“How do you want your eggs?” How many times has someone asked you this question at a restaurant and you had no idea what to reply? “What’s the way where it’s fried but the yolk is still runny?” “Aren’t sunny side up and over easy the same thing?”
Eggs truly tie breakfast meals together. They’re great for a lot of reasons: inexpensive, easy to prepare, cooks quickly, and offer a solid source of protein. They’re also extremely versatile and you can prepare and cook them in many different ways.
So, how do you answer the next time a server asks how you’d like your eggs? In this article, I will explain 5 ways to cook eggs. This will help you easily answer this question in the future.
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1. Hard Boiled
Essentially, boiling water cooks a hard boiled egg in its shell. The “hard” refers to the consistency of the egg white and the yolk. Making a hard boiled egg is a piece of cake.
Fill a pot with enough water to cover your eggs by approximately two inches. Bring it to a boil and carefully drop in your eggs and leave them for 10-12 minutes. To make peeling easier, put the eggs in ice water after boiling, then gently tap and roll them on a counter.
If you desire precise control over the consistency of the yolk, we recommend getting an egg cooker. Life changing!
Bonus: you can hard boil a bunch of eggs at the one time and refrigerate them for later. Eat them with a sprinkle of kosher salt, or chop into chucks for salad. Delicious!
2. “Perfect” Scrambled
To make super creamy scrambled eggs, use the method taught by Gordon Ramsay, which I like to call “perfect” scrambled eggs. Oh, you don’t know about it? Allow me to explain.
Crack your eggs into a pan over medium-high heat, along with one, thin slice of butter for each egg. Then start stirring with a spatula.
Break the yolks, let them mix with the butter and whites. And keep stirring.
If the pan gets too hot, lift it off the heat briefly. And keep stirring. Yeah, a lot of stirring.
Do this for about 2-3 minutes, until the eggs start coming together. Right before you take them off the heat, add a dash of milk or sour cream. Stir that in, then ladle the eggs onto toast and sprinkle with herbs or salt and pepper.
The result = some of the creamiest, softest, scrambled eggs you’ve ever tasted. It will blow you away.
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3. Sunny Side Up
Sunny side up just means your egg yolk looks like a bright morning sun.
To make it, crack an egg directly into your greased fry pan. Then fry it until the edges turn brown, WITHOUT flipping. Flipping your sunny side-up egg will turn it into an over-easy egg.
Big no-no. The yolk is runny, and depending on how long you fry it, the white is completely or partially set. We refer to these as runny or “dipping” eggs. The runny yolk is great for dipping toast into.
For the best sunny side up egg, use this egg cooker. It guarantees the perfect result. Bonus: you get to have the perfect shape for adding your egg to a sandwich or even a bagel!
4. Poached
Poaching your eggs is like boiling but without the shell. This means you’re avoiding any hard edges.
The cook has cooked the white through and the yolk is warm and runny. Just imagine it mixing with a bright hollandaise on an eggs Benedict. Ooh, that’s my kind of breakfast.
The methods for poaching vary. Restaurants looking to poach in bulk will often immerse ramekins with raw eggs into boiling water, sometimes a whole tray full at a time. If you’re just poaching at home, it’s actually much easier than you may think.
Here’s my method: I call it the Whirlpool. Heat your water just shy of a rolling point. Add a dash of vinegar (some recipes call for a 1/2 cup, but that’s often too much for me. I prefer my eggs not tasting as acetic acid thank you).
Crack the egg into a tiny bowl. Swirl the water in your pan to create a ‘whirlpool’, then carefully drop the egg into the center. The swirling pulls whites altogether in the center.
Leave it in the water for about five minutes, then lift it out with a slotted spoon. You’ll have yourself one tasty poached egg!
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5. Over Easy
People often use the terms “eggs over easy” and “sunny side up” as the same, but they have distinct differences. Trust me. You go from sunny side up to over easy by simply flipping your egg when the edges are brown. The “easy” doesn’t refer to the simplicity of flipping an egg, but the state of your yolk.
The term “over easy” describes flipping the egg and cooking it until a film forms on the top of the yolk. When served, the yolk – and some of the whites – are still runny.
Concerned about flipping in this method? Try Target’s double pan for effortlessly making over-easy eggs.
If you’re looking for other protein-filled recipes or tips, check out our protein-rich foods article, low-carb high protein snacks, protein-packed smoothies, protein desserts like brownies, and even protein powder facts! Yes, we definitely have a lot of protein articles for you to choose from!
