining it off first solves it entirely.

Chicken is tough and stringy.

The liquid was simmering rather than poaching. Above about 85°C the fibres contract and squeeze out water.

Fish fell apart.

Too hot, or moved too often. Poached fish is fragile by design and should be lifted with a slotted spoon, not turned.

Everything tastes of nothing.

Poached in plain unsalted water. The liquid should be seasoned and aromatic, because it is in contact with the food the whole time and will pull flavour out if it has none of its own.

Recovering it

An underdone poached egg goes back into the water for thirty seconds and is genuinely recoverable. Overcooked is not. Tough poached chicken can be shredded and dressed, which disguises the texture well. The habit that prevents most poaching failures is simply keeping the pan off a full flame — bring the liquid up, then drop the heat right down before anything goes in.

Where to practise it

It carries to

Recipes using it

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