Michael Symon's Tip For Perfectly Cooked Fried Eggs

Whether you prefer them over easy, sunny side up, or over medium, a YouGov poll reports that 41% of you take your morning eggs fried. And, if you've ever eaten a burger served with a fried egg, well, you know the curative effects it has on your favorite hangover crave. Still, search the TikTok hashtag #friedegg, and you'll join the 354 million other viewers who perhaps find themselves in a quandary about how to cook a fried egg just right. From using scallion oil to cracking an egg onto a hot car hood, you might find methods that leave you with less than desirable results.

From crack to sizzle, fat forms the narrative arc of a well-executed fried egg. But resisting the urge to count fat grams doesn't always come naturally. Trust us. Go ahead and resist. While some types of fat are more important to your diet (per Mayo Clinic), fat is indeed flavor. The New York Times, for example, uses olive oil for lineal perfection between Spanish fried eggs and sunny side ups, whereas Michael Symon uses butter to create perfectly fried eggs.

In a TikTok video shared by Michael Symon, he starts with a non-stick pan over medium heat. He then slowly melts a bit of unsalted butter in the pan as it warms, pointing out that the butter should gently bubble without reaching a full froth stage, which could cook the egg into a chewy disaster, according to The Guardian. 

Cracking eggs over the pan can also get a little tricky if you're not a pro. So, Symon suggests cracking it into a small bowl prior to gently sliding it into the bubbling fat. As the whites of the eggs set, he sprinkles a pinch of salt and pepper while lowering the heat for about 30 seconds. At this point you may be tempted to flip the egg, which Symon says isn't necessary. Instead, baste it with the residual fat left in the pan for a picture-perfect sunny side up egg. 

If you want to cook the egg over easy, which usually calls for a quick flip (per Get Cracking), he recommends popping a lid over the egg to create steam for a 20 to 30 second count. This will keep your yolk from breaking, and "you're good to go," he says while plating his perfectly fried egg.