Recipe With Egg Whites, Ground Beef, Spinach, Cheese
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10/25/2009
This recipe has many versions with slight variations. It originated in San Francisco's Joe's Restaurant in the 1930s during the "big band" era. The Bunny Bennington orchestra came in to the restaurant at closing time and the chef whipped this up from what he had on hand. I add a tablespoon of dry Marsella wine while the onions and meat are browning. I beat the eggs together as you would for scrambled eggs and stir into the mix at the end. Just before serving I add pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. Everyone loves it!
03/14/2009
Hearty and tasty. Fresh spinach is the only way to go with this dish, however; use 1/2 pound (stems removed,or use the bagged stuff.) It cooks very quickly and gives a far better flavor. I used only half the onion, but added a touch more garlic, as it really complements the beef and spinach.
04/24/2009
Ok, first of all as a child my dad used to tell us he made this recipe up in the Air Force when he was in charge of cooking which I know now is total bogus (thanks dad). Now, I always loved this dish but it is better made with fresh spinach, saute the mushrooms with some butter seperatly and then you can top with some shredded cheddar or parmesan cheese and season liberally with salt and pepper. Pretty good and pleasing all around with some practice and something that as a kid we all looked forward to and as an adult is still fun to make. Can also be done with sausage for a different taste.
08/12/2008
There was a restaurant here in town many years ago that served this dish & I absolutely loved it so I thought I'd give it a try myself. It is so delicious! I prepared it for 30 people & was quite taken back that almost the entire dish was returned full. It seems the men don't like to eat anything green & the women didn't like mushrooms. What a meal they missed just by not even taking a single bite. This is so very good!
10/06/2008
Delicious! I made this recipe for 2 - my husband and me. I used 1/2 lb ground beef and eyeballed the veggies based on what we had scraps of in the fridge - lots of spinach, 2 big mushrooms, 1/2 an onion and 1/4 green pepper - + 2 cloves of garlic and 2 eggs. I followed the recipe exactly (true, with a small variation in vegetables) until the very end. I may have turned my stove on too high in the beginning because by the time the onion cooked clear I thought the meat was very well-done. When the egg started taking a long time to cook I didn't want the meat to go bad so I ended up scrambling it a bit. Next time I'll turn my eletric stove on 5 from the start rather than 7 (medium high). Still, it was so tasty and easy!
02/13/2010
This is very good! When I was a kid, my mom made something similar to this, but instead of using spinach, she used chopped zucchini (maybe because my father LOVED zucchini!). The funny thing is, WE called it "Joe's Special," and we lived in a suburb of San Francisco! After reading this recipe, I have made it now both with zucchini and spinach, and it is great both ways! Tonight, while we were eating it, I thought it might be great with salsa in it, and my husband suggested making it with sausage instead of hamburger. As another reviewer said, this is a pretty versatile recipe, as any number of alterations can be made to it and it is still delicious! Thanks for sharing it!
07/12/2009
This is a great recipe, I have made Joe's Special for years but didn't have quite the right combination that I remembered tasting years ago. This one does it, only change I made was to use green onions since I was out of others and added Parmesan cheese. My husband raved about it even though he isn't fond of green onions.
06/11/2008
Oh yea! This was wonderfully easy and delicious! I followed the recipe really closely - except I added a little butter when cooking the mushrooms 'cuz that's what I do. My family often doesn't see the same thing twice (there's so many things to try!) but this one's definitely a keeper! Next time, I may try adding some butternut squash or red bell peppers or something... 'cuz, again, that's what I do... always embelishing. Thanx for the recipe, JulieP!
03/30/2009
I tried this tonight. Followed the recipe. Not good. Not bad, but not good. The eggs did nothing for it but my family liked the eggs the best. It seemed to lack a sauce of some sort for the ground beef mixture.
06/26/2008
Considering how easy this is, it is delicious! I have 7 children, and none complained about it. This is a definite repeat.
01/31/2010
Delicious and Nutritious! Made 8 slightly smaller portions out of this recipe and cracked eggs into the four we ate tonight. The other four portions went eggless into the freezer for a great home made TV dinner for a lazy night.
12/12/2011
Mmmmmmmm! I haven't had Joe's Speacial for years, but it was a go to dinner in our family. My Mom and Dad were in S.F. in the late 40s and thats where Mom picked up the recipe. This is so good - dinner, brunch - after a late night out too. It may sound like an odd combination, but you have to try it, really!
02/18/2011
I love this dish, and frozen spinach is so easy and quick, that is what I usually use (and cheaper than using fresh). I have been making this for years, and ALWAYS sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan cheese over this before serving, with more Parmesan offered at the table for those who like it. To me, it's got to have that fresh Parmesan to be authentic. Great to serve with cooked Orzo and garlic sourdough toast.
03/10/2019
I can see why you call the dish "Joe's" I have enjoyed Original Joe's restaurant scramble in San Francisco since childhood. (I'm 90 years old ) It is a very tasty meal.
02/28/2012
I first had this in the early 1950's when my Dad played baseball for the San Francisco Seals. I still make it today.
07/16/2012
Enjoyed this version of Joe's Special with nutmeg and poached eggs instead of scrambled. Didn't have any mushrooms. Used oregano from the garden and a 12 oz bag of frozen spinach (unthawed) to 1 lb ground beef and 3 eggs. Will definitely make again.
08/17/2010
This is a keeper! I used ground turkey and egg whites to keep this on the healthier side - turned out great! Fresh spinach is a must. I actually only had canned mushrooms on hand so cooked them with the meat from the start to help their flavor and texture - worked just ok. I'll definitely make this again!
11/15/2008
Very good, I toasted some bread to go along with it. My boyfriend and I made a meal out of the whole dish, there were no left overs. It was slightly bland though, and I may try some different spices next time.
01/22/2011
This was very good. I didn't have mushrooms and used fresh spinach instead. Next time I think I will heat for less time than the recipe suggested - it turned out a bit dry.
07/07/2015
Joe's Special Scramble Haiku: "Halved the recipe. Sprinkled w/ Parmesan cheese. Weird, but oh so good!" Other than scrambling my eggs into the spinach mixture rather than cracking them into indentations, I followed the recipe as written. Very similar to Chef John's version, both ways to make Joe's Seriously-wacky (is it breakfast or dinner?) Scramble are really great. It's not pretty to look at, but nom-nom good!
05/21/2008
Yummy! I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome of this dish. I didn't have any mushrooms and used fresh spinach and it still turned out great. I will try it with the mushrooms next time. My husband loved this and also my two very picky kids.
01/07/2010
Will make this again. A good, healthy meal. Only 4/5 stars because everyone didn't agree on loving it.
09/07/2013
This is a great dish for low-carbers, like me :). My boyfriend didn't think he'd like it, but he ended up having a huge second helping. I used fresh spinach instead of frozen. Topped off with a few shakes of tobasco - cause we love heat!
12/16/2011
I have been making Joe's Special for 40 years and it is always a winner for a really easy and quick meal. I had never written the recipe down and now here it is. Thanks for sharing and bringing back some fun memories.
10/25/2008
skipped the mushrooms....good though
11/20/2012
Unfortunately, this recipe is terribly bland. It may be fine for those who like this kind of thing, but if you like flavor, skip this. I looked at other recipes for Joe's scramble, and this at least had some garlic and nutmeg. I blame Joe, not the cook who posted this
08/22/2008
wayyyyy too much spinach...
03/18/2012
This has been a family favorite for YEARS. My grandparents lived in Oakland and had family and friends in the San Francisco area. I assume this is where grandma got her recipe. Dad used to put vinegar on spinach, and always added it (at the table) to this dish as well. I've used balsamic vinegar to it for a real treat! It's a low carb favorite.
01/18/2016
I had the original at the SF restaurant and it's been a regular in my home ever since! Many times I will make this with the morning star vegetarian crumbles. Everything else is the same (but I prefer the scrambled eggs instead of whole) Delicious! Serve this with a side of cottage cheese topped with peach halves.
05/04/2016
Easy and tasty. I substituted baby kale instead of spinach, just because I had it on hand. Otherwise I followed the recipe. Simple, nutritiously good.
08/30/2014
This recipe was great! Very flavorful and great. I loved how the eggs are cooked at the end, and I think that is what makes this dish unique. I wasn't sure if my three boys would like it, but all of them ate it and asked for more. It took a while to chop up all of the veggies and cook the meat, but it was worth it. I will definitely make this one again! Thank you for sharing, JULIEP!
03/09/2013
I made this with Johnsonville Pork and Chicken Italian Sausage and fresh spinach. Delicious. I've had this dish downtown at Orignal Joe's lots of times.. really good
06/30/2016
I made it exactly by the recipe. It was quite yummy and my husband and toddler daughter loved it. It's a tad tricky to judge when the egg whites are set while the yolk is still easy. I thought mine was ready, but when I went to dish it up, the whites under the set top ran out. Nothing that a quick stir over higher heat couldn't fix, but the yolks were sacrificed by doing so. Next time I won't trust the time on the recipe and will try to gently lift an egg to see if it's actually set. As I'm not the biggest spinach fan, I look forward to trying it again with Kale.
08/31/2019
Love the Joe Special like every one else. The ones that said it was bland didn't add enough Onion or not enough of the cheese on top when serving it. When cooking the meat added a little bit of Red Wine to it. Served it with French Bread or Garlic Bread. Always a winner even for the first time eaters. Been making it for years. I Never ADD The Eggs Though so it is your choice. Love It.
03/06/2020
I don't like Nutmeg so I didn't add it. I did increase the oregano.
03/14/2017
The only change I made was using one pound of ground pork instead of one of the two pounds of beef. I thought this was dry and not very flavorful. I think maybe adding some chopped tomatoes might help. Was hoping this would be an easy go-to recipe to add to my list
01/09/2014
cut the beef in half, add at least 1/4 cup of parmesan and at least 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper. Frozen chopped spinach and fresh mushrooms are perfect in it.
03/22/2009
There's an outside chance I did something wrong, but my family and I really just didn't care for this. More than anything, it's just extremely bland--Which we were surprised about given how much onion, mushrooms, and spinach goes into it. The eggs really didn't seem to add anything to it other than filler. I personally found that it got better once I tried adding a little steak sauce, but not enough to make it likely that I'll prepare this again. On the upside, it is extremely filling and makes enough to feed a small army. ...If you can get them to eat it.
01/06/2015
There is an almost identical recipe on the site. The two differ slightly in cooking technique and seasoning. I kinda straddled them to get what I thought would be the best. The nutmeg used in this recipe gives a unique flavor to the dish. Go big on all seasonings. I would go big on seasoning. Mushroom, egg, and spinach do not contribute much taste. The other recipe uses cheese. I used mozzarella. Next time I will use a strong cheese like bleu or feta. Great bachelor dish. I will get 4 or 5 breakfasts out of this.
04/13/2016
I reduced the quantities to serve two and added fresh diced tomato and one cup of chicken broth to add a little more depth for the eggs to cook in. Great fast dinner for a week night. Will definitely make this again! And it's boyfriend approved!
01/05/2019
I didn't include the mushrooms, am not a big fan of them. But I loved the mixture of texture from the spinach, onions, and eggs (which I cooked just under hard).
01/09/2017
I make a variation of this recipe that comes from the 13 Coin Restaurant in Seattle. I start by browning the ground sirloin, adding minced garlic while cooking. I set the ground sirloin aside to drain, and using the same skillet, start with a bit of olive oil and butter to sauté one cup of chopped onion. After it is translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes I add fresh spinach and sauté it till I have a nice mixture of onion and spinach. Next I add back in the meat, along with a couple of teaspoons of Seasoned salt, stir till the meat is hot, then add 6 eggs that have been beaten. Cook over medium heat, and as the eggs start to form, add 1/4 cup of a combo of Asiago and Romano cheese, grated, or the 3 cheese grated fresh from the store. Continue to stir till the eggs are set but not dry. Spoon on to plates, and sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste. One can add salt and pepper to taste at the table. My wife and children love this recipe and I make it about twice a month for breakfast. It's also great for dinner on a cold night.
07/08/2017
Yum! We had leftover burger patties, so I thought Joe's Special would be a great way to use them up. Just added them in at the end. Was delicious, used another review's suggestion of adding Parmesan cheese, the perfect final touch.
10/13/2016
I grew up in San Jose and Original Joe's was a special occasion favorite (now I'm aging myself!). I found this recipe and followed it precisely, even though I knew I'd always had it with the eggs scrambled. I'm so glad I didn't scramble the eggs. Like other reviewers, the eggs were everyone's favorite part! And with eggs on everything being a bit 'en vogue', it seemed to modernize the dish and certainly looked prettier than the old scrambled version. Makes me wonder if the restaurant has made the same change. If not, they should! I like it even better.
07/09/2021
I halved the recipe but added 7 eggs and shredded cheddar. I also used fresh baby spinach and doubled the garlic. Even halved this made a lot. Very good low carb dinner
08/17/2010
This is a keeper! I used ground turkey and egg whites to keep this on the healthier side - turned out great! Fresh spinach is a must. I actually only had canned mushrooms on hand so cooked them with the meat from the start to help their flavor and texture - worked just ok. I'll definitely make this again!
Source: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/163602/joes-special-scramble/