I know what you’re thinking — everyone knows how to cook eggs, right?
Right?
Well, most of us can make it work one way or another, but there are plenty of ways to make perfect eggs, whether you want them boiled, scrambled, poached, baked, sunny side up, omelet, or… oh yeah, there are dozens of ways to make eggs.
But we’re keeping it simple here. Many of these different ways are just the same principle with a slightly different twist — for example, soft boiled eggs are just hard boiled eggs that you cook a little less. Those variations will always be mentioned, but won’t be considered a “new way” to make eggs. Otherwise we’d be here all day.
Never salt the eggs right after you break them, or while whisking them. Wait until they get a certain consistency, or when the dish is ready to season it.
1. Boiled
Boiled eggs need little attention while they boil, which gives you ample time to prepare the rest of breakfast while they’re cooking.
- Fill a pot with enough water to completely cover the amount of eggs you’re boiling;
- Bring it to a boil and drop the eggs in;
- Let them boil for about 10 minutes.
A nice trick for peeling boiled eggs (which we first mentioned here) is gently pushing a spoon inside the shell to loosen it off. You can also give them a quick ice water bath, which helps a lot.
To make soft boiled eggs: the process is all the same, but instead of leaving in the boiling water for 10 minutes, cut that time down to 6 minutes. This will make the egg white firm, but the yolk soft.
2. Scrambled
As we go forward on these ways to make eggs, you’ll notice any of these can be “customized” by simply changing the cooking time.
Like so, scrambled eggs can be hard or soft — dry or creamy, by simply adjusting how long you cook them for.
- Crack and pour the eggs in the pan with a small chunk of butter;
- Start heating the pan on medium and whisk the eggs with a spatula. Use a spatula to turn and fold the eggs. Keep stirring for the entire time;
- Useful tip: To avoid your scrambled eggs from overcooking, simply take the pan off the fire from time to time, stir for a few seconds, and put it back. Only on the last time you take it off will you season with salt and pepper.
- If you want soft scrambled eggs, cook until they are not runny, but still look wet. That’s your cue get them out off the fire;
- If you want hard scrambled eggs, simply cook them a bit longer, until they look dry.
- Once they’re the way you want them, immediately get them out of the pan and on a plate, ready to serve!
3. Omelette
The omelette is very similar to scrambled eggs in theory. There are many ways to go about it, but here’s the basic rundown:
- This time you can whisk the eggs on a separate bowl until the egg white and yolks are totally mixed together. Don’t season with salt yet;
- Heat a skillet over medium heat for about 30 seconds, then grease it with a chunk of unsalted butter;
- Finally, pour the eggs in and bring the heat to low — this will prevent them from burning, and makes sure everything cooks evenly;
- Pretty soon, you’ll notice the omelette starting to gain consistency. When that happens, sprinkle some salt and pepper, and add the stuffing you want. Usually some veggies, meat, cheese, or all of the above.
- Then, be ready to either flip or fold the omelette — whatever you prefer, and it’s ready!
To fold, simply use a spatula and fold the edges over the stuffing before serving.
To flip (obviously without stuffing), you can always use a spatula, but omelettes break easily. Instead, train the professional flipping technique with the skillet — flipping the omelette in the air.
It’s not as hard as it looks — to train without fear of injury or mess, put a slice of bread on an unheated skilled and train flipping the bread over. The trick is confidence. Try this for a few minutes, and when you’re making an omelette, it’s the same thing. And you’ll feel amazing for pulling it off!
4. Fried
Fried eggs are usually very quick to make, so you need to keep both eyes on the skillet every step of the way:
Non-stick skillets are great for frying eggs, especially if they perfectly fit the amount of eggs you’re frying — usually one at a time for home breakfasts. To make a sunny side up egg:
- Heat the skillet at medium heat for 30 seconds;
- Crack the egg and pour it in the skillet;
- To cook the top of the egg without flipping it over, you can try covering the pan for a little bit and let the steam cook the top.
- If you don’t mind that, simply turn the egg over with a spatula, let it cook for a few seconds, and enjoy your sunny side over egg.
- Finally, season to taste and serve!
5. Poached
This is the hardest one for me, and according to the internet, for a lot of people too.
But like any other recipe, practice makes perfect, and it didn’t take more than a couple tries to get the perfect results.
- Fill a saucepan approximately 2/3 with water and bring to a boil. Then, bring the heat down and let it simmer;
- Crack the egg on a small cup — doing so makes it a lot easier to pour it in the water, but we won’t pour it in just yet;
- Add vinegar to the water — this helps get the consistency we want;
- Use a whisker to mix the vinegar and whisk the water for a few seconds, just to create momentum in the pan;
- Now get the egg and with the cup, ease it in the water, letting the momentum you’ve created take it in;
- Cook for about 4-5 minutes. The exact time is hard to tell and it’s also subjective to your personal taste, but as a rule of thumb, when you think it’s ready, grab the egg with a large spoon. If it’s still runny and falling out the edges of the spoon, leave it in for 10-15 more seconds, and try again. The yolk should be soft, but the outside shouldn’t be runny.
- Take the egg out with a spoon, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve it!
Those were the 5 basic ways to make eggs! We know there’s a lot more variations out there, so feel free to tell us which one is your favorite!
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