How to Fry an Egg Sunny Side Up

A sunny-side-up egg fuels your body with protein.

Making the perfect sunny-side-up egg is all about patience. The right equipment helps, too. Use a nonstick frying pan or a well-seasoned cast iron skillet for best results. The yolk of a fresh egg holds its shape better than an older egg, so work with the freshest possible ingredients.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Frying pan
• Cooking oil, cooking spray or butter
• Plastic spatula

1. Turn on the stove burner at medium to medium high heat.

2. Grease the frying pan with cooking spray or with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, corn oil or butter.

3. Wait a few minutes for the grease to heat up. Properly heated cooking oil will seem to have a consistency similar to that of water. Heated butter will sizzle but will not yet be brown.

4. Crack the egg over the pan into the hot grease.

5. Turn the heat down to low.

6. Let the egg fry for a few minutes. It will be ready when the bottom of the egg starts to brown and the top coagulates. Watch it closely as it cooks.

7. Remove the egg from the frying pan with a plastic slotted spatula. If the frying pan was greased enough, or if you are using a nonstick pan, you should be able to slide the egg onto a plate.

Tips & Warnings

• Cook the egg on low heat so that the bottom side of the egg doesn't burn before the top is cooked.

• Be sure to watch it and not let it over cook! The egg won't be considered sunny side up if the yolk is cooked all the way through.

References

• Joy of Cooking; Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker et al.