Slow Cooked Scrambled Eggs

I have an odd relationship with eggs. 

While I find them utterly indispensable for cooking and baking, as a whole, I dislike eating eggs themselves. 

When I was very small, my grandfather would feed me soft boiled eggs, mixed with torn up bread pieces and lots of salt. Being a salt fiend, this was the very bestest food possible. Especially because my grandfather would allow me to make them as salty as I wanted. Which was typically far too salty for human consumption. 

And ever after, I see to make eggs taste like they did when I was a child. That wonder of putting a few humble ingredients in a bowl and getting magic. 

In a sense, I guess my grandfather was a magician, because no plain egg dish has ever measured up.

But I keep searching; keeping my eye out for interesting egg recipes and innovative ways of serving them.

So when I ran into this recipe over at Well Fed, I knew that I had to try it.

My main objection to scrambled eggs is the complete and utter lack of taste. As if the fact that they are scrambled is effort enough. Often watery or rubbery they are typically completely forgettable. 

But this… this is something else entirely. It was the picture that attracted my attention at first. 

These were scrambled eggs? 

They certainly didn’t look like scrambled eggs. If anything they had the appearance whipped egg yolks. The kind you might use to stuff deviled eggs. And once I read the recipe, I was in love with the idea. 

I plotted carefully how and when I was going to execute my plant and it took several weeks but I finally made them. 

For the experiment I bought farm fresh eggs from the market, for the best possible taste. Bought fresh tarragon and basil and grated up some of my favorite aged Gouda for the cheese.

I was extremely grateful for the wonderful process pictures that Well Fed had on the site because I would have been lost without them. Slow cooking the eggs took far longer than I expected and they stayed soupy and runny almost until I had given up hope. 

But the end results were well worth the effort. The eggs are… for lack of a better term, like nothing I have ever tasted. Creamy, soft and herbaceous, they have a surprising taste all their own. Something the slow cooking process brings out, a nuttiness of sorts.

My family however, was not impressed. My father - and I quote, said they were “too original.” (His term for a flavor his is unfamiliar with and thus doesn’t like) My brother thought they were weird, though I think he was responding to the taste of the fresh herbs. My fault for never having fed him fresh tarragon, I suppose. 

Unimpressed or not, the recipe is an interesting work of alchemy. And I shall be trying it again with a few small modifications. I think the herbaceous nature of the eggs would be complimented by less cheese and the sour cream mixed in. Along with this, I think I will add garlic, letting it slowly cook with the eggs to caramelize and flavor the dish. 

I may also play with the herbs; either reducing the recipe to one herb or playing with different ones. Basil was awfully tasty in this making it difficult to give that up for anything else. But the complimentary herb might change. Sorrel would be interesting with its mild lemony taste. So would oregano or even fennel. I might even go hog wild and add a whole garden full of them, having learned that this works splendidly from a previous quiche experiment (for the record when a friend hands you a bag of mixed chopped herbs and can’t identify any of them….this is usually – but not always - a bad thing). 

The best thing about this showy recipe is that it offers so much room to play. Simple ingredients and careful preparation make it spectacular. 

It is the kind of thing that can easily be made impressive, a surprise breakfast for a special day. Or humble, served on a lazy weekend morning with points of hearty wheat toast. 

In either case, it is one of those recipes well worth trying just for the experience of what scrambled eggs could be if they lived up to their full potential. 

I present the recipe as I would make it next time.

Slow Cooked Scrambled Eggs
Original: David Lentz via Well Fed
Modifications in italics

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ tablespoon unsalted butter,browned [1]
8 eggs
2 cloves garlic, crushed
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup sour cream + additional for topping [2]
1/2 generous cup chopped fresh herbs [3] 

METHOD

Heat a large nonstick skillet over low heat. Add the butter and cook gently until it has taken on a golden hue or substitute ghee.  After the butter browns, add the eggs and garlic. Use a wooden spoon to stir the eggs in a figure 8 fashion [4]. It will start out very soupy. 

Continue to cook and stir the eggs until they are still moist with some liquid, about 25 to 30 minutes, stirring frequently, but not constantly. Just before they have finished cooking, stir in the chopped herbs and sour cream. 

Turn off the heat and let the eggs stand for a minute of so. Divide the eggs among the serving dishes. Top each with a dollop of sour cream and a grinding of pepper [5]. 

Serves 4 

[1] I think browned butter enhances eggs. Olive oil will not allow the butter to brown and is there to keep it from scorching. However if you keep the temperature low and brown the butter slowly, there is no reason to not use all butter. 

[2] The original recipe called for crème fraiche and that it is added at the end only as a topping. I prefer the taste of sour cream and I like it mixed in. This also helps to spread the fat soluble flavors of the herbs. 

[3] The original recipe calls for parsley and chervil. I used tarragon and basil and liked it very much. But any complimentary herbs are fine. I also think this would do well to shine a spotlight on a single herb. 

[4] I found that simply stirring clockwise was not enough for such a large amount of eggs. Figure eights with an occasional clockwise turn were better and more efficient. 

[5] A bit of caviar on top of this would be both decadent and welcome. These are the kinds of eggs that can stand up to caviar.

Comments

[bronxelf]

Funny, as this is the only way I make scrambled eggs, and have for years. Try dill. It's mild and light, and goes very well with the eggs, particularly if you add a creamy cheese with them as well, like a goat cheese. Your photo is lovely. :) -elf.

[Kitarra]

Elf - Thank you very much. I was thinking of a creamy cheese like fontina in this, but I hadn't thought of goat cheese. I am going to have to try that. I have an excellent goat ricotta that is made locally! Just writing this post made me want to go back and experience the recipe again so I think I will be making it soon!

[Kitchen Queen]

Fellow salt fiend here! I do like eggs lots of ways, but this sounds wonderful. An herb cookbook my aunt gave me years ago seconds your idea of sorrel in this dish.

[Grant]

I'm so glad you liked the eggs. All this cheese talk makes me want to make them again. I like the idea of the brown butter, although I seem to recall adding either sour cream or creme fraiche to the eggs while I was scrambling them, before adding them to the skillet. I guess I forgot to mention it in the instructions. I'll have to go back and add that in.

[Kitarra]

Kitchen Queen - Salt is yummy and makes everything yummier! I think sorrel would cut through some of the richness and provide just a little lift. I am also told that marjoram works well in the dish so maybe sorrel and marjoram?

Grant - from the look of the eggs in the first picture it doesn't look like the creme fraiche was in there at the time. Did you add it with the cheese? And the browned butter I think adds a depth of flavor that I very much enjoy. But yes the recipe is wonderfull and very addictive once you make it the first time. Thank you so much for posting it.

[aria]

great post! i think the idea to brown the butter is excellent. we eat eggs at least once a week having breakfast for dinner since it's so quick to whip up. to me, this recipe looks near perfection :)

[Kitarra]

Aria,

It really is very tasty. I made it again after the flurry of comments and it was every bit as good as I remembered. Though this time I substituted low-fat greek yogurt for the sour cream and it was even better! I like the tang of greek yogurt! And the browned butter is just yummy. Especially after I tossed in the garlic this time. Give it a try, I would love to see your take on it!

[berlin]

Gut!