Brown Butter Matzo Brei

Am I the only one who adds a little matzoh meal to the beaten eggs and then dip water soaked matzoh pieces in the egg mixture. Then fry in a mixture of vegetable oil and butter. I think the matzoh meal makes it a little crispier. My grandmother broke the matzoh into fairly large squares, but I break it into smaller pieces and cook it more like scrambled eggs. Season with salt and pepper, never anything sweet.

Great comments you left at the end. I love the debate on how best to prepare. I am like your grandmother, I soak and I use 1:1. I actually use olive with melted salted butter that browns quickly. To me, MB is a savory dish. One twist I love is to add everything bagel seasoning generously into the mix. Another trick I learned is to let it sit for an extended period and let the matzah absorb the egg. It cooks up even crispier. Smaller pancakes also are crispier than one larger one. This has been a go to meal since I left home for college decades ago. I still make probably twice a week. I agree it’s a blank slate and would be a perfect food truck business where you could customize the toppings! Introduce an old food to the world! We were in Israel for Passover a few years ago and had MB as a pizza crust and it was amazing. Maybe the best and most versatile food ever invented. Thanks for posting your version!

Growing up my Dad made the brie. The end result was individual flakes of brie. I've never been able to match his outcome.; my brother comes close. As for flavor, out cooking fat was chicken schmaltz, homemede, very oniony. Topping was a little sugar (for me), salt and pepper.

I just made the recipe exactly as written and it was just perfect. I particularly appreciate its more pleasing appearance than your typical matzoh brei, which tends to look sloppy. You "messed around" with the tradition and turned it into something that looks far more appetizing on the plate. Thanks, Emma!

Dice up some onion and soften it in butter and a little kosher salt in a 10" or (better) 12" nonstick or cast iron pan over medium heat. Crack 3 eggs in a large bowl and stir with a fork. Hold 3 sheets of matzoh under the faucet and get the matzoh wet but not particularly saturated. Crumble the matzoh into large pieces into the bowl and use the fork to get every piece covered with some egg. Dump the bowl of wet matzoh on top of the onion in the skillet and spread out. Here's the key: grind a LOT of pepper on this and also add a bit more kosher salt. Cook until no more wet spots remain, flipping the pieces as needed and try for distinct pieces, not a pancake. Add more pepper and enjoy. And don't even think about adulterating this culinary goodness with anything sweet. Bacon on the side, sure, don't tell Bubbie.

I break up the matzo into a colander and run hot tap water over it until the matzo is softened. In the meantime, I heat butter and olive oil in a pan. Then I put the matzo into the pan and let all the pieces crisp up (I don't see that anyone else does this before adding the eggs). In the meantime, I beat the eggs in a bowl, adding kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, vanilla and a little cinnamon. Once the matzo is crispy, I add the egg and do a scramble method until the egg is all cooked and there are some crispy bits. I top it with maple syrup.

That said, I'm definitely on board for the browned butter and will try this pancake method. Thanks for sharing!

These recipes are odd. Here is the recipe for classic matza brie. Run the matza under the tap, shake the excess water off and wrap in a tea towel. You don't want to soak or oversaturate it or you get mush.

Let the matza sit wrapped in the towel for 2-3 minutes, about the amount of time you'd need to get a bowl and the eggs, beat them and start melting butter in a pan.

For two people I'd use four matzas, three eggs and about 2-2.5 tablespoons of butter. Break the matza into pieces as you add it to the eggs and add salt. Cover the pan until the matza starts to brown on the bottom then break it up and continue cooking until you have brown bits and lighter parts and it's cooked to your liking.

Serve with sour cream.

I guess I'd try some of these other recipes but I don't think I'd call it matza brie. One person suggested bacon and that seems very wrong!

i suggest adding crumbled cooked bacon as the matzo brei is cooking top with maple sugar.

Maple syrup and butter! Looks fab. Love your demos!

This is what I do, albeit with regular matza. What could be better? Figured it out when my butter went just a tad beyond melted. Again, what could be better?

We love left over Matzoh Brie, so 1 box of Matzoh, crack into medium size pieces. Don't worry about size, and put into a colander. Pour boiling water over them, and let them sit for about 5 minutes while you crack about 5-6 eggs into a large bowl and whisk them with 1-2 tbls vanilla extract, some salt and pepper to taste. Pour soaked matzoh into bowl with eggs, mix gently, let sit about 10 minutes or so until the matzoh has absorbed most of the egg. Melt butter in pan, pour in matzoh and cook. The matzoh will be in pieces, this is not a matzoh egg pie. The goal is to get as many crispy brown pieces as possible. Cook, turn as needed. Serve with powdered sugar, jam, peanut butter and jelly, or my personal favorite, Chobani Vanilla Greek Yogurt.

You made the skillet flip look so easy!

Blueberry Syrup!

This is my Mother's recipe and she was always making it for 6 people and would use a whole box of matzoh! I don't think I've ever made this with just one piece of matzoh!

I always seem to be making it for at least 2-3 people on a late morning weekend.

I use half a box of matzoh, which is around 6 pieces (thin salted tea matzoh is my go to). I use an old electric Presto frying pan and turn the heat to the highest setting (400). I add a stick of butter, and a splash of vegetable oil to keep the butter from burning.

I break up the matzoh into a large bowl, in big irregular pieces, cover with hot tap water and let it sit, while I beat up 3-4 large eggs with some salt and a splash of water to thin it out ever so slightly.

I drain the matzoh by just putting my hand over it and pressing down a bit to get out the excess moisture. Add the eggs and mix gently as I don't want it to become mealy or more broken down. I flop into it into the hot, sizzling by this time, pan and COVER IT!

I don't touch it for at least 5 minutes, lift the cover off, lift a corner of the brei and see if it's become nice and almost dark golden crispy. Because the pan is full, making this amount, I flip it over in chunks, but only when it is very cooked on the bottom and use the spatula to make slices in the chunks to let the steam out.

During the cooking, taste test for needing salt and salt till it's how you like it. Being careful not to oversalt it. Unsalted matzoh will need more.

I still keep it covered and keep cooking for another five or so minutes. Each time I toss the brei, little by little you get smaller clumps of it (I guess you would call this scramble style) and since it is one egg to two pieces of matzoh, it's less eggy and more like french toasted matzoh.

I keep it covered the whole time I cook it till near the end, I'll uncover it and let it get really browned.

Add a little more butter here and there, letting it melt down into the scramble and tossing it around till all of the clumps have become golden brown nuggets of matzoh brei with crispy edges. This takes about 30 minutes in total.

We serve ours with salt and maple syrup!

P.S. When I have a yen, I will try this one piece method, but the non-eggy version!

Matzo brei is good, no matter how it's made. Here's my take on it: Melt butter, add about 1/2 c. chopped onions, and cook over low heat until golden. Then add the matzo, eggs, and salt. Cook till lightly browned on both sides. Serve with raspberry jam. Lots of it!