Tricks for Frying Eggs?

Doc

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What is the secret to frying eggs and not having them get all dark looking. I like the white ones. How do you make over easy eggs and keep them white?
 

chowhound

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I put a lid on top so the top cooks as fast as the bottom. It will cloud over the yolk on sunny side up, but is just fine for over easy eggs.
 

Adillo303

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I use butter and a cast iron pan. Warm the pan up before putting the butter in.

If the pan is too cold the eggs will stick.
 

joec

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I use ghee (clarified butter) it has a much higher smoke point than whole butter or even oil when I use cast iron pan. Most of the time I use non stick pan without a little ghee. I also do them on medium low heat (about 3 or 4 on my stove). I do my scrabbled the same way.

I also preheat the cast iron before adding ghee though I add the ghee to the non stick and heat it after. I don't add the eggs until the pan is at heat.
 

Doc

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HC said:
I don't use butter in the pan only oil. Usually olive oil.

I wondered if that would make the difference.
To often I use the same pan that I just fried bacon in. I know I know. The bacon grease will make the eggs dark. If no bacon grease then I would use butter or margerine. I'll try oil this morning. No bacon today. We are heading off to set up the reception hall for the party after my sons wedding. :D
 

Miniman

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I just use oil but make sure it is hot before the gg goes in. Once the white is solid, flip the egg over for a few seconds - an over easy egg. I have also cooked them in the same pan as the baco and not had them go all brown.
 

Lefty

Yank
I use cast iron, heat the pan up first (hot pan cold oil, food wont stick) I can do either butter or olive oil and a medium-high heat. They come out perfect every time.

Cooking them in the same pan you just got done cooking bacon will get you dark eggs.
 

Bilby

New member
I have fried egg on toast quite a bit for breakfast and use a sandwich maker to do it. I marg/butter the toast on both sides before I put it on the (cold) flat surface then turn it on. When the first side is cooked enough, I turn it over, put a slice of cheese on the cooked side and butter (marg) the section of the pan where the egg is going to go. (not much butter/marg needed as the sandwich maker is hot and the fat melts very quickly.) I crack the egg slowly so the white only comes out and then I let the yolk fall into the setting white. By the time I have cleared away the rubbish and put away the marg/butter, the egg white is normally done sufficiently to turn it off. Sometimes if the white is too thick, I have to move the albumen off the cooked white to speed things up a bit. Still very soft and the yolk beautifully runny by the time I scoop the cheese toast out on to the plate, topped with my lovely egg!! A good dob of tomato sauce or tomato jam finishes the plate off nicely.

An older/stale egg means that the albumen runs further and so browns more and goes all crunchy instead of nice and soft whites. Also, I bring the egg to room temperature before cooking.
 

phreak

New member
also after you flip the egg DON'T put it back on the heat...the residual heat from the pan is enough to cook the white's but not brown them quite as quick as if it was on the burner.
 

buckytom

Grill Master
butter and temperature are the culprits as far as colour goes. butter will definitely yellow the egg, and it can be browned at higher temps to make it even darker.

and bacon grease can add an orange to brown colour.

we use pam cooking spray, mostly for health reasons. i actually prefer my over-easy eggs a little brown, crispy on the edges, with a warm runny yolk.
 

Keltin

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I put a lid on top so the top cooks as fast as the bottom. It will cloud over the yolk on sunny side up, but is just fine for over easy eggs.

That's what I do too! It makes a perfect sunny side up egg every time.

Also, get a good 9" non-stick skillet. Add a little oil, and then learn the flip trick. All you do is pick up the pan, tilt forward so the egg slides to the back of the pan, once it hits the lip, snap your wrist to jerk the pan toward you, and the egg flips perfectly. Great overeasy eggs, and fun to make as well.
 

BamsBBQ

Ni pedo
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heres i do it Doc..i make sure my pan is not too hot, for me it doesnt matter what i am using as far as butter,oil,marg,cooking spray..it all works for me. and put a lid on it.

when people pay me to cook, i have a dedicated egg pan. (everybody should have a pan that is used for only cooking eggs). here is one of the tricks i use. when the egg is just about ready to flip, throw a tablespoon of water in the pan(ice works best on the griddle) and quickly put a lid on it or some kind of tight seal. poached-fried egg is what i call it
 

Keltin

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Pam is ok if you are NOT using a non-stick pan. Never use PAM (a non-stick spray) on a non-stick pan. It causes a gunky buildup over time that ruins the non-stick surface of your pan.
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
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I use butter in a non-stick pan over low, medium-low heat. I like my eggs over medium...the white done but the yolk runny so once the white is set, I flip them over, and then take them off the heat to finish cooking.
 

buckytom

Grill Master
Pam is ok if you are NOT using a non-stick pan. Never use PAM (a non-stick spray) on a non-stick pan. It causes a gunky buildup over time that ruins the non-stick surface of your pan.


now you tell me. :confused:

lol, but thanks k. dw has ruined 2 or 3 emerilware frying and saute pans this way. i couldn't figure out why the non-stick surface was getting sticky. it wasn't scratched, but rather sorta coated with something.

so now we buy cheap $10 tramontina pans at costco, and toss them when they start to get cruddy.
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
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Several years ago when I first got my Emerilware, I made the same mistake and used PAM on it. It built up a brown residue on the pan. That was when I learned about not using cooking spray on non-stick. I figured I could either toss the pan or try to clean it so I scrubbed it with Barkeepers friend (even though they tell you not to) and it's fine now...but I don't use cooking spray in it anymore.
 

joec

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Another mistake people make with non stick pans is adding oil or butter after the pan is hot. They work best if you add to a cold pan then heating it up. The opposite is true on other types of cookware. I had a problem with build up in them when I first started using them also though I've never used a spray such as PAM anywhere except on my grille after cleaning it. When I replaced those pans with some others after a few months the instructions that came with them had explicit instructions on how to treat the non stick cooking surface. The second set lasted me/my wife about a year and now I own 2 scan pans fry pans that still look great after 2 years of almost daily use. I will be replacing them with two replacements in the soon to be released CRX scan pans.
 

what cha got

New member
I wondered if that would make the difference.
To often I use the same pan that I just fried bacon in. I know I know. The bacon grease will make the eggs dark. If no bacon grease then I would use butter or margerine. I'll try oil this morning. No bacon today. We are heading off to set up the reception hall for the party after my sons wedding. :D

I leave the bacon grease in the pan and then spoon the grease over the eggs. I have never had them turn dark.
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
now you tell me. :confused:

lol, but thanks k. dw has ruined 2 or 3 emerilware frying and saute pans this way. i couldn't figure out why the non-stick surface was getting sticky. it wasn't scratched, but rather sorta coated with something.

so now we buy cheap $10 tramontina pans at costco, and toss them when they start to get cruddy.

I learned the hard way too. We actually had a thread on how to clean this up a while back. Sadly, my pan was too far gone for the trick to work.

http://www.netcookingtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6084
 

aya09

New member
While frying the egg, I also scoop the oil and place it on top of the egg to cook. And also don't forget to test egg's freshness. Fresh eggs sink while stale eggs float.
 

Sass Muffin

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2 T butter gradually brought to medium high heat in CI skillet, with eggs dropped in just when butter starts to sizzle. Flip when whites are nearly cooked, cook on the other side for about 30 -40 seconds, flip once again. Done.
That's how I do my eggs.
 

Shermie

Well-known member
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Actually, you can just add a bit of oil to the butter, say 50/50. Then it won't burn. The OP didn't want "browned" fried eggs which is usually the result from using butter anyway. ;)



I think I've done it that was before, come to think of it.

Yeah, I like mine with the yolk broken and cooked though - either hard or soft, but not runny.
 
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