Broadfoot Left With Egg On His Face

Rangers star Kirk Broadfoot may miss Rangers' crucial final 2 games of the season, not because of a groin strain, tight hamstring or any other normal footballers injury, but because of an exploding egg! The rugged defender, 24, was left with severe burns to his face after an egg he was poaching in the microwave exploded.  Broadfoot was apparently showered with boiling water, shattered glass and hot egg when he removed the bowl from the microwave. Reports suggest that the quick thinking Ayrshire man immediately plunged his face under the cold water tap to relieve the painful burns. 

Broadfoot is not alone in suffering an egg related injury. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents says that 500 Britons a years are admitted to hospital after "egg related incidents". They have used Broadfoot's case to highlight the importance of taking extra care when dealing with boiling water in a microwave. Broadfoot is expected to make a full recovery from his scalds, but perhaps next time he should follow my fail safe poached egg recipe from Down and Out which involves no microwaves.

Eggcellent

A friend of mine recently expressed his frustration at being unable to cook an edible poached egg. I must admit, poaching is probably the most difficult form of egg cookery to master. Most amateurs end up with something that resembles little more than hardened yolk with most of the egg white disintegrating in the water, which ends up looking like 'egg soup'. The secret (apart from using an egg poacher) is to protect the egg from the water. There is no white wine vinegar, whisks, swirling or any other convoluted method you may have read about in other recipe books. All you will require is a mug and some cling film.

To make the perfect poached egg, line the inside of a normal sized mug with a sheet of cling film. Break the egg into the cup then lift out the cling film and egg, scrunching it at the top so it forms a parcel. It should resemble something like a goldfish bag that you would see at a funfair. Place the egg parcel into a pan of simmering hot water, making sure that the scrunched part is hanging outside of the pan. Let this simmer for approximately 3-4 minutes. As ever, it will require your own judgement as to when the egg is cooked to your liking. When ready, lift the parcel out, unwrap and carefully slide onto a slice of buttered toast. This method avoids the sometimes rubbery texture you often find when using purpose made poacher. I guarantee there is no better way of cooking an egg.