Scrambled Eggs with Bacon, Onion and Cheese

By norsegal8

Why this recipe works:To keep our scrambled egg recipe light and fluffy while adding hearty ingredients such as sausage, cheese, and vegetables, we had to eliminate as much of the added moisture as we could. Some ingredients were more appropriate for our scrambled egg recipe than others: Drier leafy greens, crunchy vegetables, and breakfast meats worked better than mushrooms and ham steaks, which are full of water and brine, respectively. To further reduce the moisture content, we decided to sauté the vegetables before adding them to the eggs and then remove them from the pan and wipe it dry before adding the eggs. We replaced the milk called for in our original recipe with half-and-half, which has more fat and less moisture.

Ingredients

• 12 large eggs
• 3/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons half-and-half
• 4 slices bacon (about 4 ounces), halved lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, chopped medium (about 1 cup)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 ounces cheese of your choice, shredded (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley leaves (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

1. Crack eggs into medium bowl; add salt, pepper, and half-and-half. Beat with dinner fork until thoroughly combined.

2. Cook bacon in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate; discard all but 2 teaspoons bacon fat. Add onion to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes; transfer onion to second plate.

3. Thoroughly wipe out skillet with paper towels, add butter, and set over medium heat. When butter foams, swirl to coat bottom and sides of skillet, then pour in eggs. With heatproof rubber spatula, stir eggs constantly, slowly pushing them from side to side, scraping along bottom of skillet and then around sides, and lifting and folding eggs as they form curds. Do not over-scramble, as curds formed will be too small. Cook eggs until large curds form but eggs are still very moist, 2 to 3 minutes. Off heat, gently fold in onion, cheese, and half of bacon until evenly distributed; if eggs are still underdone, return skillet to medium heat for no longer than 30 seconds. Divide eggs among individual plates, sprinkle with remaining bacon and parsley, and serve immediately.