Eggs: Fried, Scrambled, and Omelet
July 21, 2019 | By Jeremy Scheck | 2 Comments
Eggs are the perfect food, full of complete proteins and healthy fat; I don’t think there’s a better breakfast. Because they are so fundamental, cooking eggs is one of the most basic tests of a cook and something every college student should be able to nail. In this post I will outline how to make to make fried eggs, scrambled eggs, and an omelet.
If you read my equipment post, you’ll know that I don’t use non-stick pans. In general, non-stick pans aren’t great quality and don’t last a long time unless you care for them meticulously. Butter works just as well as those toxic coatings!
Fried Eggs
Not everyone likes eggs cooked the same way, but once you master this basic technique, you’ll be able to tailor it to your liking. I like my white cooked all the way through with the yolk jammy but not liquid. I personally don’t like a super runny yolk, but if you do, I’ll leave instructions when to take it off.
Fried Eggs
Ingredients
- 1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 or 2 eggs
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Heat a skillet over medium heat; add a tablespoon of butter.
- When the butter is bubbly and spread-out, crack the eggs over the pan (I break them on the counter and open them over the pan).
- Let the eggs cook over medium heat (do not touch them) until the edges become golden around the sides.
- Season with salt and pepper and flip the eggs with a metal spatula. Before flipping, I wiggle both the skillet and the spatula underneath eggs to unstick them. There is usually enough butter to stop the sticking, but sometimes I add a tiny bit more right under the eggs. If the eggs are really stuck and hard to flip, they're probably not cooked through enough.
- After flipping, cook for exactly 2 more minutes on medium heat for a jammy yolk like the photo, or 1.5 mins for a runnier yolk.
Notes
Dairy free option: use olive oil instead of butter.
Scrambled Eggs
I like my scrambled eggs creamy and soft, but not runny. There are a million ways to make scrambled eggs, but this way is foolproof. You can also add milk or cream or even cream cheese to your eggs, but they are just as delicious plain!
Scrambled Eggs
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 eggs
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Crack the eggs in a small bowl, and beat with a fork until no white streaks remain. This ensures that everything cooks at the same rate and no part overcooks.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat; add the butter.
- When the butter is melted, reduce the heat to medium-low heat and add the eggs.
- Let the eggs sit and start to solidify a bit around the egdes before gently agitating constantly with a silicone spatula. I like using long, broad strokes for very pillowy scrambled eggs.
- Remove from heat slightly before they are cooked to your desired doneness, they will continue to cook on their own off the heat.
- Season at the end. Adding salt to raw eggs can make them watery...or so they say 🙂
Omelet
There are two main schools of thought when it comes to the omelet: on one hand the colorless French omelet, delicate like scrambled eggs; and on the other, the crispy diner style omelet. French omelets are delicious but just plain difficult to master. And while a diner omelet can be really good, they tend to dry out too much. My method is sort of in between both styles: I allow the egg to get a little crispy from the butter but the inside also stays fluffy and moist. You can fill your omelets with just about anything that tickles your fancy — usually for a quick breakfast I’ll keep it simple with just a grating of parmigiano reggiano that practically melts into the eggs. If you’re using something other than cheese, just remember that it will not really cook once it’s inside the omelet, so make sure that it’s seasoned and cooked to your liking before starting, especially if you are using something like veggies as your filling.
Omelet
Ingredients
- 1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 eggs
- Filling of your choice (or omit)
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
- Fresh herbs for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Crack the eggs into a bowl; beat with a fork until the yolk and the white are homogenous.
- In a small skillet, heat the butter over medium-high heat; wait until foamy.
- Reduce the head to medium and pour in the eggs. Let sit until the sides start to cook.
- Cover the pan with a heatproof plate or cover; cook over medium-low until the top is mostly cooked through, about 1 minute.
- Add the filling and salt and pepper when the center is about 90% cooked through, and use a silicone spatula to fold the omelet in half.
- Serve with fresh herbs if you have them.
Jeremy Scheck spent high school perfecting his signature cupcakes, making quiches and coffee cake by the dozen at a local bakery, and teaching cooking demonstrations at Williams-Sonoma. As a 10th grader in 2016, he began documenting his favorite recipes on a blog called The After School Bakery. In college, Jeremy learned to make 50 gallons of ice cream in the food science lab, how to prune grape vines in the teaching vineyard, the best way to milk a cow in Northern Italy, and why film photography is an art worth saving. As a sophomore in 2020, he traded blog photos for video and became a TikTok culinary sensation. Jeremy has been featured on the Today show, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, BBC Radio, People, and Access Hollywood, among others. Jeremy is a graduate of Cornell University with a double major in Spanish and Italian, and significant coursework in food science. He lives in Brooklyn, NY. Learn more about Jeremy.
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