So how do you like your eggs? My answer: all the time.
Now, maybe my post about leftovers tipped you off (item number 2: put an egg on it), but I just love eggs. This stems from practicality (it’s hard to find a faster or more inexpensive food), but there’s also an emotional component — and maybe genetic one too.
Related: 16 Ways to Cook Eggs
You see, every parent has one go-to dish they turn to time and again, and my dad’s preferred rabbit-from-a-hat, two-hungry-girls-swinging-from-the-rafters meal was an omelet. He’d pull a few eggs from the fridge, along with whatever bits of cheese, lonely slices of ham or odd halves of vegetables he could muster, and turn them into something warming and delicious. All of us would sigh with satisfaction when he presented a warm, cheesy omelet for dinner.
Fond memories aside, last week we went through dozens of eggs, making fried, over-easy, poached, scrambled, hard- and soft-boiled, and yes, omelets. Here’s what we learned about making perfect versions of each, delicious enough to convert egg-haters:
• Scrambled. Beat eggs with a fork, not a whisk (you don’t want to incorporate too much air) until egg whites are well incorporated with the yolks. Season with salt and pepper. Warm a nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron pan over medium low heat, add butter, let it melt and add the eggs. Furiously stir and cook, moving the pan and your spoon at the same time, until you have luscious, creamy eggs with a small curd.
• Fried. Warm butter in a nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron pan over medium heat. Crack an egg into a cup (this way, your meal will be shell-free) and add to the skillet. If the yolk is off-center, tilt the pan so the yolk slides away from the edge of the white and towards the center. If you’re really fussy, trim any odd edges of white with the edge of your spatula — otherwise, leave it. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook until the white is firm but the yolk is still runny.
• Over-easy. This follows the same method as fried, but is even faster. Once you’ve cracked the egg in the pan and the white is just firm, season it with salt and pepper and flip it. Cook for 10 additional seconds and serve.
Related: Read Cecily’s Weekly Chef School Blog Series
• Poached. Fill a large, deep skillet with water. Add salt and a splash of white vinegar (this helps keep the white together). Bring to just below a simmer — you should see bubbles on the bottom of the pan, but they shouldn’t be breaking the surface. Crack your egg into a teacup and gently slide the egg into the water. Using a wooden spoon, gently — very gently — nudge the white towards the yolk, so it ends up with a nice oval shape. Once the white is cooked and the yolk is still runny, about 2 1/2 minutes, lift it out with a slotted spoon. Serve immediately, sprinkled with salt and pepper, or reserve. If you’d like to serve a crowd, you can make them in advance, set aside, and reheat for 10 seconds in barely-simmering water. Use them to make eggs Benedict, like we did in this picture!
• Hard-boiled. In a skillet or saucepan, bring enough salted water to a boil so the egg will be completely covered. If you’re not going to eat your egg immediately, place a bowl of ice water nearby. To boil eggs straight from the refrigerator, run them under tap water for a few minutes, just until the shell is room temperature to touch — boiling cold eggs makes them crack. Cook exactly 11 minutes, then place in the ice bath and let sit until cool. Fun fact: slightly older eggs are easier to peel than fresh ones, so use your last few for deviled eggs.
• Soft-boiled. As with hard-boiled, bring salted water to a boil and make sure your eggs are at room temperature. Boil eggs 7 minutes exactly. Serve immediately, seasoned with salt and pepper, or place in an ice bath and cool.
• Omelet. Now, the omelets my dad made were American-style ones, simply flipped in half. We made French-style omelets, which are hardly browned and rolled into thirds. To make a French-style omelet, you heat a small pan over medium-low heat and add butter. Beat your eggs with a fork, seasoning with salt and pepper, and add them to the pan. Scramble furiously with a spoon just until they begin to set, then pat them so they’re even in the pan. Tilt the pan so uncooked egg runs to the sides and pat any uneven edges down with your spoon. Quickly add your filling, then, inserting your spatula 90 degrees away from the handle of the pan, fold 1/3 of the omelet over. Let cook a few seconds, tilt the pan away from you and fold the omelet over another 1/3 of the way. Let cook with the pan tilted so any remaining raw egg runs out and cooks. Serve immediately — with a sigh of satisfaction.
Got any egg tips of your own? Share below by commenting!
