Golden Sunny Side Up Fried Egg
Did you know that a fried egg could be a thing? When I heard this, I thought βwait, everyone makes fried eggsβ¦β How could something as simple as a Sunny Side Up Fried Egg be worthy of coverage?
Now this whole thing started when I caught a PBS special about food legend Alice Waters. Turns out she makes an egg thatβs actually famous! (Really, google it!) Said chef and food writer Ruth Reichl,
“I could look at any dish that Alice had made and know that it was Alice’s… All good cooks have an identifiable style… Alice’s is very strong; if she fries an egg for you, it’s not like anybody else’s egg”
Then, just a couple days later, I happened upon Smitten Kitchenβs Crispy Egg. Crisp, actually chip-like on the edges, it was another trademark egg. Okayβ¦ an eggβs a thing!
I first created my Sunny Side Up Fried Egg out of nostalgia for my fatherβs vacation eggs. His were always fried en masse. Basted in a pool of bacon grease. The best!
This meant that I would be frying in βbaconβ fat–or now side pork (like thick unprocessed bacon) from our annual quarter pastured pig. No side pork? Then stick with the bacon that worked so well for Dad (though consider nitrate-free varieties)!
It goes like this:
First you fry up for bacon or side pork to get a nice pool of grease. Remove the meat with a fork or tongs and keep it warm in a 170 F oven. Donβt drain the grease.
Add the eggs to the cooking pan and cook on medium. The whites should bubble up which is a sign the temperature is right.
Baste the eggs occasionally (careful, grease is hot) so that the whites get cooked through. Adjust heat as needed (too much spattering = too hot, not browning underneath = too cool).
When the whites are cooked through and the bottoms are crispy brown, your eggs are done.
Now some days my eggs come out with brown edges, others, itβs just the bottoms. (Dad’s were never crisp at all, just bacon-y). All good.
So thank you Dad–and Happy (upcoming) Father’s Day everyone!
Sunny Side Up Fried Eggs
Ingredients
- 2-3 slices bacon or side pork per person
- 2-3 eggs per person
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Fry bacon or side pork until crisp. Remove the meat with a fork or tongs and keep it warm in a 170 F oven. Donβt drain the grease.
- Crack eggs into the frying pan. Discard shells. Fat should be hot enough so the eggs immediately sizzle and bubble but grease doesn't spatter. Cook, basting occasionally with hot grease until bottom is crisp and white is cooked through. (Cook yolks to taste, noting the FDA wants you to know soft eggs may be hazardous to your health)
- Remove eggs with a slotted spatula and serve immediately.
Nutrition
- Sparkling Strawberry Limeade
- Quick Lemon Garlic Salmon
ah, the power of pork fat! π
It is a wonder!
Look wonderful Inger!
Thanks Gloria!
I love eggs, and the yolks are my favorite! And in bacon fat?? Yum!
I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that eggs, almost deep-fried, would turn out so well π