Timex
3741
I usually go with the 1/1 ratio of flour to fat.
One key thing to bear in mind when making a roux, is to remember that the oil is gonna retain heat after you turn off the stove. Which means that it is gonna keep cooking for a few minutes after you stop… Which means that the roux is generally gonna end up darker than you think, unless you’re making it in the pot where you’re gonna be using it, and are just dumping in all the other food and liquid.
If you’ve never made a roux, go for it. It’s easy, and it is one of the best ways to thicken anything. It adds a really awesome earthy taste to whatever you use it in.
Another rule of thumb I always used, is that butter is good for lighter roux, for things like a seafood soup or gumbo, while oil is good for darker roux for things like dark gumbo. I suspect it’s partially because the oil won’t burn like butter? I dunno.
None
3742
Yup. Butter has an extremely low smoke point due to its fat solids.
+1. It’s also the most important step on the road to gravy, which is a hell of a thing to be able to make.
Skipper
3744
+2 Passed on to my by my grandmother, who was an amazing Southern cook.
None
3745
And don’t forget the Asian equivalent: cornstarch slurry (we don’t use much butter in Asian cooking).
RichVR
3746
Nothing wrong here. Runny eggs are disgusting.
This can also happen if you add a lot of vinegar to a hot pan. A cloud of acetic acid in your face is really enjoyable.
There’s varying degrees. I ain’t much one for runny yolks in fried eggs–I usually ask for 'em over-hard at restaurants to make things easier on myself–but the lady-friend will merrily take a crumbled up egg-brick over just-barely-done scrambled folds of deliciousness any day. . . I usually wind up dabbing excess butter off the top of whatever I serve her, lest it be misinterpreted as egg-liquid!
True love, folks. 13 years runnin’ ;)
RichVR
3748
I understand where you’re coming from. Both Jacques Pepin and Julia Child are on your side as well. But I’m on your girlfriend’s side. There can be no hint of moisture in my eggs. It just squicks me out. I’ll often add crumbled Ritz crackers to scrambled eggs. Crazy, right? Maybe not. Ever had matzo brei? Eggs and crumbled matzo.
Skipper
3749
Unlike either of you, I love me some runny eggs. Over easy eggs, any day of the week. Especially so with hash browns or toast.
I can understand the issue though. I get a little skittish with overcooked hard boiled eggs on salads.The ones that look a little greenish and smell nasty.
Timex
3750
Yolk runny ok. White runny disgusting.
Over medium is a good way to get it right.
RichVR
3751
That green stuff is hydrogen sulfide. It means the eggs were boiled too hard and too long.
The method to avoid this:
First, cook your eggs in a saucepan that’s large enough to hold the eggs in a single layer.
Second, cover the eggs with water, bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. Put a lid on the saucepan.
Let the eggs sit in the boiled water for 15 minutes.
Run cold water on them to stop them from cooking any further.
nKoan
3752
I use that technique but for 10 minutes for firm yolks (7 mins for soft). 15 seems like a little overkill, but probably not an issue as the heat is tapering off fast at that point.
I much prefer my eggs runny. Over medium. And my scrambled eggs soft. My girflriend is more in line with Rich (and, in fact, I’m really curious about that eggs and matzo thing, @RichVR. I don’t understand what’s going on there, but I want to try it for her) and prefers her eggs not wet at all (as does my son). Or in the form of a grilled cheese and egg sandwich that I make.
My dad’s favorite breakfast for me to cook for him is a waffle topped with an egg, fried over easy. He prefers to use the yolk as a substitute for syrup. Last time when my folks were out for a visit, I made that for him. My stepmom has not been here in years, and when she she saw me slide that perfectly cooked egg onto his waffle, she audibly gasped and stammered, “How…”
My dad just smiled as he spread the yolk over the crisp waffle and said, “I know. He’s good.”
Apparently she hasn’t mastered eggs the way he likes them. Heh.
-xtien
Timex
3754
If the yolk isn’t runny, then I dunno how you’re supposed to eat your scrapple.
I do the same thing but 6 minutes. Runny yolks and soft whites FTW.
I love this. I haven’t had scrapple in years. Loving scrapple was one of the things that made my ex-father-in-law realize I was a keeper.
The equivalent I find for this is corned beef hash and eggs. The eggs have to be runny for that to really come together perfectly.
-xtien
None
3757
I’ve only ever eaten scrapple in Philadelphia. It doesn’t seem to exist here in the South.
CraigM
3758
Over easy on hash browns was the right answer, you monster.
From the archive on “proper eggs”:
Sous vide eggs, 45m at 145 degrees F, with accompanying (turkey) bacon. Because bacon. Plus tabasco, because the wife needs everything spicy to survive.
Timex
3760
Ya, it’s a regional food. Originally from the Amish.
