Brunch For a Crowd? Poach Eggs Ahead of Time

Emma Christensen
Emma Christensen
Emma is a former editor for The Kitchn and a graduate of the Cambridge School for Culinary Arts. She is the author of True Brews and Brew Better Beer. Check out her website for more cooking stories
updated Jun 4, 2019
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Post Image
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

We love serving poached eggs with hollandaise at brunch gatherings, but doing more than a few can end up feeling annoying and time-consuming when hungry guests are waiting out in the dining room. Luckily, eggs can actually be poached ahead of time and then reheated right before serving. Here’s what to do!

Poach all your eggs as normal, but under-cook them slightly. A minute off of your normal cooking time should do the trick. Just make sure the whites are nearly set. Strain the eggs and put them into a refrigerator container filled with cold water.

When you’re ready to serve, bring a pot of water to a gentle simmer and give your eggs their final minute of poaching. Because the whites are already set, you can heat several eggs at once without worrying that they will stick together. This takes much less time than poaching all the eggs at the last minute – and it’s less stressful, too!

We usually poach the eggs the night before or the morning of the brunch. If it’s already close to serving time, you can also hold fully poached eggs in a bowl of warm water so you can do several batches of eggs but then serve them all at once.

Do you have any other tips when poaching eggs for a crowd?

(Image: Flickr member avlxyz licensed under Creative Commons)