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The difference between dry, squeaky scrambled eggs and soft, melty scrambled eggs is like the difference between a fifth-grade orchestra and the London Philharmonic: both produce music, but only one can take you to a higher state of bliss (unless, of course, your fifth grader is the one making the music...or the eggs).

After years of experimentation with dozens of techniques, we’ve found the best combination for achieving scrambled egg Nirvana: a cast iron skillet and patience. The skillet does half of the work: We first load the eggs into a cold pan, then set it over a moderately low flame—the cast iron’s slow heat distribution is an asset, in this case, gently warming the egg mixture and preventing any scorches or dry spots. The rest is kitchen Tai Chi: By stirring continuously using long, fluid movements, the eggs form large, fluffy curds that you can leave as is, or stir into smaller pieces, depending on your preferred outcome.

Field Notes

1.

Adding heavy cream or milk to the beaten eggs is a bit of a cheat—and gives you extra-creamy results—but you can skip the dairy for a slightly firmer (though still plenty soft) scramble.

2.

Because cast iron is great at heat retention, it will continue cooking the eggs even after you turn off the heat. To prevent a dry, overcooked scramble, immediately scrape the eggs onto a serving plate as soon as they reach your desired texture.

Recipe

Cast Iron Soft-Scrambled Eggs

Yield: 2 servings
Photo: Lauren V. Allen

Ingredients

6 large eggs
¼ cup heavy cream or milk (optional; see Field Notes)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Instructions

1.

Beat the eggs, cream or milk (if using), and salt in a bowl. Pour into a room-temperature cast iron skillet and add the butter.

2.

Set the skillet over medium-low heat. Using a long, gentle scraping motion, slowly and continuously stir the eggs with a silicone spatula. The eggs will begin to form large curds as you go; make sure your spatula hits every part of the pan’s surface to avoid any spots that are overcooked.

3.

Once the eggs are somewhat set but still runny, turn off the heat and continue scraping and stirring; the residual heat from the skillet will cook the eggs. If you like smaller curds, you can stir the eggs more vigorously to break up the large pieces.

4.

As soon as the eggs are cooked to your liking, immediately scrape them into a bowl and serve.

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