![Extra-Creamy Scrambled Eggs](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/02/24/dining/19Kenjirex/merlin_183955200_c2bc0f52-9ed8-495d-a7db-217cc8a201a6-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
Silky Scrambled Eggs With Pancetta, Pepper and Pecorino
![Silky Scrambled Eggs With Pancetta, Pepper and Pecorino](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/03/16/dining/11induction-rex2/merlin_202696311_d3255eeb-9dd7-44cd-a1a1-99bef02c6022-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 15 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 2 to 3ounces pancetta, diced
- 1 to 2tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6eggs
- Pinch of salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Grated Pecorino Romano, Parmesan or other hard grating cheese
Preparation
- Step 1
Using a nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron pan, heat the pancetta over medium. Let cook, shaking the pan, until the fat renders out and the pancetta browns all over, 3 to 10 minutes, depending on how large the cubes are.
- Step 2
If the pan looks oily, pour (or spoon) off any excess grease. Add butter to the pan and let melt. Reduce heat to low.
- Step 3
Beat the eggs and salt in a medium bowl until well mixed but not frothy. Pour into the skillet with the pancetta and, using a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon, scramble the eggs until they are just set, 2 to 4 minutes. Take care that the eggs don’t brown, lowering the heat further if necessary.
- Step 4
Divide the eggs onto two plates and shower pepper generously over the top. Sprinkle with cheese and serve at once.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
I have made similar eggs for years, without the pancetta, and they are a command performance XMAS morning. I use only eggs, a drop of cream, tarragon, salt and pepper. The key is SLOW, soft cooking and frequent turning so the eggs remain custardy but not hard. A spatula's wide lip gives more control than a spoon. Serve immediately; if eggs sit in the skillet they will overcook.
Delicious Makes an easy dinner with a simple green salad . Followed the recipe exactly, cooked the eggs slowly and dinner was on the table in 15 minutes.
I love eggs for dinner and have made this several times for the boss and me. After some trial and taste, I’ve settled on adding the copious pepper while the pancetta is cooking, as the fat makes the pepper ‘bloom’ a bit and isn’t quite so sharp at the end. And always pecorino! Melissa does it again.
Add a touch of milk to the eggs, beat. Cook the eggs on low heat, folding carefully- while still wet with gorgeous mounds add 2 big spoonfuls of whipped cream cheese. Gently fold, do not overcook. Add pancetta already cooked on top with slivers of pecorino, salt and fresh ground pepper.I like this placed on a large slice of sourdough lightly toasted first with apricot or orange marmalade. A sprinkle of parsley and chives completes the dish.
Off the top of my head, it was likely the cheese. Depending on where you bought it, I would take it back, because pecorino is lovely. If, however, for some reason you don't like it, you can easily sub parmesan, and I should think the results would be equally dreamy.
Pecorino is made from sheep's milk while Parmesan is made from cow's milk. Perhaps that difference accounts for your dislike. It is not an "awful cheese." You didn't like it. The end.
The NYT recipe for extra-creamy scrambled eggs from J. Kenji López-Alt has changed my life as an eggs-in-the-morning person. Unbelievable results every time, so I'll use here. Yum!
Cubed Spam instead of pancetta. Original flavor only, please. Freeze-dried chives. The barest sprinkle of kosher salt. A dollop of creamed cheese. Do not overdo the low heat.
Just made it for an Easter brunch. Delicious.
I’ve noticed adding a tbsp of water to the eggs while beating helps with getting a more custardy scramble.
Didn't have pancetta on hand, so I used diced prosciutto and it worked just fine.
Needs an acid, Tabasco hot sauce or chives did it for me
Turned out well; i generally lik browned-on-the-bottom omelettes but this is a peasant alternative and the pancetta does indeed turn brown crispy like bacon. Serve it with a sad or vegetable makes it fairly healthy too:)
For perfect scrambled eggs every time, low and slow with the heat and add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. The lemon leaves no taste behind. I was skeptical of the method at first but it works!
The toothy resistance of the fried pancetta enveloped in the softest of scrambled eggs turned out to be a textural sensation which I did not care for at all. My recommendation is to try this one out by yourself before serving it to another.
I really wanted to like this but is it ever SALTY!
Canadian cooking show hostess Laurs Calder, a French trained chef, recommends separating the yolks and whites. Then in a medium/low saucepan, melt butter, stir in whites until they start to gel, then stir in yolks until desired yellow creamy smoothness is reached. One could start with the pancetta, then the whites followed by yolks or perhaps pre-cook pancetta and add it at the end. The latter might miss flavour imparted by panchetta flavoured bits and fat.
A great upgrade from simple scrambled eggs for a weeknight dinner, actually ideal for any meal. Great to enjoy the essence of spaghetti carbonara, when you don't want to start cooking up a pot of pasta. I need to buy some better grade pancetta. for this dish. I added salt to the eggs, which I normally do, but the final dish was too salty. I'd hold any extra salt. the pancetta and Pecorino Romano have enough.
I love some *softly* scrambled eggs, but I’ve never achieved good results (or even edible) on low, except via a gas stove. Is that the unspoken caveat of ‘low & slow’ scrambled recipes? Should I quit trying w/electric? The results on my Dad’s Viking gas stove (in the world’s loneliest gourmet kitchen), low & slow, are so perfect I make ‘em whenever I visit. So much so he requests lonely eggs. It’s night and day vs. gummy electric eggs…
I’ve always been told not to add salt to eggs before cooking, as it encourages the proteins to bind together/coagulate and therefore become tougher during cooking.
This is a good explanation of weather/when to salt eggs. https://www.seriouseats.com/does-pre-salting-eggs-make-them-tough Also worth noting that if you are salting for flavour, the cheese you add to this may well make the eggs salty enough for you
*whether, not weather
I like this way of making eggs. Sometimes, I've used only 1 T butter, but make a small pool of cream on top of the melting butter and add the eggs fairly straightaway. After a minute, I pull the edges of the eggs to the center with a spatula, til it's been another minute of gently pulling the eggs. Then I plate them as you have already stated, sprinkling cheese on top with lots of freshly ground pepper. Any way they are cooked, creamy lightly scrambled eggs are so satisfying...
Add a touch of milk to the eggs, beat. Cook the eggs on low heat, folding carefully- while still wet with gorgeous mounds add 2 big spoonfuls of whipped cream cheese. Gently fold, do not overcook. Add pancetta already cooked on top with slivers of pecorino, salt and fresh ground pepper.I like this placed on a large slice of sourdough lightly toasted first with apricot or orange marmalade. A sprinkle of parsley and chives completes the dish.
I love eggs for dinner and have made this several times for the boss and me. After some trial and taste, I’ve settled on adding the copious pepper while the pancetta is cooking, as the fat makes the pepper ‘bloom’ a bit and isn’t quite so sharp at the end. And always pecorino! Melissa does it again.
Cubed Spam instead of pancetta. Original flavor only, please. Freeze-dried chives. The barest sprinkle of kosher salt. A dollop of creamed cheese. Do not overdo the low heat.
The NYT recipe for extra-creamy scrambled eggs from J. Kenji López-Alt has changed my life as an eggs-in-the-morning person. Unbelievable results every time, so I'll use here. Yum!
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