If I had 30 minutes to make a meal, I wouldn't be making scrambled eggs.

2 Tbsp of butter PER egg?? Really? I must have been living under a log because I never cook eggs with butter. Maybe a little in the pan before I add the scrambled eggs but certainly not adding butter to them as I cook them. I often make 3 scrambled eggs after a long run - 6 Tbsp of butter?? Really??

YES. i make my scrambled eggs as per gordan ramsay and they are DIVINE. totally amazing. transcendent. whenever i make them for people they sak me with wide eyes, "what on earth did you put in these??" nothing but eggs, butter and a touch of creme fresh. you havent had scrambled eggs until you hae had these velvety, fluffy, super creamy ones. google for the youtube demo.

I enjoy scrambled or poached eggs at any time of day. This concept sounds wonderful.It does call for a lot of butter (which I'm sure could be cut back on), but the idea of cooking it on low heat in a saucepan instead of fry pan is interesting. Think I might add just a tiny pinch of tarragon with the salt.

Yes, in 30 minutes there are many other dishes you could make. But I always have a nice supply of eggs handy. I'm going to try this with a side of asparagus sprinkled with either browned bread crumbs or grated Parm.

three minutes on a hot frying pan, resulting in golden brown spots all over. No wet scrambled eggs for me!

i've heard of people doing scrambled eggs on a double boiler. I just recently started cooking mine slower (and with goat cheese!!) and it is amazing. mmmmm

Eggs, cream, about 1/4 as much butter as they say here, in a copper mixing bowl over boiling water. Keep stirring and then turning as they form curds. Simplicity itself.

It really is true! The longer you cook them, the better they are. Scrambled eggs prepared slowly almost bear zero resemblance to the quick-toss method prepared eggs. My husband is the egg scrambler in the family because he's willing to take the time -- me, I start to lose patience or get distracted...

I am with you Lemonadefish. I like my eggs dry and toasty--I can't stand wet eggs. MY husband and I have reached a truce; I begin the eggs, take his out when they are still "raw" (according to me) and then finish mine up!

my husband calls my scrambled eggs, "prison eggs" ... he does not have first-hand experience, only imagining prison cooks are making eggs scrambled as badly as mine.

it's good to have a goal, and mine is to learn to make real scrambled eggs, so thank you, ruth reichl

I'm twitching....and hoping...no, praying...that the restaurants I've had scrambled eggs in aren't putting that much butter in. :-O

Yes on the slowness and yes on the butter and yes on the eggs for dinner! You can definitely go with a little less butter, but it adds tons of flavor. I always wondered why my grandmother's eggs were the best I'd ever had, then one day we accidentally put too much butter in the eggs and I found out her "secret" ...

I remember when the article linked to at the end ("How to Make Creamy, Luscious Scrambled Eggs") was posted, and I'm as grossed out now as I was then of the idea of wet scrambled eggs with a custardy texture. I firmly believe you should be able to stab individual pieces of scrambled egg with a fork. Like the above commenters, I'm also a little freaked out by the suggested amount of butter. I don't like butter that much.

"...scrambled eggs, cooked with great patience, have a texture like velvet and a taste that reminds you why you want to be alive."

After that quote I have to try them this way, I hate the taste of eggs so we always put plenty of chopped herbs in them, cooked until they were still moist but not wet, large curd, took them off the heat, and dusted them with parmigiano.

Geh! to wet eggs! Yech! BUT, if you cook them more slowly until they are decently dry, it does beat the super fast breakfast version. I haven't timed it but my basic rule is to keep the pan cool enough that the eggs can sit a moment without risk of browning.

Here's a Kitchn post I wrote last year about Gordon Ramsay's Scrambled Eggs. So delicious!

I'm pretty sure anything can taste so good with that much butter! Sheesh!

I have kids. 30 minute scrambled eggs with that much butter aren't happening.

Okay folks, when I read this, I just sat here shaking my head and wondering if this recipe is really that great considering the time and the amount of butter. So having some time on my hands, eggs, and butter, I left my computer and went to my kitchen to give it a shot. Yes, I took the full 30 minutes, and yes, I used the suggested amount of butter. Let me tell you, with the first bite I was floored. It's like I've never eaten scrambled eggs before. They were exactly as described and so good that I was indeed reminded of why it is so dang good to be alive. I will NEVER go back to making my eggs the old way! NEVER!!!

Ironic that you recently did a post about not having time to make a decent breakfast, but now you're promoting an excessive amount of time to make breakfast food for dinner. Ah, to each her own.

Low and slow with little bits of butter mixed in is my preferred method too but my husband insists that a quick turn over high heat is the way to go and I can't argue with the texture or taste of what he turns out. So for our hosue, it depends on who is at the stove and how much time we have.

Yep- we cook 'em low and slow, but I add cream cheese instead of butter. Deeeeeeeeelicious!

I cook mine with about a quarter that amount of butter (or less) melted in my cast iron skillet before adding the beaten eggs, over low heat and stirring constantly - it only takes a few minutes and results in egg curds that are velvety and deliciously custard-like. I'd be willing to try the method described here, but I really don't think I could bring myself to add *quite* that much butter.

In one of the Nero Wolfe mystery stories (by Rex Stout,) Nero spends about half a chapter talking about cooking Real Scrambled Eggs. He takes 45 minutes, although his recipe used less butter (only 5 Tblsp for 3 eggs.) It was a completely different dish - creamy, silky, tender yet not moist or wet. I pour them over seasoned vegetables because they get cold so quickly.

I almost never have the occasion to scramble 8 eggs at one time, but I can see that taking 30 minutes. When it's just me...I heat a small skillet over medium/low heat while I break and beat 2 eggs, adding a pinch of salt and pepper. I turn off the heat and let a small amount of butter to melt (can't fathom the amount in Reichl's article). Then I pour the eggs in and stir them while they cook very slowly in just the heat of the pan. In about 4-5 minutes, they're cooked through and very creamy.

Meh. I must have done something wrong. Not enough salt, cooked too long, who knows. I hate wet eggs, and these eggs were wet. I like medium curds, these were very small. And my arm almost fell off stirring. Guess I'm not a gourmet, as I'll definitely pass on this method.

Once, as a child, I accidentally made my eggs pretty much that way, wet and curdy and way over-beaten, for my mother's birthday. They disgusted me then as I'm sure they would disgust me now. Even the photo is gross. That's what you get when you don't stir custard constantly while it's being cooked.

My method is medium heat in a cast-iron skillet. Ideally the eggs have been beaten with cottage cheese and coarse salt. I use coconut oil, pour in the eggs and let them start to solidify on the bottom before I start scraping them off the bottom of the pan. At that point, I'll throw in some herbs or cheese if I feel like it, but only a couple of scrapes with the spatula are needed, and the result is fluffy, eggy goodness.

I prefer the French way to cook eggs.

I just tried them, I didn't put as much butter (maybe half) and they were very good!!!
@MAGZEEN what is the French way?

Would it be possible to substitute the butter with yogurt? Or would the yogurt curdle?

I agree the key to good scrambled eggs is to go slow, but 30 minutes is ridiculous. My grandmother's recipe calls for plenty of butter and scrambling the eggs too soon. They are fluffy beyond belief... not mushy and wet like the ones pictured. Uck.

I only do it on rare occasions because I'd much rather have over easy or poached.

Inspired by this post, I tried making scrambled eggs in a sauce pan over low heat and they turned out great! I didn't get the heat quite low enough, so the 4 eggs I was cooking were done in about 10 minutes, but they were still some of the best eggs I've ever made. I only used about 2 tablespoons of butter for 4 eggs. And they didn't stick nearly as much as they usually do in my skillet. I will definitely keep making eggs this way.

I make my scrambled eggs in the microwave. I mix 1 tablespoon of skim milk per large egg. I typically cook them for about 1 minute per egg; although, you'll need a bit more time when using just 1 egg. About halfway through, you'll want to take a fork and break-up the egg before completing the cooking process.

This is such an easy way to make super fluffy eggs in the morning when you are craving a hot breakfast or in the evening when you need a quick dinner!