Easy Basted Eggs Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What does basted mean for eggs? ›

A basted egg is somewhere between a sunny side up fried egg and a poached egg. Basted eggs are fried on the bottom and steamed on top. They look similar to sunny side up eggs, but the yolk is slightly more set.

Over easy eggs differ from basted eggs, because the top of the egg is cooked by flipping the egg, rather than cooking it with butter or oil. The yolk remains a bit runny in an over easy egg.

Like a poached egg, water is used for cooking the whites, so this technique eliminates the need to flip and requires less cooking fat (although no one said the eggs couldn't be basted in melted butter for a truly luxurious breakfast).

As the eggs cook, carefully tilt the pan toward you so that the butter puddles towards the edge, then use a spoon to baste the hot butter over the egg whites (avoid the egg yolks unless you like a firmer, more set egg—in which case, spoon butter over the yolk too). Baste until no jiggly white remains, 2 to 3 minutes.

Butter certainly works for fried eggs, but oil is the fat of choice for cooks who want a runny yolk with a satisfying crispy white. Extra-virgin olive oil is most popular, and yields a satisfyingly crunchy bottom that will soak up luscious flavor.

/beɪst/ When cooks baste food, they brush or drizzle a savory liquid on it as it's cooking. If you baste your Thanksgiving turkey while it bakes, it will stay moist and tender. A chef might baste grilled vegetables with their marinade, or baste roasting meat with its own oily drippings.

You start by adding a small amount of oil to the skillet and cracking in the eggs, just like you normally would. Then, about 30 seconds in, you add hot water to the pan, basting the eggs until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny. It creates tender, soft fried eggs with no overdone edges in sight.

Heat your frying pan until hot on medium-high heat. Pour water on the base of the frying pan, until just covered. After the water heats up and is visibly hot, break your eggs into the frying pan, as you would when frying them over easy. Cover your frying pan with a pot lid and cook until whites are firm.

Over hard or over well. Cooked on both sides all the way through, with the yolk broken (immediately after the egg is cracked). Sunny-side up. Cooked on one side only, until the egg white is set, but the yolk remains liquid.

Sunny side up: The egg is fried with the yolk up and is not flipped. Over easy: The egg is flipped and the yolk is still runny. Over medium: The egg is flipped and the yolk is only slightly runny. Over well: The egg is flipped and the yolk is cooked hard.

What are sunny side up eggs called? ›

With a sunny-side-up (also called a fried egg), the egg is broken into a skillet or frying pan, carefully leaving the yolk intact. A fried egg is never flipped or cooked yolk-side down.

A burger with an egg on top can be called various names, including a “breakfast burger,” “egg burger,” “sunrise burger,” or simply a “burger with an egg.”

Whatever fat you use, make sure it's at least 1/4 cup, or coats the bottom of the pan. Otherwise you won't have enough for basting. Make sure the fat is hot, over a medium-high heat setting, before adding the eggs. Then, after adding the eggs to the pan, begin to baste the top to set the yolk.

To recap, a basted egg is cooked using hot butter or oil, plus water poured over the egg. A poached egg is cooked using a water and vinegar solution followed by simmering water — or just simmering water by itself.

Once the steak is cooked to your desired doneness, reduce the heat to medium low and add your butter. You can also add garlic and other aromatics to amp up the flavor.

Gently tilting the pan to one side, use a long handled large spoon to baste the foaming butter over the steak. Remember to continue to flip it, otherwise it may overcook on one side. Once your steak hits desired internal temperature, remove it from the pan then rest for 10 minutes before enjoying.