It’s been a little while since I attempted to fry an egg. But I still remember the terrible time I usually have.
The outside burns. The inside bubbles around the yolk, while I am waiting for what seems forever for the yolk to set. And the whole thing ultimately ends up in the trash, since it is essentially uneatable.
I’ve tried putting the heat up high. I’ve tried setting it low, with little difference. I’ve tried keeping the lid on, and keeping it off.
Interestingly, I’ve had my best luck just baking it in the oven. I put it on a greased cookie sheet. Then it come out picture-perfect–like the ones you get in the restaurants.
FYI, I am talking about sunny side up. But I wouldn’t mind some advice on cooking then over-easy, should that come up too some day.
This applies to a cast iron skillet(9 inch) and gas stove.
Keep the heat low. Even what seems like a short flame can get the pan over 500F.
Get an infrared thermometer. Keep heat below 400F, 350F is better.
Much butter. No, more than that. More.
After placing egg in pan(crack it first ), cover with small lid, small enough to reach the bottom of the pan.
if you have enough butter, you can spoon it over the top, the heat will be enough to help with the cooking.
Back when I was a kid, we would sometimes have our dinner cooked in the following fashion:
Heat oven to 350F
Open a #10 can of corned beef hash; spread the contents over the bottom of a jelly roll sheet.
Crack one dozen eggs onto the top of the hash.
Bake until hash is hot and eggs are cooked (I’m guessing this took maybe 15-20 minutes).
Serve with buttered toast and canned peas.
You need bacon fat to fry eggs. Heat pan on medium. The grease will pop when you add the egg. Use a spoon to baste the yolk and slightly cook it. the It will cook very quickly. Less than 2 mins.
At least for me, perfect egg frying is a quickly lost skill. I have at several times had my technique down. But then, when I go without doing it for a while, I have to relearn it seems. Most cooking things once learned, stay learned, but not eggs
Basting is the method that most people will give you for sunny side up eggs, and it works. It’s delicious and it saves you a ton of time. But, as I recently learned, if you have time you can cook them without basting, you just need lower heat, fresh eggs and more time. For eggs you almost always need less heat than you think. For me, for over eggs I set my range to 4 and a half (out of 10), for up eggs I set it to 3.5, for scrambled about 3.
Trick 1, use butter. Butter is important because of how it melts. It will tell you when your pan it hot enough but not too hot. You want it barely foamy and totally melted.
Trick 2, for up eggs only. Look at the egg cracked in the pan. See how the white has 2 levels? One bit of white is thin and runny right away and another is thicker and close to the yolk? That thicker bit is like a water balloon of runny white. Wait until the edges of the egg are totally set and then take a fork or very sharp knife and carefully puncture it. This is also the time to add salt. Swish the egg around gently in the pan to get the excess white out. Turn down the heat even more.
Wait. Wait longer. (this is the time when basting really speeds things up. Keep waiting until the white is set. It might take a few minutes. Go make toast.
The tough bit is, you have to know your range and your pan to really dial in this stuff. But less heat, more time more butter is usually the answer when it comes to eggs. Once you know your equipment you can move on to bacon grease or olive oil or other fun fats.
I’ve had success with this method from America’s Test Kitchen (called Perfect Fried Eggs).
Put a tablespoon of oil in the pan. Heat it a low heat for 5 minutes.
Crack the eggs in a bowl. This is especially important if you have more than one egg, so they go in the pan at the same time.
Put up the heat to medium.
When the oil is shimmering, add a tablespoon of butter.
When the butter stops frothing, add the eggs.
Cover the pan and cook the eggs for one minute.
Remove the pan from the heat. Let sit 1-2 minutes covered (the longer, the less runny the yolk – you can experiment to get the consistency you prefer).
All that fat everyone is suggesting just seems like a lot to me. Take a cast iron pan and set the burner on low. I set mine to 2. Let the pan heat for a good long time - at least a few minutes, then add a small amount of butter. I use barely a half teaspoon, if that, just enough to add a thin film to the pan.
Crack the eggs into the pan. You can cover them with a lid if you want the white over the yolk to set, but I usually do mine over easy. Wait until the white is cooked and then gently flip. A metal spatula with a thin edge that slides under the eggs easily is my go to for fried eggs.
Fat in pan. Add egg. Fry until yolk is half-solid. Flip and fry other side until every single bit of fluidity is gone from that yolk and the edges of the white are getting nicely crisp. Place properly-fried egg between two pieces of toast and munch.
If you have a good nonstick pan (that would include well seasoned cast iron) you don’t need that much fat. Again, I like butter when you are learning because watching how it reacts tells you when the pan is hot enough or too hot without needing anything else. That said, if you are making fried eggs and not using the fat to add some flavor/texture you are doing it wrong. Poach or soft boil your eggs instead. Fried eggs should taste fried. Don’t eat them everyday, but when you do live a little.
I don’t like covering my eggs personally, not just because it discolors the yolk (which will happen if you baste too soon too), but because it makes the whites all rubbery which I don’t care for.
First of all, what is your perfect egg? And what exactly do you mean by waiting for the yolk to set? Do you want the yolk cooked firm rather than runny?
Personally, I am amazed that there are those like aceplace57, America’s Test Kitchen, and silenus who praise having some crunchiness in an egg. To me that’s an abomination, as I don’t care to chew on cellophane. I also don’t get sunny side up. Sure, it looks cool, but it’s much more fuss to cook right than an over egg.
Anyway, the #1 sin in cooking eggs is having the pan (or grill ) TOO DAMN HOT! Turn it down, for Pete’s sake. On an electric stove about 2½ is right.
For a proper over easy egg, fold the outer super-runny part of the white onto the main body of the white as soon as it’s firm enough to maneuver. When the white appears about half cooked, flip the egg. The goal: all the white firm (none of that runny snot) and the yolk nicely runny. And absolutely NO brown, cellophane, crunch, or anything like that.
If you like a firm yolk, break the yolk so it spreads out and cooks with the white.
Yeah, mine come out great without all that fat or basting. I use a bit of cooking spray on the pan, med-low heat, and cover with a lid. Takes maybe 5 minutes. Although most of the time, I’ll flip the egg and add a slice of cheese and then put it between 2 slices of wheat toast for a sandwich with a slightly runny yolk. Yum.
The basting methods work well. You can simply shake the pan to let the oil lap up over the egg also. If you want the yolk to firm up more you can lower the heat and let it go longer without burning, and also remove the egg to let it rest for a while.
I don’t care though, I go to high heat, fry rapidly, and if the yolk isn’t setting fast enough I’ll go over easy. But I can understand the fried egg aficionado wanting to perfect the process.
I’ve had success with a sunnyside up egg not too gooey on top by cooking in a small nonstick pan with a little butter, as best I can, puncturing the white around the yolk to spread it out in the pan to solidify. Or - I put the toaster oven on ‘broil’ when I start, and put the small pan on the rack under the broiler for a minute or two (with the handle sticking out of the oven). The egg comes out solidified on top, the whites firm, but the yolk still bright yellow and runny.
For sunny-side:
I cook them on my breakfast griddle. As soon as they get on the griddle, splash a bit of water on the griddle and cover the egg with a pan lid. This steams the top of the white to doneness while the griddle takes care of the bottom. Advertisement-worthy eggs in only a few minutes.
), cover with small lid, small enough to reach the bottom of the pan.
