Yet again, a food magazine has come up with an improved scrambled egg recipe. I’m sure it’s very good, as is any recipe with extra egg yolks and cream. However, they’re really and truly missing the point of what makes scrambled eggs the perfect food: ease and simplicity. Case in point – today dawned sunny, but a quite cold 8º F. I bundled up and did my barn chores. Then I came inside, put a pat of butter into the cast iron skillet,
cracked two of these into a bowl:
and with a fork, stirred them up with a splash of milk and a pinch of kosher salt. The eggs went into the pan (Lily got the bowl to lick) where they cooked over medium heat. As the egg set, I moved them gently about with a spatula.
In about three minutes, just as my hands were thawing out from the barn chores, I had perfect scrambled eggs.
If I thought I’d have to separate eggs for yolks, and then find a use for the extra whites, I would have had cereal instead. That said, sometimes even I embellish scrambled eggs with cheese and/or sautéed vegetables. Sausage is good, too. Such scrambled eggs make the best dinner when you don’t feel like cooking at all. But again, they’re the best because they’re not fussy. (Recipes can be found in my Farmstead Egg Guide and Cookbook.) Making scrambled eggs complicated seems so… wrong… to me. Besides, I’d never add extra yolks. The two yolks in my breakfast eggs are so flavorful and colorful that I don’t need to add more.
However, notice the muffin in the background of the photo, that recipe does need tweaking. I’m working on a not-too sweet honey whole wheat breakfast muffin. When that’s perfected, I’ll share it with you. Meanwhile, the hens are laying and I’m eating two eggs every morning for breakfast. They’re perfect any way I make them. Thanks, girls!
I will be so happy when my girls get busy again, im getting one sometimes two eggs a day, I miss opening my refrigerator and wondering “what am I gonna do with all these eggs” but it will happen again. One of my favorite meals is scrambled peppers and eggs, side of bacon, toast, breakfast, lunch, or dinner, cant be beat, and I agree scrambled eggs should be simple!
They look just like the eggs I had for supper last night, but I’m sure yours are better, I had to use supermarket eggs. :(
THAT IS HOW I WAS TAUGHT TO DO SCRAMBLED EGGIES TOO!!!!!
Scrambled eggs are one of our favourite fast and easy meals too.
BTW, I like the look of that dark speckled egg at the back of your egg carton. Which hen laid that one?
Jasper, the Welsummer. They lay either dark brown eggs, or eggs with speckles. I lucked out and got the speckles.
Aha! I, too, was admiring what I assumed was a Marans egg; that’s what my Black Marans’ eggs look like. My Welsummer lays medium brown eggs with very teeny speckles all over.
My welsummer lays the same speckled egg. Looks like paint splattered on it.
Love your writings, and your tablecloth too!
That’s a 1959 tea towel.
That’s the year I was born : ) Funny
Terry, your presentation is beautiful and enticing. I think we will have breakfast for dinner =) BTW, this morning, I watched as the Little Barn Ladies lined up to lay in the rabbit hutch….too funny! Do all 6 lay in there?
Yes, now they all go outside (even in the snow!) to go into the hutch to lay. Sometimes they won’t wait in line and some lay in the sectioned off dark part, and others in the main area.
Eggs are a true comfort food. Too easy and very delicious. This is how we make eggs, too. Eggs for any meal!
This is also how I make my scrambled eggs and the only time I add to this is special occasions such as Christmas morning breakfast when just as they are done I mix in some thinly sliced bits of smoked salmon. This makes it seem like a bit of luxury but like all luxury items it’s best to have them occasionally and must be on malted brown bread toast for the best effect.
I love smoked salmon with eggs. I’ve got a lovely recipe in the book for poached eggs, smoked salmon and asparagus.
I scramble mine the same way although I use a cute, little 6 1/2″ Corningware skillet. Just right for 2 eggs with a little freshly grated cheddar (I’m going to try Carol’s smoked salmon). I then eat right from the non-stick, easy-to-clean, white skillet/plate.
Love the corning ware skillet. I have one that is perfect for fish.
Soooooo jealous of those fresh eggs! And, yes, scrambled eggs should be EASY! I’m not awake enough in the morning for fancy. One thing I do do occasionally is herbs. I like to puree basil and dill (separately) in olive oil, freeze them in ice cube trays and bag them up. Then in the winter all I have to do is lop off a chunk and throw it in the skillet instead of butter. Luuuve my cast iron!
It is too funny that the girls are parading to the rabbit hutch to lay! :)
I do exactly the same thing with herbs.
Wish I could find THOSE eggs at my grocery store!
Can’t happen unless the hens are clucking out the back door :)
I just took a Science of Cooking class from Harvard EdX. They taught us how to cook eggs according to American Test Kitchen, which involved half & half, extra yolks, adding salt right before the eggs go into the skillet, and two burners – one at medium heat to start with and then a second burner set on low to move the skillet to when the eggs no longer rush back into the path cleared by a spatula. It did taste good, but not much different than the way you cook an egg. Simple is best.
As long as you mention it by name, that’s the recipe that I’m referring to.
I read an article online the other day about what I think was the fine-tuning of that recipe. Someone made a LOT of batches of scrambled eggs, using varying amounts of cream, milk, water, extra yolks, two burners at different settings, and very slow cooking. Lots of talk about puffiness, dryness, large and small curds, etc. Wondering where their eggs came from? Fresh scrambled eggs definitely don’t need all that fine-tuning. I don’t add any milk at all, just a teaspoon of grated cheese and another of (real) bacon bits. If I cook them in some salted butter, that and the bacon eliminate the need for added salt. Served with a slice of fresh wheat bread….mmmmmm…my mouth is watering now.
FYI – the Harvard course is still running until March 15th. If anyone is by any chance interested in watching Dan Sousa (from American Test Kitchen) prepare his scrambled eggs, you can sign up for the course and then just go to that video.
EdX and Coursera are FREE, online university level courses taught by major universities around the world. EdX is primarily Harvard and MIT. “The Science of Cooking” course is through Harvard.
You don’t have to actually take the course in order to watch videos. We were studying Diffusion and Spherification the week they showed the scrambled egg video. Though very technical, I do say that I understand cooking much better. Instead of just another scrambled egg recipe, it broke down the science of a simple egg and what happens chemically during cooking. It really is meant to be a science class.
1. Just go to
https://www.edx.org/course/harvardx/harvardx-spu27x-science-cooking-haute-639
2. Register.
3. Go to the class and find the “Courseware: tab.
4. Go to Week 5 – Diffusion and Spherification.
5. Go to Lecture 1 and then find the very last video.
6. Under the video, you will also find interesting discussion among students.
There is also a very interesting video about the perfect cooking temperature of a boiled egg in week 2, Lecture 1, 4th video by Dave Arnold.
Agreed! Nothing tastes better than eggs prepared simply, laid by chickens one knows and tends to. The increased egg production lately makes me so happy. Beautiful carton of eggs, Terry.
Egg-cellent looking!! Yum……
Our gals were starting to really get going, then boom we were back to winter. Now it’s warming again and they will have to start all over…BUT I do have eggs and I agree, I make mine the same way, sometimes adding cheese and/or veggies and if I’m feeling really indulgent, I might add a bit of cream instead of the milk, LOL
We like ours with hot biscuits and homemade Pear Honey or Peach Butter. Yummmmmmmmm good eating. And you’re also right, no need to add extra yolks, as our good farm eggs have beautiful very bright yolks!
Happy eating and thanking my girls!!!
Pear honey sounds scrumptious.
Terry, would organic eggs from the supermarket be anywhere close to what you get from your girls?
Several things differentiate supermarket eggs of any type from homegrown. Freshness is key. Also, even supermarket eggs are washed in a warm water and chemical bath (organic uses organic chemicals.) Eggs are porous and they take on odors from their surroundings. The list goes on (I cover this in detail in my upcoming book.) BUT at least organic chickens are being fed a higher quality ration. Organic companies vary widely in animal care practices so I can’t make a blanket statement, but If your only options are organic or regular, and you have the extra $ to spend, buy organic. If money is tight, there are other products that will give you more value. If you can find a local producer, then shop there, even (especially) if it’s a cooler at the end of a driveway.
Thanks for the information, I can scrape up an extra $1 for the organic, certainly if they are worth it.
A women after my own heart, she cooks with a cast iron skillet.
My son refuses to eat anything I cook in mine. It was my grandmothers. He is appalled I never “wash” it.
I don’t know who raised that kid. I think he watches too much tv news in which ever thing kills you.
I’m careful about what I cook in it. I wipe it out with a paper towel after each use. If food does stick badly, I use water and a scrubby (no soap!) Tell your son that cast iron is the best way to get iron into your diet.
Yep me too, no soap.
I tell him the heat kills any bacteria.
Cast iron skillets are my go to. Your scrambled eggs look delicious! One of my chickens is singing the egg song as I sit here typing. We eat a lot more eggs now that we have our hens. I feel for you Terry. It’s snowing like crazy there. I always thought the snow was beautiful, but I can say I’ve had enough of it this year. I got my first good sign today. A robin was in the yard. Not long now.