Shoutout to the diner cook in Austin who showed me a trick with a flat top
I was eating at a small diner on South Congress last Friday and the cook let me watch him work the flat top from the counter. He had 3 orders of eggs going at once and he never moved a spatula more than he had to. What got me was how he used the edge of the flat top to crack the eggs, not the bowl, said it saves him 2 seconds per egg and keeps the shell out. He also kept a squeeze bottle of water to steam the hash browns for 20 seconds before he pressed them down. I have been cooking for 9 years and never thought to use the flat top edge like that. Anyone else pick up a small move from watching someone else's line?
My buddy worked a breakfast shift in Nashville and picked up something similar. The old guy next to him never cracked eggs on the flat top edge either, he used the corner of the grill where it was cool so the shell wouldn't cook or stick. Took my friend a week to get it down without crushing the yolk. He said the same thing about saving time, when you got 40 tickets up you count every second. The water bottle trick for hash browns is new to me though. I usually just throw a lid on the pan at home. That steam move makes sense for getting them soft in the middle before they crisp up.