How-to's, Recipes, Behind the Scenes
PrintHow to Make Eggs Over Easy
Produced by cia_b of Writing With My Mouth Full
The Takeaway
George Weld says:
- Use a nonstick pan over medium heat. The pan should be hot, but not too hot—the egg shouldn't sizzle when it hits the pan.
- Place egg gently into pan.
- The egg actually has two separate whites, outer and inner. The inner takes longer to set and is the part of the egg that you should judge doneness by. Once inner white is solid, then you flip.
- After initial flip, let egg sit 15 seconds to set outer white, then flip again.
About the Chef
George Weld is a self-taught cook who grew up in Virginia and the Carolinas. He has been cooking eggs since 2004 at his restaurant, Egg, in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York. In 2005, Egg was named best breakfast in New York by New York magazine and has been featured or reviewed in the New York Times, the New York Daily News, Japan's Title magazine, and Charleston magazine.
Egg's address is 135A North 5th Street, Brooklyn NY 11211; 718-302-5151. It is open 7 a.m. to noon weekdays, 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. weekends.
About the Video Folks
cia_b is a Filipino New Yorker who writes with her mouth full at writingwithmymouthfull.com.
When not dealing with scut as a medical intern, Stan Kang flexes his one creative muscle by making still and moving images.
More in this series: How to Poach an Egg, How to Make a Rolled Omelet, How to Scramble Eggs Perfectly
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11 Comments:
Just a few notes:
* That's not an expensive pan whatsoever. I've seen so many chefs and cooks use those things for eggs I sought them out. It's an 8" non-stick from Lincoln by WearEver, which is available at a lot of restaurant supply shops. That 8" is about $15, and the 10" (which we use for omelets) is about $20. I tell my kids not to use them for anything but eggs and omelet fillings. You can see pics here of my 14-year-old this past weekend practicing for an upcoming omelet buffet with one-each of those pans and a pair of butane stoves.
* I tell the kids the egg is ready to flip the first time when the egg moves easily in the pan. I could see Chef George doing almost the same thing in this video without saying so.
* The kids are occasionally practicing the flip with an old, beat-up 8" skillet and some marbles. ;-)
LunaPierCook at 10:34AM on 10/07/07
Thanks for the notes, LPC. They really lend some additional insight to the video. I like the marble-flipping idea, though I don't even wanna imagine what kinda racket that makes ;)
Adam Kuban at 11:04AM on 10/07/07
They'll use an old uncoated All-Clad for that, which can really take the abuse from the marbles. And they do it outside ... but not for long ... ;-)
LunaPierCook at 11:16AM on 10/07/07
I was just going to say—I'd make them do it outside.
Adam Kuban at 1:10PM on 10/07/07
One of my teachers suggested practicing the flip with a slice of bread. Marbles would...uh, definitely get everywhere with my technique. -__-
roboppy at 1:10AM on 10/08/07
Damn. I really want to watch this. I've been eating over-easy eggs my whole life OUTSIDE my home, never able to figure out how to do it myself.
Alas, I simply won't sit through pre-roll ads on internet video. Not even 14 seconds. Not even two seconds.
I realize they must be a necessary evil. But still, huge bummer.
missbhavens at 2:27AM on 10/08/07
missbhavens -- I didn't see an ad, and still don't. If what she said those first two seconds is an ad, I can't tell at all. There's no "huge bummer" here!
LunaPierCook at 4:34AM on 10/08/07
I wonder how marbles compare to bread in practice flipping. Bread I think would be a little more forgiving, whereas if you don't have a really soft hand with the marbles they would fly everywhere.
Very excited to experiement with this. For too long I have just done a bulls eye (a slice of wonder bread with the egg fried in the middle) when I wanted over easy eggs at home.
SkinnyFatty at 11:12AM on 10/08/07
I was taught that the secret to perfect eggs, whether over easy or scrambled, is to keep the pan relatively cool. They take a bit longer to cook, but who wants an overdone egg? In my opinion, his pan is way too hot, and the egg went in way too soon. I agree the egg should not sizzle when it's added, but it shouldn't sizzle later either. I add cold butter and add the egg after the fat has stopped bubbling. If the pan is hot enough, the outer white will begin to set as soon as it hits the pan. Immediately reduce the heat to low or medium-low to keep the egg from browning and the edges from lacing (his did both). Also, eggs cooked on a griddle are easier to flip with a pancake turner than those cooked in a skillet.
To practice flipping items, use dried beans or uncooked rice instead of marbles. They won't damage your pan, your floors or your cabinets, and if you do lose some, nobody will get hurt by flying marbles or a fall caused by stepping on one that got away. And, if you practice outside, they are biodegradable!
LoCo at 5:10PM on 10/08/07
Thanks for nice technique. For those who are interested to make Sunny side-up eggs, here is some useful link: SuTree.com-Sunny side-up Egg
Alya,
SuTree.com - Learn Anything. On Video.
alyai at 7:24AM on 01/28/08
How come it wasn't done in one take?
Is it that hard or complicated, I dont think so!
phauxtoe at 7:09PM on 03/28/08