Food blogging introduced us to Spanish fried eggs. All credit goes to In Praise of Sardines, where this method of huevos fritos captured our attention. We've haven't fried an egg any other way since.
What's a Spanish fried egg? It's an egg fried very quickly in very, very hot olive oil. Some use olive oil AND butter but just olive oil does fine. What you get in a Spanish fried egg is a crispy, delicate white that crunches then practically melts in your mouth. The yolk is just set, but still runny enough to soak into your toast. In other words, no rubbery white - no overcooked yolk. Eggy perfection! Read on for directions...
We were fascinated by lobstersquad's assertion that true Spanish fried eggs involve dropping the egg from a great height into the hot oil so that it is instantly submerged. We are certainly not foolhardy enough to try this, although given a big enough splatter screen we might someday.
To make a Spanish fried egg: Heat about 1/4 inch of olive oil in a very small, heavy skillet. Heat over medium-high heat until very hot; it should just be beginning to smoke. Crack an egg into a cup or mug. When the oil is hot enough, carefully slip the egg into the oil and immediately turn the heat down to medium-low. Spoon the hot oil over the egg as it cooks. Cook for no more than a minute and a half then take the pan off the heat and remove the egg with a slotted spoon.
Sprinkle with sea salt and fresh pepper and enjoy immediately!
How to Bake a Potato: Three Easy Methods
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Straw Mat from The ...
10 No-Fail Decor Tricks & Tips for Small Spaces
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
I'm Spanish and my (American) husband teases me relentlessly about my abundant use of olive oil for frying eggs for our breakfast. I learned to do it from my Yaya in Spain and my favorite thing about it is the crispy meltiness of the white :)
bluestar- I too learned from my Yaya in Spain! It's the one thing that my dad made really well when I was a kid. A sign that you're doing it right is if you get a nice brown edge when it's done, almost like a crunchy little doile trim (that's what my mom called it, anyway).
This is my favorite Sunday supper. Fry some garlic and sage in the oil and butter before dropping in the eggs. And instead of toast, toss it with pasta so the yolks break and run all over the pasta. Easy, fast, and delicious. Afterwards, go to your doctor and get a prescription for cholesterol medication.
Now I now why I haven't been able to make fried eggs like my mom and aunts made them when I was a child. I've been using body when they were using olive or vegetable oil. thanks for the tip.
Mmmm, that sage sounds delicious. I love fried sage! Funny, I've been frying my eggs in olive oil for the last few years because it's healthy (okay, relatively speaking). It's true that the whites come out all lacy and nicely crisply brown. I don't think I use as much oil as mentioned here though... not enough to spoon the oil over the top. Although maybe I'll try that tomorrow morning!
I've been frying eggs in extra virgin olive oil for a few years, didn't even know it was 'the Spanish way'. They are delicious!
I made this for dinner last night - served over toasted ciabatta with fresh parmesan and tomato slices.
Now I want to eat eggs everyday.
If you don't have a very small skillet, could you use a saucepan instead?
I made eggs this way over the weekend & wow, they were good. I was a bit unsure on the spooning the hot oil over the top of the egg part, but whatever I did worked because they were amazing. This is now my preferred method of egg frying & next weekend I will try the garlic & sage version ... yum!
Hmmm. I've been frying eggs the Spanish way for years and didn't even know it. Only difference is the I almost always fry mine in bacon drippings. Using a spatula to scoop the hot bacon grease over the top of the egg so the white cooks quickly and before the yolk set was instinctive for me.
In the interests of health, I've started just basting the eggs instead of using all that lard.
I do admit that when I'm making a fried egg sandwich I will break the yolk just before the white is done so it spreads out a little. Gives me some yolk in each bite. :)
This looks pretty much like Ferran Adria's way to fry eggs that is featured in The Family Meal as part of a staff meal once served at El Bulli. Adria served the eggs over sauteed asparagus or peppers or mushrooms and other parts of the meal are chicken wings with mushrooms and sangria with fruit. Yummy. Sign me up...
BlueStar and Laura: I'll join you in sharing that both my yaya and avi taught me this way as well! And Laura, I agree! The brown crispy border was the test that it was ready - I still make my eggs this way!
Olive oil is nice, but nothing beats butter!
I'm Portuguese, the method of egg frying was similar in my family, but as Noarch suggested sage, we usually fry some chorizo in the oil first!