Creamy Oven Scrambled Eggs

By JimMac

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp
• (45 mL) butter
• 3 tbsp
• (45 mL) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp
• (4 mL) salt
• 1-1/2 cups
• (375 mL) table or half-and-half cream
• 18 eggs
• 2 tsp (10 mL) butter, at room temperature

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

1.Melt 3 tablespoons (45 mL) butter in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Add flour and salt. Stir constantly for 2 minutes. Then, while whisking constantly, gradually add cream, a 1/4 cup (50 mL) at a time. Whisk frequently until sauce just comes to a boil and is thickened, about 5 minutes. Immediately remove from heat. Press a piece of plastic wrap into surface to prevent a skin from forming. Place in freezer to quickly cool down just to room temperature. This will take 8 to 10 minutes. Or refrigerate up to 2 days.

2.Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400F (200C). Crack eggs into a large bowl and whisk or lightly beat just until a fairly even colour. Whisk in white sauce just until no lumps remain. If sauce is too hot when added, it will cook eggs; if too cold, sauce will stay in clumps. If adding straight from the refrigerator, warm in microwave on high, just until it feels warm to the touch, from 1 to 1-1/2 minutes.
3.Generously coat entire sides and bottom of a 9x13-inch (3-L) baking pan with room-temperature butter. Pour in egg mixture. Place dish, uncovered, in centre of 400F (200C) oven. Set oven timer for 10 minutes. With a wide spatula or turner, scrape all slightly set eggs from sides of dish and run spatula along bottom of dish as well to scrape eggs from bottom. Stir eggs to redistribute liquid. Set oven timer for another 5 minutes. Remove and repeat scraping process again. Stir until thoroughly mixed. If about as firm as you like (keeping in mind they will firm up considerably as they set), simply cover with foil and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.

4.If not nearly as set as you like, return to oven and check and stir every 2 minutes until almost as set as you like. Then cover with foil and let stand until serving, from 5 to 10 minutes. Just before serving, generously scatter with fresh chopped dill (see below).

• Make ahead Whisk white sauce into eggs until blended. Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Before baking, gently whisk cold mixture to make sure it has an even consistency. Then pour into buttered dish and bake as above, but you will have to increase baking time. Scrape and stir eggs after 10 minutes of baking, then again after 15 minutes of baking. Return to oven and check every 2 to 3 minutes until about as set as you like. Eggs will probably need a total of 18 to 22 minutes of baking.