should you fry eggs on low or high heat

I embark upon this column in the full and certain knowledge that many of you already know how to fry an egg. Indeed, if you are completely confident in your abilities, and never find yourself disappointed by a sadly snotty white or tragically chalky yolk, then pat yourself on the back and then move along – I can teach you nothing. But if, like me, you can fry a perfectly decent egg but wouldnt stake your life on your habitual method, then you are more than welcome to join this brave voyage back to the basics of cookery.

Those still reading should take heart from the fact that the great Fernand Point, feted as the father of modern French cuisine, is said to have judged a chef by the way he fried eggs. Hed interrupt hopeful apprentices at the stove, legends including Paul Bocuse and the Troisgros brothers, with the cry, “Stop, unhappy man – you are making a dogs breakfast of it!” before demonstrating the only proper way to execute the dish.

Further reassurance comes from award winning Spanish chef José Andrés, who claims “my whole life I have been trying to cook an egg in the right way.” Andrés exalts in what he calls “the humbleness” of the dish, but that doesnt mean he just slings it into a hot pan and goes off to make some toast – far from it. Both these culinary giants have very different ways of frying an egg – but whos right? (Note here Im aiming for the standard British fried egg, known in the States (and perhaps elsewhere?) as “sunny-side up”. There will be no flipping.)

A nice, steady medium heat is perfect for frying eggs. If the pan is too hot, the bottom cooks while the top is still liquidy. If the pan is cooler, the egg will take longer to cook. The pan should be just hot enough that you get a little bubbling action when the egg hits the skillet.

The egg itself: when is an oeuf an oeuf?

Here Ill be concentrating on the hens egg because, realistically, thats what most of us cook up, but its worth pointing out that duck eggs have larger yolks, proportionally (and are also bigger all round) and, arguably, a better flavour than many commercial hens eggs. Be aware, however, that the higher protein content of the white will mean it cooks through more quickly, so it may take some practice to get right. (With ostrich eggs, youre on your own.)

As ever, if you keep your eggs in the fridge, then you should let them come to room temperature before cooking – if you start with a cold egg, then youre more likely to end up overcooking the yolk trying to get the white to set. Very fresh eggs are best for frying, because the stronger proteins will give you a neater shape (this may sound obvious, but older eggs are better for things like boiling, because theyre easier to peel).

Frying obviously involves adding fat – thats why its so popular. Bacon fat is the traditional choice in this country, and still advocated by Delia, but very few of us eat enough of the stuff to have any around: I often use it if Im doing eggs and bacon for breakfast, but although the flavours good, it does make for a messy looking egg. Delia also suggests substituting groundnut oil, which creates the opposite problem – its clean, certainly, but deliberately neutral tastewise.

More popular are olive oil, as favoured by Jamie Oliver, the aforementioned Andrés, and American food writer David Rosengarten (“the unaccustomed marriage of fruity olive oil flavor with creamy egg defines anew the upper limits of fried-egg excitement”), and butter, beloved of Point, his culinary disciple Bernard Loiseau, and Cooks Illustrated, among others.

Both lend their distinctive flavours to the egg, so it depends what youre going to be serving the dish with – Id default to butter, because I think the richness is a better complement for the yolk, but if I were plopping it on top of a pile of morcilla and chickpeas, I might go for olive oil instead. (For a fry up, however, I will brook naught but butter.)

Delia uses a high heat for her favourite fried egg, which, she explains, has a “slightly crispy, frilly edge; the white will be set and the yolk soft and runny”. She cooks it at this temperature for 30 seconds, then turns the heat down to medium for another minute, which does indeed yield the crisp white she describes. I find it too tough for my taste though: its like chewing through a hairball, although I concede that the yolk itself is satisfyingly runny.

Andrés goes for a medium-high heat instead and, like Delia, tilts the pan to baste the egg throughout cooking. Using a smaller, steep-sided sauté pan and more oil, however, means his egg sits in a pool of hot fat, almost as if its being shallow fried. It takes me a few goes, and a lot of spitting oil, to get the technique right, but it yields a perfectly cooked egg in just 30 seconds – if you dont mind it looking like a brown poached egg rather than a cheery fried one. Andrés explains that the technique “achieves a higher level of browning around the entire surface of the white, which imparts a distinctive, much more flavourful taste, given the level of caramelisation of the proteins and sugars”. Personally, although the contrast of texture between this outer shell and the soft, gooey yolk inside is undoubtedly interesting, its not what I want on my breakfast plate.

Oliver dismisses such “crispy, bubbly eggs” in favour of cooking them gently over a medium-low heat. Indeed, he suggests cracking the egg into a cool pan, and allowing it to heat with the oil, cautioning that “if [it] starts to spit … turn the heat right down”. Far better from a cleaning point of view, certainly, but is the result noticeably nicer? Its certainly “soft and silky” as promised, but the white takes absolutely ages to cook through. Theyre the best eggs yet, but Im not convinced theyre perfect.

Point cooks his egg on a heat “so low that the white barely turns creamy”, and then finishes it off with melted butter. This is certainly a nice idea, but apart from the fact its more butter than egg (an idea not without its attractions, I admit), it leaves me with quite a lot of undercooked white. I assume this is a deficiency in the iteration of the recipe, rather than Points technique, but a lump of melted butter is never going to cook a white thats not even changed colour properly.

The Biggest Mistakes Everyone Makes When Frying Eggs

FAQ

Do you cook eggs on high or low temperature?

Is it OK to cook eggs on high heat?

What temperature do you cook eggs on a skillet?