If you struggle to maintain a runny yolk when cooking a fried egg, a simple hack could be the answer. While many people flip the egg to cook both sides, Briony May Williams suggests an easier method – using a splash of water.
Sharing a tip she first learned from a cooking demo, The Great British Bake Off star said: “I’ve got a tip I learned a few years ago about cooking a fried egg, and it really helped me.
“I hate the bits that are uncooked on top, but I also don’t want to flip it because that can ruin the yolk. So how do you fix that?
“I saw it in a demo somewhere… when the eggs are almost cooked, if you pop a dash of water into the pan and then cover it with a lid – it doesn’t have to fit perfectly – and let it steam for a minute, it cooks the top without touching the yolk.”
Briony also weighed in on the long-debated milk-or-no-milk question when it comes to scrambled eggs.
While some chefs say adding milk can dilute the flavour, others argue it helps improve the texture.
“Some people mix a little milk in before scrambling. I suppose it makes them slightly runnier, maybe a little more diluted in flavour,” the chef shared.
“But, that’s personal. Sometimes I even make scrambled eggs in the microwave, which I know would upset a lot of people.”
Briony also opened up about her approach to omelettes, adding: “I always put a little milk in with the eggs. It amplifies the portion, increasing the volume without needing extra eggs.”
These tips come ahead of the release of her debut cookbook, The Retro Recipe Society, which brings together 50 recipes inspired by her love of retro cuisine and timeless classics.
The book includes starters such as waldorf salad and carrot, coconut & coriander soup, mains like toad-in-the-hole and chicken caesar orzotto, and desserts including sticky toffee pudding, mini strawberry cheesecake pavlovas, and jam roly-poly.
The chef says some of her inspiration for the recipes comes from her extensive collection of “vintage cookbooks”.
“I started looking through them and discovering all these amazing recipes,” she shared.
“And I realised that when you start talking to people about old recipes – ones their parents or grandparents used to cook – their faces just light up. People really love the nostalgia and love reminiscing about them.
“So I thought, this would be wonderful, to collate some of these recipes in one book, while also including a few modern twists. I call them the remixes.”
The Retro Recipe Society by Briony May Williams (Found, £24.99) will be available online via Amazon, TikTok Shop, Found.US, and all major e-book retailers (£10.99) on 20th October.
