Eggs are one of the easiest foods to cook, yet most difficult to perfect. Getting the consistency just right requires very close attention to some details–handling and temperature control. I estimate that I’ve cooked over 20,000 eggs in my lifetime already (eating 6/day every day for many years certainly helped that number grow), so I’ve been able to refine the skill. (NOTE: I wouldn’t recommend eating that many eggs to most people; I just happen to perform very well on a higher fat diet, have a very low blood-level response to exogenous cholesterol and no issues with triglycerides/LDLs/ApoE/etc., and just love the taste of eggs). And if you fall in that camp, here are some of the health benefits: Health benefits of eggs link

Of course there are many different ways to cook eggs (fried, poached, scrambled, hard boiled, omelettes, sous vide, etc.), and different people have different preferences. I am definitely of the opinions that eggs are best when soft/fluffy, tender, and runny (when fried, poached, or boiled). I will focus on scrambled, omelettes, and fried, as those are my go-tos these days, but will also touch on the other styles.

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General Cooking Guidelines

In my opinion, the biggest mistake people make when cooking eggs is cooking them too hot and/or too long. It’s easy to ruin a great egg by drying it out or burning it. Cooking in the proper amount of a good fat is also important–I prefer a butter/olive oil mix, but avocado oil or ghee can work well too. It’s important to recognize that the different parts of the egg cook at different temperatures–at least three (yolk, ‘inner white’, and ‘outer white’). A great demonstration of this can be found in this sous vide egg cooking guide. For scrambled eggs or omelettes, it’s also imperative to handle the mixed eggs often so that they cook evenly. I’ll explain this more below. Finally, timing of heating is key–particularly the removal from the heat. Aside from hard boiled eggs that can be transferred in cold water to quench the cooking process, heat removal must be anticipated prior to cooking completion, since eggs will continue to cook for some time depending on the pan, volume, and type of egg.

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Scrambled Eggs

For the perfect scrambled eggs, here is the protocol I follow:

• Beat the eggs with a fork or whisk until thoroughly mixed. Some like to add a bit of milk or cream, which is fine, but I prefer just whole eggs. This is also where I like to add salt and pepper, unless I am adding ingredients that also serve to season (e.g. bacon).
• Pre-heat the skillet with a slab of butter and olive oil commensurate with the amount of eggs you are scrambling. When I scrambled 24 eggs at a time I was using ~1/4 stick of butter and 2 TBS of olive oil, but can scale down from there.
• Medium heat only. Typically right around 50% on most burners; even lower on induction stovetops.
• From the moment the beaten eggs are poured into the pan until the moment you are done you should be pushing them around with a spatula. This keeps the cooking even, the fluffiness high, and avoids any burning or drying out.
• I like to add shredded cheese about half way through the cooking; continuing to turn and stir the mixture as it cooks.
• Like an omelette (below), you can add virtually any meat, seafood, or vegetable to your scrambled eggs. Just pre-cook them, either in the same pan prior to the eggs, or separately, and add them hot while adding the cheese.
• Remove from the heat as the mixture starts to solidify. This timing will take some practice. Ultimately you’ll want the cooking to end just as the last drips of liquid solidify. Since the residual heat from the mixture keeps the cooking process continuing after the pan is removed from the heat, you can just slide the pan off the burner and continue mixing. Don’t be afraid to remove it too early; you can always return it to the heat to cook further…but you can never undo the cooking!
• Best served immediately, either fresh or over toast, and english muffin, or in a sandwich. Top with guacamole and hot sauce for an extra special meal.

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Omelettes

There are a variety of ways to make an omelette, but my favorite is a folded omelette. Like an egg scramble (or a stir fry for that matter), the beautiful thing about omelettes is that you can put pretty much any meat, seafood, or vegetable in it. Think outside the box here…even vegetables such as sweet potatoes or butter nut squash can work well here, and meats such as leftover ribs can be fabulous! I never quite make the same omelette twice, but my favorite mixture is probably leftover ribeye (cut up into small pieces), with roasted vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, and onions), hot peppers, cheddar cheese, and avocado. Avocado is one of the few ingredients you should add in cold at the very end, prior to folding. Tomatoes fall into that category also if not roasted. Here’s the secret:

• Medium heat (~50% on most burners), get a nice coating of fat–butter, olive oil, or the oil from a hot pepper marinade or other roasted veggie jar. The size of the pan should match the size of the omelette. For 3 or less eggs, it should be in a ~8″ pan, but as you move up to the 4-6 egg omelette (my preference after a good workout…), 12″ works best.
• Pre-cook the inside ingredients in either the same pan or a separate pan and move to the side. Level of cooking can be catered to your taste. Some folks like their onions soft and caramelized, while others prefer to leave some crunch.
• Beat the eggs heavily in a bowl, and pour onto the pre-heated fat. I like to add my salt and pepper here.
• Just as the bottom starts to set (usually ~1.5-2 minutes into cooking if the heat is right), work the spatula around the edges and allow the uncooked top to run under the cooked bottom layer. Do this continually until most of the liquid from the top has made its way under the omelette base.
• By now the omelette should be firm enough to move as a whole, yet still non-sticky enough to slide around the pan. You’ll want to carefully slide the omelette out onto a plate about the same diameter as the bowl.
• (This is the hardest part…) with a quick flip over the pan, turn the plate such that the uncooked part of the omelette is now on the bottom. The now top should be yellow, but no signs of brown/burning. Layer your cheese onto the top and then your fillings. Ideally cover just half of the omelette. If you are using a cheese that is a bit tougher to melt, a good tip is to pre-melt it right into the hot insides just after you cook those.
• Using the spatula, fold the uncovered half of the omelette onto the filled half. It should only be ~30 seconds until it’s cooked, since you had allowed most of the uncooked portions to cook while doing the other side.
• Slide the deliciousness onto a plate and serve. Feel free to garnish with salsa, guacamole, hot sauce, or whatever floats your fancy that day.

2021 Update!!! I have now come across a really neat dual-stacking-pan setup that makes flipping and folder that much easier. Give it whirl.

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Other Egg Styles

I won’t provide quite as many details, but to perfect poached, hard boiled, or any other egg style also requires exquisite control over time, temperature, and handling. Fried eggs, like omelettes, should be cooked in the 40-50% range for most non-induction stove tops (even lower for induction ranges). I prefer over easy with completely runny yolks, but if you’re cooking in enough fat (butter or bacon fat are best), spooning a bit of the hot oil over the top could be enough to cook it. Typically, though, a quick flip (~20 seconds) does the trick if you like your eggs runny like mine.

As for boiled eggs, I also prefer soft- to hard-boiled eggs, particularly if eating right away. Twelve minutes of hot water (removed from heat immediately after boiling) is essentially the perfect time for a hard boil, and scale back from there for softer yolks. These days I ‘cheat’ with a cooker such as this one. My friend Tim Ferriss also shows a pretty cool way to peel the eggs here too.

Poached eggs I do the least, which is why I order them out the most. Hence I will refer you to a nice summary of cooking tips, where they used the scientific method to determine best practices: poached egg advice. Finally, if you have a sous vide cooker, just google ‘sous vide eggs’ or check the link I provided earlier.

And finally you could just get downright creative and do things like stuffing soft boiled eggs inside of avocados, wrapping them with bacon, and frying them. Cut in half then add a bit of salt, pepper, and hot sauce and there you have it! Thanks Emma for the idea! Action shots below:

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Egg photos

Lately I like to take pictures of my egg meals. To the point where my daughter went through my phone photos and made an ‘egg’ album. Here is a gallery of the last ~100. As I mentioned, I’m on an omelette kick, so most of these are omelettes. No recipes for the insides; it’s based on whatever is in the kitchen at the moment, but I can assure they were all delicious!

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