For starters:
• Melt a little bit of butter into a skillet, or coat a pan with a thin layer of oil.
• Keep the heat on medium -- you don’t want to burn the butter, and too-high temps make for rubbery eggs.
• Crack the egg on the side of the pan -- gently! -- then carefully slide the egg into the pan. Reduce the heat to low.
Pick your dish:
Over easy. Wait 3 minutes before you go poking at the egg with your spatula. Be patient! Once the white is set, carefully slide the spatula under the egg and flip the whole thing over. Let it cook for another 2 minutes before serving.
Over medium. Wait 4 minutes or so before flipping the egg. Then let it cook for another 3 minutes.
Over hard. Wait 5 minutes or longer before flipping; cook for another 3 minutes.
But don’t forget about sunny-side up! Turn the heat to super-low, and the egg will cook slowly enough that the white will set long before the yolk becomes hard. So don’t be afraid to let it cook 5 to 6 minutes before serving. Still worried about runny whites? Cover the pan with a lid while the egg cooks.
-- Paula Kashtan
Dec 17, 2010