KEEP YOUR SUNNY SIDE UP
While frying eggs is hardly rocket science, here are a few tips to help you get it right:
o Fresh eggs fry better than those that have languished in the refrigerator. Their whites are firmer and they will hold their shape better while cooking.
o Use a nonstick skillet or, if nonstick is not an option, use one made of well seasoned cast iron. An 8 inch skillet will suffice for a single egg, and a 12 inch pan is adequate for four.
o You can cook eggs in butter, oil or bacon fat. Butter is the classic.
o Heat whichever fat you choose over medium heat until it is hot (if it isn’t hot, the eggs are likely to stick when you drop them into the pan). Once your eggs are in the skillet, make sure that the heat stays at medium (eggs cooked over high heat will be tough and rubbery).
o Break one egg at a time into a cup or a small bowl, not directly into the skillet, and slip it gently into the pan before proceeding to the next egg. You want to limit the spread of the egg in the pan, and to position the eggs so that they don’t touch each other while cooking.
o Your goal is to create whites that are firm, and yolks that are still runny. Some recipes tell you to achieve this by tipping the skillet as the eggs cook and splashing hot fat on top of the whites (but not the yolks) to firm them up. I prefer, after all the eggs are in the skillet, to cover the pan so that steam cooks the tops of the whites. The eggs will be done to my taste, with runny yolks, after about one and a minutes. If you prefer firmer yolks, cook the eggs a minute or two longer.
o Shake the pan occasionally as the eggs cook and use a rubber spatula if necessary to release any egg sticking to the pan. Serve immediately.
