Sunny side up!

Add a dash of water and lid the pan [or put a lid over the egg on a griddle] just for a few seconds when the rest of the egg is as done as you like it. It will finish cooking the white without over cooking the yolk.

uh...just a little tip from my mom. Personally, I like my eggs over medium. Pretty or not.

 

Roon, what you need to do is keep your pan at an even cooking temperature, preferrably medium heat. Nancy, good suggestion, but essentially, by adding water to the pan and putting a lid on it, you would then be basting the eggs, instead of making sunny side up.

 

Good point, coolJ. We always referred to basted eggs and sunny side up eggs as the same thing. Want to clarify the difference for me for future reference?

 

Ok the difference is that with sunny eggs the yolk is going to be yellow. and with basted eggs, the yolk will have a skin of white over it, it will look more like an over easy egg, but also when basting you have to be careful not to cook them too long, because they get really hard fast.

 

Baste it my friend,
Covering an egg while cooking it will make it tough, I am talking about ala minute preparations. Medium heat,non stick or seasoned pan, tilt forward to collect the hot butter and baste.
Bingo
cc

 

Let the eggs come to room temp before cooking. The whites will be thinner and a little less viscous. They cook faster. Also, the older the egg, the thinner the whites.

 

I agree with the cooks/chefs fellows here.

Medium heat, tilt to collect the hot butter and baste.

I think that sunny side up eggs is not an easy dish to make.
Simple dishes are the harder ones.


Adam

 

Cape chef , using the butter to baste the egg whites is correct .
This makes for the perfect sunny side up eggs .

 

i've worked at waffle house for over five years and one sure way to get any cook to argue is to ask, "what's the right way to cook an "up" egg?... I'm willing to learn things from everyone no matter what their experience level, but for me there is one, "true" way to go about this method. I go by food network standards,

which pretty much means low and slow. I cook on a flat top, but when I have time I simply crack two eggs into a well oiled seasoned pan, place it on the low heat of the grill, and watch as the rest of my order cooks from beginning to end, so will my egg whites evetually. if it looks like by the time my egg whites are going to be done my yolk could be overdone, first and foremost this means the grill is a little too hot, but i simply use a spoon and put it in the uncooked white and press it to the bottom, "scooting it" a little, breaking open the cooked part underneath the gelatenous undercooked section, and now allowing the more gelatenous uncooked part of the white to cook along the newly created space at the bottom of the pan.

Given all the debate on this topic, nothing can say it better than a pictorial and step by step on how beautiful, and perfect sunny side up eggs can really be. The yolk should be runny, but thicker than over medium yolks, there should be no part of it that is overcooked like a well done yolk, and yet the wites, soft, but completely white, no undone runny, raw egg. No browning whatsoever need be on ANY egg that I EVER cook, whether it be over well, an omelet, or anything. I was trained by a great breakfast cook who would throw away eggs if i made them perfectly...(minus 1 freckle of brown). I can't tell you how many times I see cooks cooking "up eggs" at too high of a temp, overcooking the bottoms, then scraping off the uncooked off the top. GROSS.

And as far as covering your eggs: I work at a restaurant; I am a short order cook; I do what I have to when shit gets crazy, and yes I have covered them for the last few seconds of cooking time, but that would basically fall in line with basting, and someone else mentioned it toughens the egg, it may look right (except it's easy to do it for too long then not only is it technically basted, it LOOKS basted, with a white film over your once beautiful yellow yolks) but that's not how you make sunny side up eggs! If you cover them, that's not making them sunny side up, period. Just like you can make pulled pork in a crock pot and throw barbeque sauce on it it doesn't mean it's barbeque. Sorry, it may still taste good, but it's not.

HERE'S THE BOTTOM LINE: I feel that the best way to simply put this is 1.) oil pan 2.) add one or two eggs 3.) cook low and slow. They should come out perfect if you have any patience.