As we enthusiastically glide into 2015: The Year of the Breakfast, I decided to take a few posts to discuss some building blocks of the meal, starting with the Incredible, Edible Egg!
HEY! *snap snap* Pay attention! Oh, you think you've got this down? You think you know everything there is to know about cooking an egg? I derisively snort in your general direction, because the egg is an incredibly flexible food, my friend, and just a few variations in cooking temperature or time can change texture and flavor pretty strongly.
Or maybe you cringe in fear at the idea of eating eggs because you let the ever-changing media ideas around food frighten you in the 1980's, and you haven't gotten over it yet? Let me tell you something: I eat an egg at least 360 mornings out of the year. My cholesterol is spot on perfect. This is partially because the rest of my diet is pretty solid, partially because I spend at least 30 minutes getting decent exercise every day, but mainly because of portion control. Note that I said I eat AN egg--not two, not three, and definitely not four. The LDL ("bad") cholesterol and the fat from a single egg will not break you. On the other hand, a single egg does offer plenty of protein, HDL ("good") cholesterol, and - best of all - a nutritious way to add a level of satiation to your breakfast. Better to eat a full, balanced, satisfying meal than eat a paltry one and sneak unhealthy snacks for the next several hours. So let's review some egg preparation.
Scrambling eggs can be either the trickiest or the easiest way to cook them, depending on your preferences. Done wrong, scrambled eggs can be annoyingly rubbery to the point of toughness. Other errors can somehow create a puddle of water as they sit on your plate--ew! The solution to both lies in cooking time and cooking temp, and here I'm going to lay out two ways to go.
Let me start with what I call "Company Eggs," because they take more time and effort. There's a little story that goes along with this: my grandmother was a fabulous cook, and she made these great breakfasts every time we visited, usually including these canary-yellow, flavorful, gloriously tender scrambled eggs. Alas, I was too young to appreciate what she was trying to teach me about making them at the time--all I could think was, "This is so boring! Are the waffles done yet?" Therefore, I lost her technique. Neither of her daughters (my Mom and Aunt) prepared their eggs in the same way, so they couldn't teach me the trick. I thought my Grandma's Scrambled Eggs were lost to legend. Then, years later, I was watching old episodes of "Good Eats" and was intrigued by Alton Brown's approach to making scrambled eggs. One lazy Saturday morning I gave his method a try, and when I tasted the results I was immediately transported back in time, my seven-year-old self in a pink quilted bathrobe and fuzzy slippers sitting at the formica table in my grandmother's kitchen.
Thanks, A.B., for channeling my grandmother's ghost for me.
Z.D.'s Company Eggs
(this recipe is for two people, but you can simply double, triple, quadruple or quintuple as needed)
Ingredients:
two large eggs
approximately 1.5 Tablespoons whole or 2% milk
1.2 teaspoon butter
large pinch kosher salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions:
- Break your eggs into a deep enough vessel that you can whisk them vigorously without splatter. Add the milk--eyeball it so that you're adding milk a little over the volume of one yolk per egg. In other words, for two eggs, add enough milk so that it looks like you've added a third, white yolk.
- Place a small, non-stick skillet over low heat. No, really, I mean LOW heat--like, the lowest heat setting you've got. Add the butter--this is really only for flavor, so only about 1/4 teaspoon per egg is needed.
- While the butter slowly melts, beat the dickens out of your eggs. I use a whisk, but you can use a fork if necessary. You want to break down the egg entirely, so that you have a smooth, even-colored liquid. You can't over-beat this, so keep going.
- Once the butter is melted and the white milk solids begin to dissipate, spread the butter around the pan evenly. Add your salt to the eggs, beat a few more times to combine, then pour into the gently heated pan.
- Using a rubber spatula that is good for high heat (don't make the same mistake as my uncle and use an old-fashioned one: they melt), gently stir the eggs, scraping along the bottom. It will take several minutes, but eventually you will see soft solids known as curds begin to form.
- Once you see curds forming, up the heat to medium-low. Continue to stir the eggs, finishing each scrape with a light flipping motion. This is because the eggs will cook more on the bottom, so you want to move this part to the top to prevent over-cooking and rubberiness.
- When you think your eggs are almost done, stop: they're done. Eggs retain heat, and will actually cook for awhile longer once removed from the pan--especially if they're being moved to a warm plate. They may still look slightly wet, but as long as they are between 80-90% done you're in the perfection range. Plate, sprinkle with pepper (or, to use my Grandma's touch, use Johnny Dock's Seasoning Salt), and serve.
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| That's what you're goin' for. |
If you end up with a puddle of water around your eggs, you were impatient and didn't cook over low enough heat. Long cooking over low heat evaporates the water and cooks the egg gently, making the result startlingly tender. Now, if you simply don't have time for all this, you can try my Week Day eggs, which is much faster, still very tender, and with a nice egg flavor--just not at all pretty.
Z.D.'s Weekday Eggs
(again, this recipe is for two, but you can increase it as you like)
Ingredients:
Two large eggs
1/2 teaspoon butter or schmaltz
Pinch of kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions:
- Break your eggs into a cup or a bowl, but do not beat--you're only pre-breaking them as a time saver.
- Place a small non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. You want this skillet to get pretty hot, but not so hot that it smokes or ruins the non-stick coating. Put your fat into the pan once it gets warm, and watch it. If you're using butter, it will just start to turn golden when the pan is ready. If you're using schmaltz (yum), look for a couple tiny bubbles along the bottom, like soda.
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| Mmm...schmaltz |
- Dump the eggs into the pan and immediately kill the heat. Using your heat-safe spatula, break the yolks and loosely scramble the eggs. You should see the white cook within a second or two of hitting the hot pan.
- Continue to stir frequently as the heat decreases, scrambling to desired doneness. Again, remove the eggs from the pan just before they are totally done, lest they get over-cooked. You should have very cobbled looking eggs. Top with a few grinds of pepper and serve.
This technique also prevents puddling and toughness, and is relatively tender, but doesn't give that luscious texture that you get from Company Eggs. But I swear it takes less than three minutes from start to finish (unless you have an electric stove, then it might take a minute or two longer) and the flavor is classic egg. If you're really in a time crunch, you can slap these on top of a piece of whole-grain toast, eat as you get your last few things together, and follow it up with a banana on your way out the door, and you've started your day with pretty solid nutrition.
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| Hmm, what are those tasty things poking in around the margins? I'll give those recipes next week! |