Certain egg dishes are time-honored classics that taste as good today as they did when we were kids. It’s worth learning to master a few basic egg cooking techniques so you can add these traditional favorites to your repertoire. Simple dishes that call for very few ingredients, these can be whipped up in just a few minutes.

　　

Ingredients

　　

Eggs Sunny-side Up

Step 1

Place an 8-inch nonstick skillet on medium-low heat and allow it to get hot, but it should not be so hot that it is smoking. Test by flicking a drop of water on the pan. It should sizzle, not disappear immediately. Put 1 teaspoon unsalted butter in the pan and allow it to melt and get bubbling hot. Gently crack 2 extra-large eggs into the pan. The eggs should sizzle a little when they hit the pan, but they should not bubble up, meaning the pan is too hot. If they do bubble, remove the pan from the heat and let it cool down just a little (the eggs will take the heat out of the pan). Then place the pan back on the burner. As the whites begin to cook, tilt the pan and slide the eggs back and forth so they don’t stick. The whole process takes no more than a minute or two. When the yolks look like they are set and the whites are mostly white (as opposed to clear) all the way through, the eggs are done. Slide them from the pan directly onto the plate. Add salt and pepper to taste.

　　

Eggs Over Easy

Step 2

The skill of flipping over easy eggs comes once you master a few simple tricks. First, you must have a good-quality nonstick pan. Second, the pan and the oil have to be sufficiently hot, almost smoking, before the eggs go in. Third, you must be able to flip things in a hot skillet without burning yourself. This is where practice and skill come into play. One way to practice is with a skillet and some dry beans. Start with literally one bean. Tilt the skillet forward by bending your wrist, and gently move the bean to the front of the pan with a wave and flip of the wrist. The bean should float into the air and land with a little plunk. Once you master one bean, try two, then five, then ten. Of course, you could also use a flexible spatula to flip the eggs.

　　

Step 3

When you’re ready to try flipping with an actual egg, place a medium nonstick pan over medium-high heat and add 1 teaspoon of butter. Just before the pan is smoking, quickly crack the eggs into the pan. Crack them as close to the surface of the pan as you can so the hot grease doesn’t splatter the stove or your arms. Let the eggs sizzle for a minute, until the whites are set and almost cooked through to the top. Then, using your beanflipping skills (or a flexible spatula), move the eggs to the front of the pan and flip, gently cradling the eggs back into the pan. Place the pan back on the heat. For over easy eggs, it is only 30 seconds and they are done. For over medium, it may be 45 to 60 seconds. Slide the eggs from the pan directly onto the plate. Add salt and pepper to taste. For over hard eggs, keep them in the pan for another minute.

　　

Scrambled Eggs

Step 4

Perfectly scrambled eggs are a little wet, a little buttery, and seasoned with a little salt and pepper. Scramble the raw eggs in a bowl with a fork, but don’t scramble them too much; there should be a little white and a little yolk still separately swimming around. Season the eggs with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper before you begin cooking them. Start your pan on medium heat, add a little butter, and let the butter melt until sizzling. Be careful not to let it brown. Now, add the eggs and continue moving them around in the pan with a rubber spatula or a wire whisk. Cook them only until just set, but still a little wet, about 1 minute. They will continue to cook a little after they come out of the pan.

　　

Step 5

One thing the cooks at Bubby’s always think about is having a very light touch when plating scrambled eggs. Rather than smashing the eggs downward, they use a spatula to ease them out of the pan with extra care. This makes for fluffy, nicely cooked eggs.

　　

Poached Eggs

Step 6

Poached eggs are simple and delicious when prepared right. A little dash of acid (white vinegar or lemon juice) will ensure that the eggs won’t stick to the bottom of the poaching pan. Although you can poach 6 or 8 eggs at a time, the more you cook at one time, the more difficult it becomes to manage them.

　　

Step 7

Fill a shallow 2-quart saucepan with water. Add 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar or fresh lemon juice and bring the liquid to a simmer over medium-high heat. Crack 2 extra-large eggs into the saucepan. Cook the eggs for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on how runny you like them. Once the whites are firm, the eggs are done. Remove the eggs from the saucepan with a slotted spoon. Add salt and pepper to taste before serving.

　　

Step 8

You can poach eggs the night before a brunch to save time. When you remove the eggs from the pan, place them in a container of icy water to cool them down fast and avoid overcooking. Otherwise, be sure that all the water is drained from the eggs before plating. To reheat them, simply place them gently in simmering water until they are hot, which takes about 1 minute.

　　

Boiled Eggs

Step 9

When boiling eggs, keep in mind that there are several stages of doneness. Fortunately, they are all marked by the time it takes to cook the eggs. A 3-minute egg is coddled; a 9-minute egg will cool to have a barely liquid center; a 10-minute egg has a very yellow yolk in the center; a 12-minute egg is a hard-boiled egg with a solid center. Anything past 12 minutes is overcooked, and the yolk will have a gray layer at the edge.

　　

Step 10

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Place the eggs into the boiling water with a slotted spoon and keep careful track of the time. When the boiled eggs have cooked to the desired doneness, either serve them hot in an appropriate egg server or let them cool down to peel later. Unpeeled boiled eggs can keep in the refrigerator for two days.

　　

Step 11

To peel hard-boiled eggs, crack them against a hard surface, such as the walls of the kitchen sink, and run them under cold water. Make sure all shell particles are removed.

　　Bubby’s Brunch Cookbook by Ron Silver and Rosemary Black. Copyright © 2009 by Ron Silver and Rosemary Black. Published by Ballantine Books. All Rights Reserved.