Perfect Fried Eggs, Steam Fried Eggs, Egg Recipe, Basic Fried Egg

Perfect Fried Eggs
Basic Fried Eggs - Steam Fried Eggs

Very fresh eggs produce the best shape when frying eggs. A non-stick pan eliminates or reduces the need for fat.

Perfect Fried Egg:

First let's talk about the perfect fried eggs. A French technique that very slowly cooks the eggs in butter. This method was developed by Master French Chef Fernana Point (1897-1955) at his 3 Michelin Star rated restaurant La Pyramide in the 1950’s. According to the book, The Perfectionist - Life and Death in Haute Cuisine, By Rudolph Chelminski, Fernana Point's favorite saying was: "Du beurre! Donnez-moi du beurre! Toujours du beurre!" Point insisted: "Butter! Give me butter! Always butter!"

In the first chapter, Luxe, Calme et Volupté, Chelminski details how Loiseau’s mentor, the infamous Chef Fernand Point would test visiting chefs with a challenge to show him how they fried a simple egg, declaring that the easiest dishes were often the most difficult to prepare. When, inevitably, the chef insulted the egg with the sizzling hot surface of a frying pan, Point would cry, "Stop, unhappy man - you are making a dog’s bed of it!" And then he would proceed to demonstrate the one and only civilized manner of treating an egg. Very slowly, very gently, and swimming in butter of course.

Following is Chef Fernana Point's recipe:

Place a lump of fresh butter in a pan or egg dish and let it melt - that is, just enough for it to spread, and never, of course, to crackle or sit; open a very fresh egg onto a small plate or saucer and slide it carefully into the pan; cook it on heat so low that the white barely turns creamy, and the yolk becomes hot but remains liquid; in a separate saucepan, melt another lump of fresh butter; remove the egg onto a lightly heated serving plate; salt it and pepper it, then very gently pour this fresh, warm butter over it. - Fernand Point

Fried Egg
Now for the modern version (rather my version) of the above recipe:

1 fresh large egg*
3/4 tablespoon of butter
Salt and pepper

* Use the freshest and best eggs you can find.

Place a small non-stick frying pan over the lowest possible heat on your stove (if using gas, you should barely see the blue flame.)

Add the butter and let slowly melt, making sure it doesn't foam and is not sizzling.

When all the butter has melted, crack the egg into a small bowl, dish, or saucer (taking care not to break the yolk and to remove any shell fragments).

Gently slide the egg off the dish into the frying pan and cover with a lid.

Continue cooking approximately 5 minutes until the egg white solidifies from transparency into snow-white cream; the yolk will thicken slightly as it heats. How quickly the egg cooks is dependent on how low you have the heat.

Do not flip the eggs but leave the egg sunnyside up and natural.

When your egg is done, slide cooked egg onto a serving plate; sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper, salt, and serve.

Basic Fried Eggs:

Heat a non-stick skillet (or a regular skillet greased with a small amount of butter, margarine or cooking oil) at medium heat until just hot enough to sizzle a drop of water. Or use a regular skillet and add a small amount of butter or oil.

Break eggs and gently slip into the skillet. Immediately reduce heat to low. Cook slowly until whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not hard (turning eggs gently to cook both sides or adding a small amount of water and covering with lid to cook tops of eggs). Season with salt and pepper as desired.

Steam-Fried Eggs:

Reduce butter to just enough to grease pan or use light coating of cooking spray and/or nonstick pan. In a frying pan over medium-high heat, heat butter until just hot enough to sizzle a drop of water.

Break and slip eggs into pan.

Immediately reduce heat to low.

Cook until edges turn white, about 1 minutes.

Add 1 teaspoon water (for more eggs, decrease proportion slightly for each additional egg being cooked). Cover pan tightly with lid to hold in steam.

Cook until whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not hard. Remove from pan and season as desired.

Gas flame on lowest heat.

Butter in the pan waiting to slowly melt.

Egg on small saucer.

Egg in frying pan before placing lid on top.

Pan covered with lid.

After approximately 5 minutes, fried egg is cooked. Time to remove from pan.

Salt and peppered, and ready to eat and enjoy!