Today I learned to fry an egg, really...

I saw this post from Cooks Illustrated last week and have been wanting to try it...Perfect Fried Eggs.  Mo loves fried eggs for breakfast and in 13 years of practice I haven't figured out how to get four eggs to the table, warm, fried but still a bit runny.  I can serve them perfect but cold, hot but cooked solid, and I continue to specialize in broken yolks.  Most Saturdays it a Russian roulette of all three styles.  Mo doesn't say anything but you can see it in the hesitant, subtle appraisal of his plate.

I often try to avoid the stress of fried eggs (this is not hyperbole, it has been such a frustration that fried eggs remain an unwilling game of chance for me) I scramble our eggs, or I pain painstakingly fry each egg and pray for the best as I predictably overcook, under cook, or break the yolk on each.  But no longer! Those days are behind me.  It's over. Today I made two perfect eggs, in record time, while packing a toddler's lunch.  That should be a recipe category in itself, recipes you don't have to pay much attention to but will still come out perfect!  If anyone can do it, the food perfectionists at America's Test Kitchen can... and they did.

Sophie enjoyed a medium set egg, after it's two minute rest.

They even have a video demonstration. Oh yes, I did watch a video on how to fry an egg. You probably don't need to.

My advice, don't be afraid.  I should have cranked up the heat for the second step, next time I will.

None the less, I am breathing a little easier now.  For the rest of my life, a fried egg won't give me any more stress.  In fact, with this technique, I might even be known for my fried eggs, and that would be egg-cellent. 


Perfect Fried Eggs
adapted from Cooks Illustrated
When checking the eggs for doneness, lift the lid just a crack to prevent loss of steam should they need further cooking. When cooked, the thin layer of white surrounding the yolk will turn opaque, but the yolk should remain runny. To cook two eggs, use an 8- or 9-inch nonstick skillet and halve the amounts of oil and butter. You can use this method with extra-large or jumbo eggs without altering the timing.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• Salt and pepper
• 2 teaspoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and chilled

Instructions

1. 1. Heat oil in 12- or 14-inch nonstick skillet over low heat for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, crack 2 eggs into small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Repeat with remaining 2 eggs and second small bowl.
   2. Increase heat to medium-high and heat until oil is shimmering. Add butter to skillet and quickly swirl to coat pan. Working quickly, pour 1 bowl of eggs in 1 side of pan and second bowl of eggs in other side. Cover and cook for 1 minute. Remove skillet from burner and let stand, covered, 15 to 45 seconds for runny yolks (white around edge of yolk will be barely opaque), 45 to 60 seconds for soft but set yolks, and about 2 minutes for medium-set yolks. Slide eggs onto plates and serve.

Technique

Flawless Fried Eggs: It’s All in the Details

PREHEAT THE PAN: Preheating your pan on low heat for 5 full minutes guarantees that there will be no hot spots in the skillet that could lead to unevenly cooked eggs.

USE TWO FATS: We use vegetable oil, with its high smoke point, while preheating the pan. Butter, added just before the eggs, imparts a diner-style richness.

ADD EGGS ALL AT ONCE: Cracking the eggs into small bowls makes it possible to add them to the skillet simultaneously so they cook at the same rate.

COVER IT UP: Adding a lid to the skillet traps heat and steam so the egg cooks from above as well as below, firming up the white before the yolk overcooks.

FINISH OFF HEAT: Moving the pan off the heat after 1 minute of cooking allows the whites to finish cooking—gently—while keeping the yolks liquid.