Thursday, February 12, 2015

The Consumption Of A Fried Egg

Since it didn’t rent and to keep it from going to waste, Bev and some girl friends are spending the week at our timeshare in Gatlinburg, TN doing a little shopping, exercising, and eating out.  Meanwhile I’m watching the house, the pets, and tending to Madison.  When I talked with Bev one morning, before I ate breakfast, she read part of the breakfast menu from Crockett's Breakfast Camp to me and I became instantly hungry.

Now if you have stopped by here more than a couple of times, you probably know I love eggs and eat them most mornings for breakfast and after this days meal a blog idea was born for a repeat meal.  There are many ways to prepare eggs and several methods just to fry them, not to mention the many, many ways to consume them once cooked, but this post is just about cooking and eating fried dippy eggs.

I had done a similar post four years ago, but I cooked the eggs differently and did not publish my criteria back then so I decided on a redo. 

My disclaimer is that I am not a professional egg cook nor do I claim this to be the ideal way to cook or eat them for everyone.  Having said that, here is my criteria for cooking:

1. Maximum amount of runny yolk.
2. White part done or mostly so.
3. No crispy edges as they make cutting with a fork difficult.
4. Cooked reasonably healthy (olive oil vs. my preferred butter).

I always use a non-stick skillet and for these and I didn’t want to flip them so I added about 1/2 tsp. of olive oil (#4) and 1/2 tsp. of water to make steam – for this method I use just enough flame to make the water boil (sizzle) – (#1, # 2, & #3).  


When the water begins to sizzle (can you hear it out there?), I add the eggs and quickly cover with a glass lid – so I can check doneness without removing the lid (#1 & #2). 


The purpose of the water it to create steam and hot water droplets which cook the top of the eggs (no need to flip) while the direct heat cooks the bottom thereby making the process happen faster and reducing the amount of hard cooked yolk next to the skillet (#1).  

As soon as the white is done enough for me the lid is removed and the eggs are slid onto a plate taking care to keep them together – bear in mind that the white does not have to be completely done around the yolk as it will continue cooking on the plate - it will disappear into the running yolk anyway, but try convincing Bev of that.


I usually take mine out before the the yolk begins to whiten and I make removing them on time the kitchen priority regardless of what else is happening with sides, etc – all to achieve #1.

The following are shots from the previous post when I flipped the eggs, but the eating process is the same.


Now, let’s discuss how to eat them using this criteria:

5. Some of the yolk in every bite.
6. Eat the last of the yolk with the last bite of bread.
7. Leave as little yolk on the plate as possible – for Coco to lick off.

I begin by puncturing one of the yolks such that it runs onto the egg white and not the plate, then I use half of one slice of bread, or English muffin, to sop it up (#5 & #7).



Then repeat with the other egg.


It is now time to cut up the eggs with the fork side while stirring to distribute the remaining yolk evenly among the pieces of white and coating most of them.


The egg is then eaten while using the bread to keep moving everything toward the pile and wiping up any yolk on the plate all the time insuring that at least two bites of bread are left to wipe up any remaining yolk from the plate bottom once the white pieces are gone (#6).  This may take some practice to make sure the yolk on the plate and the bread comes out even.


And this my friends is the recipe for the perfect (for me) way to cook and eat dippy eggs but a caution - don’t try this at home unless you are willing to eat eggs several time a week as it can be habit forming.  

It should be pointed out that this same cooking method works for using the eggs to top almost anything - see next post.

Thanks for stopping by and joining me on the fun little post at Almost Heaven South. 

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Larry

2/08/15 event date

20 comments:

  1. Perfect way to cook eggs at home, and the way I love to eat them too.
    After cooking 25-30 dozen eggs a week in my restaurant for 10 years i got a lot of practice too.
    Much easier to cook on a flat top grill that I still miss.

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  2. Live so close but still haven't been to Crocketts for breakfast! Love you egg method...it's the only way to make eggs.

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  3. I've had a chance to watch you personally make eggs using your method and they always turn out perfectly. I'm not fond of runny white, but the ones you made for us had none of it. You've really got egg frying down pat Larry.
    Sam

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  4. Now I wish I had had eggs for breakfast. I'm impressed with your method of making (and eating) eggs.

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  5. You are the expert of fried eggs IMHO. Thanks for the pictorial Larry.

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  6. You are the expert of fried eggs IMHO. Thanks for the pictorial Larry.

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  7. Jim loves eggs as much as you do. I like them in omelet form (with no cheese of course) on a sandwich. But our fried eggs have to have well cooked whites with some crispy on them. Regardless, Jim's plate looks like yours when he's done and the girls sure wish he'd leave a little bit more for them to clean up.

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  8. Yep. That's how I like them too. I make mine the exact way except I use olive oil cooking spray instead of regular olive oil. I am also with you that I would rather cook them with butter if I wasn't watching my health.

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  9. Larry, Interesting way to cook eggs... I'd never seen that before. It's interesting how different folks like their eggs done differently. We like ours easy over with the white around the yoke just barely cooked. We mop up our yoke when we're done using toast or an English muffin. I usually add bacon to the muffin once I've mopped up the yoke. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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  10. That's the same way I make fried eggs which my mother taught me. When dinner has to be simple and quick it's a fried egg sandwich on really good bread (done just a little more than yours). Yum!

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  11. Ah, just the way we like'm. Yum!

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  12. When I want runny yolks I cook them sunny side up like you did. When I flip them, I like my yolks firm, solid even. Odd, I know.

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  13. I always cook mine sunny side up, but have never tried the steaming concept. Interesting. Note to Larry: Never let your wife read you menus. It will make you hungry.

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  14. AI beg to differ ... you are too a professional egg cook and you should claim so. Your description is EXactly how I like eggs. And I also add a little bit of water to the pan. That plate with the toast made me instantly hungry ... it's an egg lover thing. When we were in Solvang last year, we went to a restaurant that offered up all kinds of pancakes..waffles..sausages.. Everyone went overboard and received heaping plates of food. I ordered just eggs and toast. While they wallowed in their syrupy meals, I was basking in simple goodness. :) Love the photo of that empty plate.

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  15. I must disagree with you, although you did say it was your opinion (the blog is yours so you should be allowed-lol). I love cooking fried eggs in just made bacon fat. Leave enough fat in the skillet to push over the yolk, or the white if you like sunny-side up. Add a little grind of black pepper. You don't need any additional salt since the eggs are cooked in the bacon fat. I may have to try your eating method though as mine usually leaves too much yolk and I no longer have a Coco (I'm assuming dog) to lick the plate.

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  16. This is a terrific play-by-play on how to cook and eat eggs with runny yolks! As a kid I would eat the entire white and throw the yolk away. Couldn't stand it - I still like the yolks cooked now - unless it's on top of ham and an english muffin and topped with Hollandaise sauce! Hope you are both well - take care and have a great weekend.

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  17. Really? Seriously---I think you're really a professional egg cook! :-) I bet you rarely meet an egg you don't like! Your cooking method sounds like a must try! I love your style of devouring them and that's definitely the way I go at it too. Just wish I had a Coco!

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  18. Great foodie minds must think alike! I adore eggs and just can't believe that I just posted something on eggs moments ago before coming to visit your blog to see what you've been up to. I totally agree on every point that you made about how to eat and to include some of the runny yolk in each and every bite. Coco, our Siamese cat, would not be allowed one lick at all though!

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  19. This is how I like my eggs cooked also. For years I have "basted" them with the butter or oil in the pan, because that's how my Daddy always made them. I found out last year that he doesn't cook them like that anymore...this is exactly how he cooks them now. So I am again following in his footsteps on how to make eggs, lol. I personally don't like the egg whites unless they are mixed up with the runny yolk like you do it so I usually only eat the yolks. Funny thing when my sister and I were younger (well actually still) she doesn't like egg yolks so we would just share our eggs, I got the yolks and she got the whites! Anywhoo I just found your blog tonight and I am looking forward to reading further and enjoying more of your recipes.

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