The Biggest Mistakes Everyone Makes When Frying Eggs 

What tips do you have for frying eggs?

I L O V E crispy edges. Just coz you don't like it doesn't mean I've cooked it wrong. It's preference. You do your way and I'll do mine.

I’ve been cooking my eggs my way and I’m happy with the results. I use some butter and a pan heated on medium heat. Once the butter melts enough to swirl around the bottom of the pan I reduce the heat to medium low, crack two or three eggs into the pan, season them and let them do their thing. Once they start sizzling a little I move them around the pan, flip them, turn off the heat and count to 15. I flip them out onto the plate and there you have it. It’s not rocket science, it is all about patience. Enjoy your eggs your way.

I have always cooked my fried eggs on medium low heat. I like a more solid yolk and HATE crispy edges. I cook them in butter and the low heat keeps the butter from turning brown (another thing I hate). Just because I'm not following the advice of "experts" on the Food Network doesn't mean I'm doing it wrong. I eat my eggs the way I like them, not the way some trendy cooking guru says I should.

We cook to suit what WE want NOT what someone else says we should have.

One mistake when frying eggs, which we see numerous times in this video, is dropping the egg into the pan from a height. Guaranteed to break the yoke before it even starts to cook.

Any time I cook bacon I reserve the fat and any bits in it. I freeze it in a shallow metal bowl and then cut it into pieces and store that in a container in the freezer. Any time I cook eggs I use a chunk of bacon fat. It imparts a great flavour.

I hate crispy edges on eggs, and Jaques Pépin says to cook your sunny side up eggs slowly with a drop of water to steam covered. I’ll stick with Jacques Pépin it works perfectly.

Just speaking for me, I've never been a fan of crispy edges on my eggs. My guess is most of us probably like eggs the way they were prepared at home when we were growing up. Probably the case with me. So if crisp edges are someone's preference, then by all means, crisp away. We should all eat things prepared the way we like them. And if you should someday find yourself at my house for breakfast, I'll gladly fix them crispy for you.

I loved eggs soo much - at 4 years old I asked my mom to teach me how to cook them. I hate 'burnt crispy' eggs! So - I've been cooking MY Eggs low and slow and perfectly UnBurnt! I had mastered cooking eggs and Bacon by the early 1970's; so no I am not making the mistakes noted LOL

Everyone likes their eggs cooked to their own preference, there is no right or wrong way. Personally I like to cook them slowly in sunflower oil, then when the white has set, gently baste the yolks with the oil so that they become slightly opaque. This way you do not end up with slimy eggs with brown edges. Best of all, the yolk is still runny!

She keeps talking about crispy edges. No thanks, I don't care for crispy edges or browning of any kind. I didn't know that was a thing with eggs?

Crispy egg edges to me means: whoever cooked them failed!

The biggest secret is very low heat most people cook with too much heat

It's interesting to Europeans that this video talks for a couple of minutes about "bringing eggs up to room temperature", because in Europe, eggs are sold at room temperature, and not from the refrigerated section with all the bacon, butter and milk. In European supermarkets, they're ust sat on a normal shelf, usually somewhere near the bread section. The reasons for it are actually quite intereseting, and counter-intuitive and worth reading up on, a clue is how condensation quickly forms on cold surfaces when moved into warm air, and if the egg hasn't been washed properly then bacteria like salmonela thrive in the condenstaion and can get into the egg through the pourous shell, of course, all our eggs are washed to a certain standard before making their way to the shelves. Just an observation on cultural differences, carry on... :)

I start with a good clean pan, heat, add butter, egg, a bit of water and cover with a clear lid. The egg cooks and the steam cooks the top. As soon as I see the top start to turn milky I know it's done with no slime and lovely yolk with no danger of breaking from flipping :)

I do not like over-cooked crispy edges for my eggs so I cook them over low to medium heat with plenty of butter. I either scramble them with plenty of butter and cheese or sunny side up. With sunny side up, I usually put them under the broiler to firm up the whites without over cooking the yolk. I will try to make the sunny side eggs after warming them to room temperature to see if that makes a difference in the white to yolk cooking. you have some great information here! Thanks.

I agree with Walt, I do not want crispy edges. I preheat on medium low and always use butter or bacon grease. I like my eggs over medium and they come out perfect. One thing never to do is cook sausage in the pan--eggs will surely stick.

I never thought a video on frying eggs would last 12 minutes without actually showing you how to cook an egg. I don't like crispy edges. I fry my bacon or sausage in an iron skillet on medium heat, flipping the meat only once. When the meat is flipped, the burner is turned off so the pan begins to cool. When the meat is done and removed, the eggs (scrambled or fried) go into the skillet and results in the eggs not being cooked too fast or too hot. The key to fried eggs is to break the eggs into the skillet, then cover with a lid until ready to flip. After flipping the eggs, cover again with the lid. The lid keeps the heat trapped in the skillet, cooking the egg on both sides and takes less time to cook. I like my eggs over easy.

If it's one thing I can't stand it's a fried egg with the edges burnt and rubbery. Those were cooked with the flame way too high. I throw in a generous amount of butter and let the pan warm up. Then I crack the egg on the edge of the pan. Once they're in I monitor them to see if the pan is getting too hot. Then, I turn the heat way down. This allows the whites to cook without over cooking the yokes. If needed, I gently move the eggs around to make sure they aren't sticking anywhere underneath. Then I flip and turn off the heat. Most of these tips in this video is laughable.

Crispy edges, runny yolk over easy is what I like. You need a cold egg, an extremely hot pan or wok on max heat and ladle the almost smoking oil over the yolk. Essentially deep frying it. Just like a perfect french fry, it is crispy on the outside yet soft on the inside with a runny yolk. And it only takes like 30 seconds to cook an egg this way!!

Mostly good tips. the constant mention of crispy edges doesn't make much sense though. In almost all cases, that means struggling to cut the eggs for a bite.

My wife hates those crispy edges so the way I cook eggs for her is to cook it on low to med low heat, crack an egg and cover it. When the yolk is almost white, it's done. Sometimes I wet the inside of the lid so it can create a steam when you cover it up.

Love eggs. But it's always a rush in the morning. Your techniques are great for Sunday mornings!

I'm an egg lover and this is one of my favorite videos from Mashed. This one is loaded with great tips.

Some of us do not like crisp fried eggs. I prefer eggs that are cooked at a low heat with a firm white but runny yoke. In other words, over medium - NO crisp burned bottom!

I was brought up on basted eggs and love them that way.The fire has to be medium low to medium ....add a 1/2" layer of veg oil to a 6" saute pan- preferably non stick.Allow your whites to cook ,and I sometimes use a lid for a few minutes.I use a solid spatula ,and tipping the pan slightly ,slosh the oil over the top surface of the egg in a constant manner until the top is a lovely pastel shade of pink.Check the white around the yolk area for doneness with a knife tip and cpver ,fire off,for another minute or so.The main idea is to have the white cooked completely(but not hard or crispy) and the yolk be mostly runny.I do like the rim of the yolk a little cooked ,but inner to be runny for toast dipping! It just takes a little patience to master! If you DO get a piece of shell into your cracked open eggs,use one of the egg shell halves to remove it...it will "attract " it and make it easy to remove ..

Non stick pan , butter, low heat, glass cover. When yolks start to turn white remove lid, salt N pepper NO SPATULA simply "dump" onto your plate. Perfect! dip your toast ,sausage, bacon or ham in the yolks. Once you learn this method you can control the doneness of the yolk easily.

Everyone likes them different, but I use a pan on medium low heat, a small amount of oil just to coat the non stick pan, and I let them hang out. I don't like to see ANY runny white, it's gross, so I either baste if there's enough oil, or flip at the end for a few seconds just to ensure there is no uncooked egg white.

I prefer low and slow fried eggs. The white stays tender and not rubbery. don't like brown edges...if the edge is brown it's likely rubbery or over cooked. If you are using the right skillet and fat or butter, you don't need it to bubble from heat to keep it from sticking. I am a baker and I wouldn't use old eggs in my baked goods. If they are expired, but still edible, the dog will love it.

Wonderful advice! I was a breakfast line cook for 20 years. Egg rings are nice but a small 4" Teflon egg pan on the grill works too.

Grass fed tallow, if you can find it, is the best fry grease, then grain fed tallow, also for deep frying.

Love my eggs sunny side up with crispy edges !

I fry my eggs in oil or bacon grease over medium-low heat (3.5 on a 1-9 dial) because I don't like them browned or crispy on the edges. They come out a consistent soft tender white with a soft tender yolk. I'll usually cook one egg over-easy to put on toast and the other will be med-well. A dash of salt, pepper and paprika are all that's needed. (sometimes hot sauce)

I always use a high quality non stick pan and always cook is butter on well heated low heat. Perfect every time.

I don't care for crisp edges, so I start on a low heat, put in a splash of water, put on a lid, and steam gently while frying, it makes a soft egg, and the white cooks on top, almost like over easy.

Being an retired Mechanic, i use good old trusted axel grease! makes me regular!

I don’t know a single soul including myself that likes crispy edges on a fried egg.

no matter how the eggs are cooked but a pinch of salt always does the trick.

I had an uncle who was a Mess Sergeant for the Army for 23 years and then a Mess Steward for another 20 on Ft. Benning, GA. He and family came to my mom's one weekend when I was there she cooked breakfast. I noticed there weren't any eggs and asked did anyone want any. They all said 'yes' so I set about scrambling some. When the eggs were done I took them to the dining room, went back to start another batch and heard, "nephew! Nephew! What did you do to these eggs, boy?" Which was followed by," yeah, cuz? What did you do?" My uncle had always used bacon grease the Army way to cook eggs. I had used butter the way my grandmother had taught me. My mom was proud to hear my cooking get compliments because most people who ate at the house didn't know they were also at times eating my cooking thinking my mom cooked it. I learned in the Army not to let everyone know what I'm capable of doing because some will try to abuse you. That means because they know you can do certain things they'll want you to do them ALL the time because they're too lazy to do it for themselves or learn how to.

i hate crispy anything on my eggs. but the way they talk about how great crispy edges are, makes me feel a little alone now.

If your eggs start bubbling when they hit the pan, you are frying them way to hot. This results in a burnt bottom and too much crispy edges around the eggs. Medium low to medium heat will give you the perfect eggs...

I use a flat surface to crack my egg before cooking, but I add a paper towel under it because there can be some drippage at times. Makes for a cleaner counter.

Great tips here. Thank you!

I concur with most of the other commenters. I do not like crispy edges or any browning of the egg. I like mine cooked low and slow in butter. I love eggs and eat them every day.

I get perfect results frying eggs in stainless steel pans. The key is to preheat the pan, then add oil and let it heat up, then throw the eggs in. No problems with sticking.

Love it! Going to try this, keep up the good work and thank you for sharing again :) 🥰😍

There's a science to almost everything, even cooking an egg. A friend of mine, who played pro hockey for many different teams, and travelled a lot told me, "When looking for a good restaurant, I always start by ordering an egg. If they can't cook an egg the way you ask, they won't know how to cook anything else"

I always flip my eggs for a couple of seconds at the end to make sure no uncooked surface white on top of the egg. Yolk stays runny as long as you don't leave them flipped for too long.

I sure as hell don't want this mob cooking my eggs. Crispy edges get cut off in my house.

Thank you

Glad to have found your channel... love eggs... I'm the egg cooker in this family

If you like a more set yoke, cold eggs are fine. I like the yokes with a little set but still translucent, not opaque. I use an olive oil, coconut oil, butter mix, and flip the egg over medium. No crispy edges for me. I use lower heat. I season both sides with salt, pepper and turmeric. My wife likes them and that's all that matters! I also do poached, scrambled, omelets, sunny side up, and a number if Chinese styles, but over medium is my main technique. If eggs are old but not rotten, hard boiled is a good choice. For an interesting take on fried rice, try a neutral oil fried sunny side up egg on top (soft yoke, crispy edges). You can also use olive oil for Chineses cooking but watch the temperature to avoid smoking the oil. The rice tastes awesome with the yoke and pieces of white mixed in!

I don't care for my eggs to have "a crispy edge." I like to cook mine in butter and a bit of olive oil and sometimes I'll add a teaspoon or two to the beaten eggs along with Turmeric, salt, black pepper, Italian season and maybe cheese. I've only been it since the I was in elementary school in the 1960's. My grandmother cooked for a living and started teaching her 3 grandchildren how to cook when we were in elementary school. There's a small cast iron skillet my wife likes to use when she fries her eggs. It is WELL seasoned. She had it when we met in 1995. We have a cast iron griddle I like to use for eggs, pancakes, biscuits, tortillas, pizza among things.

loved this, learned a bit, thank you

Very helpful video,thanks!😻

When making eggs sunnyside up spoon warm butter on top of the egg white so it cooks evenly and the yolk doesn't overcook and get firm on the bottom while waiting for the egg egg white to be cooked.

Thumbs up Always 💕The person who is reading this comment, I wish you great success, health , love and happiness 🌷

I’ve been cooking mine in homemade clarified butter, and it’s *awesome*

I cook eggs that look and eat more perfect than anything in this video. Every day!! You raved about everything that sucks when you cook em wrong.

And surprisingly, not one single mention of making and using clarified butter. It's easy to make, stores well in the refrigerator, cooks at a higher temperature than butter without browning, and still gives you that nice butter flavor.

How does this make a person more of a professional than everyone else when frying an egg?

Thanks, I learned something.

I'm a lover of Duck Fat. The added flavor is incredible. I do use butter but i use clarified butter or ghee. The flavor is reduced by the lack of the milk: but this becomes an opportunity to adds spices delicately for those that have a bland palette.

I don't like crispy edges. I like my whites nice and soft. If you like this method, use butter but don't turn the heat up to high.

I use 3ply stainless clad pans. And I use butter always. Start the heat high(cooking on gas) and as soon as the butter is sizzlingI and drop the eggs into it and turn down to just below medium. The eggs usually just slide out. Does not rust or chip. I have tossed out many nonstick pans. These pans will likely outlive me and are a pleasure to cook. I think most problems people have cooking is the heat is too high. I like my yokes runny and the bottoms crispy. I am 72 now and my mom taught me to cook when I was 12. I learned early on girls love a guy that can cook. Been married almost 50yrs now.

Thanks for the helpful tips. 👍

I would have like to seen more egg flipping technique.

I always flip my eggs and the fresher the less likelihood of breaking the yolk. Cooking them on one side means they're overcooked on the bottom, no good. I use olive oil and butter as only butter is too rich for me. The temp doesn't really make any difference, hot or medium eggs are pretty heat tolerant, it's just a matter of looking after them.

In my opinion, none of these tips are worth trying. I've been making beautiful, perfect fried eggs for 49 years now without crispy edges. These "experts" can keep their tips, and continue making ugly, greasy fried eggs.

I use a no stick pan, and about 1/2 “ of veg oil. With the oil lightly hot I drop the egg, sometimes 2 with putting the yolks close together, I tilt the pan and baste the oil over the eggs to cook the whites completely and leaving the yolks runny and with a pinkish top,. I love runny yolks but the whites MUST be cooked, so I can dip my buttered toast into that gold! I love to eat grits with my eggs, and once I have gotten all the yolk, I chop up Catherine rest of the whites and yolks into the mound of grits and mix them together. A little salt and pepper- heaven! And I adore some cooked ham with my eggs too! There’s nothing better though than having breakfast for dinner! I don’t care for crispy edges much though, I like beautiful white solid roundish cooked method. My mother in law always reminded me (when I cooked eggs for her!) to be sure her whites were cooked well- she repeatedly admonished me against her whites being “snotty”! And every time they were totally not!

I like the crispy edges when making an egg sandwich. But I cover with a lid with butter and oil for a nice running sunny side up otherwise.

I never heard of using heavy cream to fry eggs. I'll give it a try.

I put a glass CorningWare cover over a nonstick pan. No flipping. Works for me.

I like to add a little dill to my fried eggs too. Never tried paprika; but, will certainly try it.

I cook a good egg. I use olive il, mostly, unless I am making an omelet, and then I use butter, and olive oil, and I cook fried eggs on four, then turn them down to a 2 after flipping them over, at which ttimes I turn off the fire. I just saw an egg ring at the store this week, and ALMOST grabbed one. I shall toss it into my cart, if it shows itself again. Great video.

I love crispy edges!

I love my fried eggs over easy or medium with the white golden, crispy and crunchy. This is the first time I see advice for making them that way. Also: avocado, toast and egg is one of my favorite things to eat.

Looks it's really good and delicious .

Tip to self: Never go to Mashed HQ for breakfast

I don't want my fried eggs crispy around the edges. When I do that it means I messed up.

Covering your pan so the top cooks properly is probably the best tip there is for frying eggs lol. There is nothing worse with eggs than when they are overcooked or undercooked.

I hate it when the edges are crispy. I cook them on medium heat and will put about a tablesppon of water in and cover the pan so the top of the yoke isn't slimy and is just perfectly runny.

There are as many perfect ways to fry an egg as there are people with their own particular taste.

For the perfect Edible Egg Ring, Cut an Onion into Rings. Using Butter in a Skillet then Place the Eggs into the Onion Rings

I rather like crispy edges on my eggs , have for decades .

Depends what you want. Over cooking will get a hard yoke… just right sunny side up where the yoke is still wobbly is perfect for me. For salads, toss a few eggs into boiling water and hard boil them

Make Hash Brown cups to serve the eggs. Inverted muffin tins have worked the best for me as moulds for the hash browns

Thank you for a great show!

Crispy edges? Who likes to crunch through an egg? Not me. This video showed me nothing.

Almost all of the stock video clips showed pans that were too hot with burning, smoking oil. Perfect way to ruin eggs. If the pan is too cold and the fat (butter, or bacon grease best) the eggs will stick. If it’s too hot they will burn and stick. You have to know your stove and pan to know the right heat and time to put your egg in the pan. Place a lid on top to capture heat and steam if you want the perfect sunny side up up where the white has just set over the yoke. Flipping eggs usually results in breaking the yolk. The best way to turn an egg is with a thin flexible metal spatula. I use an 1 1/2 in wide one the is much more nimble in a small pan than the traditional wide bodied ones. Best fats are ghee, or bacon grease.

I use just enough butter to coat the pan. I use med-low 2-3 heat. I gently break the whites so it spreads. I cover the pan (don't add water) so the yolk cooks properly. Mistakes I've make are breaking the yolk and overcooking the yolk. Egg temp before cooking in butter never mattered to me.

I love my Grandma's cooking tip. Bacon grease & real butter. She used an Iron frying pan. And I use ceramic pan, but with Bacon grease & butter, cause it just tastes like Grandma made it.

I can’t stand a fried egg with a crispy edge To me that is a sign of an over cooked egg.

I always use a well seasoned cast iron pan... for nearly everything! PS: Who the crap uses a rusty cast iron pan?!?

thanks for putting me on right path .

You fry the egg the way you want to eat them. Forget how someone else fry their eggs.. we have different personalities. We're different No one is the same.

Non stick pans are great, and can be used for other things and washed without any problems. If you don't have non stick,you can make a pan non stick. Use a solid metal pan (not Aluminium) Dry wipe a frying pan with kitchen tissue and then put salt ( a quarter of an inch) in the base of the pan,place on a heat source, (Solid top, Gas Jet, Electric ring and burn till the salt smokes) remove and let the salt cool down. When the salt is cold, throw away and dry wipe the pan with kitchen tissue, fill with good quality oil(Olive,Rapeseed) but not Butter, as butter has water in it and you end up boiling your fried egg. The first couple of times you fry an egg it may stick, don't panic, remove any egg debris with a egg/fish slice, strain the oil and use again till you can fry without the eggs sticking, after each time you remove the oil wipe dry with kitchen Tissue. Eventually a thing called "the Rime" builds up like a hard shiny skin between the oil and the metal of a pan surface. Do this and only use the pan for frying eggs and you will have no problems, you can use the oil time and time again or remove and strain. NEVER WASH A frying pan with Wire wool or Scotch Brite as this will remove the Rime and the eggs will stick to the pan base. I was a Breakfast Chef at a busy city center Hotel in the UK for a year and fried hundreds of eggs a day, using the same pan and just topping up the oil when needed. I learnt this trick over 40 years ago as a Commis Chef in the UK. NB never have the oil to hot , as this will obviously brown the edges of the eggs, to see if the oil is to hot place a pinch of butter in the oil, if it browns and fizzles this means the oil is to hot, and the fizzle is the water evaporating in the oil. Temperature and age of eggs is BS unless of course the eggs are Rank and to old to be used., when cooking the eggs splash the yolk with the oil using your fish slice, and always do this away from yourself.

I like eggs cooked a certain way and I cook my eggs the way I like them . Thank you for the video 😜💝🎇.

Another source of egg rings is a tuna can, if you can find an old-style can where you can cut off the bottom with a can opener (so the smaller modern ones with the sides and bottom stamped out of single sheet of metal won't work).