If I had to choose one meal to survive on, it’d be scrambled eggs. I love them. Mostly for breakfast, of course, the natural home of the scrambled egg. But the beauty of this dish is you can eat it without shame at any time of the day or night. There’s a whole cohort of restaurant workers, especially chefs, who come home to a dinner of scrambled eggs because they’re just so easy at the end of a long shift.
Also, nutritionally, they are the bomb. Full of essential fats and protein, plus a big serving of vitamins. I like mine on toasted sourdough with about 20 grams of parmesan cheese freshly grated into the mix as soon as it hits the griddle.
I’ve been cooking them for years but only recently realised I was doing it wrong. The crucial secret? As soon as they hit the frypan, you've got about a minute or so before they are done, and done perfectly. Any longer than that, and you're gonna start drying them out and turning them into rubbery yellow hockey pucks.
But of course, done perfectly, scrambled eggs have to be served up with a big slab of hot buttered toast and a cup of coffee. Don't care what kind of coffee. But it has to be there in some form or another. And all of that faffing around can take seven or eight minutes, so you want to get that done before you tip your mixture into the frypan.
These days, I get everything sorted out before I put the eggs to the heat. If I have time, I'll whisk them with a pinch of salt up 15 minutes before cooking. There's some magical protein emulsification thingy that happens if you can give it time to sit under those circumstances. Some secret chef bullshit or ugly, but honestly, the main thing is don't overcook them.
Suppose you are looking for fancy, cafe-style, folded eggs; the instructions below from Jill Dupleix are pretty good. But I don't know where she gets off, only using two eggs. Three is the bare minimum. That toast needs some butter, too.
But the rest is gold…
In a bowl, gently whisk 2 eggs with one egg yolk and 2 tablespoons of cream, and season with salt and pepper.
Melt a little butter and olive oil in a non-stick or cast-iron frypan over high heat, swirl to allow it to coat the base, and pour in the egg mixture. Leave it over medium heat for about 15 seconds to help set the egg on the bottom.
Now, get in there with a rubber or wooden spatula and drag the egg mix from one side of the pan to the other. Wait 5 seconds for that to set, then push the cooked egg back to the other side, allowing the non-cooked egg to run free.
From now on, just push the cooked egg into the uncooked egg, tilting the pan slightly each time. Do this three or four times, rotating the cooked egg each time, and it will gather up the uncooked egg and fold it into itself. (You can lift the egg to help any unset egg on top run back into the pan and cook). That’s it, all over in less than a minute.
A mate was over from Queensland for work a couple of weeks ago and we met for breakfast and I had THE BEST ham and cheese omelette here: https://toasteastperth.com.au/
We were blessed with perfect weather to sit outside by the water and enjoy breakfast 😍
This is already on the itinerary for when Mr Lambright ventures down under but next time you're in Perth JB you must go there.
There is a scene in the movie Burnt where Bradley Cooper comes off a massive drug bender/breakdown (as only a head chef lapsed drug addict can do) and his friend/arch nemesis Matthew Rhys cooks him scrambled eggs.
This film is full with so much fine dining food porn, but this scene. Sometimes, it's the simple things.
Good pointer on technique. I learned the cream trick several years ago, thanks to Bill Granger. The more the merrier (up to about 50%) and sour cream works, if that's what you've got in the fridge.
Per the "James Bond" technique mentioned below: that's clearly the crumbly persuasion, which is a fine thing in itself, but not in the same league as the folded loveliness shown in the picture here.
Cinematic references that spring to mind: Jeff Bridges uses crumbly scrambled eggs on toast to good effect in "The Old Man", and there's a delicious put-down of "heart healthy" ones in one of the Bourne episodes: "enjoy your egg whites".
I like cooking the eggs slowly, and even, heresy I know, microwaving on a low heat setting and stirring every minute or two.
I think that the two key elements, with either method, is just folding the eggs as the mixture is really setting and stopping it before it fully sets- the last cooking happens on the plate almost.
i think she does use three eggs. She says 2 eggs plus an egg yolk . . . . . which to be honest sounds bloody amazing for that extra yolkiness. I'm not allowed to cook eggs like everyone here says they should be. I live with a bunch of lily livered faint hearted dearly beloved but misguided family members. I usually have to cook a separate amount for myself or pull a bit out early. Kid #1 is coming around to my way though.
Certainly I'm going to give that recipe a try it sounds delicious. For me it would be mushrooms - you know what they say, depending on the mushroom you choose it could feed you for the rest of your life.
Apart from just pushing the eggs around, it's having a hot pan ready to go. I find if I stick my cast iron pan on the smallest burner before I start breaking eggs, it's at a great temperature for one minute cooking, including turning the heat off before all the egg is set.
I live in a world where eggs are mixed first, a pan is hot enough when butter will think about melting, and any attempt to gently guide one through the process is foolhardy.
You need proper eggs. Store eggs are sad and runny. The yolks are much firmer and tasty, fresh from the hen, and free range. Preferably no more than a day or two old.
yeah mate, folding the eggs is the only way, I have been working on my egg folding technique for years.
if you want to take it to another level get yourself a Japanese Tamagoyaki Frying pan, I got one the other day and it is a whole new world of joyful egg cooking!
A mate was over from Queensland for work a couple of weeks ago and we met for breakfast and I had THE BEST ham and cheese omelette here: https://toasteastperth.com.au/
We were blessed with perfect weather to sit outside by the water and enjoy breakfast 😍
This is already on the itinerary for when Mr Lambright ventures down under but next time you're in Perth JB you must go there.
Though for egg prep can you go past The Rollie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxaSnVVV-QU
There is a scene in the movie Burnt where Bradley Cooper comes off a massive drug bender/breakdown (as only a head chef lapsed drug addict can do) and his friend/arch nemesis Matthew Rhys cooks him scrambled eggs.
This film is full with so much fine dining food porn, but this scene. Sometimes, it's the simple things.
Good pointer on technique. I learned the cream trick several years ago, thanks to Bill Granger. The more the merrier (up to about 50%) and sour cream works, if that's what you've got in the fridge.
Per the "James Bond" technique mentioned below: that's clearly the crumbly persuasion, which is a fine thing in itself, but not in the same league as the folded loveliness shown in the picture here.
Cinematic references that spring to mind: Jeff Bridges uses crumbly scrambled eggs on toast to good effect in "The Old Man", and there's a delicious put-down of "heart healthy" ones in one of the Bourne episodes: "enjoy your egg whites".
I like cooking the eggs slowly, and even, heresy I know, microwaving on a low heat setting and stirring every minute or two.
I think that the two key elements, with either method, is just folding the eggs as the mixture is really setting and stopping it before it fully sets- the last cooking happens on the plate almost.
Thanks so much! Just cooked the best scrambled eggs I've ever had following your post! So yummy. Even took a photo of the damn thing
i think she does use three eggs. She says 2 eggs plus an egg yolk . . . . . which to be honest sounds bloody amazing for that extra yolkiness. I'm not allowed to cook eggs like everyone here says they should be. I live with a bunch of lily livered faint hearted dearly beloved but misguided family members. I usually have to cook a separate amount for myself or pull a bit out early. Kid #1 is coming around to my way though.
Throw in some leftover elk backstrap or brisket . Some hollandaise. I’ll take that as my last meal.
Certainly I'm going to give that recipe a try it sounds delicious. For me it would be mushrooms - you know what they say, depending on the mushroom you choose it could feed you for the rest of your life.
Ahh JB, you’ve got me salivating with a hunger for these scrambled eggs on a doorstop of sourdough toast!
Lunchtime beckons with a JB special 😁
Ian Fleming knew what he was talking about...
https://www.artofmanliness.com/featured/how-to-make-james-bond-scrambled-eggs/
Apart from just pushing the eggs around, it's having a hot pan ready to go. I find if I stick my cast iron pan on the smallest burner before I start breaking eggs, it's at a great temperature for one minute cooking, including turning the heat off before all the egg is set.
I live in a world where eggs are mixed first, a pan is hot enough when butter will think about melting, and any attempt to gently guide one through the process is foolhardy.
You need proper eggs. Store eggs are sad and runny. The yolks are much firmer and tasty, fresh from the hen, and free range. Preferably no more than a day or two old.
Folding is the difference between a breakfast taco and eggs wrapped in a tortilla.
yeah mate, folding the eggs is the only way, I have been working on my egg folding technique for years.
if you want to take it to another level get yourself a Japanese Tamagoyaki Frying pan, I got one the other day and it is a whole new world of joyful egg cooking!