How to Cook Eggs

There are many different methods on how to cook eggs, especially scrambled eggs. Many recipes call for adding cream or milk to the eggs to make them fluffier. This does work, but creates a consistency I do not prefer. The methods I have outlined below are the ways I have been taught by my family, and a few other tricks I have picked up along the way to cook eggs. The first dish I ever cooked on the stove was scrambled eggs. My mother took a picture of me, that I still have today. I was scrambling eggs in the same cast iron skillet that I still have, in the small kitchen of the home that I grew up in. I was about 3 years old standing on a step stool at the stove, with mama carefully watching over me.

Scrambled Eggs

The perfect way to scramble eggs is to first start with the right tools. You must use a small cast iron skillet (up to four eggs) or a larger one for more eggs. The skillet must be well seasoned. See how to season cast iron here. A bowl to scramble the eggs in, a fork, and a spoon.
Next you start with a cold skillet and add fat. I prefer to use half butter and half olive oil. About a teaspoon of butter and a teaspoon of olive oil. Then you turn your burner to high heat. Crack the eggs in a bowl and add kosher salt and cracked black pepper. Then scramble them with a fork. Wait until the butter is sizzling and swirl the oil and butter all around the pan, making sure to get oil partially on the sides of the skillet.
Now add the scrambled eggs. Stir them around until they are halfway done, then turn the burner off. Continue cooking until the eggs are completely set.

Poached Eggs

To poach eggs, you must first start with a pot or pan wide enough to hold the eggs and deep enough to fill with enough water to cover your eggs, about three inches. You then bring the water to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. When the water is not boiling anymore, and is 160 – 180 degrees, you can add the eggs. First crack each egg in a small bowl and then slowly immerse them into the hot water. Then gently push the white of the egg close to the yolk. Then cover the pan and turn off the heat. Cook them for approximately 3 – 5 minutes. 3 minutes will yield medium firm yolks, and 5 minutes will be very firm. Adjust the cooking time to your desired yolk firmness. Remove eggs from the water with a slotted spoon and drain well.
You can use a several things to make poaching eggs neat and easy.
An Egg Poacher (search amazon and ebay for ideas)
Egg Rings
Mason Jar Rings
Tuna Cans – Just remove the top and bottom, and the label.

Fried Eggs

The most delicious way to fry eggs, is in the oil leftover from frying sausage or bacon. After removing the bacon or sausage, reduce the heat to low. It is easiest to remove the oil from the pan you cooked the meat in and add it to a nonstick skillet before frying the eggs. However, the tastiest was is to use a cast iron skillet to cook the meat, and then fry the eggs in the same skillet. The eggs may stick a little this way, but are much tastier because you are using the bacon or sausage fat and scraping up the delicious brown bits from the meat when you remove your eggs.
To fry the eggs you should start with the pan on medium low heat. Then you should crack each egg in a small dish first, and then slowly pour it into the frying pan.
For eggs sunny side up, you should let the egg could for 3 – 4 minutes, or until the white of the egg sets up. (You may want to tip the pan and scoop up some of the oil with a teaspoon and pour it over the egg white to help cook it.)
For eggs my favorite way, Basted eggs, you cook the eggs the way you would for sunny side up eggs, except you keep spooning the hot oil over the egg yolk until the egg yolk is white in color. This method is a compromise between sunny side up and over easy. For eggs over easy you should cook the egg on one side for 2 -3 minutes, and then flip the egg and cook it on the other side for 2 -3 minutes. The yolks are runny in eggs over easy.
For eggs over medium, you cook the eggs a little longer than over easy, until the yolk has a medium consistency.
For eggs over hard, you cook the eggs even longer, until the yolk is completely set. The easiest way to achieve this method is to pour the egg into the pan. When the egg white is mostly set, you break the egg yolk and flip the egg. (This is my husband’s favorite way.)

Boiled Eggs

The easiest way to cook hard boiled eggs, and prevent cracked shells is to put the eggs in a saucepan and cover with water. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Then turn the heat off and cover the pan for 15 minutes. Then drain the hot water and cover in ice water to cool the eggs and stop the cooking process.
For soft boiled eggs my father’s way, put the eggs in a saucepan and cover with water. Add a teaspoon of salt and bring to boil over high heat. When the water boils, turn the heat off and cover for three minutes. Then drain the eggs and run under cold water. The eggs will be pretty runny this way, you can adjust cooking time to your personal preference.

Photo credit: Brianna Lehman