Dec 23, 20212 min read

The trick to scrambled eggs a la Française

Updated: Jun 7, 2022

My father made Christmas breakfast every year and it was a treat. Scrambled eggs were his specialty. They weren’t ordinary scrambled eggs; his were moist, creamy, and absolutely delicious. He made them the way they are made in France: cooked slowly over heat while stirring to stop the eggs from cooking too quickly and drying out. There is a rhythm to stirring and gathering the curds the minute they appear and tempering the temperature so it cooks the eggs at exactly the right heat.

He would finish off the eggs with finely chopped black truffles. If you like the flavor of truffles the creaminess of these eggs is the perfect vehicle for these two flavors.

Besides the flavor, the greatest thing about these eggs is that they are really easy to make; you just need to know how. And I’m about to show you.

French Style Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients 3 eggs per person Salt and pepper Optional: chopped parsley, chives, or tarragon Optional: black truffle

Directions

Break the eggs into a bowl, add a small pinch of salt and pepper per egg.
Using a fork, blend the eggs so they are totally combined and begin to get very frothy.
Add oil to the pan, let it get hot, add the butter; when it melts, tip the pan to make sure the oil and butter spread evenly in the fry pan.
Continue mixing so you add lots of air bubbles into the eggs.
Pour the frothy eggs into the hot pan.
Immediately remove the pan from the heat and with your fork or spatula, scrape any egg that is starting to congeal on the bottom and sides of the pan. Continue scraping.
If you are making a small amount, the residual heat in the pan may be enough to cook the eggs.
If the eggs stop attaching to the pan and the eggs are still runny, place the pan back on the flame just long enough for the eggs to start adhering to the pan.
Again, remove it from the heat and stir as before.
Depending on the number of eggs you are cooking, you may need to repeat this process until the eggs are creamy and glistening, not dry.
The cooking process can take from 5 minutes for 3 eggs to 25 or more minutes for 18 eggs (enough for 6 people).