I am obsessed with scrambled eggs. I cook at least two dozen every weekend for my tiny family of three humans, and I’m not even exaggerating. That’s a dozen eggs per breakfast, no leftovers. I’m that serious about my egging. When I’m not eating and cooking them, I’m pestering my colleagues about their scrambled egg tips. So let’s just say I know a thing or two about a thing or two.
Herewith, our collective scrambled egg wisdom.
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Nonstick eggs without the nonstick pan
I never use nonstick pans, because they are poison Frisbees. Instead, I use either a well-seasoned cast-iron pan or a stainless steel frying pan. To keep the eggs from sticking, I bring my eggs to room temperature before cooking them, usually by placing the whole eggs in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes or so. It also helps if you undercook your eggs and if you use a silicone scraper instead of a spatula.
Scramble in a bowl first
If you really give a damn, you’re not going to crack your eggs directly into a hot pan. Instead, you’ll crack your eggs into a bowl and scramble them before pouring them into your pan.
When to salt
This is highly controversial. Gordon Ramsay says to salt only at the very end. I’ve salted before, during and after cooking, and I haven’t noticed a difference. Salt when you want to.
Use a silicone scraper instead of a spatula
This is a much better tool for keeping the eggs moving around the pan as you cook them.
Go low
We all know this, right? Use low heat for the best scrambled eggs. I cheat just a little and warm up the pan on medium, then lower it right after I add the eggs. If I see them cooking too quickly, I’ll move the pan off the heat until things calm down.
For fluffy eggs, air
If you want fluffy eggs, you need to work some air into them. So whisk vigorously in the bowl, and then keep whisking with a silicone scraper as you cook.
For creamy eggs, fold
You’ll want to whisk your eggs well before cooking them again. But the movement while you cook is a little slower — you’re scraping along the bottom of the pan and turning them over for those larger curds.
Butter, butter, butter
Some people like to put a little milk or cream in their eggs. I go with butter — a sick amount of butter. I’ll add about 1/2 tablespoon per egg. After whisking your eggs in a bowl, take a cold stick from the refrigerator, grate the butter directly into your bowl, and then whisk again.
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Extra yolk
Because YOLO, I add an extra yolk or two for extreme creaminess. Just do it. You won’t be sorry.
Forget the ketchup
Try topping with sriracha or harissa and prepare to have your eyes opened to the wide world of flavor. Also: Maldon salt.
Undercook those eggs
Don’t keep cooking your eggs until they’re good and cooked within an inch of their lives, with the driest curds that ever cursed eggdom. Stop just before you think your eggs are done, and prepare yourself to enjoy how much lighter or fluffier they are. Seriously, I couldn’t even find a stock photo of eggs that weren’t torture-cooked practically to the point of pebbles. You don’t have to do that.
Bain marie challenge
Say you find yourself all alone, with no hungry bellies depending on you and with all the time in the world. This is a good time to attempt the ultimate egg hack. This is where you cook your eggs in a bain marie — a bowl nestled in a pan of hot water. It takes forever, but it’s amazing.
Good eggs
Don’t you hate it when people tell you to buy the highest-quality anything, like you’re made of money? Like you can just go and spend $6 on those blue, pasture-raised eggs at the farmers market? Well, here’s the bad news: Those eggs really do taste better. I know, life is so unfair! But there’s a whole range of quality between those eggs and the ones on sale for a buck a dozen. You buy the eggs you can afford, and enjoy them.
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