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47 Comments
karenheff
October 5, 2022
I’ve basting my fried eggs for as long as. I can remember. Just made these (using the “simply genius” cookbook). WOW! My favorite way to eat fried eggs from now on. I didn’t get any splatter, but the dunking was SOO good!
Letscook
September 23, 2020
I have some lovely duck eggs in the fridge. Can’t wait for lunch, think I’ll try half teaspoon smoked paprika.
Thanks for sharing 💕🍳
Thanks for sharing 💕🍳
GigiR
September 23, 2020
Is there some reason you wouldn’t use a screen spatter cover, or a semi solid & screen spatter cover? It actually catches spatters. No?
If you use a spatter cover which is more like a lid with a circle of mesh in the middle, your egg whites while steam a tiny bit more and the yolks will be just right.
If you use a spatter cover which is more like a lid with a circle of mesh in the middle, your egg whites while steam a tiny bit more and the yolks will be just right.
Marsha
May 28, 2020
I just made these eggs and they are wonderful!
I actually made dual duty out of the spicy oil. Spicing the oil to follow the Jeffrey Alford & Naomi Duguid's Spicy Cucumber Salad - with hot peppers, Sichuan peppercorn, chili flakes & paprika. After spicing the oil, I made the eggs, which were amazing. Then I poured the oil over the seasoned cucumbers. Dual duty and both are fabulous!!
I actually made dual duty out of the spicy oil. Spicing the oil to follow the Jeffrey Alford & Naomi Duguid's Spicy Cucumber Salad - with hot peppers, Sichuan peppercorn, chili flakes & paprika. After spicing the oil, I made the eggs, which were amazing. Then I poured the oil over the seasoned cucumbers. Dual duty and both are fabulous!!
Jo
June 23, 2019
Keep a few pieces of folded up foil in your oven. When you are going to make this messy dish, unfold the foil and surround the pan on the stove. Cover up the other burners and stove around the egg pan and your work just got a lot easier. Fold the foil in half when done and put it back in the oven for next time. Or use new foil each time. You could put a pan screen or pot cover on top but you still have to remove it from time to time, so not very effective.
ddh77
June 22, 2019
I have to laugh when I see this "NEW" method for cooking eggs. My mother and every diner across America have been making BASTED eggs for at least 75 years, usually using bacon grease which is much more flavorful than olive oil. The technique thoroughly cooked the white of the egg (yes, with crispy edges) but allowed the yolk to remain runny.
Nothing wrong with changing to the healthier olive oil and adding spices, but they are still basted eggs.
Nothing wrong with changing to the healthier olive oil and adding spices, but they are still basted eggs.
Emily B.
June 21, 2019
Fried eggs are staple breakfast in my house. They are able all I can cook in the morning before coffee. I would say, regarding the temperature, I use an electric skillet with tempterature control. I keep the warm up temperature at 225 degrees, and if that's too hot, I'll lower as low as 200 degrees. The egg cooks through perfect.
Anonymous
July 23, 2018
I make this ALL the time now!!!!! Unbelievable! What an easy upgrade to fried eggs! It does spatter, so I put a lid on the skillet, which helps cook the top of the eggs. Highly recommend these!
Mary
September 21, 2017
I am thinking that this is the perfect way to upgrade my favorite breakfast, egg on grits.
David
September 20, 2017
I like to fry off a generous lump of sobrassada in some olive oil and push to to the side of the pan as it starts to brown and drop the egg(s) into the pan oil. Serve on toast with the slightly crisp Sobrassada sprinkle over. You get a similar result to this recipe with added pork deliciousness! I've also done this with Nduja too for a spicier kick though missing the smokiness of paprika.
Cookie
September 20, 2017
Try it with a lump of nduja, it melts beautifully into the oil, and gives you a smokey, spicy, flavor that's perfect with fried eggs (and potatoes), and a beautiful rich color.
sewold
September 20, 2017
I'd love to go back to the old baste with bacon fat fried eggs but I try to stay away from that much fat now. We used the pancake turner (spatula) to "splash" the fat back up onto the yolk to cook it to perfection!
Lynne G.
July 2, 2017
Do away with the spattering!?! Get the deep silicone 'collars' from "the Grommet" and high heat fry with no mess!
ewinrus
July 2, 2017
Try this variation: heat a bit of coconut oil, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and let them pop for a bit before adding a touch of powdered turmeric. Add your egg (I like mine over-easy) and serve on steamed rice.
Terry
July 2, 2017
Would a saucepan or something with higher sides not help to contain the splatters? How would switching implements affect the egg?
Lauren K.
July 2, 2017
Took this advice to heart and tried it this morning! Loved my fried egg with brown butter and smoked paprika on a bed of kale, red onion, carrots, and Portobello. Topped with my infused olive oil (mint, basil, lemon, and garlic) and a good balsamic. Thanks Food52 for the idea! Of course, used all local produce either purchased, grown, or given.
Sherman K.
July 2, 2017
I tried and experiment yesterday that will now become a standard procedure. I wanted to melt a slice of emmenthaler cheese over the yoke but realized my skillet would not achieve that. So, when the egg was still runny and the whites formed but not done, I popped the cheese on top and put the skillet under our oven broiler for a few minutes, watching very closely. It worked and I got a very tasty fried egg with melted cheese on top.
FoodFanaticToo
May 27, 2016
I love that this is being shared with people who may not have heard of the basting method of doing eggs. I learned how to fry eggs by watching my grandmother baste them with the bacon fat, or with butter. I'm going to try adding some za'atar or red chili flakes!
Kitty R.
May 25, 2016
Best thing about this article was the memories it brought back...my Mama fried eggs this way-there were no "non-stick" pans and she never added any spice to the grease. If there was no bacon, sausage or fat back grease in the pan, then she would use some left over from frying Sunday's chicken. Those crispy edges and "runny" centers-what I wouldn't give to have one of her eggs right now.
MOMMAK75
May 23, 2016
I've been doing this with coconut oil for a while now....merely started as an accident! So awesome!
lovemykai
May 23, 2016
Hey you! This is a NEW concept to me and I assume, fairly confidently, to others as well. GENIUS!?
Thank you for sharing
Thank you for sharing
Deepali P.
May 23, 2016
i recall being warned against cooking olive oil too hot as it doesn't have a very smoking point...,. do we not have to worry about that anymore?
Karl C.
May 23, 2016
I like the paprika idea, and I'll try it. However, I really, really don't like the edges of my fried egg to be crispy and rubbery.
Printz
May 22, 2016
The best splatter screen on the planet is last nights empty cardboard pizza box- propped on its side far enough away from the flame to not catch fire...
Francesca
May 22, 2016
Hardly genius. This is an old trick. I keep a small bottle of chilli oil on the side of the stove for last minute drizzling on eggs or anything else.
Kate's K.
May 22, 2016
Oh yes, been doing this for years - or ever since I discovered I loved smoked paprika. Not only good - love the color too!
Ralph U.
May 22, 2016
Have been doing it for a time....and putting it on top of white rice.....very Cuban....fantastic
Rosemarie M.
May 22, 2016
Oh good grief. Use a screen or silicon splatter screen and stop fretting about the mess. Or simply cook your eggs without all the added fuss and enjoy them unadulterated. Angst over a splattered stove. Sheesh.
Kathleen R.
May 22, 2016
Might need to be prepared to turn on your over-range exhaust. In my experience, adding paprika and/or cayenne pepper to hot oil has produced a short but powerful eye-burning assault.
cucina D.
May 22, 2016
I have been cooking eggs with olive oil as my Italian famiglia has done for years, a few years ago I decided to try a wonderful Sanish paprika in my fried eggs and I have never turned back. Delicious, smoky and just perfect. Now when I need a true indulgence I also sauté some spicy chorizo and serve this with a sautéed spinach or Swiss chard and rustic toasted bread
Bodacious
May 22, 2016
instead of smoked paprika, what we do here in New Mexico, is use some new Mexico red chile powder. It will give the complexity of the paprika and add a nice kick (the intensity of which depends on whether you use, mild, medium or hot chile).
Pat S.
May 22, 2016
I've been using chipotle infused olive oil for several years to fry my egg in...it adds just the right amount of heat and my eggs are always crisp around the edges and the yolk is perfect. Many years ago my father cooked eggs for me in bacon grease...so this is not a new concept but it's a good one.
Frank
May 22, 2016
Um, my mom did this with bacon grease my whole childhood. They're called basted eggs. I usually like the short recipes, but this GENIUS thing is getting really old.
Heather Z.
May 22, 2016
Basted eggs are when you cook your egg in the fat of your choice, but with the addition of some liquid (water usually, but other liquids can be used), and then put a lid on the pan so that the top of the egg is steamed as well as the direct heat from the pan cooking the egg from below.
Kt4
May 22, 2016
Have you not heard of basting a Thanksgiving turkey? Frank is not wrong. Self-basting, or auto-basting, is when you let a lid on the pan drip condensing steam onto the item you're cooking for you; this is the type of basting you are accomplishing. In other words, you are both correct :)
Heather Z.
May 22, 2016
And when one speaks of basting a turkey or ham, or what have you, generally butter and/or some kind of broth is involved.
Alexandra S.
May 19, 2016
That photo of the 5 plates of eggs is unreal. Can't stop looking at it.
So happy to read that vinegar is welcomed here, because Roger Vergé's fried eggs with vinegar are my favorite. Can't wait to try these!
So happy to read that vinegar is welcomed here, because Roger Vergé's fried eggs with vinegar are my favorite. Can't wait to try these!
AntoniaJames
May 18, 2016
Splatter guards were made for this type of cooking. Well worth the modest investment. A folding one can be slid in next to a wall in your cabinet, if (like me) you have a kitchen that can charitably be described as Lilliputian.
;o)
;o)
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