One of the great things about eggs is that they can be cooked in various ways, but frying them is arguably the best, especially when dished up as part of a hearty breakfast.
It’s not just the deliciously runny yolk and crispy egg whites that make this meal so appealing; it’s the fact that it’s so quick and easy to do. Simply crack open the shell, tip the contents into a frying pan and heat it up – and within around five minutes you’ve got yourself a winning meal. But according to experts, there is a way to improve this dish simply by ditching cooking oil for one much tastier alternative – butter.
While most fried egg recipes recommend using oil in the pan to stop eggs from sticking, the problem is that most cooking oils, like vegetable or sunflower, have a relatively neutral flavour, so they don’t bring anything extra to the dish other than making it easier to get the egg out of the pan. So that’s where butter comes in instead.
According to cooking experts, butter is a much better ingredient to fry eggs as it adds a richness to the overall flavour and will create a much crispier texture. It also has a higher fat content than oil, which gives eggs a much richer and creamier taste, while allowing for more browning and caramelisation of the whites.
The Happy Egg Co. explains: “The best thing about frying eggs in butter is the taste. Because butter is higher in fat than oil, your eggs will naturally take on that rich butter flavour as they crisp in the pan. It’s similar to the way some chefs add a pad of butter to their scrambled eggs as they cook.
“There aren’t many health benefits to frying eggs in butter, but you’re not adding butter to the pan for the health benefits, you’re adding it for the extra flavour!”
Chef Billy Parisis adds: “There are some small nuances when cooking with oil or butter when frying eggs. Butter will heat more quickly and can have a tendency to burn, but it will enhance the flavour of the eggs. Oil has a higher smoke point and can cook your eggs at low temperatures, giving them that perfect white colour.”
Cooking experts also recommend basting your fried egg with melted butter while it’s in the pan, as this helps it to distribute heat for a more even cook, and it helps to create the deliciously crispy edges on the egg whites.
The Kitchn adds: “Sizzle a generous curl of butter – about a tablespoon per egg – in the pan until it goes foamy, then crack in the eggs. The whites will quickly start to set, and when they do, tilt the pan just far enough so that the butter puddles at the edge.
“Use your spoon to dribble butter over the eggs continuously, until the whites are just set. By this time, the butter will have browned and started to give off that toasty, nutty smell, also known as the best smell in the world.”