Sunday Brunch: Johnny Apple's Crazy Creamy, Crazy Good Scrambled Eggs
I don't know what it is, but lately I've been thinking a lot about my dear departed friend Johnny Apple. Eating with Johnny was a fantastic experience. He loved food and wine and life and politics and a zillion other things equally. He loved a perfectly char-grilled bratwurst as much as he loved foie gras.
His love of perfectly executed humble foods extended to scrambled eggs. But not just any scrambled eggs. Nah, Johnny had standards. The scrambled eggs that he loved the most are made at Bill's Cafe in Sydney, Australia. These eggs call for a half cup of cream per two eggs, but I have found that a quarter cup will still result in the best scrambled eggs ever. When I want to make a special breakfast for my wife, I turn to these eggs, which I always refer to as Johnny Apple's Crazy Creamy, Crazy Good Scrambled Eggs.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter, a pinch or two of salt,
4 eggs
1/4 cup cream
A couple of pinches of salt
Procedure
1. Melt the butter over high heat in a nonstick pan.
2. Whisk the other ingredients together in a bowl, pour them into the pan and—summon your courage.
3. Do nothing for 20 seconds, except maybe cross your fingers.
4. Then stir very slowly with a wooden spoon, folding the rim of the egg mixture toward the center. Don't churn away like a cement mixer.
5. Pause for another 20 seconds, then repeat the gentle stirring-and-folding process.
6. Take the pan off the heat, allowing the residual heat in the pan to complete the cooking.
7. Finally, give the eggs one last easy swirl. Here's Johnny's description of what you will have wrought: "The eggs have a soft, mousselike texture, not the slightest bit rubbery, with unusually large curds. Not surprisingly, they are divinely creamy, but they are also as light as the breath of an angel."
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12 Comments:
MFK Fisher also believed in barely stirring them, although she was an advocate of extremely low heat. A tip of the Sunday morning hat to the great eaters of our pasts.
lemons at 9:43AM on 03/30/08
When I'm feeling especially decadent I use this method but also add some softened cream cheese to the bowl before I cook them. A must try.
bessfour at 9:55AM on 03/30/08
Softened cream cheese in eggs is amazing! More people should do that!
lovesomething at 10:28AM on 03/30/08
Softened cream cheese in eggs is amazing! More people should do that!
lovesomething at 10:54AM on 03/30/08
I like to use sour cream with the same cooking method. I think I should try cream cheese!
amber at 11:33AM on 03/30/08
Ed, just wanted to see about clarification. In the text, you say 1/2 cup per TWO eggs and go on to say that 1/4 cup works fine. In the recipe, you call out 1/4 cup per FOUR eggs. Did you mean that quartering the original amount works fine? Or was it supposed to say that it originally called for 1/2 cup per four eggs? Or did you make a typo in the recipe?
Anyway. I do something like this, but usually only for myself (I don't want to be accused of killing anyone!), and usually late at night. It's so rich, I always feel like it deserves to be classified as a savory dessert! BTW, it also works really well with evaporated milk or half-n-half in lieu of actual cream. Still comes out very rich, but a bit more nutritionally friendly.
LoCo at 11:34AM on 03/30/08
@Loco....I wondered the same thing. And I should try this soon, since I have the dairy trifecta in my fridge right now: heavy cream, sour cream, AND cream cheese. Diet be gone, I say!
CheesePlease at 11:58AM on 03/30/08
Oh, and don't forget to top those hot, luscious, moist eggs with a bit of sweet, creamery butter and Fleur de Sel.
bessfour at 4:12PM on 03/30/08
And a little tarragon cooked with the eggs couldn't hurt, either.
I promise this is my last comment on this post.
bessfour at 4:13PM on 03/30/08
Anybody else ever do the double boiler slow (really slow) method of scrambling eggs? Even if I don't use a double boiler, I prefer scrambled eggs cooked as slowly as possible--the result is almost a custard...
Lilla at 11:48AM on 03/31/08
LoCo: The recipe at bill's calls for
2 eggs
1/3 cup (2 fl oz) cream
Give that a go, and see what happens.
zamboni at 6:42PM on 03/31/08
Hey all!! I can vouch for 2 eggs to 1/3 C of cream as I cook these little gems many times a day as head chef at Bills Restaurant in Sydney. I can also give you the ratio for 120 eggs, which is the is usually the quantity we prepare the eggs in : )
Having cooked bills famous scrambled eggs many, many times I can confidently give y'all the tricks to get them just right, because when they are just right they are breathtakingly good, creamy and light with a mouthfulness that tantalizes the palate with its succulent edge... and all this from eggs!!!
Firstly your eggs MUST be fresh, free range and organic. To get a superior result you need to start with a superior product. The cream MUST be full fat (yes, I know... but I'm not suggesting you eat this for breakfast everyday!!!) and you need a good non-stick pan, wooden flat ended spatula, good quality butter and some flaky sea salt.
Now follow the above recipe with the major point being don't mess around with them to much. Leave them be. walk away for 20 seconds before gently approaching the pan and introducing the egg mixture to the wooden spatula with slow gentle strokes. Resist all attempts to disco dance the egg around the pan, but rather slowly waltz it to and fro until it looks like pillowy clouds.
I've lost track of how many portions of eggs I have cooked and served at bills, but the sight of a great plate of creamy scrambled grandness still makes my mouth water!
And if you think the eggs are great... you should try the ricotta hotckes and sweetcorn fritters. Its a wonderful life : )
bridge at 9:18AM on 07/31/08