I want to scramble an egg

Use low heat and let the eggs set pretty much before you stir them. Turn them in large chunks, rather than stirring a lot. That should give you large curds (works for me :D). Also, try using seltzer/club soda for the liquid.

Just my two cents.....

The most important factor I have found in scrabbling eggs is Air. Not alot of it but the right amount without over whisking.

The more whisking , the more air bubbles become trapped in the shaken protein of the eggs.
While eggs cook, protein molecules firm up around air bubbles , resulting in fluffy eggs.
Eggs need to be , frothy and evenly colored.

Technique: Using a flat spoon, push eggs toward center (in a pan) while tilting pan to distribute the runny parts.

This technique will give you perfect scrabbled eggs.

For me, the trick is to have the pan hot and the butter just away to brown, but not quite. With a heavy based, good non-stick pan, you can even do away with the butter. Add the eggs. 2 with a Tbspn water and 1 of milk. S&P.
As soon as the eggs hit the pan, stir gently but firmly, and at the same time turn the heat down to medium/low. Move it around till its wet, but "getting there" and turn off the heat. One last gentle stir and get them on the warm plate quick, before they cook any more. They will still cook slightly as they sit on the plate and you'll have large fluffy slightly moist curds.

If you're cooking on electric... I have no idea. I've never had successful scrambled eggs that way.

If you've never tried it, Please try adding smoked salmon and fresh dill at the getting there stage. Ditto for defrosted little pink prawns

Also... As soon as the eggs hit the plate, smother them with mature Scottish cheddar. And have the toast warm. Oh! and dont forget the pepper mill. I like a wee bit, but OH likes his eggs to look like they have brown dandruff.

Seperate your eggs, whip the whites until soft peaks form, set aside.
In a seperate bowl, whip the yolks until light and fluffy.
Fold yolks and whites together.
Good non-stick pan, pre-heated, add a teaspoon of clarified butter.
Pour in egg mixture.
As eggs start to solidify, push/lift/pull to allow the raw egg to cook, while moving the cooked egg away from the bottom of the pan.
Remove from pan when eggs are almost the way you like them, the cooking will carry over a bit.
Leave eggs for OH in longer to brown.

I like your passion for eggs.:chef:
__________________



Cheers. Heres another one. Once you're ready to cook, stick some baby leaf spinach in the micro. Nothing added for 1 min. Once you can handle it squeeze out the water and mush about with your fingers. Grate in a couple of grinds of nutmeg and work that in.
Fold in at the "getting there stage"with some crumbled Feta. Drizzle with a wee bit of evoo if you're not using butter at the begining. It's great with rocket(Arugala?)

I cook eggs for a living ( I am the #1 on eggs at my restaurant) and perfect scrambled eggs are done on a grill heated to 250F (we have gas fired grills but an electric griddle or skillet would be just fine) then you add just a scant tsp of cream to your eggs, whip them until the mixture is pure yellow with fork and scramble them ont he grill using a fork and not two spatulas. The result will be fluffy, perfectly coloured and shaped scrambled eggs.

Oh and I repeat.. never use a spatula to do scrambled eggs.... the result is definitely more like a fried egg that got reused as opposed to eggs that were destined for scrambled!

OOPS forgot to mention to lightly butter/oil the grill but not too much.. eggs aren't supposed to be slimy!

Scrambled eggs on a grill... :confused:

When camping I would mix the eggs with a slosh of beer, use some of the leftover bacon fat, and cook over medium heat.

Can't see scrambled eggs on a grill either - choice of words perhaps....

Eggs. Beat lightly. Season with ground black pepper. Pan on low heat. Melt butter till it stops frothing. Eggs in. Stir thru with wooden spoon to heat evenly. Push curds to middle of pan as they cook, tilt pan to get uncooked egg cooked. Don't fuss with it too much - you'll end up with something that looks like cottage cheese (curd cheese?) .

When almost done, nice splodge of heavy cream, sprinkle of table salt. Mix briefly, straight onto toasted bread of choice. Grated cheese if you like it. Eat. Do not pass Go - you're in eggy heaven :)

>Scrambled eggs on a grill... :confused: <

Leeniek is most likely referring to a flat top.

Interesting. I was going to respond to Anneke's post about Julia Child's book with the suggestion to use scrambled eggs and omelettes as a tool for teaching the basics of heat control and paying attention to what the food is doing. But as one can easily see from the posts in this thread there might be one or two points of discussion.

"Perfect" when it comes to eggs is quite subjective. Sunday morning my wife and I had eggs. Mine were perfect - sunny side up over fried toast and mushrooms. Lots of gooey yolk to sauce up everything. Just the way I like them.

Hers were perfect, scrambled to death, hard, dry and rubbery, just the way she likes them.

I like my scrambled eggs soft and barely done. I break them into a bowl, lightly whisk, no water, no cream, no nothing. Just enough to work the whites and yolks [ there are still folks here who call them yokes ] into a somewhat frothy and consistent mix. No salt yet at this time. Another point of discussion.

Melt a scant tablespoon of butter in the egg pan, a small 8 inch non-stick skillet, over medium heat. Pour in the eggs while the butter is still a bit foamy. I let them sit for a bit, getting some hardening around the edges. Then gently fold, using a silicone spatula, as they set. Just as the last of the liquid seems to be gone, remove the pan from the heat and season - salt, pepper, herbs. If melting in some cheese put the finely grated or shredded cheese in about 45 seconds before the eggs are done. Practice a while, you'll get the timing down right. Some cheeses might take 2 or 3 minutes, some 30 seconds. Don't worry, the mistakes will still be quite edible and tasty, but one day you'll hit the perfect combination and produce something incredibly delicious.

I think it was one of the Alton Brown episodes where he said something like "if they look done in the pan, they'll be overcooked by the time they hit the plate." As I mentioned earlier, though, when scrambling eggs for my wife I let them get to the overcooked stage in the pan, then continue over the heat for another minute or two, or three, or ....

mjb.

I am not a huge breakfast fan, but Gordon just made me seriously crave some eggs

Yes, that Ramsay video is pretty good, I love how he burns the toast, a nice touch to prove he is not an invincible god. Then again it could have been part of the script...

One of these days I'm going to try his method of starting with unbeaten eggs put into cold pan with cold butter and bringing on the heat gradually. I can see how that might be in line with my ideal of soft, creamy, gently cooked eggs.

mjb.

Wasatchfoodies.com

I want a poached egg after that....dang! Eggs require such care....its a personal thing between the cook and the egg - whether one can do it justice, or if the egg wants to misbehave :)

Sorry folks. While I often get hungry reading this forum late at night, this topic was especially compelling. I went up to the kitchen and toasted an English muffin. Started a small pot of water on the heat. Put some thinly sliced Vermont cheddar on the muffin, topped it with a nicely poached egg. A dollop or two of habenaro hot sauce.




I should have gotten the camera out earlier. It was quite tasty.

mjb.

I didn't see the Ramsey video, and I can't imagine a cold pan and cold butter as I would think the eggs would stick to the bottom of the pan. However, in our house when I was growing up, and egg beaten and milk added before going in the pan was classified as an omelet. To make scrambled eggs, you heated butter in a cast iron frying pan untilit foamed and then broke the eggs in the pan. Then you stirred fast before the white could coagulate. You would up with large chunks of egg that had definite white and yellow streaks, kind of like marble. I never think the beaten up ones ever come out right. They're always too dry it seems. Probably a regional thing. That's how my mother always made scrambled eggs. She's Irish, so maybe it's an Irish thing. And hey,Teamfat, lucky thing they were dicussing something quick like eggs instead of roast turkey, huh? :D

Greyeaglem...That's pretty much similar to how the oriental eggs are scrambled- eggs in whole, then mixed to make white and yellow streaks. Its a good effect :)
Think some recipes call for it done like this with fried rice instead of making a thin egg omelette, removing from pan then rolling and slicing it up. Sure is easier - tastes the same.

I don't agonise over scrambled eggs too much. I don't want them brown, I don't want them sloppy, I don't want them rubbery - just looking for somewhere in between. Nothing fancy done to them, just a bit of black pepper.

Jim!
This reminds me of way back in the 50s when I was a kid , in Times Sqare in New York cooks used to stand in windows making eggs this way. They stood them straight up in center of plate. They called them White Mountain Eggs in those days.

FWIW, I never use a non-stick pan. Don't even own one. And have no problems with eggs sticking.

The real secret to well-made scrambled is low & slow. Always reminds me of Nero Wolfe, who, when entertaining guests for breakfast one time, told them to let him know 40 minutes before they were ready to eat.

I reckon 40 minutes is a bit obsessive. But it gives you the idea.

KYHeirloomer, I'm curious: what kind of pan do you use for the eggs? What about for eggs sunny side up?

I use my carbon steel skillets for eggs.

In the past I've used stainless too. Contrary to conventional wisdom you can use stainless. Generally speaking, however, it does require more butter than other materials. But we're not talking about excessive amounts.

To hear some people tell it, you need to have the eggs swimming in butter if you use stainless, and that's sheer nonsense. A healthy pat is all it takes---providing you keep the heat source low.

Thanks KYHeirloomer. I'm afraid there's some magic I haven't yet figured out with my stainless steel and carbon steel pans. There's no way I can cook eggs in any of them without sticking. :confused: In fact I was going to buy a good non-stick skillet because I was tired of trying, and then I saw your post - which is why I asked.

At a guess, French Fries, I'd say you're working with too high a flame. Keep the heat very low, preheat the pan, add your butter, and go to it. If the butter sizzles when you first add it the pan is too hot.

Hahahaha :D this past year and a half I've learned more about cooking than I have in my past life. One thing I've learned is that I do not ABSOLUTELY HAVE to have the heat on FULL all the time when cooking. ;)

I guess I can still go further down. Thanks for the advice, I shall try!