Boiling Water
An egg poacher is a piece of metal cookware with a frame that fits into a saucepan and holds special cups for poaching eggs. Egg poachers are available with one to six egg cups. To poach an egg in an egg poacher the saucepan must be filled with enough water to almost reach the bottom of the egg cups. The water must then be brought to a boil. How long it takes to bring water to a boil depends on the size of the sauce pan and the amount of water. A good average to base your timing on is about 3 minutes if the sauce pan is covered and there is about 3 inches of water in the pan.
Cracking Eggs
While the water is coming to a boil, the eggs can be cracked into the egg cups that will be set in the egg poacher frame. Once the water has come to a boil, the heat should be turned down to low. The egg cups can now be placed into the frame in the saucepan and the saucepan can be covered again.
Poach Time
With the heat on low and the eggs in the covered poacher, the eggs should cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the egg whites are firm. For those who prefer harder yolks, another minute or two can be added to the cook time. In total, it should take no more than 10 minutes to poach an egg in an egg poacher.
Writer Bio
Laura Payne has been freelance writing for several online publications in her free time since 2006. She holds a Master of Arts in linguistics from Wayne State University and a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Oakland University. Payne teaches linguistics classes at both universities on an adjunct basis.