I Tried Every Possible Way to Fry an Egg in 2024, and Found the Unexpected Trick I’ll Use Forever

Fried eggs are an easy thing to mess up. They’re deceptively simple to make, but the line between a really good fried egg and an overcooked mess is razor thin. I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to fried eggs and can’t abide them being overdone with a ton of browning, and I certainly don’t want the yolk cooked to the point where I can’t get a good toast dunk. 

A few months back, I set out to find the best way to fry an egg that would all but guarantee everything I was looking for: fully cooked whites with a cooked-but-still-runny yolk and, of course, no big, splattery mess. After trying out a slew of methods, I found the shockingly simple key to my perfect fried egg: water.

I like a runny yolk, so I prefer my fried eggs sunny-side up, rather than over easy. Without flipping the eggs though, it’s very easy to accidentally overcook the yolks while waiting for the whites to fully set. You can combat this by covering the skillet, which helps the whites cook faster by surrounding them with heat. However, adding a teaspoon of water to the skillet before covering it makes a huge difference. The steam created by adding just 1 teaspoon of water to the hot skillet is enough to create the perfect environment for gentle, even egg cooking.

• Opt for a nonstick skillet. The slick coating on a nonstick skillet lets you slide the finished egg right onto your plate with little-to-no sticking. You can use any skillet you have, but a nonstick one is your best chance for brunch-quality, unbroken yolks. A well-seasoned cast iron pan can also work. 
• A glass lid is also helpful. If you have one, a glass lid will let you monitor the eggs without having to remove the lid and release the trapped heat and steam.