Total Basset Case: 10 steps to frying an egg

Mar 2, 2015

10 steps to frying an egg

We eat a lot of eggs at our house.  A LOT.
I buy them 3 dozen at a time because we eat at least four a day (sometimes more). 
For the longest time we made scrambled eggs every morning and then we got pretty burnt out on that.
So we switched to frying eggs.
Before this, I never knew that it required such talent or skill to fry an egg.
I first have to admit that Mister taught me all that I know about frying an egg.
But now that I know how (and feel I've mastered it) I knew I had to share this information with you.
Even though at first frying the perfect egg seems intimidating, I swear it is very simple! 
1. Get a skillet - the first crucial step is get start with a good skillet.  We use this one and I am in love with it.  NOTHING sticks to it.  I was gifted this skillet for Christmas and it is pricey but it is totally worth it!  
2.  Heat it up - the next important step is to make sure you are starting with a hot pan.  I usually turn ours on between brushing my teeth and putting my makeup in the morning.  I let it heat up for about 4-5 minutes at about medium heat.  
3. Oil all over - I know a lot of people use butter but we use olive oil at our house to coat the pan.
4. Crack the eggs - It is a smart idea to crack the eggs into a separate bowl in case there are any shells that fall in.  However, I like to live on the edge and crack ours directly into the pan.  Wild and crazy.  I will admit, this doesn't always work out well.
This is also usually when I salt our eggs. I love the garlic salt grinder from Trader Joe's. 
5.  Don't touch the eggs - It is my preference to let the eggs sit and cook for about 2 or 3 minutes and then flip them over.  Mister doesn't feel exactly the same way but we will get into that in a second.
6.  Flip flip flip - Once the edges of your eggs are solidified and starting to turn brown, flip your eggs over.  You are half way to perfectly fried eggs.
7. More patience - just like the first side, the flipped side takes a minute or so of patience, but not as long as the original side.
8.  Poke the yolk - This is where Mister and I also differ sometimes.  I like my eggs to be a bit runny so it is usually at this point that I will gently poke the yolk with the spatula.  
9.  Plate up - Slide those eggs on to a plate with some pineapple 
10.  Eat up!

Now there are about 47 million different versions of eggs out there; over easy, over medium, over hard...  I think mine falls somewhere in the middle of a few of them.  It depends on how rushed I am, how good the eggs are, if the pan is hot enough and/or if I am paying enough attention while cooking.  I think it is safe to say mine are 'over Sarah's'.  

Some mornings we have a battle of eggs in our house.
If Mister makes the eggs, they aren't quite at done around the edges or brown as mine are (and that's okay!).   I tend to prefer mine a little more done, with the yolk semi running and Mister prefers them not as done/brown.  Admittedly, my eggs may not always turn out to the prettiest things but they sure are yummy. 

Anyone else have any good egg frying tips?

3 comments:

LifeBegins@Thirty said...

I'm the master of the flip in my house. I wait until the whites are 95% solid, put the spatula under the egg from the side closest to the yolk (because you know how the whites are always bigger on one side) and then pick it up. I then carefully let the long whites side hang down onto the pan and then slowly drop the rest off the spatula. Not sure if that makes sense but it is more gentle then the way you'd flip a pancake and I almost never break my yolk.

Sara Beth said...

The best advice I read somewhere was to let it fry for a couple minutes, but instead of the flip I carefully (because of the oil. splatters are no fun) pour about a tablespoon or two of water in the pan and then cover it for about a minute or so. When I take the cover off, the top is cooked from the steam and the inside is perfectly runny but not too runny. I used to flip, but always accidentally broke the yolk or overcooked them, I've churned out about 90% good eggs with this method!

Kait said...

I want you to come to my house and make me eggs every morning. How about that?