I have been making eggs for months now, trying to get that perfect point where the yolk is no longer liquid and runny, but not fully cooked like a hard boiled egg. I only do eggs a couple of times a month, always on Sundays. I wanted to make them without a lot of effort, and precisely timed to the way I like them, just barely done. I had these egg rings which are wonderful for keeping the whites from spreading out too far and over cooking.
The first step is to butter the inside of the rings so the eggs don’t stick.
Place in a pan with some butter in the ring to melt on the pan to keep the eggs from sticking there. Use a medium-high heat, not too hot so the eggs cook a bit slower.
I always break the eggs into a cup first, after I got one years ago that was bad.
Heat the pan until it is ready, and the butter is bubbling.
Pour the eggs into the rings.
Now, here is where the difference is in my eggs. Add 1/2 cup water to the pan, and cover it.
Cook to your preference. The cover helps to steam the top and provide even cooking throughout. I tried flipping them once, it didn’t go well, LOL.
Remove the rings after the amount of time you want.
On the minimum cooking time, you’ll get something like this. Too runny for me. This was 2 minutes.
OK, starting over on another day, I adjusted the time up a bit to 2-1/2 minutes, but still got runny eggs. Better, but not cooked quite enough for me.
Adjusting again to 3 minutes, close to perfect, but almost overdone. I like the yolk to have that translucent appearance, not like a hard boiled yolk.
So, it takes medium-high heat and just at 2-3/4 minutes to get them close to perfect for me. Lovely with ham! Pass the Hollandaise please!
How do you like your eggs?
From My Carolina Home 
I like the 2 1/2 minute egg. Now I need to get some of those rings. Thanks for doing all the investigative work for me!
Thanks Carole, I have those rings but hardly ever use them. An easy alternative- spray the inside of a small bowl with cooking spray, break an egg into the bowl & scramble, put a plastic lid on & put it in the microwave for ONE minute. You get one perfect fluffy non-fat egg. Yummy at all hours!
They are beautiful-worthy of a gourmet breakfast-brunch
Perfect instructions, now take that and add eggs still warm from my feathered girls in the backyard and it doesn’t get any better 😉
Hi Carole. I’ve been steam basting my eggs for as long as I remember. Since you are into the timing etc. maybe you can give mine a go. I don’t use the rings. Butter, sizzling pan on med/high, quickly add the eggs one at a time, using the shells to hold the egg until it starts to whiten on the bottom {this stops the spread (more or less)} as soon as the whites are solid on the bottom, add a small amount of water, cover and turn down to medium. By the time you prepare the plates, the water has evaporated and the eggs are ready. I find that I only have “time” to do 4 at a time, otherwise the first one gets over done.
Good Morning Carole! Breakfast is one of the courses that I truly do not enjoy fixing at all. On top of that, I prefer to eat breakfast way later in the day or even better at a restaurant! Eggs are delicious in so many varieties of cooking times and cooking varieties it truly is astonishing. With the method you are using in your photos, I prefer the two and a half minute egg to your tad bit longer version. Although, that one really depends on what else I am eating with it. If I am just having toast and say bacon then the runnier version is my choice because I love to dip my toast and then clean up any drippings at the end by scraping my last bite of toast along the plate; a trick taught to me by my Grandmother. If I am having sausage and a biscuit, my choice is more to your liking; they just seem to go together perfectly.
Honestly everyone…..I cook one egg at a time or the stove would probably blow up on me! It is really a very scary event watching my forgetful memory trying to remember to flip this egg….flip the bacon….turn on the toaster at the correct time….set the table and oh yeah were we supposed to be no that darned garn egg has already turned rather brown all the way around….and so will just flip it and the toast has no popped up and I was also trying to put the knife and fork where ? Oh yeah….I could put it there/but that is not a nice thing
Guess What….I can BOIL 12 EGGS ALL AT THE SAME TIME…….. ta da
Have a great day!!!
you poached them! I love poached eggs, and I even have a microwave version that works fairly well. But lately, as I make eggs to put on toast and eat later in the office I admit to letting it cook until the white gets good and crispy and the yolk is mostly set, just so it doesn’t break and run and get to messy at the office and also I like the crispy white. If I’m eating breakfast out, love a good omelette, with lots of veggies. We have a small cafe here that does a green chili omelette, yummy.
I like fluffy scrambled myself and hubby is an expert. I haven’t cooked an egg myself in forever…….LOL
I like eggs runnier than you do. I’m more particular about the white, avoiding runny whites at all costs. However, having said that, I have to admit that I eat eggs in all stages of runnyness and hardness. Absolute no-no is consuming a raw egg as it comes out of the shell. I liked reading about your experiment to get a definable plan for your perfect egg.
Beautiful eggs. If I hadn’t just eaten, I’d go make some.
You know how to test the eggs before cracking to see if they’re good, don’t you? Fill a container with water (I like to use my 2 cup measure) and drop the egg in. If it sinks to the bottom, it’s good. If it floats, it’s bad.
Barbara
Floating on one end just means the egg is a bit old, not necessarily bad. I like to buy from a local market where the eggs are super fresh from chickens on their farm. Most of the time a dozen doesn’t last long enough around here to get old, LOL!!
Where did you find the egg rings?
Williams Sonoma – http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/egg-fry-rings/
No affiliation, and I don’t get any compensation from them, I just love the stores!
are they metal?
In an egg cup is how I enjoy my soft-boiled eggs. Every once in a while, I have a craving for them with toast and consider it heaven. Frying or poaching, not so much. If I were to fry, I might try your method. It was a breakfast joke when my dad made eggs. If any broke, he’d look at me and say, “Oops, I just broke your egg!” Of course, none of the eggs were spoken for, but it always made me laugh and he would eat the egg himself, taking full responsibility. 🙂
Interesting. I’ve wondered about those rings. I like mine no runny white, but soft, runny yellow. So I think I might go with the 2.5 minutes.
I often make “egg-mcmuffins” for my hubby with sausage patties, cheese, english muffin and a ‘fried’ egg. He commented just before Christmas that we should get “some of those ring things” like McDonalds uses…I sprayed a canning jar ring with pam and put it in the frying pan and poured the egg into the ring. Worked well, but had to remember to put the top “up”. I bought some rings at the Kitchen Company that were silicone as I worried the metal would scratch my non-stick pans. They were way to big. I am in search of a ring that is about 3″ across and is made of silicone. Amazon has lots of choices, but they all seem too big.
scrambled hard…
I like mine boiled – and exactly the consistency you like. Its sometimes hit and miss, because I get the eggs from my daughter who has a bunch of hens. Her eggs are never of a uniform size. Some are small and some are large & everything in between. Mostly all I can hope for is 2 eggs the same size. Generally takes 5.50 to 6 minutes dropped into boiling water for that consistency.
These rings are clever! I usually do scrambled for breakfast, and sometimes boiled. Every once in a while I will make the fried kind but it is to give the dogs the yolks as a treat and I keep the whites for me! 🙂