Anthony Bourdain's Foolproof Technique For Fluffy Scrambled Eggs

Anthony Bourdain was a man of specific, and unfussy tastes. The writer, chef, and TV personality made a career out of assessing and appreciating food from across the globe prior to his death in 2018. For burgers, anything that couldn't fit in one hand was unacceptable. And he prized rib cut steak above all others. So it should be no surprise that those big opinions also extended to something as simple as scrambled eggs. In fact, Bourdain had a simple, but ingenious cooking tip that yields som seriously fluffy eggs, and it all lies in the stirring technique.

To detail his scrambled egg philosophy, Bourdain sat down with Insider Tech and gave his unfiltered thoughts. He also detailed the ideal scramble method. It goes like this: pour your mixed eggs into a hot pan coated in melted butter. Then, let your eggs form up just a bit in the pan. Then, Bourdain suggests filing your eggs in a figure-8 pattern across the pan. This will prevent your eggs from forming too small of a curd, which can dry out your scramble. The key here is to not be too aggressive, or stir too quickly, but let your egg mixture fold into itself. This will give your eggs a soft, moist, and, yes, fluffy texture. But his eggy advice doesn't end there, of course. There were a few other chunks of wisdom Bourdain reserved for this dish.

For the most part, Anthony Bourdain's advice regarding scrambled eggs centered on its simplicity. In his sit-down with Insider Tech, Bourdain said, "I'm old school. I believe that a scrambled egg, or an omelette for that matter, is principally about the egg." For his reason, he steered clear from excess seasoning, sticking with a simple sprinkle of salt and pepper. Additionally, Bourdain did not add any milk, cream, or water to his pre-scramble eggs. "I just don't feel like milk or cream adds anything," Bourdain noted. He continued, saying that "...it's about the egg," and that "...you're not making a quiche." 

In terms of the eggs themselves, you'll want to reach for the freshest eggs possible, for the best taste. To prepare, Bourdain suggests cracking your eggs in to a bowl, rather than into a pan (a direct contradiction to Gordon Ramsay's technique), and mixing with a fork. You'll want to keep your eggs slightly streaky, so the eggs cook with swirls of both white and yolk, and be sure to not let the mixture sit out on the counter for too long. Otherwise, you'll run into some unsavory textural issues. It all comes down to this: keeping your methods and ingredients simple. After all, scrambled eggs need no adornment. As Anthony Bourdain noted, scrambled eggs are a "very, very simple dish but like a lot of really good, simple things, more often than not, people find a way to overcomplicate them and screw them up."