Ruehrei (ree-eh) is a Mennonite version of scrambled eggs, at least that’s what the internet tells me. I had a craving for it this weekend and started scrambling 😉 through a few different recipes that I had found on the internet. Sadly, none of them were like the ones that my foster mother would make. So after many failed attempts, and almost getting dehydrated due to the insane amounts of salt that Mennonite recipes call for, I started tweaking recipes and finally found something similar to the one I grew up on.
At least once a week in the winter we would have ruehrei for supper. My foster mother would usually make it alongside a beef roast, or some hunk of meat that she could toss in the oven and not think about. She would make it in a large electric frying pan and would use an old rinsed out tin kool-aid can that was so old that it may have contained lead, held with an old pot holder, to cut and flip the batter as it fried. I would sit on the other side of the counter and watch her frantically cut and flip the ruehrei in the pan and can still remember the sound of the tin scraping on the pan and the steam fogging up the kitchen window. Sometimes we would eat it with syrup drizzled on top, but preferred sugar sprinkled on it instead. My foster mother would normally bring the sugar to the table and would set it beside her so that she could regulate how much we put on. But if she forgot and put it in the middle of the table, we would all be eyeing it up while we were praying. And as soon as prayer was over, one of us would snatch the sugar bowl (usually one of my sisters) and quickly put as much on their ruehrei as they could before she could yell “Na, mejales! Du vites baeta!” which would then ruin it for the rest of us.
This recipe should feed 2-3 people, but can be easily doubled.
First, you will need 3 eggs, 1/2 a cup of milk, 5 tablespoons of heavy cream, 1/2 a cup of flour and 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt and lard for frying (not pictured. I used tenderflake).
Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and beat until mixed.
Next, add the milk, cream, flour and salt and mix until there are no more lumps. The mixture should look like runny pancake batter.
Heat a pan on medium-high and melt about 2 tablespoons of lard and pour the batter into the pan.
Once the bottom is firm, start turning the batter until browned.
Once the ruehrei is all brown, serve and enjoy!
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- 3 Eggs
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 4 Tbsp. Heavy Cream
- 1/2 cup Flour
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 2 Tbsp. Lard
- Beat eggs in mixer until blended.
- Add remaining ingredients and mix until there are no more lumps and mixture looks like a thin pancake batter.
- Heat a frying pan on medium-high heat and melt lard or butter.
- Pour batter into heated frying pan.
- Once the bottom seems firm, start flipping/turning the batter until all pieces are brown.
- Serve and enjoy!
- Serve with drizzled syrup or sugar on top
This is similar to the recipe i use. We serve them with beans. And usually for lunch or supper. I hadn’t heard that they were made for breakfast before .
Thanks for posting this recipe. My mom used to make them, and I’ve been hungry for them lately. I’ll try this recipe soon. You’ve got a great blog and I enjoy your stories!
We had them for breakfast and I had them with vinegar liberally sprinkled on top. Other family members ate them with ketchup. Still a go to recipe for comfort food.