“Eggiwegs! I would like… to smash 'em. And pick them up, and throw–OW!” --Alex DeLarge, A Clockwork Orange
“Look, Babs! So many little eggies, and I’m still starving, and I’m going to eat them all before I go to sleepie!” --Miss Edie, Pink Flamingos
I love eggiwegs. I really don’t cook often, though, so I’m looking for any ideas on how to make them interesting, and with less mess. I made some (scrambled) this morning, and the non-non-stick pan was a wreck to clean afterward.
I assume a non-stick pan is essential to flipping fried eggs? Or will a little butter or oil be sufficient? I’ve never flipped a fried egg without breaking the yolk before. Would it be a workable idea to crack an egg into a metal cookie cutter and flip that?
I wonder how well those “as seen on TV” egg-cooker doodads work.
How long do eggs need to be boiled to reach “hard-boiled” status? Like 15-20 minutes?
And for a simple egg salad, is it ok to hardboil a few eggs, let them cool, and smash them up with some mayo?
I suck at keeping yolks intact, so I won’t mention that. In restaurants, I usually get over easy, simply because I can’t make it.
Some of the egg cookers work ok, but they might not do the same thing as the traditional methods. For example, I have a microwave egg “poacher” that works nicely, but it is doing a method similar to but definitely not identical to poaching.
In the past I would boil water THEN put the egg in (put it in slowly) and cook for a little over 10 minutes. If you start with the egg in the water then it will last longer. Someone on the SDMB recommended this boil timer, and it works perfectly.
Just mayo and eggs seems a bit bland. I use relish or chopped pickles, mayo, a little mustard, salt, pepper, spices like paprika (or bacon salt!). Chopped black olives are nice too if you have them handy. This is the part where you can experiment. A lot of deviled egg recipes would work too, just don’t smash the egg so finely.
I can’t tell you how many eggs we go through in a week. I love 'em too!
Scrambled eggs: yes, get a nonstick pan. You don’t need a fancy/expensive one - they never last, so it’s better to just plan on buying a new one every couple years. I still put butter in the pan, even with nonstick, because they taste a ton better with butter.
Perfect Fried eggs: Throw your nonstick pan on low heat for about 5 minutes to heat up. Add some butter, let it melt until it’s done foaming (this will take 30-60 secs), break your eggs into the pan. Cover, cook for about 2 minutes for runny yolks, 2.5 for semi-runny yolks, 3+ for hard yolks.
Hard-boiled eggs: put eggs in pan, cover with water. Put on stove, allow to come to a boil. Assuming you’re not at altitude, let boil for 8 minutes. Immediately remove and put into bowl filled with ice water. Yum yum yum.
If you’re at altitude, you need to boil them longer. Pretty sure I used to let it go for 14 minutes when I lived at 5400 feet.
Egg salad: yup, take the hard boiled eggs, mash, add mayo. I also like red onions and celery, but it’s not essential. Salt and pepper to taste.
Other egg yum yums:
Frittatas are easy, tasty, and let you use up leftovers. Throw a handful of meat (ham or bacon is good), leftover veggies, cooked rice, whatever you have lying around in a 10" nonstick pan. Break 6 or 7 eggs into a bowl, add salt & pepper & maybe a little half & half or cream, and whisk to scramble. Add to the skillet along with some cheese, softly mix with a spatula until the eggs are mostly set. Let them sit for the last 30 seconds or so without mixing, then put the whole skilled under the broiler for a couple minutes until the eggs are fully done. Flip over onto a cutting board and eat. If you have some salsa lying around, that’s even better.
Fried egg sandwiches: Fry a couple eggs, breaking the yolks. Add a slice of ham, bacon or sausage, cover with cheese. Cover & cook until cheese melts. Put on a couple slices of toast or a toasted English muffin. You can experiment with this; I once had nothing but raisin English muffins in the house, and did an egg sandwich with cream cheese, raisin English muffins, and ham. Delicious!
I like bland egg salad, and I really don’t do spices at all (unless you count ketchup and mayo). I have reflux issues with some spices; regardless, eggs alone taste so good that I don’t feel even salt is necessary. Eggs don’t aggravate my reflux though, so I’m starting to gravitate toward them as a staple meal item.
I don’t care if something that claims to poach eggs actually hard-boils them, or whatever. As long as they get cooked, it’s pretty much all the same to me. Although I suppose hard-boiled eggs travel easier, and egg salad goes better on bread. mmm, eggs.
Muldoon, I can’t watch youtube from work, but I will check that link out when I get home.