Beautiful Runny Yolk that you can dip your toast into, scraping it off the plate good Sunny Side Up Eggs.

These Eggs are placed into a buttered Hot Pan, seasoned with any seasoning you want, or just use Salt & Pepper. Covered and the heat shut off to sit for a few minutes until the Egg Whites firm up.

Quality Eggs

Buy Local Free Range Eggs. There is a big difference in taste and the Yolk is more Orange, depending on the source and the chicken’s feed.

You can get them with the coating on the outside or washed. It’s called Egg Bloom and is a coating on the outside of the egg to protect it. This is one of the reasons why in America we have to refrigerate eggs. In the UK and other places, it is perfectly normal to store eggs on the counter.

FAT

The fat used to fry up eggs is typically butter. However, you can use Bacon Grease, Lard, rendered Chicken Fat, Oil, or Beef Suet. Just enough to coat the pan.

Seasoning for Sunny Side Up Eggs

You can season with Salt & White/Black Pepper, Green Onion and/or Chives, Aleppo Pepper, Paprika, Chili Powder. I often go with Parsley & Aleppo.

For the extreme Egg Lover. Here is a little tip. Add just a very small pinch of Black Salt. Black Salt is heavy in Sulfur and heightens the sulfur already present in Eggs. It can also be added to Potato Salad to give an Egg taste without actually adding Eggs.

If using Salt & Pepper, combine them in the ratios used in Salt & Pepper Chicken. This is a ratio I believe is just perfect for Salt & Pepper Seasoning.

It’s basically a mix of:

• 1 Tbl Sea Salt
• 1 tsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp White Pepper

Sunny Side Up Eggs Experiment

Some people add water just a tad to help with cooking the Eggs. The water causes steam, which cooks the top. If you use too much, then there is too much steam, and instead of getting the Yolk Shining Through, the Yolk will develop a white sheen (Cloudy) robbing you of the color. It’s still good, just not as aesthetic for sunny side up eggs.

I wanted to find out if indeed Sunny Side up Eggs were better with or without water. Here’s what I discovered.

Sunny Side up Eggs with or without Water

I did an experiment on Eggs with and without water. It seems I get more consistency without water. The Yolk as well is more pronounced and the Yolk Edges are sharp, whereas with water they are not.

The more times I do this, the more I am convinced that water is not necessary. With water, you risk the yolk becoming cloudy. To get truly good Aesthetic looking Sunny Side Up Eggs, all that is required is the same for scrambled eggs. Good Heat, Fat Medium, Cover, and Patience.

The one on the left was done with water, The right no water.

Watery Eggs

To take this even further. I also discovered that straining the Eggs through a fine sieve prior to cooking gave even better results. Both in achieving a sharp edge Sunny Yolk and eliminating the possible snotty texture around the egg yolk.

Not only is it used for Sunny Side up Eggs but Poached Eggs too to avoid Egg whites separating. I just never thought to use that technique for Sunny Side Up Eggs too. Yet it does produce a better end product.

How to Strain Eggs

Strain the eggs through a fine sieve and place them into a ramekin to add to the pan when ready. Straining the eggs gets rid of excess water in the chicken eggs that can result in a snotty texture around the egg yolks. With Duck eggs, this isn’t necessary because they already contain less water.

Optionally, you can just leave them longer until the whites are fully set, but you do risk ending up with Cloudy Eggs, where the Yolks Cloud. Straining excess water out really does produce a better Sunny Side Up Egg.

Sunny Side Up Duck Eggs

I recently tried my hand at Duck Eggs and do I ever like these. The Whites are firmer, less water in them and the Yolk is creamier and a bit gamey.

They’re pricey, about $5.00 CAD for a pack of 6. But after trying these out, I will definitely be buying them often. Especially for Steak and Eggs, where the flavor of duck eggs is just too good.

If making Sunny Side Up Duck Eggs, the Eggs do not need to be strained, since Duck Eggs naturally contain less water.