How to scramble eggs – Country Style Soft Scramble

Country Style Soft Scramble

Good day class, today we are going to learn how to properly scramble eggs. This might seem like a simple and obvious process. Put butter or oil in a hot pan, whisk eggs in a bowl, pour eggs into said hot pan and then cook them quickly before they stick or burn right? I mean that is how you learned to scramble them when you were twelve and your parents started letting you use the stove by yourself.

Well, let’s think about that process for a minute. Most of the time, we have the flame up way too high and therefore leaving behind half the eggs stuck to the pan. Whatever eggs end up on our plate tend to look like, forgive me, little yellow and golden brown turds with a slight burnt plastic like texture. Come on, admit it. You’ve either cooked eggs like these or had them cooked like this for you. I know I certainly have. They were pretty good too with the right amount of salt and pepper, maybe the occasional cheese slice melted on top or chunked throughout the scramble.

Scrambled eggs

Not a big a deal, but when I started cooking more seriously, I realized what a huge and common mistake most folks, including myself were making when scrambling eggs.

I’m a “scrambled well” type of gal. I will never eat runny eggs, period. So, when I scrambled my eggs, for years I would cook them until all the yolk and white was solid. However, I was literally cooking the life out of my eggs hence the yellow/brown turd and plastic comparison. It is a gross but pretty accurate description of eggs I’ve made and even had at restaurants. I knew there was a better way, and so began my experiment with cooking the perfect scramble.

I tried a few different methods that worked, meaning the eggs no longer stuck to the pan, but I found that I was using way too much fat to cook the eggs.

Then one day it came to me, a flash back to my Aunt Joyce’s kitchen when I was a girl. She made cheese eggs in a skillet over a low-medium flame, melting a pad of butter in some water, and then melting the cheese in the water and butter before adding the whisked eggs. She cooked the eggs slowly and I remember thinking, “gee I didn’t think eggs took this long to cook.” They were probably the most fluffy, brightly colored yellow and enjoyable eggs I had tasted. She said she learned this method from her Mother-In-Law who lived in Georgia, hence the title “Country Style Soft Scramble”.

I don’t know why that memory stayed tucked away in my head for all those years but I was happy it had decided to surface so that I could start scrambling eggs the way they are meant. This method is so flawless I entered it into a recipe contest, of course adding my own little twists and turns like whisking sour cream or Greek yogurt into the eggs. If you haven’t tried this, give it a shot. It gives the eggs a nice lift and adds more fluff to the texture and brightness to the color.

Country Style Soft Scramble

Okay, so now that I am done with the background on my scrambled egg journey, let’s fast forward to today where I am going to share with you the easy and proper way to get the perfect scramble that is cooked well but still soft and fluffy. Here we go.

You will need: a whisk, bowl, non-stick skillet (I love to use my cast iron skillet), and a large spoon

4 large eggs

4 tbsp water

1 tbsp salted butter

1 tbsp sour cream or greek yogurt

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

¼ cup Asiago cheese shredded

¼ Gouda cheese shredded

1. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, and sour cream or yogurt until thoroughly combined. (no sour cream lumps if you can help it). Set aside.
2. Heat 4 Tbsp of water in a skillet over a low-medium flame.
3. Once the skillet is hot, add 1 tbsp (1 pad) of salted butter and allow it to melt thoroughly into the water.
4. Add all the cheese to the water and butter mixture in the skillet.
5. When the cheese begins to melt, pour in the egg mixture.
6. When the egg starts to firm up a little bit, use a large spoon, preferably hard plastic, and stir the eggs and cheese together making sure to combine thoroughly.
7. The key to perfect scrambled eggs is cooking them slow and low.
8. If you notice the skillet is too hot turn the flame down.
9. Your eggs should be done after 8-10 minutes, maybe less if you like softer eggs. I like mine well done!
10. Be sure to stir constantly.
11. All the water should be evaporated.
12. Nothing should stick to the pan and your eggs should be fluffy with a bright yellow color.
13. Spoon the eggs onto a plate, garnish with some parsley or dried dill and enjoy!