Eggs, Eggs, and Eggs
You all remember the marketing campaign about the something or other Egg, right? Well the egg really is incredible. It is full of all kinds of healthy stuff. Choline to keep your brain working, plus the fat and cholesterol to keep your brain fueled and sheath your neurons.
Once upon a time, eggs were evil too. They were the cause of heart disease and clogged arteries.
But it’s okay to eat them again. So says the American Heart Association. But I’m not here to discuss the ins and outs of are eggs good for you or not. They are.
I am going to share a few secrets of how to cook them, and cook them well.
Any time I cook eggs for Lydia, she inevitably tells me I cook the best eggs. Well, here you go, a handful of my secrets. Master them, and your significant other may just tell you, you cook the best eggs.
Scrambled Eggs:
The Method:
Eggs taste great in olive oil. If you like your eggs cooked in butter, you can do that. Just melt the butter in a little oil first. It will keep the butter from burning.
Grab a skillet. I generally start with the olive oil. about a tablespoon or so, more for more eggs. Add the butter, if you are going to add butter. I use ghee if any at all, because dairy and I don’t get along.
Heat the skillet, until the butter melts, or the oil is warm enough that a drop of water will dance on the surface of the skillet.
You can break your eggs into a bowl and mix them up there. I like to just break them into the skillet.
Add salt.
I always use wooden utensils
Use a wooden or rubber spatula, never metal. You want your skillet to last past next year.
Break the yolks and stir the eggs to mix it all together.
As the protein denatures, the eggs will start to solidify.
Continue stirring and mixing.
When the eggs are mostly solid, yet still wet. The French refer to this as snotty. turn the heat off, and slide the eggs onto the plate you are serving them on. The residual heat in the eggs will continue to cook the eggs to the proper doneness.
Now you can add pepper if you so desire. I topped mine with this pasta sauce Lydia made the other day. Killer.
Quick & Easy
For even better eggs. Cook two or three strips of bacon first. When the bacon is done, pour off a small amount of the bacon grease, to save for later.
Now cook the eggs the same as above, but in the bacon fat instead of the olive oil and butter.
Boiled Eggs:
The Method:
Boiled eggs are great. You pop them in a pot with enough water to cover the eggs, crank the heat and wait.
Start with cold water. This will give the eggs long enough to cook, and not be rubbery when ready.
Salt your water a little. One, the white of an egg solidifies better in the salty water, and two, the salt will help heat the water quicker.
Also, add a teaspoon or so of baking soda. This changes the ph enough to keep the shell from sticking to the egg so much.
Once the eggs are on the heat, set a timer for 6 and a half minutes.
As soon as the water hits a rolling boil, start the timer.
6.5 minutes under a hard boil
And as soon as the timer goes off, turn the heat off, and get the eggs in an ice bath, or run them under cold water for several minutes. This will stop the cooking process.
Peel and enjoy, unless you are doing something else with them. I’m thinking deviled eggs, or egg salad.
If you aren’t peeling them now, I like to put them in a bowl with a little water in it. Eggs seem to peel better when a little wet.
Fried Eggs:
The Method:
Fried eggs are easy too.
Remember how eggs taste great in olive oil?
Pour a little olive oil in your pan, and heat it over medium heat.
Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner
Crack the egg and gently put it into the pan. And salt the eggs. Again, I save the pepper for the table.
I like to crack my eggs on a flat surface.
If you break the egg on the edge of a bowl or the pan, you run the risk of forcing shell into the egg. Probably not a big deal, and maybe just a personal preference.
Pay attention, because things happen quickly here.
Watch the egg, and as soon as the white is no longer runny, such that if you shake the pan a little, the white won’t run all over.
You may want to flip your egg with a spatula. If you do, that’s fine, just be careful not to break the yolk.
I like to flip it in the pan. Only once. Let sit for no longer than 30 seconds and slide it onto your plate.
This will give you a perfect over medium egg. Let it sit for longer if you like a firmer yolk, 10 to 15 seconds for over easy.
And enjoy.
