A Simple Way to Cook Eggs for a Crowd

Today’s post is going to be very simple. I will also be adding more pictures later on.

As a military spouse I have made countless dishes for potlucks, fundraisers, dinners for the troops, etc. Sometimes I’m making portions for 10 people, sometimes it’s 50. When you are making very large quantities in a very small military supplied home kitchen, you have to get creative.

Luckily, eggs are an easy one!! Very recently Chorizo Egg Burritos were on our menu for the troops delivery dinner. This means that on any given day, we were scrambling up anywhere from 3 dozen to 5 dozen eggs at the same time. If you are cooking for a potluck or for very young and hungry service members, plan for 3 eggs per person. If you are planning for the average person for an average meal, plan for 2 eggs per person.

The secret to scrambling this many eggs at once in a small home kitchen is BAKING them!

The first thing you need to do is preheat the oven to 350º F. Before you turn the oven on, place your metal baking pan in the oven. Allow it to heat up with the oven.

Meanwhile, crack your eggs into a large bowl. Using a whisk, break each yolk before you start whisking.

Whisk the eggs until nice and smooth and mixed well.

Strain the eggs. This is an optional step. But when you are doing this many eggs, it’s not unheard of that a piece of shell will get into the eggs. With 3 dozen eggs, it’s hard to find the random little piece of shell. Also, with this many eggs it’s common to have an unbroken yolk. When you strain the eggs, it of course removes any shell and reveals any unbroken yolks but it also results in a smoother, creamier scrambled egg.

There are several parts to an egg.

We are not going to go over every part of the egg in this post, but there are skin-like membranes and the chalaza that remain in the eggs when you crack them open. These parts of course do not hurt you in any way. But when you strain the eggs any shell, the chalaza, the membranes, anything that is bigger than the holes in your sieve are removed. This all helps create a smoother, creamier scrambled egg.

Pour the eggs into a fine mesh sieve set over a medium bowl. Using a rubber spatula, stir the eggs to help push the eggs through the sieve. Use the spatula to scrape the bottom of the sieve. Be careful not to tip it so much that the egg spills out!

As you can see, the chalaza, and some pieces of shell are in the sieve and NOT in our eggs.

Add salt and pepper at this stage and whisk to combine.

Once the oven has come to temperature, remove the hot pan from the oven and add 1-2 sticks of butter to the hot pan. Use 1/2 stick of butter for every 1 dozen you are making If you are making 1 dozen eggs, you can use 1/2 stick of butter. If you are making 3 dozen eggs, use 1 /12 sticks, etc.

Allow the butter to melt in the hot pan and swirl to coat the bottom. You want to avoid any “dead” space where there is no butter.

Add the whipped eggs to the hot pan with the melted butter.

Using a spatula, gently scrape the bottom of the pan and push the cooked egg toward the center of the pan.

Place the pan back into the oven and check every 5 minutes. Scrape the cooked egg into the center of the pan each time. Once the eggs are cooked to your preference, pull them out.

Taste and adjust seasoning to your preference.

At this stage you can pack them up for your potluck or use them in your recipe. We love them in our Ham and Cheese Breakfast Sliders or our Chorizo Egg Burritos!

Variation: Chorizo Eggs:

For this variation, add 2 oz Mexican style or “raw” chorizo per every dozen eggs in with the butter. Then follow the directions above.

The great thing about heating the pan and the butter before adding the eggs is that the eggs don’t stick! This picture is after we filled all of our chorizo egg burritos!