Basic Recipes for Texas Eggs

Basic Recipes for Texas Eggs

Master these first, then create your own dishes with sauces, leftover meats, preserves, or favorite spices.

SCRAMBLED EGGS

2 servings

In a book titled “The Old Virginia Gentleman,” its author, George Bagby, describes scrambled eggs as a “necessary.” For breakfast, for sandwiches, or as the original skillet supper, families all over the country agree with Mr. Bagby.

4 eggs

¼ C. milk

½ tsp. salt

Dash pepper

2 T. butter

Beat together eggs, milk, salt and pepper with a fork, mixing thoroughly for uniform yellow, or just slightly for white and yellow streaks. Heat butter in 8-inch fry pan over medium heat until just hot enough to sizzle a drop of water. Pour in egg mixture. As mixture begins to set, turn a pancake turner over and gently draw completely across the bottom of pan, forming large soft curds. Continue until eggs are thickened, but do not stir constantly. Cook until eggs are thickened throughout but still moist.[1]

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Egg Tortilla, recipe on page 18.

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FRIED EGGS

1 serving

More people greet each day with fried eggs than any other style. Perhaps you’re a sunnyside up fan, or over-easy or basted is your preference.

1 to 2 T. butter

Eggs

Salt

Pepper

In fry pan over medium-high heat, cook butter until just hot enough to sizzle a drop of water. (If a very large pan is used, more butter will be needed.)

Break and slip eggs into pan. Reduce heat immediately. Cook slowly to desired doneness, spooning butter over eggs to baste or turning eggs to cook both sides. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

POACHED EGGS

The word poach comes from the French pocher which means to place in a pocket. Properly poached, the yolk is pocketed smoothly in the white. Breaking each egg into a saucer before slipping it into the water is gentler than cracking it directly in, and prevents mishaps.

Oil

Water, milk or broth

Eggs

Lightly oil a saucepan. Add enough water to fill 2 inches deep. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to keep water at a simmer.

Break eggs, one at a time, into dish, then slip each egg into water, holding dish close to water’s surface. Simmer 3 to 5 minutes depending on desired doneness. When done, lift eggs with slotted pancake turner or spoon onto absorbent paper. Drain and trim edges, if desired.

Eggs Benedict, recipe on page 7.

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BAKED (SHIRRED) EGGS

4 servings

Baking is a good way to prepare eggs in quantity—you can multiply the following recipe to serve a larger group. The addition of cream gives the eggs a softer finish than that of standard fried or poached eggs.

8 eggs

Salt

Pepper

¼ C. half and half or light cream

4 tsp. butter, divided

Grease four ramekins, shallow baking dishes, or large custard cups. Break and slip two eggs into each ramekin. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon 1 tablespoon half and half over each serving. Dot each with 1 teaspoon butter.

Bake in preheated 350° F. oven until whites are set and yolks are soft and creamy, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

SOFT-COOKED EGGS

Eggs started in unheated water are less apt to crack than ones put into boiling water. Follow the directions below, and for a special treat, serve soft-cooked eggs in egg cups, in the European fashion.

Eggs

Water

Put eggs in single layer in saucepan. Add enough tap water to come at least 1 inch above eggs. Cover and quickly bring just to boiling. Turn off heat. If necessary, remove pan from burner to prevent further boiling. Let eggs stand covered in the hot water 1 to 4 minutes, depending on desired doneness. Immediately run cold water over eggs or put them in ice water until cool enough to handle.

To serve, break shell through middle with a knife. With a teaspoon, scoop egg out of each half shell into serving dish. To serve in an egg cup, put the egg in cup small end down, slice off large end of egg with knife and eat from shell.

HARD-COOKED EGGS

No wonder “hard boiled” has come to mean a tough character—boiling toughens the delicate protein of egg. Gentler cooking pays off in tenderness. The following method of turning the heat off when the water approaches the boiling point has two advantages—it won’t toughen the egg, and it saves energy.

Eggs

Water

Put eggs in single layer in saucepan. Add enough tap water to come at least 1 inch above eggs. Cover and quickly bring just to boiling. Turn off heat. If necessary, remove pan from burner to prevent further boiling. Let eggs stand covered in the hot water 15 to 17 minutes for large eggs. (Adjust time up or down by about 3 minutes for each size larger or smaller.) Immediately run cold water over eggs or put them in ice water until completely cooled.

To remove shell, crack it by tapping gently all over. Roll egg between hands to loosen shell, then peel, starting at large end. Hold egg under running cold water or dip in bowl of water to help ease off shell.

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Time-Tested Favorites

EGG SALAD

4 servings or 2 cups

This popular combination of hard-cooked eggs, mayonnaise, and seasonings is often served in sandwiches or in scooped-out tomatoes. It is great, too, served in a lettuce cup.

¼ C. mayonnaise

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. instant minced onion

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

6 hard-cooked eggs

½ C. finely chopped celery

4 lettuce leaves

Blend together mayonnaise, lemon juice, onion, salt and pepper. Cut 4 slices from center of 1 egg and reserve for garnish. Chop all remaining eggs. Stir chopped eggs and celery into mayonnaise mixture until moistened throughout.

For each serving, spoon about ½ cup into a lettuce leaf. Garnish with reserved egg slice.

Variations: Add any of the following ingredients to taste:

Sliced or chopped ripe or green pitted olives

Chopped green pepper, mushrooms, parsley, chives or watercress

Shredded carrots

Shredded Cheddar or Swiss cheese

Crumbled bacon

Chopped pimiento strips, onions

DEVILED EGGS

8 to 10 servings

These stuffed eggs are so popular at picnics and buffets that the name “deviled” seems undeserved. It comes from the fiery seasonings sometimes used; milder variations are below.

6 hard-cooked eggs

2 T. mayonnaise

½ to 1 tsp. prepared mustard

½ tsp. lemon juice

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. Worcestershire sauce

⅛ tsp. pepper

Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks and set whites aside. Mash yolks with fork, then blend in remaining ingredients. Refill whites using about 1 tablespoon yolk mixture for each egg half.

Variations: Add any of the following ingredients to yolk mixture:

Chopped parsley or chives

Deviled ham

Drained tiny shrimp or flaked tuna

Minced onion

Finely minced ham

Sweet pickle relish

Parsley flakes

Finely chopped pitted ripe or green olives, radishes or celery

Grated Parmesan cheese

Shredded Cheddar cheese

Toasted sesame seeds or finely chopped nuts

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MEAT BATTER:

Enough for 1 broiler or 6 servings of fried meat

This may be used for batter-fried chicken or one version of chicken-fried steak. Spices such as garlic salt or paprika may be added to the flour to change the flavor from time to time.

2 eggs

½ C. milk

1 C. unsifted flour

1 tsp. double-acting baking powder

½ tsp. salt

In a deep bowl, beat the eggs and milk lightly. Combine the remaining ingredients and add to the egg mixture, a small quantity at a time. Stir just until the batter is smooth. Set the batter aside for 30 minutes. Dip the meat in the batter until it is well-coated and fry in hot oil or shortening.

PICKLED EGGS

12 appetizers

In Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Pickled Eggs are a sign of summertime. Vary the flavor by substituting pineapple juice or canned beet liquid for the vinegar. The latter gives them a rosy look.

2 C. white vinegar

2 T. sugar

1 med. onion, sliced and separated into rings

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. whole mixed pickling sauce

12 hard-cooked eggs

In medium saucepan combine all ingredients except eggs. Simmer over low heat, uncovered, until onion is tender, about 10 minutes.

Arrange eggs in each of two 1-quart jars with tight-fitting lids. Pour 1 cup vinegar mixture over eggs in each jar. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight to blend flavors. Eggs may be stored in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

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MAYONNAISE

About 1¼ cups

2 egg yolks or 1 whole egg

2 T. vinegar or lemon juice, divided

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. dry mustard

½ tsp. salt

Dash cayenne pepper

1 C. salad oil, divided

In small mixing bowl, beat together egg yolks, 1 tablespoon vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt and cayenne at medium speed until blended. Continue beating, adding ¼ cup salad oil drop by drop. Add remaining oil, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating constantly. Slowly beat in remaining vinegar. Chill thoroughly.

To prepare in blender: Measure ¼ cup oil and all other ingredients into blender container. Blend at high speed 5 seconds. Blending at high speed, add remaining oil very slowly until thick and smooth. (If necessary, turn off blender occasionally and clean sides with rubber spatula.) Chill thoroughly.

EGGS BENEDICT

4 servings

In the dining room of the Waldorf one day in 1894, an inventive but hungover Lemuel Benedict created a dish that would forever bear his name. He put together buttered toast, crisp bacon, poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce—and a classic was born! Oscar of the Waldorf, a menu maker of the first order, altered the bacon to ham and the toast to English muffins.

4 English muffins, split, toasted and buttered

8 poached eggs

¾ C. Hollandaise Sauce

16 slices Canadian-style bacon, broiled or pan-fried

Top each English muffin half with 2 slices bacon, 1 poached egg, and about 1 tablespoon hot Hollandaise Sauce. Serve hot.

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

About ¾ cup

While this is a French concoction, the name may come from the fact that Holland is famous for its butter, a main constituent of the sauce. Louis Diat, chef extraordinaire and sauce expert formerly with New York City’s Ritz Carlton, wrote that “if the sauce does curdle, you can bring it back to homogenous thickness by putting a fresh egg yolk in another pan and gradually whipping in the curdled mixture.” The blender method avoids the curdling problem altogether.

3 egg yolks

2 T. lemon juice

¼ tsp. salt

⅛ tsp. paprika

Dash cayenne pepper

½ C. butter (1 stick), chilled and cut in eighths

In saucepan beat together egg yolks, lemon juice and seasonings. Add half the butter. Cook over low heat, stirring rapidly, until butter melts. Add remaining butter, stirring constantly, until butter melts and sauce thickens. Cover and refrigerate if not using immediately.

To prepare in blender: Measure all ingredients except butter into blender container. Melt butter and add to other ingredients. Blend at low speed until sauce thickens, 15 to 20 seconds.