Cook The Whites Of Your Fried Egg Without Flipping Or Steaming With A Simple Technique

Frying eggs can be a pain, especially if you like runny yolks, which are too often accompanied by undercooked whites. The usual solution is to flip the egg to cook the other side, which can result in a broken yolk that ends up overcooking, or eggs all over your stovetop. My mother taught me a common restaurant technique of adding a splash of water to the pan to steam the white until it's cooked through, though this can often overcook the yolk and make your eggs taste watery. My stepmother taught me a Southern technique of tilting the pan and spooning the hot grease over the top of the egg to cook the white, but this can also overcook the yolk.

An Instagram user shared a video demonstrating a simple technique for getting a fully cooked, crispy white and a very runny yolk without steaming, grease splatters, or broken yolks. They cooked the white separately, placed the raw yolk on top, and then folded it up into a little packet. The result looked like an over-easy egg lover's dream: crispy whites and a molten yolk. I tried this method for myself, and it just might be my new go-to technique for frying eggs, with some modifications.

The Instagram user advised that you'll want to use two egg whites for each egg yolk, which left me questioning what to do with the other yolk. I could have used it to make an Italian (rather than American) carbonara, but I wanted to see if I could accomplish this feat with a single egg. I heated my trusty carbon steel pan — which is chef Gordon Ramsay's favorite frying pan — until it was smoking, added a thin smear of oil, pressed my slotted spatula onto the pan — which would presumably allow me to lift and separate the yolk — and cracked a large egg onto it. As I tried to lift the yolk from the white, it broke, so I ended up placing the yolk into a small bowl to add back later. Trying to spread the white around proved challenging, and it ended up tearing. It worked, but it looked like a mess and didn't seem to be any better than my usual half-scrambled attempt at an over-easy fried egg.

So, I made a few modifications. I separated two eggs into two separate bowls and then gently beat the whites to break them up, making them easier to spread in a hot pan. I then fried the whites in a single thin layer and waited until the top was set and the bottom was crispy before depositing the reserved egg yolks. I folded it up, slid it onto a plate, and marveled at the lack of mess. Then came the moment of truth: It was perfect! You definitely need two whites for this to work, but they actually create a large enough wrapper to fit both egg yolks inside. Definitely give this one a try if you like over-easy eggs.