In this edition of Epicurious 101, professional chef and chef instructor Frank Proto demonstrates how to level up your breakfast game with his ultimate guide to making the best fried eggs at home.
Director: Parisa Kosari
Director of Photography: Kevin Dynia
Editor: Boris Khaykin
Talent: Frank Proto
Director of Culinary Production: Kelly Janke
Creative Producer: Debbie Wong
Culinary Producer: Jessica Do
Culinary Associate Producer: Leslie Raney
Line Producer: Jen McGinity
Associate Producer: Amanda Broll
Production Manager: Janine Dispensa
Production Coordinator: Elizabeth Hymes
Camera Operator: Jake Robbins
Audio Engineer: Rachel Suffian
Researcher: Vivian Jao
Post Production Supervisor: Andrea Farr
Post Production Coordinator: Scout Alter
Supervising Editor: Eduardo Araujo
Assistant Editor: Andy Morell
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The secret to any pro chefs cooking is an assload of butter and a truckload of salt. 😂
How is this not the top liked comment? 😂
And make a mess around the pan!
Honestly this and understanding how to use heat depending on what your cooking but thats the one most have trouble with
butter is delicious
@@BassibasukkiButter by itself is not delicious at all. It merely enhances the flavor of everything else when combined.
my first cooking lesson at age 7 was how to make a fried egg sandwich. It is still a comfort food for me 50 years later. 😋
What do you make yours on? I like an English muffin.
@@Klaus99999 for me i like normal loaf. Simple, cheap and you don't have to cut the bread yourself
I like garlic fried rice and not bread
I used to have fried eggs for breakfast. But as I got older, I realised that crystal meth for breakfast gives me more energy like no other
@@CookieRunOcs Garlic fried rice is the filipino way.. silog ftw
The secret to how every trained chef makes their food taste great - butter. And more butter.
Absolutely not true. For example salads just need that subtle touch of gallon of olive oil.
@@WarlonWinterheart nice
@@WarlonWinterheart butter oil
And usually lots of salt!
I prefer way less greese or butter. I don't use salt and pepper. I don't want to take away the sweet flavor of the yoke. I do, however, sometimes sprinkle a tad bit of onion powder on them while cooking.
These are the best videos…….no music or loud background noise. Simple instructions and demonstration….. Thank you Chef..👏
There is background music, it's just in the background.
My grandpa told me that the last thing my grandma said before passing away was a request to make sure her eggs have the crispy edges like she loves. He came out the kitchen with her eggs and she had passed on. Fastforward some years and now i make my wife fried eggs and toast every saturday morning... Crispy on the edges! RIP Grandma and Grandpa. Love ya both!
sorry to hear that... just lost my dad this year in july
Very cool story!
Very touching. ❤
😥❤
That was an awesome & touching story, I bet you had the best grandparents ever.!.!
If you look closely, you’ll see an egg underneath that butter
In Southeast Asia, we also love have a crispy sunny-side up egg. A bit of difference is, me and a lot of people love to have a half-medium cooked yolk. The yolk is not runny anymore, but still very soft, orange-y and yummy (not fully cooked or bright yellow). Since we usually eat together with rice, the softness of the yolk and crispiness of the white part is complemented beautifully with a warm, fluffy and delicious rice. 😋
I agree 100% 👍
My Thai wife makes this for me ❤
I always aim for that kind of Yolk when I hard boil.
Video link please!
Yeah, I always order my eggs over medium when I go out to eat (though the other day I got fully cooked yolks, lol). I prefer them still able to run, but slowly.🙂
Sound is such an important part of my cooking process! There are certain pans I don't like using, because I can't hear when things start to sizzle. If you cook enough you start to get a feel for what something sounds like when it's frying, boiling, grilling, or anything else.
My father became blind and still cooked I asked how do you know when certain things are done and he told me you could hear it
A perfectly seasoned and taken care of cast iron pan is a deadly asset to the kitchen arsenal
It stops sisseling when the water has evaporated, easy! You can see it and you can hear it, if you ignore it you’ll smell it! 🤗❤️
150 calories of egg 300 calories of butter 😂
Butter makes it better. Always.
Tastier, not better. If you want to live healthy and long.
I absolutely love you had a whole section for "plating" where you just unpretentiously placed the eggs and two pieces of toast on the plate. No frilly parsley. No finely snipped chives. No absurd "edible flower" or anything. Eggs. Toast. Eat. Refreshing.
Frank, saw this video before going to bed last night. My wife and I were intrigued. I made them this morning. BEST FRIED EGGS EVER. Thank you! Everything is better with butter!!! Ladling the butter over the eggs is brilliant…. Helps congeal the whites while flavoring the dish. I used my toast to sop up the pan after plating. ❤️
I can totally see you both having a serious conversation about this in bed !
And helps getting you one step closer to a heart attack
@@mihaelfacey Not one step. I would say gets you an entire mile closer lol.
@@mihaelfaceyquality grass fed butter is very healthy. Educate yourself.
Fried eggs are the best. Definitely my fav topping on a nice hot bowl of rice. Never thought of basting the egg though, great tip! Thanks, Frank!
Very nice topping for rice. I used to get it like that at Thai restaurants.
@@richard4991 My very favorite way to eat them is on rice with a bit of fish sauce and chili paste.
@@jonnytxdo you put the fish sauce and chilli paste on the rice or the eggs?
I don't have rice with my breakfast, but, I do like to use a variety of hot sauces on my eggs. Garlic, sour cream, and sriracha sauce on scrambled eggs is a big breakfast win. Don't forget the onion! It's basic, it's simple, it's a great way to start the day!@@BuddhaSunn
I've always been a country breakfast type of menu person, but, what is a Thai method of this way to do eggs and breakfast? Hot and spicy, I'm wide open too, (mostly)!@@richard4991
Bacon grease and a cast iron skillet make the best fried eggs
Wrong.
Butter is what you use what you don't have bacon grease.
I agree. Best way to fry eggs ever. Though I flip mine. I love em when they're kind of in that middle ground between medium and hard, where its still soft and a little gooey but not runney at all.
Over medium! and they are delicious@@-BWS-
@@randyc5650eating eggs without bacon is like eating cookies without milk. Why would you not have bacon grease when making eggs?
My favorite way to eat fried eggs! Now I'm armed with the knowledge to make them like that consistently. Thanks, Chef
Frank's video are the best. Love the content! keep it up! :)
I like this guy. He's like the most favorite teacher you had back in grade school and is somewhat amusing.
You are the best chef Proto!
Me: I love Frank!!! Frank's cardiologist: Me too, but tbh, I'm getting more concerned about him with each of these 101 videos.
Yeah, about time someone pointed out that that toast is a killer.
@@ardnfastexactly. Butter and eggs won't do the damage. the toast is the dangerous part.
Homeboy puts 250 calories of butter on those eggs for sure haha
I've been cooking eggs like this and they do not absorb much oil. 100 calories worth max. ❤
@wsams maybe. I lost 60 lbs last year. A big part of that was measuring every ingredient that went into my body. But I also only ate delicious food. So, I had to find minimum amounts of calorie dense foods that made significant taste differences. In my opinion, 5 to 10 grams is the sweet spot for butter on eggs. Of course, you can keep dumping it on food, but at greatly reduced taste benefits. It was probably less than 250c :), but still too much for one meal.
Why’s everyone so scared of butter?
love your vids Frank, you're a really great chef!!!
I guess there are lots of ways to fry eggs. I was taught to cook with butter at low heat. Salt and pepper. Cover with a pot lid until the white is cooked through and the yolk is still soft.
Been frying eggs this way for 40 years! Fantastic flavor!
Wow. I kid you not. This is egg-actly how my mom used to make them and they were delicious. It’s great to see that my mom was a chef in the making! Love this video. As mom is no longer with us; it brought great memories. Tomorrow morning I am going to make them egg-actly (exactly) like mom (and you) Thanks so much for the video!!!
I eat fried eggs every morning for breakfast, I love them. But I don't like them to get crispy anywhere, I cook them gently so the whites are very tender. And I like the yolk to be thickened a little.
Agree! I hate it when the edges are crispy!
Totally agree. Keep em soft and they'll melt in your mouth.
Agreed. That's how we have them in our house since we don't find the crispy white particularly tasty.
Do you keep it on low all the way?
@@sports872just like medium I'd say. We have an induction top and do the eggs on like 4-5. Most stuff for a general searing is about 7.
The butter in that pan is not hot enough to properly fry an egg , it’s impossible to accomplish this with butter because it burns . Olive oil is the proper way, and lots of it . The egg should be basted with the hot oil and the whites should bubble up and inflate with golden crispy edges and underside . A bit of the hot oil over the yolk helps to cook and eliminate the “ snot “ factor while leaving only the yolk runny .
The metal spoon in a non stick pan has my soul screaming
Triggering.
Same, I learned a bit about cooking fried eggs but I didn't like that metal spoon at all. And he also used a metal knife, lol. And he even said, "If I have to run to get a spatula..." 🤣 Yes, please, run and get a spatula!
He was pretty careful not to scrape too much, just spooning the bubbled up butter gently
Over sensitive lol.
I've read that it's not the same kind of problem it was years ago. The adhesions are better. I think I even saw Pepin cooking with metal in a nonstick.
I just love how it's back to basics, nothing fancy. Perfection!
My Granny taught me how to cook a fried egg. She used bacon grease. I use bacon grease to this day. I have her Griswold #3 cast iron pan that never ever cooks anything but eggs. Technique is the same. Spoon it over the eggs to your doneness preference on the yolk. The whites are perfect. Yum!
Same!❤
My Mother did the same. She would tilt the pan to make it easier to spoon the grease. The top of the yolks would turn pink. Best fried eggs ever.
I actually end up putting a lid on top of my pan because i don't want to use that much butter. It cooks the whites and leaves the yolk nice and runny
Same here. I use sunflower oil instead of butter so the lid is a must for me too. I also put some very thin slices of ham under the eggs. I know at this point it´s a ´ham and eggs´ but I highly recommend it.
understandable but please consider that the butter is just a medium with which to evenly conduct heat, using the oil doesnt necessarily mean it will absorb into the egg especially if u take it out and put it on a sheet tray or something. it isnt absorbant the same way say, breading on a bit of fried food would be. all its doing is functionally evenly distributing the heat and wont really absorb into da egg ^_^
A splash of water in there first helps too. It gets under the white and helps it bubble up, and creating steam really helps cook the top better than just trapping heat.
I don't use butter at all because I can't stand the smell of butter cooking. 😂
I just flip mine over easy. I like the lid method but it takes longer
interesting this style of fried eggs is what i grew up eating although i never liked the crispy edges, (I thought Mom over cooked them) as a grill cook for several years out of high school i never cooked them that way for customers or for myself, definitely need a few slices of Bacon to go along with the eggs and toast though!
This totally worked thank you!!!!
I always do mine over easy. I'll have to give this a try next time.
Frank really is the best cooking teacher on KZhead. Even if I know how to do it, I'll watch Frank.
yeah its not like most of us don't know how to make a fried egg but a pro tip never hurts
Love you, Chef. Love a basted egg. But I just don’t like browning on my eggs. I don’t like “snotty” eggs either. Basted in butter is key. My egg making process is nearly identical. I just pull them off the pan about a minute and a half earlier where the white near the yolk is properly set but before browning starts to happen.
Agreed! No browning.
Lovely, thank you!
Top tips, Chef. Thanks so much.
Ill try this, but I have a feeling ill still prefer my go-to mirrored egg, lots of butter with a splash of water under a lid to steam it, never a brown edge or bottom. Chives and black pepper to plate with grilled tomatoes 😊
I think, in this video, the egg is just a delivery system... To eat more butter! :)
First time cooking and trying fried eggs and now I’m in love
Frank is great. I love this channel!
The Spanish version of fried eggs is made with olive oil, following the same principles: a running yolk and crispy edges. I love both ways of cooking fried eggs.
Less likely to give you a heart attack also.
Loved fried eggs in Spain!
In Italy too we don't use butter.
Spanish arteries are probably happier😄
Greece too :)
Also important: I want a runny yolk, so I don't put the eggs in the pan until the toast is completely ready. I like the butter a little browned anyway, so this ordering makes everything better.
Looks delicious thanks for sharing 👍 ❤
Finally, a recipe I may be able to make.
Given the amount of butter he used for 2 eggs alone, we'll be able to measure someone's expected life span by the amount of fried eggs they've eaten.
Wrong, butter is not as bad as it's made out to be. Seed oils are way worse and they're nearly in every food
Awesome! The crispy edges and solid whites are a must! Only thing I do different is over-easy for 20 seconds or so. Nice to see someone else who can actually make a decent egg! :)
I like the MGS4 method of cooking sunny side up eggs. Putting a lid over it, for a few seconds. Been trying to use less butter the past few years. But used to use a ton of butter with eggs in the past.
I can't wait to do this when I get my taste back.
You have to cover it with the lid or a plate for about sixty seconds so the steam poaches the top and you get some of the cooked white covering the yolk.
I like to fry my eggs in a flat bottomed wok. Smoking hot oil and the egg is done after just a few spoonfuls of hot oil. Super crispy whites, perfectly runny yolk. Only downside for some might be that you don’t really see the yolks because the hot basting oil turns it a bit opaque. Taste and texture beat perfect looks though.
VERY BASED, very real for this. woks r great for eggs they get that oil very nicely distributed. ^_^
i just love the simplicty of todays clip
for sure I will try this love them with fried tomatoes and mushrooms
Looks delicious, but no way I'm using that much butter.
metal spoon scraping non-stick pan just grind my gears.
When I look videos with this chef even if I don't like it I have to like it 😅😅😅
Finally, i really need this guide 😔
I don't like a crispy edge on my eggs. But I do my eggs exactly like that just at a lower temperature not to get the crispy edge
Me too 🎉
Mmmm! Just how I like them 🤤
I was cooking since childhood and I just recently learned why my fried eggs were overcooked most times since I got married. I was overcrowding the pan. Now I cook them in batches (cast iron skillet-my fav) perfect every time now. I’m going to try using more butter, I don’t usually use that much.
The more of Frank's video I see, the more I realize that he and I cook soooo much alike. I can't stand the snotty top of the whites, so I have to cook that out. And I absolutely love the crispy edge of a fried egg! So many professionals caution against that. So glad to see a pro like Frank telling us it's ok! The only thing I do differently is I prefer over easy or over medium (depending on how I'm serving it) to sunny side up.
Why do professionals caution against that? That's one of the best parts. Curious.
The butter added into the pan is starting to cost more than the eggs themselves 😂
next week. How to boil water
🤣🤣🤣
Thank you !
It's way past my bedtime, and now I'm craving fried eggs! I love those crispy edges!
I was a lil disheartened that my eggs the other day were brown around the edges, but they looked just like yours so now I'm happy 😊
Fried eggs in Asia all have crispy brown edges. If the edges aren't crispy, they're not properly cooked. (lol)
@@CliftonCostato me browning on eggs tasted and has the texture of burning plastic, it really is preferences
I can’t eat the crispy edges. I cut it off with my knife. 🙈
@@RavenAdventwingsyeah, never browned my edges until I moved to Japan, after a little while, it’s the only way I make them now.
Browned eggs taste and smell like burnt hair.
I love butter, but I prefer using a high smoke point oil (like avocado oil) to fry my eggs, as you can cook them hotter to get crispier bottoms while still keeping the yolk runny
I use coconut oil for mine; the flavour of the oil goes so well with egg!
I'll try this. Thanks for the tip. Plus a lot more healthier than butter
I use olive oil
I too, love adding a side of egg to my fried butter
I love this guy!
I always use ghee, not butter, when frying my eggs. The silkiness is amazing! l also use a cast iron skillet because it crisps the eggs nicely without sticking.
How do your eggs not stick when using a cast-iron pan??? I have non stick pan JUST for cooking eggs lol? And what's ghee?
@@scottmerric2180 Ghee is butter where the water and milk solids have been removed, a.k.a. clarified butter. And if your cast-iron pan has been well-seasoned over time it's definitely possible to cook eggs without them sticking. I also prefer to use a non-stick pan, though.
Not the healthiest, but this is the fried eggs that makes me happy.
thanks dear , amazing recipe , i liked 😊😊😋
Aaah, fried butter and a lil bit of egg, yummie!
I prefer to use bacon grease over butter when I have it. Sooo yummy!
Your eggs are probably better than Frank's
I always make bacon so that's what I use as well. But basted in butter sounds like a tasty way to go too.
Thats a lot of butter just to cook 2 eggs !🤣
Very yummy food...nice recipe
Best eggs I’ve ever made thanks bro
No offense and a matter of taste but the Jacques Pepin method is wonderful. Medium hot pan, put eggs in a bowl. Gently pour into pan. A few drops of water. Drop the heat to low. Cover pan. Let cook until a fine white sheen on the yolks. Remove and serve. Deliciously delicate and perfect yolk consistency. Again some like crispy whites but I am not in that camp. Cheers
The best fried butter (with eggs) you'll ever make xd
Thanks so much
I don’t really care for fried eggs but they look great and I’ll have to try making them. Thanks for the great video!
I like to fry my eggs in coconut oil. They are divine!
Olive oil , the best for fried eggs . Just delicious & aromatic!! 😊
yep, dont understand why people avoid it so much for frying anything. You never gonna fry stuff that the smoke point or whatever matters. Its also a healthier oil than all the proccesed once.
You can fry an egg in olive oil but I would not suggest you fry anything battered in a vat of olive oil. Olive oil has a MUCH lower smoke point than most other oils, it's nearly on par with butter actually, just slightly above. Which would make it a reasonable option to fry your egg, tofu, or veggies in on the stove in pan but not a deep fryer. There is a reason why most restaurants use vegetable/peanut/canola oil. Being a "healthy" oil is relative. Anything is healthy in moderation but if you are consuming fried foods more than once a week, perhaps change your diet.
No way, butter is the ONLY way to go. THE ONLY WAY! 🍳😠😤
And for cardiovascular health, Mediterranean olive oil, the best and healthiest ever
@@Zipfei_Kloatscher Nope, bacon grease is best.
thank you chef
That is a nice butter with eggs. It looks delicious!
The basics never disappoint, but I'm quite worried. Using a metal spoon to scoop the butter during basting on a non-stick pan though. I'm afraid that the teflon will be scraped a bit and will contaminating the food we're cooking. I personally will avoid using metal utensils on a non-stick pan.
Tilting the pan and let the butter be deep enough in one place that u can just place the spoon instead of scraping it to get all the butter w/o damaging the pan helps alot
Frying eggs in a Teflon pan is the mark of an inexperienced cook.
Even if you're super careful it seems like most non stick pans degrade after at best 5 years
Just use a plastic or wooden utensil
Doesn’t surprise me that he’s American with all that butter 😂😂
Love ‘em that way
I really like this guy. 😊
Like 5$ of butter 🧈 for 2 eggs 🍳
Not a fan of crispy edges, and it's not because they taste bad, they're delicious, but they always seem to be more difficult to cut compared to the rest of the egg and they often stick to the utensils and make a mess. Notice how at 2:45 they edited out the exact moment when he was cutting the egg with the back of his fork.
Hi ,that looks delicious. What brand Is your non stic.
can't wait to do this
Americans : You don’t know how to cook ? Use as much butter as you can !
lol
Yeah u must be british
@@chocoskeez british can’t cook anything else than egg or sausage bro
... butter basting is french,,??
Why would anyone want crispy edges on fried eggs? Legit curious
Indeed
The same reasons you toast bread or crisp bacon.
I wouldn't.
Love this method! My only change is to prevent the browning. I want a perfectly creamy white and jelly yolk with a little run. I just keep the pan off the heat every time I baste. Slow and easy. ❤
That was fun . Ty
Should title it "hope you like deep fried wevos
In what language is 'huevos' spelled 'wevos'?
@@ed_halley I read it with a British accent
I may be in the minority, but I hate runny yolk -- give me those fried eggs over-hard
Thanks ❤😂
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