Let's Get Crackin'
Right about now you're saying to
yourself, “You're kidding. Some idiot is actually writing about how
to break an egg?” And you know what? Up until recently, I would
have been right there with you. But that was before I discovered how
many people can't do it. Or at least can't do it properly. I mean,
how hard is it to break an egg, right? You'd be surprised.
A lot of folks make a big mess of a
fairly simple procedure. They wind up chasing little shards of
eggshell around the mixing bowl. Or worse; they don't chase them and
then find them later cooked up in their scrambled eggs. They get egg
goop all over the counter, the bowl, and/or their hands. And it's all
so unnecessary if you just master the proper technique.
Kids get a big thrill out of learning
to break an egg. I know I did. I started cooking eggs when I was
seven or eight years old, but my mother always cracked them for me
until I developed the manual dexterity to do it myself. A lot of
shattered shells and gooey messes ensued before I got it right. But
eventually I did. I have a young nephew who sometimes backcombs my
fur with his know-it-all attitude. I remember when he came to me all
full of himself because he had learned to break an egg. He proceeded
to demonstrate his new-found skill, a laborious, painstaking
two-handed process that took nearly a minute to accomplish. Then,
with bratty arrogance, he challenged me to match his feat: “Betcha
you can't do it that good.” I know I shouldn't have taken the bait.
It was mean and I really shouldn't have done it. But I did.....he was
such a ripe little target. I snatched up an egg and opened it in
about two seconds using one hand, leaving him deflated and
crestfallen. Not to be a total jerk about it, I told him to keep
practicing and I'd teach him how to do it that way after he got a
little better at the two-handed method.
So let's start there. With two hands.
This is really the best way to open an egg if you are going to
separate the yolk from the white or if you are concerned about the
yolk remaining intact. It's not as fast and as flashy as the
one-handed method, but it's a lot safer and more reliable.
First, let's address the issue of
cracking the egg. Ya gotta crack it before ya can break it. There are
two camps when it comes to egg cracking: the “flat surface” camp
and the “edge of the bowl” camp. Most people who learned by
watching their mothers or grandmothers tend to fall into the bowl
edge category. People who were taught by a culinary instructor are
generally flat surface crackers because that's really the “approved”
and “correct” way to do it. I cringe when I see supposedly
trained TV chefs cracking eggs on bowls. They sure didn't learn that
at the CIA or Le Cordon Bleu.
It's not just some senseless rule that
chef instructors came up with. The people who study such things have
found that when you strike an egg against a sharp surface – like
the edge of a bowl – you run a greater risk of driving fragments of
the shell into the interior of the egg. This is a big deal not just
for the annoyance factor but because of the potential for carrying
bacteria from the outside inward. All commercially produced eggs in
the US are washed before they ever hit the cartons, so the risk is
minimal. Not so much with farm fresh eggs, though, which usually just
get a wipe down to remove anything obviously nasty. It's kind of a
two-edged sword. The reason Americans refrigerate eggs while
Europeans don't is because of that washing process. When American
eggs are washed before packaging, the shells are stripped not only of
potentially harmful bacteria but of the egg's natural protective
coating as well. That's why you have to refrigerate 'em. They're
naked. Anything yucky they encounter after they're washed can more
easily penetrate their unprotected porous shells. Europeans – and
Americans who get their eggs straight out of the henhouse – can get
by with leaving them in a basket on the counter rather than in the
fridge because their natural coating is still intact. And so are any
bacteria lurking about on the outside waiting to get driven inside by
an injudicious crack on a sharp surface. So, from a “better safe
than sorry” standpoint, it's generally just better practice to
crack an egg on a flat surface.
That said, the objective when you
strike the egg is not to bust it wide open. You just want to dimple
it. Pick up the egg so that it's positioned in the palm of your
hand. The pointy end should rest against your thumb and the blunt end
should be cradled by your ring and pinky fingers. With the contact
point in the middle of the egg, give it a gentle tap or two to break
just the outer shell while leaving the inner membrane intact. Now,
turn the egg so you can see the dimple you've made. With the unbroken
surface of the egg resting against the index, middle, and ring
fingers of both hands, position your thumbs on either side of the
dimple. Position the egg over the bowl or pan and gently press inward
with your thumbs to penetrate the shell. Then gently pry the two
halves of the shell apart and allow the contents of the egg to drop
into whatever receptacle you're using. Notice I said “gentle” or
“gently” three times in the description. It's an egg, okay? Don't
go all Incredible Hulk on it and smash it. Handle it gently.
Not all egg shells are created equal.
Depending on breed and feed, some shells are thicker than others.
Other than the fact that they are on a natural diet, I don't know
what my farmer feeds his chickens or what breeds he has but some of
them produce some prodigiously thick shells. And I find brown eggs to
generally have thicker shells than white ones. Thick shells aren't
necessarily a bad thing; you'll get a lot fewer fragments because
they tend to break cleaner. I've had some store-bought white eggs
crumble under the slightest pressure and make a real mess. It just
takes a little extra effort and care to crack a thicker shell.
As I said, if you're trying to keep the
yolk intact for poaching or sunny side up or something, the more
deliberate two-handed method is probably best. A little slower,
maybe, but better. However, if you're all about speed and action and
don't care about how the yolk winds up, the one-handed method is for
you. If you're going to scramble your eggs or just dump them in a
bowl for beating, who cares if the yolk is broken, right?
Now here is where manual dexterity
comes into play. I know people who are ambidextrous and can break two
eggs at once, one in each hand. Not me. I'm so right-handed it's an
affliction. Anything I try to break with my left hand winds up
spattered on my elbow. So, unless you're among the gifted, stick with
using your dominant hand. The problem now is that breaking an egg
with one hand is a lot easier to do than it is to describe. But I'll
try.
Holding the egg as above, crack the
shell the same way. Only this time, keep the egg cradled in your
hand. Once you've got the crack started, the breaking motion is done
mostly with a twist of your thumb and forefinger. I've heard it
described as sort of like the motion you'd use to snap your fingers.
You should be holding the bottom part of the shell against your palm
with your middle, ring, and pinky fingers while the top part of the
shell is manipulated by your index finger and your thumb. I've also
seen it described as being like the motion you would employ to pop
the top on a soda can with one hand. See? It's really easy to do, but
harder than hell to describe. Tell you what: I saw a tip online where
you hold two ping pong balls together in your hand with a quarter
wedged between them. If you can separate the balls and make the
quarter fall out, you can break an egg one-handed.
By the way, kids aren't the only ones
who get a thrill out of learning to break eggs. Andrew Knowlton,
James Beard Award-winning critic, blogger and restaurant editor for
Bon Appétit magazine,
recently did a feature where he worked his way through twenty-fours
hours at an Atlanta Waffle House. (You can find the story and video
here:
https://www.yahoo.com/food/its-not-every-day-you-see-a-renowned-four-star-113433461996.html)
Besides a new appreciation for short-order cooks, Andrew also gained
a new skill: at age 39, he can now break eggs one-handed. He can also
make a mean waffle, but that's another part of the story.
Now go forth, break
some eggs and make some omelets. Or maybe a nice frittata.
Oooo......scrambled eggs sound good about now.......or poached.....or
over easy. No, Eggs Benedict......or perhaps a Croque Madame. How
about egg salad........?
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