Scrambled Eggs II
Everything the first attempt got wrong was a process problem, not a recipe problem. Same eggs, same salt-and-rest, two changes: a nonstick pan, and the aromatics going into the butter in the pan instead of into the eggs. Still tagged experimental, the ratios want a few more runs before they settle
Everything out first
Eggs, butter, salt, thyme, dill and chives, the scale and the mortar. Six eggs into the bowl and 3 g of salt weighed straight in. The salt loosens the protein so the curds set softer, and it wants ten minutes or so to work
Whisked, then left alone
Whisked until even and then set aside. The rest happens while the butter and thyme are dealt with, so it costs nothing
24 g of butter
Weighed rather than guessed, because butter is most of what makes this work. Another 8 g gets held back for the end
Nonstick this time
The single biggest fix. Cast iron kept half of the last batch. Butter into the nonstick pan on low, and the thyme chopped fine while it melts. First time cooking with fresh thyme, and it was worth the trip
Bloom the thyme in the butter
Part I melted the butter separately, waited for it to cool, then whisked it into the eggs. Doing it in the pan is simpler and the flavour carries much further. The kitchen smelled of thyme within a minute
Dill, chives, white pepper
Chopped and ground while the thyme steeps, all of it held back for the end. Dill and chives both lose everything to heat, and white pepper turns flat and dusty if it sits in a hot pan
Eggs in
Heat low, the eggs poured straight into the thyme butter, then kept moving. The butter is already flavoured, so nothing has to be stirred in later
Low and slow
Constant slow folding. Off the heat well before it looks finished, since it keeps setting in the pan
Tomatoes and avocado
Washed and sliced while the eggs finish. Cherry tomatoes and avocado, nothing cooked
Butter to finish, herbs last
The last 8 g of butter melts into the eggs off the heat and pulls everything back to soft. Then the dill, the chives and the ground white pepper, folded through and served immediately
Onto the plates
Straight out of the pan alongside the tomatoes and avocado. Bread on the side, whatever came from the bakery that morning
Recipe
Scrambled eggs
| Good Units | Bad Units | Item | Directions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | large | Eggs | Crack into bowl1 |
| 3 g | Salt | Add to bowl1, whisk, rest 10 min | |
| 24 g | Butter | Melt in a nonstick pan on low | |
| 4 g | Thyme, chopped | Add to the pan, steep 5 min | |
| bowl1 | Pour in, fold slow until just set | ||
| 8 g | Butter | Fold in off the heat | |
| 4 g | Dill, chopped | Fold in off the heat | |
| 4 g | Chives, chopped | Fold in off the heat | |
| 350 mg | White pepper | Grind, fold in off the heat |
To serve
| Good Units | Bad Units | Item | Directions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoked salmon | Plate alongside | ||
| 1 | Avocado | Slice, plate | |
| a handful | Cherry tomato | Halve, plate | |
| Bread | Slice, serve as is |
Commentary, extra notes
- Nonstick or nothing. This is the fix that made the rest of it worth writing up, see Scrambled Eggs for what cast iron does to a scramble
- Aromatics belong in the pan butter, not whisked into the eggs. Simpler, no waiting for butter to cool, and the flavour carries much further
- Thyme is the one herb here that wants heat. Dill and chives do not, and neither does the white pepper
- Holding back a little butter for the end is what keeps it soft on the plate
- Still experimental. The herb weights and the two butter amounts are the parts that want another few runs before they are settled