Better Ways of Making Scrambled Eggs

I have been thinking about better ways of making scrambled eggs using the Precision Cooker. I saw an article where the author had a reusable silicone bag instead of a Ziploc. It was almost $20 and did not look all that useful. Since my earlier failures with poached eggs in a Ziploc I have been thinking about other ways of preparing the humble egg. Remembering that some of the best scrambled eggs I have made were in a makeshift double boiler another idea came to mind. Glass is an excellent thermal conductor so why not put a lid on a glass container and throw it in the hot water. It should sink a bit and it might just work. Since the water is cooler than even a double boiler the eggs should be moist and tender. So here is my plan: 3 eggs blended with a little half and half in my glass container. Place it in 165° F / 73 C water bath and see what happens. My eggs are Jumbo with about 20% double yolks from a local farm so the extra mass takes longer to cook than regular sized eggs. I saw this with my poached eggs as well.






Well I Cooked the eggs for 40 minutes stirring every 10 minutes. They were just starting to thicken after 40 minutes. As I was getting hungry I abandoned a more scientific method and cranked the heat to 170° F. After 30 minutes of cooking, still stirring every 10 they seemed done. These are not your buffet line eggs overcooked to the point water comes out. They were moist and soft almost custard like. For next time the temperature will be 175° F starting out. I also think that the glass bowl is not as great a conductor as I had thought. In hindsight I should have taken the egg temperature at each stirring.

They were delicious with a little salt and pepper. Sorry for the picture size I will make them a bit smaller next time.

@john.jcb I will be trying this myself!

I love my Anova and I love eggs for breakfast, but sometimes you need to take a step back and decide if what you are doing is the best way to do it. Why spend 40 minutes to an hour with a multi-stage process when you can have your scrambled eggs ready in less than a minute using traditional methods? Is the flavour that much better to justify the extra time and effort?

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The flavor was pretty much the same, however, the texture of the eggs was totally different than the fried alternative. I do recall that I enjoyed scrambled eggs made in a double boiler more than any other and these were a bit better than those. I had some time before hockey came on last night so I gave it a try. You are right Simon it won’t be what I would normally do in the morning for breakfast. I will save it as a treat.

Testing my export settings for posting pictures.
Here is what eggs looked like before I started
JCB_0543-2

There is a lot of stuff that i would do with this machine but scrambled eggs isnt one of them :stuck_out_tongue: looks nice though! for extra creamyness i melt my butter into the eggs and i add double cream :wink:

I tried it again this morning on the stove instead of using the circulator. I used a enamel coated cast iron pot on the stove and I was able to regulate the temperature between 175° and 185° F pretty easily. It still took almost a half hour. Great result but I am putting this on the back shelf for a special breakfast.

I make eggs for breakfast nearly every morning. Two eggs lightly beaten with some milk, Non-stick pan, low heat, constant stirring with a silicone spatula, takes less than a minute. The key to good eggs is knowing when to take them off the heat. 

I would not do this for every day eggs either. I actually prefer poached eggs or over easy to scrambled. I saw a presentation where they made eggs this way and served them in prosciutto cups made in a muffin tin. They were served with a little cheese and chives salt and pepper. These are soft and creamy and for a special occasion when you might be doing other things while the slow cooking occurs.

Use a mason jar with a canning lid - it works really well!

@fields Have seen the mason jar method quite a bit, nice alternative to plastic – I am wondering whether anyone has mason jarred a steak, have you?

@jordan I don’t think the Mason jar would work so well for steak. You would not get good contact and even cooking. This is why you need to stir the eggs as the ones touching the glass cook a lot quicker.

There is a huge difference between what most Americans think of when they think scrambled eggs – solid curds with a slight amount of chew – and French-style scrambled eggs – creamy, silky, almost like a savory custard or an eggy gravy.  To make American-style scrambled eggs for my wife’s daily breakfast burrito, I add a small dollop of bacon fat into a very hot small non-stick pan, pour the mixed, seasoned eggs into the fat, turn off the heat, and stir with a fork for thirty seconds or so until there’s no uncooked egg.  French-style requires a lot more time and effort (see this video to see how to do it).  However, for only a little more time and a lot less effort you can use sous vide to make them easily (see this recipe on this site for a very non-fuss method).


Like @john.jcb mentioned, this is not an every day way to cook eggs (unless you’re Gordon Ramsey), but I think they’re pretty darn tasty and are worth at least trying.