The Best Ways To Cook Eggs, Ranked
Eggs are one of the core pillars of breakfast. You can walk into any fast food spot, greasy spoon diner, or fancy breakfast place, request eggs of some kind, and get it cooked the way you want. Several people have one specific way they like their eggs for breakfast. For example, our managing editor, Reach Guinto, likes his eggs sunny side up and extra crispy, while Ian McKellan prefers soft scrambled.
However, there are ways to cook eggs that simply trump the others because of creaminess, texture, presentation, and the comfort that they bring compared to other methods. From the classic scrambled to the trendy poached egg, we’re looking at a bunch of different ways to prep eggs to deduce which is the best.
To clarify a few things heading into this list: any egg-cooking techniques involving a single part of the egg won’t be on this list (ie. hollandaise, egg whites, or meringues). Additionally, you won’t see Scotch eggs, frittatas, omelettes, or any style that involves mixing in multiple ingredients. This list is solely focusing on the sexiness of the individual egg and what method brings that out the best.
10. Hard-Boiled
Let’s be real, there’s no true appeal to any way to make these eggs sexier. They’re just bland, kinda boring, and don’t have any real creaminess to them. They’re just a tasteless way to add protein to chopped salads and sandwiches that deserve a lot better than this simplistic approach to consuming eggs. Sure, you can try to make them creamier by cooking them for a shorter amount of time, but then you’re just invading the territory of crappy and overcooked soft-boiled eggs. We’ll pass on that.
9. Hard Scrambled
This is the most common way people order their eggs, which is a crying shame to the beauty that is the liquid chicken. Hard scrambled eggs, like hard-boiled eggs, just don’t have any flavor unless you douse it in butter and salt, and then it just tastes like butter and salt. The texture is often rubbery and not pleasant, making me question why someone would want to have their eggs this way when there’s so many better options out there.
8. Deviled
This is basically just a super-extra knockoff of hard-boiled eggs where you break the egg open, scoop out the yolk, mash it all up, then pipe it back in to make it look cool. You’re guaranteed to find these at some party on an inviting tray of lettuce, and that’s exactly where I’d leave them. The extra creaminess of the mashed yolk helps a little, but other than that, your palate feels completely let down when you bite into one of these horrendous hors d’oeuvres.
7. Cloud Eggs
This newer, trendy method of cooking eggs is in the upper echelons of “extra.” You’re deconstructing the egg before cooking, whipping up a meringue, parbaking, sticking the yolk back on top, then fully cooking the whole thing? Sure, it looks great for your Instagram feeds, but would you ever actually cook it that way for any other purpose?
6. Basted
Okay, now we’re starting to move into the good methods of making eggs. This is a simple fried egg method where you just add a little hit of steam to help cook everything and create a fluffier texture. You get a runny yolk and some smooth, fluffy whites as a result. That’s all you need to enjoy a basic but well-done egg experience.
5. Soft-boiled
The creamier and runnier the egg yolk, the better. Soft boiled eggs are a challenge to make because you have to get the timing right, but the reward is pretty worth it. They’re luscious and velvety on the inside, giving you the ultimate textural experience when it comes to cooking eggs right.
4. Sunny Side Up
When you can combine the velvety white and runny yolk with a little bit of crunch, you’re gonna get one of the top ways to enjoy eggs out there. That’s exactly what sunny side up eggs are all about, and although they may be a little trickier to cook since you’re not allowed to flip the egg, the crispy bottom gives you an end result worthy of topping any plate.
3. Over Easy
This gets the leg up on the almost identical sunny side up technique because you’re getting double the crispy here. Over easy eggs are flipped and barely cooked on the other side, but you still get enough time to develop some browning on both sides of the egg. Take care not to bust the yolk when making these eggs, because you want that yolk bust for one of the sexiest Instagram videos you’ll ever add to your feed.
2. Poached
Poached eggs are the undisputed king of brunch and one of the top dogs of food social media. Eggs benedicts, fine dining, and sensual yolk porn are the hallmarks of this classic egg technique. It may seem hard to do at first, but with proper practice, you’ll be wowing all of your friends and family with one of the best ways to prepare eggs out there.
1. Soft Scrambled
This method of making eggs is the most viral in the United States right now, and it’s not hard to see why. With heavy hitters like the naughty soft-scrambled breakfast sandwiches from EggSlut leading the charge in the breakfast sandwich game and chefs like Gordon Ramsay advocating this as the best way to make eggs, it’s no wonder people are loving this top-notch way to prepare eggs. Regular scrambled eggs seem so inferior when you factor in the lush texture of the perfect soft scrambled egg. If there was one dish to perfect, it would be this one, ’cause you’ll impress anybody if you can pull off this time-honored and buzzworthy cooking method.
