Very good sunny side up eggs

If you like your fried egg well done, if you even turn it while frying or if you like it crispy, with dark edges and big bubbles in the egg white, don’t read any further from here on. Of course, this is all legitimate if you like it.

However, we like our sunny side ups with a perfectly runny yolk and an egg white that is tender and soft, without the acrid taste it can take on when fried for a long time. We also want the egg whites to be cooked evenly, which often doesn’t happen with such eggs: while you’re waiting for the whites to finally set around the yolk, the edges or even the bottom are long overcooked. In the worst case scenario, the liquid egg yolk will also have had its day.

This is also because eggs are highly different and behave differently depending on how fresh or older they are. With very fresh eggs, the egg white holds together better and the fried eggs are usually smaller and higher. With older eggs, the egg white spreads further in the pan and then naturally becomes thinner.

That’s why we describe two methods here that always succeed with any egg.

First tip:

Do not crack the egg on an edge, such as the edge of the pan, or by using a knife. You can easily damage the yolk and small pieces of the shell often get into the egg white. Always break your eggs on a flat surface. A small crack in the shell is enough.

Second tip:

Do not crack the egg directly into the pan. Open it over a small bowl.

You will see in time if the yolk is still in one piece and obtain a nicer shape when you add it to the pan

You should use a non-stick pan for frying. Anything else will quickly make you unhappy.

Third Tip:

Always fry your eggs over a very low heat. This gives you much more control over the cooking process, which is very short, and your egg whites will be wonderfully tender. On our cooker, the maximum energy is level 4 out of 10.

We always use a small piece of butter, because of the taste – the alternative would be neutral oil

When the butter has melted and becomes translucent, we very gently slide the egg into the pan and salt it delicately.

Whether it gets bigger or smaller has a lot to do with the age of the egg

Next tip for this type of preparation:

Immediately add two to three tablespoons of water to the pan, around the egg, and put a lid on.

Steam forms in a few seconds, which also cooks the egg very gently from above.

Even through the lid you can see when it is ready – sometimes the yolk coats itself with a delicate milky layer – then it is cooked sufficiently in any case

Tenderest egg whites, everywhere, and runny yolk

This is also how Jaques Pépin prepares his sunny side up eggs. If you like, you can grind a little black pepper on top.

But we like to do it a little differently:

First of all, we separate the yolks from the whites. Don’t buy any gimmicks for this, but do it in one of these two ways.

For the heat of the pan, of course, the same applies as above. Only this time we just put in the egg white, which is again salted immediately.

Optionally, you can now tilt the pan slightly and drizzle a little melted butter over the egg whites with a small spoon.

When the egg white has become almost completely opaque, make two small cuts in it with a spoon, in a cross shape. Then carefully pour the egg yolk on top.

It can, but does not have to be placed in the centre

The sunny side up egg is carefully lifted out of the pan when the egg white is done. The yolk has then only taken on a little temperature and is even more liquid than in the other variant.