You know--you think you’ve been doing something just fine your whole life and then you are extremely humbled when America’s Test Kitchen teaches you just how wrong you are. But with Julia Collin Davison teaching you in such a pleasant way, you can’t help but be upbeat and thankful for her for teaching you a new tried and true method. She is the Mandalorian of the cooking world. “This is the way!”, she says without saying a word at all.

I guess we can never say something is the “wrong” way or right way because there are just different ways of doing everything, right? However, once trying this method, I don’t ever see myself going back because the results were so easy and spectacular. it was fun to learn how many people in the comments talked about how they’ve been cooking their eggs this way for 40 or 50 years+ and there’s a good reason why!

Do you like your fried eggs with the whites a little crispy around the edges and the middle nice and soft? Whether you like your yolk cooked over easy (the whites cooked on top but very runny in the middle), over medium (the whites are all the way cooked but the inside is slightly runny), or over well (the whites and yolk are completely cooked through--the yolk is hard, not runny at all), I’ve got the best way to cook fried eggs, no matter how you like those yolks cooked.

You see, I learned that the tricky part about frying eggs and getting them to cook evenly and perfectly is that the yolk and the egg white get all the way cooked at different temperatures. Egg whites become all the way cooked at 180 degrees F, while egg yolks are “cooked” at 158 degrees F. That is quite the difference so it’s no wonder that often your egg yolk will cook through more than you’d like before the whites are all the way cooked. It can be quite frustrating. Here are the best tips from America’s Test Kitchen to make the perfect fried egg every time. Grab a nonstick skillet with a lid and let’s get to it!

Here are the key steps involved for perfect fried eggs every time:

Step 1: Start with 12” nonstick frying pan with a lid and turn it on low with 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil for 5 minutes to heat the pan evenly with no hot spots. 

Step 2: While the pan is heating up, you are actually going to crack the eggs, two at a time into a small bowl. You will crack the eggs into a bowl because the cooking time is actually only going to be one minute so cracking 4 eggs individually into the hot pan does not cook them all evenly at the same time. The first one would be all the way cooked while you’re still busy cracking the 4th one into the pan! Instead, we will crack our 4 eggs total into 2 bowls--2 eggs per bowl. Season them at this point with a little salt and pepper.

Step 3: After your pan is done heating up for the 5 minutes, turn it up to medium high for a few seconds to heat that oil up a little more and get it glistening. Add 2 teaspoons of cold cubed butter and swirl around the pan to distribute the butter evenly.

Step 4: Add your eggs, one bowl (2 eggs) at a time and COVER WITH A LID. Set a timer for 1 minute.

Step 5: After 1 minute, remove the eggs from the heat--slide them over to another burner and let them finish cooking anywhere from 30 seconds to 60 seconds or so, depending on how runny you like your yolks.

Step 6: Enjoy your perfect eggs with crispy-edged whites and perfect yolks, however it is you like them, (preferably with a lovely piece of toast and a couple slices of crispy bacon, am I right?).

I used to do what I think most people do and just crack them right into the pan and cook them with the lid off until I thought they seemed done. This works just fine until you’ve tried this method and I’m telling you--Julia knows what she’s talking about! These eggs are so delicious and the lid on the top helps trap the steam in to cook the tops of the eggs just right. There is no pesky flipping the egg with that terrible dreaded risk of accidentally breaking the yolk! Say goodbye to that feeling forever--wahoo!

Do you have a certain way you like to fry eggs that turn out perfectly to you? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. And out of curiosity--how do you like your fried eggs cooked? I like them over easy myself--or “dippy eggs” as some people put it :) They are perfect for dipping a nice piece of toast right into that lovely yolk.