Three ways to get your perfect scrambled eggs -- whatever your version of perfection may be.
Scrambled eggs and toast: sounds like an ascetic breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Sounds plain. Sounds boring. Sounds like something you'd eat in a dark kitchen, alone, standing up, quickly and efficiently with a tiny frown. And, if you're one of those people that's suffered from rubbery-egg, burnt-egg, or dry-and-crumbly-egg syndrome, it sounds simply unappealing.
But scrambled eggs, when done right, can one of the most glorious, indulgent, and straight-up sexy meals of all time. You could make them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, each in a different pan, each with a different technique -- and all would be, in their own creamy, runny, fluffy way, perfect.
Grab some eggs, some butter, and your favorite pan. Let's make scrambled eggs and toast something worth eating, all week long.
The Low and Slow Method
Yields: Creamy, rich, custard-y eggs with tiny curds.
How to do it: Break your eggs into a bowl, and whisk with 2 tablespoons of cream (or more!). Heat your non-stick or ceramic pan over low heat; melt a tablespoon of butter. Pour your eggs into the pan, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. You want the eggs to cook slowly, so if they start sticking, turn your heat even lower. Stir, stir, stir, until the eggs look like pudding and your curds are all tiny and it looks like scrambled-egg soup in the best possible way. Take off the heat just before they look done. Season with salt.
Note: These can also be made with a saucepan and a whisk, à la Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
Why we love it: Few things feel as luxurious as these rich, silky eggs; eating them out of a bowl with a spoon, wearing pajamas and fluffy socks, is one of life's greatest pleasures. If you're feeling even more indulgent, use crème fraîche -- or top the whole thing with caviar.
The Rogue Method (à la Saltie in Brooklyn)
Yields: Perfectly-cooked whites and runny yolks -- all scrambled together.
How to do it: Get an enamel or nonstick pan on the stove. Put in around a tablespoon of butter, and let it melt over medium-low heat. Crack an egg into a bowl -- leaving it whole! -- and slide it into your pan. Repeat with as many eggs as you'd like. Once your eggs are in there, carefully scramble the whites until they are cooked -- leaving your yolks intact. Once the whites are cooked, take the pan off the heat, crack the yolks, and mix it all together in the pan. Season with salt and pepper.
Why we love it: With this method, you get the best of the scrambled-egg and fried-egg worlds: fluffy, perfectly-cooked whites, and rich, runny yolks. Serve it with toast to scoop up any leftover yolk.
The Classic Method
Yields: Soft, fluffy eggs with big curds.
How to do it: Crack your eggs into a bowl, and whisk. Season with salt and pepper. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter on medium heat. Pour your eggs in, and let them stand for a few seconds. Then, start nudging: nudge your eggs towards the center, wait a few seconds, then nudge again. Do this until you have big, fluffy curds in the center of your pan. Take the eggs off the heat when the curds are set but still a little runny; they'll continue to cook on the way from the pan to your plate.
Why we love it: These are your no-fuss scrambled eggs: the ones you could make every morning for breakfast and live a very happy life. We make these when we don't have twenty minutes to spend stirring over the stove.
