You Should Poach an Egg in Maple Syrup

It’s rare for me to experience professional jealousy, but it does happen, and I got hit pretty hard with it yesterday morning when I read this Maple-Poached Egg recipe on Food52. The only thing I love more than eggs is being weird, and these weird little eggs feel like something that came out of my weird little brain. But they didn’t. They came from the brain of “Maple Syrup” author Casey Elsass, and we should be grateful for them (and his brain).

As Elsass notes above the recipe, the combination is a polarizing one, but if you enjoy the fine flavor of a McGriddle, you’ll like these eggs. They’re rich, sweet, a little salty, with a distinct mineral note. In short, they’re the perfect partner for buttered toast.

But even I, with my high tolerance for unusual flavor pairings, was initially skeptical that an egg cooked in a pool of maple syrup would “work.” Not only does it work, it werks, and it requires very little labor on your part. All you have to do is bring some maple to a boil in a small sauce pan (I used a butter warmer), reduce to a simmer, then slide an egg in there and let it cook in the syrup until the white is just set (about three minutes). Your main job will be watching the maple syrup with keen and alert eyes, as it has a tendency to boil over.

Everything you need to make a maple-poached egg:

This is one instance where I must insist you use real-deal maple syrup, and not “pancake syrup,” as you need that deep, mineral note to anchor the dish, and keep it from becoming “weird sweet eggs.” (Save the Mrs. Butterworth’s for a breakfast salad.) Serve with heavily toasted and buttered bread, with a side of bacon. I like eating my maple egg out of a little ramekin (for easy dipping), but you could just as easily slide it onto a piece of pancake bread for a breakfast sandwich that rivals the McGriddle (if you can conceive of such a thing).

Maple-Poached Eggs

Ingredients:

Crack an egg into a fine mesh sieve set over a coffee mug and let the watery excess white drip away, then transfer the strained egg to a tea cup. Bring the syrup to a boil in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer.

Gently slip the egg into the syrup, and cook for 3-4 minutes, splashing the syrup over the top of the egg, until the whites are just set. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a ramekin, heavily buttered English muffin, or slice of pancake bread. Spoon a little syrup on top of the egg, finish with salt, and enjoy.