Soft Scrambled Eggs
Low heat, constant movement, and off the pan while they still look slightly underdone.
- Prep
- 3m
- Cook
- 8m
- Total
- 11m
- Serves
- 2
- Effort
- Easy
Scale
Units
Method
| 1 tbsp | 1 Melt the butter until it foams but does not colour 2m | 3 Stir constantly over low heat until small curds form 7m Low heat and constant movement. If it sets fast, the pan is too hot. | 4 Take off the heat while still glossy and slightly loose 1m They keep cooking in the pan. Plate immediately. | |
| 4 | 2 Beat until completely uniform 1m No streaks of white. Salt now, not at the end. | |||
| 1/4 tsp | ||||
| 1 tsp | ||||
| 1 tbsp | ||||
| to taste | ||||
- 1
Melt the butter until it foams but does not colour
2m- unsalted butter 1 tbsp
- 2
Beat until completely uniform
1m- eggs 4
- fine salt 1/4 tsp
No streaks of white. Salt now, not at the end.
- 3
Stir constantly over low heat until small curds form
7m- from 1 Melt the butter until it foams but does not colour
- from 2 Beat until completely uniform
Low heat and constant movement. If it sets fast, the pan is too hot.
- 4
Take off the heat while still glossy and slightly loose
1m- from 3 Stir constantly over low heat until small curds form
- cold butter 1 tsp
- chives (optional) 1 tbsp
- black pepper to taste
They keep cooking in the pan. Plate immediately.
Salt early, actually
The common advice to salt at the end is wrong. Salt added to raw egg partially denatures the proteins, which then set into a softer, more tender curd. Fifteen minutes ahead is measurably better than at the pan, and either beats salting cooked eggs.
Notes
- The knob of cold butter at the end is not richness, it is temperature control — it drops the eggs below setting point instantly.
- Small curds want low heat and constant stirring; large curds want higher heat and a gentle fold. Both are fine; pick one.
- Never cover them and never hold them warm. Scrambled eggs have a lifespan of about ninety seconds.