How should you cook a breakfast egg? Fried, poached or perhaps microwaved? Here are the best preparation methods from professionals.
Eggs – seemingly easy to prepare, and yet every top chef has their own secret method. And sometimes, the most surprising ways are the most effective.
It follows that culinary icons like Martha Stewart, Sepp Schellhorn and Gordon Ramsay have their preferred cooking methods – depending on whether the result should be creamy or light and airy.
Gordon Ramsay 's technique produces a scrambled egg that is so soft that it oozes over your toast as if it's heavy cream. If you're looking for a particularly decadent version, look no further: The celebrity chef cracks cold eggs directly into a non-stick pan and adds three knobs of cold butter. The pan is then placed back on the stove and heated, as Ramsay stirs the mixture with a silicone spatula to keep the egg and butter moving. The key to this method is the rhythm: the pan is placed on the hot stove for around 30 seconds, then removed again for 30 seconds – rinse and repeat until the eggs are ready after around three minutes. It is particularly important that the eggs remain in constant motion. Finally, the British celebrity chef seasons with salt and pepper, rounding them off with a little crème fraîche.
Sepp Schellhorn chooses a particularly aromatic way to prepare creamy scrambled eggs: by usinga classic cast-iron wok. To do this, the restaurateur first beats two eggs in a bowl and whisks them thoroughly. While the wok is heating up on the flame, he adds a little oil – as soon as it reaches the right temperature, the eggs is added. The top chef keeps his eggs in constant motion with a ladle until they are gently set. If you're making egg rice, the next step is to fold in some rice before adding vegetables and spices to give the dish its full flavor. Schellhorn's trick also seems to be to keep the eggs in constant motion.
Jamie Oliver takes an equally simple approach to preparing poached eggs. For him, only one factor is really decisive: the freshness of the eggs. He brings water to a boil in a pan, then takes it off the heat and carefully slides his cracked, raw eggs into it. Oliver deliberately avoids the often recommended addition of vinegar – although it makes egg whites a little more stable, it also gives off an undesirable aftertaste. After around three minutes on low heat, he lifts the eggs out with a slotted spoon: perfectly poached, with a delicate shell and a creamy, liquid center.
Have you ever heard of a microwave omelette? Believe it or not, top chef José Andrés has perfected such a technique: He cracks the eggs, adds mayonnaise as the secret ingredient to make his omelette extra fluffy, and then cooks the mixture briefly in the microwave. The result is an airy, creamy omelette that Andrés claims is "the best in the history of mankind".
Not a chef in the traditional sense, but a culinary icon nonetheless: Martha Stewart. She knows the perfect trick for classic scrambled eggs: You start by whisking the eggs in a small bowl – plain, without salt, pepper or other ingredients, as she wants the eggs to stand on their own. Stewart then melts a few cubes of butter in a small pan, just enough to cover the botttom. As soon as the pan is really hot, add the eggs. It is crucial to keep them in constant motion so nothing burns. The high heat and continuous stirring ensure that there are no small lumps, but rather large, fluffy strips - just the way Stewart loves them.
Whether classically in the pan, gently poached or from the microwave – there are countless ways to prepare eggs and achieve a perfect result every time.
