Shirred, poached, or twurbled, the eggs are cooked just right.

There are so many words for cooking methods, it dizzies the mind. We steam, stew, coddle, sear, and roast. We do so many ‘B’ things, it could be a tongue-twister: Barbara boiled, brined, basted, breaded, browned and baked a blackened bird. We even use some verbs for cooking that seem to have no place in the kitchen, such as plank and sweat.

The one cooking term that has caused me the most recent befuddlement is shirr. I always try to use the correct term for my slow cooker recipes, which leads to some difficulty. Baked potatoes aren’t technically baked in the crock-pot, so what are they? Steamed potatoes doesn’t sound so lip-smacking (even though the result is divine.) The best fall-back is often to just call a dish slow-cooked.

When I decided to try poaching eggs in the crock-pot, I checked first to make sure poached would be the right term. Eggs are usually poached directly in water, but sometimes in a poaching device that allows them to steam. Turns out, some folks think the second way isn’t technically poaching, but steaming.

Shirred eggs, on the other hand, are cooked in ramekins with a slosh of cream and a sprinkling of breadcrumbs, and I wanted to slow cook my fresh eggs in ramekins. However, most definitions of shirr seem to specify baking. But here’s where it gets weird: the definition specifies that to shirr means to bake eggs.

That is, eggs specifically. Think about that for just a second. When you bake an egg, it gets its own word for baking. We don’t make shirred tuna casserole or shirred Alaska. This makes my head hurt. Why does one food gets its own word for being baked in the oven? Why don’t we call the process of baking potatoes shmootzing? Why don’t we twurble a pan of ziti? Who makes this stuff up?

Back to the eggs. You can call them poached if you want to, and the result is the same. The heat from the steam cooks them perfectly and keeps them from drying out, so you don’t need the cream, which is usually added for just that purpose. You can, however, use a spoonful of pesto, olive tapenade, salsa, sundried tomatoes, or whatever floats your breakfast boat.

Do be certain to cook these on high and add boiling water at the beginning. This raises the temperature quickly when you replace the lid, making sure that the eggs are cooked safely.

Slow Cooker Poached Eggs with Pesto Recipe

Ingredients:

2 fresh eggs per ramekin (most average slow cookers will hold about four ramekins)
1 tsp pesto per ramekin
Fresh black pepper
2-3 cups boiling water

Directions: Spray ramekins with non-stick spray and crack two fresh eggs into each. Swirl a teaspoon or so of pesto into each dish and top generously with black pepper. Place ramekins into the crock of your slow cooker and carefully pour boiling water around the dishes. Make sure the ramekins are submerged at least a third of the way into boiling water. If not, add more. Cook on high 30 minutes to one hour, depending on how well you want the eggs cooked. (1 hour will result in the centers being cooked through. Half an hour allows for a runnier yolk.) Slide eggs gently out of ramekins to serve, or serve in the dish after cooling slightly (ramekins will be hot.)

Serve with toasted French bread. What the heck, let’s call it shirred French bread.