Alex Guarnaschelli’s 1-Ingredient Upgrade for Better Fried Eggs

My mother’s specialty in the kitchen is a classic bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. I love the way she fries the bacon to crispy perfection, then uses the grease to fry the eggs. When the eggs hit the hot bacon fat, they bubble and splatter, creating a lacy, golden edge and a rich, salty flavor. As she always says, “Waste not, want not.”

I’ve always used this technique when bacon fat is available, but when it’s not, my fried eggs are simply not as good. As a substitute I usually use olive oil which is nice, but doesn’t give the same flavor and texture as bacon fat. 

Recently, I came across Alex Guarnaschelli’s go-to method for frying eggs and it may surpass bacon fat fried eggs for the number one spot in my heart. It’s the type of tip that makes you wonder, “why didn’t I think of that?!”

It’s incredibly simple yet a complete game changer. So what’s the secret ingredient? Brown butter! Guarnaschelli adds butter to her frying pan and allows it to just start to brown before cracking the eggs directly into the fat. 

Why You Should Fry Your Eggs in Butter

As the eggs hit the pan, the butter starts to fully brown which adds a rich, nutty flavor to the eggs. She recommends adding a little water to the pan and covering it to use steam to cook the eggs thoroughly. If you are like me and prefer your yolks on the slightly runny side, you can carefully tilt the pan and use a large spoon to collect some of the hot brown butter. Then, spoon it directly over the yolk to thoroughly cook the whites and slightly set up the yolk. 

While the taste of the brown butter is one of my favorite parts of this recipe, I also love that you can use the brown butter as a carrier for whatever else you want to flavor your eggs with. Since the toasted milk solids really cling onto the egg whites, whatever you choose to flavor them with will cling onto the surface, too.

In my case a generous flurry of black pepper and a little flaky sea salt are all that is needed, but if you like things spicy, add a pinch of red pepper flakes or Everything Bagel Seasoning to the foaming butter right before you crack your eggs into the pan. The spices will bloom and infuse the entire dish.

My #1 Tip for Using This Method

While this method is pretty much foolproof, the only thing I really have to watch for is that the butter is just beginning to brown when I add the eggs. If it’s already brown at that point, it’ll start to smoke and burn while the eggs cook, giving everything a bitter taste.

I keep a close eye on the pan—right when the butter starts to foam, turn golden, and smell nutty, I add the eggs. It helps if I’m using a light-colored pan so I can clearly see the color change, but if I’m not, I’ll scoop out a little butter and pour it onto a white plate to check the color.

I’ll be using this method whenever my morning eggs need a little special touch but I’m short on time.