Inspired by conversations on the Food52 Hotline, we're sharing tips and tricks that make navigating all of our kitchens easier and more fun.
Today: Three ways to get your perfect scrambled eggs -- whatever your version of perfection may be.
Scrambled eggs and toast: sounds like an ascetic breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Sounds plain. Sounds boring. Sounds like something you'd eat in a dark kitchen, alone, standing up, quickly and efficiently with a tiny frown. And, if you're one of those people that's suffered from rubbery-egg, burnt-egg, or dry-and-crumbly-egg syndrome, it sounds simply unappealing.
But scrambled eggs, when done right, can one of the most glorious, indulgent, and straight-up sexy meals of all time. You could make them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, each in a different pan, each with a different technique -- and all would be, in their own creamy, runny, fluffy way, perfect.
Grab some eggs, some butter, and your favorite pan. Let's make scrambled eggs and toast something worth eating, all week long.
The Low and Slow Method
Yields: Creamy, rich, custard-y eggs with tiny curds.
How to do it: Break your eggs into a bowl, and whisk with 2 tablespoons of cream (or more!). Heat your non-stick or ceramic pan over low heat; melt a tablespoon of butter. Pour your eggs into the pan, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. You want the eggs to cook slowly, so if they start sticking, turn your heat even lower. Stir, stir, stir, until the eggs look like pudding and your curds are all tiny and it looks like scrambled-egg soup in the best possible way. Take off the heat just before they look done. Season with salt.
Note: These can also be made with a saucepan and a whisk, à la Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
Why we love it: Few things feel as luxurious as these rich, silky eggs; eating them out of a bowl with a spoon, wearing pajamas and fluffy socks, is one of life's greatest pleasures. If you're feeling even more indulgent, use crème fraîche -- or top the whole thing with caviar.
The Rogue Method (à la Saltie in Brooklyn)
Yields: Perfectly-cooked whites and runny yolks -- all scrambled together.
How to do it: Get an enamel or nonstick pan on the stove. Put in around a tablespoon of butter, and let it melt over medium-low heat. Crack an egg into a bowl -- leaving it whole! -- and slide it into your pan. Repeat with as many eggs as you'd like. Once your eggs are in there, carefully scramble the whites until they are cooked -- leaving your yolks intact. Once the whites are cooked, take the pan off the heat, crack the yolks, and mix it all together in the pan. Season with salt and pepper.
Why we love it: With this method, you get the best of the scrambled-egg and fried-egg worlds: fluffy, perfectly-cooked whites, and rich, runny yolks. Serve it with toast to scoop up any leftover yolk.
The Classic Method
Yields: Soft, fluffy eggs with big curds.
How to do it: Crack your eggs into a bowl, and whisk. Season with salt and pepper. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter on medium heat. Pour your eggs in, and let them stand for a few seconds. Then, start nudging: nudge your eggs towards the center, wait a few seconds, then nudge again. Do this until you have big, fluffy curds in the center of your pan. Take the eggs off the heat when the curds are set but still a little runny; they'll continue to cook on the way from the pan to your plate.
Why we love it: These are your no-fuss scrambled eggs: the ones you could make every morning for breakfast and live a very happy life. We make these when we don't have twenty minutes to spend stirring over the stove.
How do you make your scrambled eggs? Let us know in the comments!
Written by: Brette Warshaw
Popular on Food52
142 Comments
You are the kind of chef that I pray does not prepare my food. What I love about this article is it presents three very different type of egg styles. It should be obvious (especially to you, if this is your JOB) that how eggs are prepared, is both varied and important to others. A satisfying breakfast sets the tone for the rest of the day. If you are yawning...you should find another career...just sayin.
Make the eggs as described but omit the cream and add salt & freshly ground pepper before cooking. Follow the instructions until the eggs reach the consistency (soft and runny) you like, take off the heat and quickly add the cream and stir in. The addition of the cream at this stage lowers the temperature to stop the eggs cooking so that the eggs are still perfect when you get them to the table.
Crack three eggs into a bowl, gently.
Use a slotted spoon to scoop out the yolks. Much quicker than the shell OR fingers and less messy.
Cook the whites in ghee until the moisture is gone.
add the yolks to the whites and stir. Do not cook further. white pepper and salt. Done
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