The BEST Scrambled Eggs I’ve Ever Eaten

I have a post all queued up for tonight in the Land of Plenty cooking series, but I made some breakfast the other day and it was ridiculous so I wanted to share it.

Eggs are somewhat the run-of-the-mill breakfast item, but for some reason they never get old. As of today, a feature of Gordon Ramsey’s scrambled eggs is the most viewed item on tastespotting in the last month. Of course there are a variety of ways to cook them, but I think what makes them interesting is that just a slight touch of difference in how you cook them can result in a greatly varied finished product.

I’ve had the worst, burnt, grainy scrambled eggs a few times in my day, and I’ve also enjoyed the lush and extravagant eggs with caviar at The Plaza in NYC (not sure that restaurant is open anymore since The Plaza converted to condos).

Yeah, caviar is cheating, but creating fantastic scrambled eggs can be done easily as long as you treat each step in the process with care and respect as you would a risotto.

Step 1 – The Eggs

Working with two eggs, gently beat them with 1 tsp of water. The water creates a softer texture and a bit more volume without imparting any flavor as milk or cream would.

Next, give a few turns of the salt mill into the beaten eggs. We’re not looking to over season them here, but we’re creating a softer egg. According to Cook’s Illustrated (and my personal taste tests), salt affects the eggs’ protein molecules, making it more difficult for them to bond, resulting in a more tender scrambled egg.

Step 2 – Butter

For two eggs, melt half a tablespoon of butter on medium heat. Coat the pan evenly.

Step 3 – Cookin’

Pour in the eggs and do not touch for roughly 1 minute. Once the eggs begin to set, gently fold the eggs back into itself a few times.  A rubber spatula is perfect for this. After another 30 seconds, turn off the heat. The eggs should still be fairly wet. You may want to fold them again a couple of times over the next 30-60 seconds to let them firm up a bit, but you want them to remain slightly wet. They will dry out a bit by the time you plate and serve them.

Step 4 – Fancy Pants

Serve immediately. Here I have garnished with chopped chives, then hit the eggs with just a few drops of white truffle oil. Yeah, real truffle shavings would be the ultimate in eggs, but this will do. Truffle oil goes famously with eggs, but don’t overdo it. A few drops on the side works well as you can control the oil to egg ratio of each bite.

Step 5 – Upload your picture to Flikr, hope that it gets approved by Tastespotting, and feel smug the rest of the morning

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Tagged as: breakfast, egg, scrambled eggs, truffles