The best quiche ever

This is the best quiche ever. I say this because I have been making/eating/watching my mother make quiche and eating hers since I was a little kid. So I f'ing know quiche. And I am not even French (quiche is a French thing). Also I don't really think it could be simpler, and most of the ingredients you probably have on hand...and I mean outside of heavy cream, which I always have but not everyone does, all the rest are staples. And if you don't consider bacon a staple, then I don't really know if you are a person or not.

Bacon, caramelized onions - I mean some serious deep caramelization here, sharp white cheddar cheese and eggs...this is pretty much a guarantee to be a hit with everyone.

What's quiche?

Quiche is basically an egg pie. It is a plain or savory-based pie dough filled with eggs, cream, cheese and if desired veggies and meats. If I had to probably guess, quiche Lorraine is the most popular of all the quiches. And lucky for me, because this is my take on that very quiche.

Is quiche the same as frittata?

No. For a couple reasons. Quiche has a crust, fritatta does not. Quiche has cream in it - alot of cream - frittatas typically do not, they are eggs and milk. Here is a great recipe tutorial on making frittatas. Frittatas I would have to say are defintiely a healthier choice, but also not a show stopper and the texture is NOT even remotely the same. I make frittatas for breakfast and we love them, but quiche is an indulgent, serve to impress (even if just yourself) kind fo dish.

My very best and most important tips

So I make a lot of quiche - not just this one. I make them for parties, for catering small events and for meals at home all the time. They are a great way to use up veggies in the fridge or meat...things that are left over in small amounts. Don't throw that shit away, use it! In no particular order of importance, here are some things that you will thank me for telling you when making a quiche:

1. Always use heavy cream and milk (whole milk). You want more fat content and less water content. If you use all milk you will end up with a wetter, less velvety filling.
2. No matter what you want to put in it, always use the egg-to-cream base in this recipe. I have spent years working on the egg-to-cream ratio, and this is the winner for sure, Whether adding a shit ton of veggies or just bacon and onions, memorize this egg base and you'll be golden everytime.
3. Always lightly cook your veggies before putting them in the quiche. Give everything a light sautee in a little olive oil or butter, if you go with totally raw you will end up with moisture (the water in the veggie) and we are all about less water content in our quiche.
4. Always ALWAYS salt your veggies in the sauteeing process. This is probably my best tip and something people don't always think of. Yes, you will salt your eggs custard, but the veggies need seasoning too! Salt also helps pull the moisture out of the veggies while cooking and this is a good thing. Also be smart about it, if you are using bacon be gentle with the salt, if you are using no meat, add a little more. Think about the overall dish...and you can always add but not take away.
5. Always make sure your ingredients are cool or room temperature when assembling. If you put hot meat and veggies into the bottom of the dish the crust will begin to goop up - and this is super gross. Hot veggies will also start to prematurely cook the eggs before you even get the quiche into the oven.
6. Absolutely always cook on the bottom rack of the oven. You want a firm egg pie and a solid crust. And start with a pretty hot oven at first, then turn down the temp to cook.
7. Overall cooking temp is lower than you think, this ensures a velvety finish and not a tough and spongy custard. It cooks long AF, but it is worth it, and you have to do nothing to it once it is in the oven and onto the best quiche ever.
8. Last thing, I promise...cool that shit completely before cutting into it. I learned this the super hard way. If you cut into it straight out of the oven it will collapse to soup. And you will cry. I did about 10x before I finally read somewhere to cool completely. Then gently reheat or even eat at room temperature. Most times, I make my quiche the day before we are going to enjoy it. I refridgerate it overnight, take it out in the morning and let it come to room temperature. I gently reheat for about 10 mins at 350 until just warm. Perfection, and god damnit do I want some now.

Now on to the recipe. I can't decide if the best part of this is the super flavorful caramelized onion or the salty fatty bacon...or maybe the crispy white cheddar..let me know which is your favorite. And please, if you have any other tried and true tips for quiche I would LOVE to hear them.

Bacon and caramelized onion quiche

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Servings 0

Ingredients

  

For the egg custrad

• 6 large eggs
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon salt
• pepper
• 6 gratings fresh nutmeg

For the baocn and caramelized onions

• about a pound of bacon do not use low sodium, diced up
• two large vidalia onions thinly slided
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Salt
• pastry crust of your choosing I use Trader Joe's every time - homemade is just not neccessary, but you can if you have one you like to make note: Use two store bought pie crusts
• 1 ¼ cups of very sharp white cheddar cheese or yellow, shredded

Instructions

 

For the bacon and caramelized onions

• Cook the bacon in a large frying pan until crispy and fat is rendered. Remove the bacon and pour off all but two tablespoons (roughly) of the bacon fat. Add the butter to the bacon fat and make sure the heat is medium. Add the onions to the pan and begin cooking over mediium heat. Add a little (not too much) salt to the onions, cover and turn the heat to low and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring every now and then. The onions should be deeply caramel in color and look almost like a confit or jam (good and soft. Put caramelized onions on a plate to cool completely.

For the crust

• Roll out your pie dough to fit an 8-inch spring form pan. Here's the thing, you def will need one and a half for this and sometimes even two sotre bought crusts. You don't want to roll the dough too thin and have the quiche bleed through all over your oven, and this is a deep dish egg pie so you want to make sure the crust comes all the way up the sides. What I do is roll two together to make it extra huge and then press into the springform, the overhang up the sides you simply fold over to make the sides double thick, which will support the quiche out of the pan.

To make the egg custard

• Now you should preheat the oven to 425 and make sure the bototm rack is accessible. When onions and bacon are completely cooled, begin making your egg custard filling. this is the easy part. Place all the custard ingredients in a blender, top on and blend that shit up. Start on low speed and increase and blend for about a minute. You want it to be frothy and light AF.

Now onto assemby and baking

• First, put the springform pan on a peice of foil and run the foil up the sides (in case there is spillage). Spread HALF the onion mixture on the bottom of the pie crust, and sprinkle with HALF of the bacon. Sprinkle ¾ cup of the cheese over the bacon and onions. CAREFULLY and SLOWLY pour HALF the egg mixture in. Repeat with the other half of the oinions, bacon and egg mixture...not the cheese.
• Carefully put the quiche on bottom rack of oven and bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the heat down to 325. Continue baking for about an hour. After an hour, sprinkle the remaining cheese on the top and continue baking for another 30-40 minutes. Remove quiche from oven and let it cool completely, and I mean completely. Refridgerate overnight is you can, and up to three days, before rewarming gently and enjoying.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!