Oeufs en Meurette — Poached Eggs in Red Wine Sauce

Cut the bacon into short strips, finely dice the onion, and slice the mushrooms about 5 mm thick. Finely chop the garlic. Set out a wide, deep skillet, a saucepan large enough to poach two eggs at a time, a slotted spoon, and a small bowl to hold the first pair of eggs briefly while the second pair cooks. Set aside 10 g of butter for the toast and use the remaining 20 g for the sauce.

Put the bacon in a dry skillet and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring, until it starts to brown and releases some fat. Add 20 g of butter and the onion and cook for about 5 minutes more. The onion should soften and turn lightly golden; reduce the heat if it browns too quickly. Leave the bacon and rendered fat in the skillet.

Add the mushrooms and cook over medium to medium-high heat for about 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the released liquid evaporates and the slices brown in places. Add the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Sprinkle the flour over everything and cook for another minute, stirring thoroughly so no dry pockets of flour remain.

Pour in the wine in two additions, stirring and scraping up the browned bits with a spatula, then add 150 ml of water, the thyme, and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer without a lid for about 15–20 minutes, stirring every few minutes. The liquid should reduce noticeably, and the sauce should coat a spoon and slowly run off it; if it is still watery, cook for a few minutes longer. Remove the bay leaf, stir in the salt and pepper, then cover the skillet and take it off the heat while you poach the eggs.

While the sauce reduces, preheat a conventional oven (no fan) to 200°C. Spread one side of the bread slices with the reserved 10 g of butter, place on a baking sheet, and bake on the middle rack for about 6–8 minutes, until the edges are golden and the surface is crisp. Remove the toast and set it aside without covering so steam does not soften it.

Toward the end of the sauce reduction, bring 1500 ml of water to a boil in the saucepan; it should be about 7–8 cm deep. Add the vinegar and lower the heat until the water barely shimmers, without boiling vigorously. Pour the remaining 500 ml of water, heated until warm but not hot, into the small bowl so the first pair of eggs can wait there for a few minutes. Crack two eggs into two separate cups without breaking the yolks.

Hold the cups just above the water and slide the eggs in side by side, then cook over low heat for about 3–4 minutes. Do not create a whirlpool when poaching two eggs; if the whites spread, gently draw them toward the yolks with a spoon. Once the whites are set and the yolks remain soft, transfer the eggs with a slotted spoon to the bowl of warm water. Cook the remaining two eggs in the same way, and during the last minute reheat the sauce over low heat, stirring until hot.

Divide the toast among four plates. Lift the eggs out of both containers with a slotted spoon and let the water drain; briefly rest the underside of the spoon on a clean paper towel to dry the eggs without damaging the whites. Place one egg on each slice of toast, divide the hot bacon and mushroom sauce around and partly over the eggs, and serve immediately. Discard the water used for poaching and holding the eggs.