After just 20 seconds of whisking and 20 seconds of cooking, you’ll have a perfectly light and fluffy mass of hot, scrambled eggs. The secret? Poaching. A steady stream of freshly beaten eggs is poured into a steaming pot of swirling, salted water. The eggs cook almost instantly. After a brief draining process, you can season your eggs however you like. Below, I’m suggesting extra-virgin olive oil (for richness), chile oil (for heat), chopped parsely (for freshness), fleur de sel (just because) and freshly ground black pepper (for MOAR heat). You could also try shredded cheese, salsa, chopped cilantro and sour cream. Or simply serve with hot buttered toast and a few strips of crispy bacon. I’m even tempted to pile up these eggs between two pieces of bread with a sizzling breakfast sausage and a thin swipe of herbed aioli. The possibilites are endless! Continue reading for the recipe plus tips to master this method.
Technique tips:
- Use just-bought eggs for this recipe. If you must use eggs that are older, you’ll need to drain off any thin egg whites. To do this, crack an egg into a medium-mesh strainer. The thin whites will drop out while the thick whites and yolk stay in the strainer. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with remaining eggs.
- Crack your eggs into a bowl with a pour spout. This will make it easier to stream the eggs into the swirling water.
- Be sure to season your water well before adding the eggs. The water should taste like the sea (similar to cooking pasta). You may think this is too much salt, but I assure you, it’s just right. I made my first batch with a small pinch of salt and the eggs were very bland.
- After much experimentation, I’ve outlined the perfect draining process below. Be sure to handle the eggs gently during this process to keep them nice n’ fluffy. Since the eggs come out of the water piping hot, you’ll have a decent amount of time to drain them without worry of cold eggs.
- Taste your eggs first then proceed with additional seasoning and flavoring.
- 4 eggs
- Kosher salt
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Chile oil*
- Chopped freshly parsley
- Fleur de sel (or flaky sea salt)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Fill a medium saucepan two-thirds of the way with water and bring to a boil over medium heat. While waiting for the water to boil, prepare all necessary equipment: place a colander in the sink, line a rimmed baking sheet (or large plate) with two paper towels and have a large, slotted spoon at the ready. Crack four eggs into a bowl and whisk for about 20 seconds.
- Once the water is boiling, season with 2 generous pinches of kosher salt. The water should taste like the sea (similar to salting water for pasta). Stir the water in a clockwise direction to create a whirlpool. Pour the eggs in, cover and wait 20 seconds.
- Uncover and drain the eggs. I’ve found the best way to do this is to hold the eggs in the pot with the slotted spoon while pouring the water through the colander. Once most of the water is drained from the pot, gently slide the eggs into the colander. Shake the the eggs from side to side to remove most of the visible water. Slide the eggs onto the paper towel-lined baking sheet. Bring up the corners of the paper-towels to form a pouch around the eggs. Gently press out any remaining water. Transfer to a plate.
- To serve, drizzle eggs with extra-virgin olive oil plus a few splashes of chile oil. Top with chopped parsley, fleur de sel and freshly ground black pepper.
Bonus: no gunked up egg skillet to clean!
Yes! Clean up is so easy
How did you know I love a 40 second meal?
Basically poached eggs without having to work to make them all neat and perfect…love it.
Eggxactly Averie! Neatness and perfection are actually discouraged.
Very cool and innovative
Also, I love your plates; where did you get them? I would love a set!
Thanks Ann! This plate is from Anthropologie. Unfortunately, I got the last one at the UTC location
Maybe try Fashion Valley? I get almost all of my props from either West Elm or Anthropologie.
Looks like you may have copied this w/o a mention:
http://food52.com/blog/3379_daniel_pattersons_poached_scrambled_eggs
but I see you “changed” 3 ingredients. Maybe great minds just think alike?
There is a Food52 credit two lines below the title of the recipe. I would recommend being a bit more perceptive before leaving comments like this.
Hi Brandon, thanks for providing the perfect recipe for my scrambled eggs! I just flew from LA to meet with some friends in DC and they were all Ooo and Ahhh over the breakfast I made. Little do they know the secret
From a fellow egg-fanatic! I enjoy these step by step pictures too! Well done.
You’re welcome!! Glad you made a big splash with breakfast
Very genius way to cook eggs.
Simply genius!
A completely unrelated to food question: I love the photo with the eggs! Could I use it for a painting please?
Thank you
Maria
Thanks Maria! Yes, you can use the photo for a painting. If you could just credit me as the photographer.
I recently stumbled upon your blog and I love it! The pictures are fantastic and I just want to try every.single.recipe here. I made these eggs today and they came out great! Thanks for the idea! I look forward to reading more
Awesome!! Thanks Megan
Welcome to the Kitchen Konfidence family!!
Stupidly easy and made me feel like a sucker for preparing eggs in any other fashion. This was exactly how my go-to brunch spot on the east coast (Schiller’s) made their eggs.
Thanks, Brandon!
Hey Eric, good to hear from you
Glad you liked the eggs!
I absolutely love scrambled eggs. I could eat them every day, seriously! Gorgeous pictures, btw
[...] Perfect Scrambled Eggs in Just 40 Seconds Kitchen Confidence [...]
[...] are actually two of my favourite ways to cook eggs, so will definitely be giving this recipe from Kitchen Konfidence a try. I’ll document that eggventure soon! Author: Brandon Matzek Serves: 2 Adapted from [...]
This turned out AMAZING!! I’ve never made such fluffy eggs in my life