Are crispy eggs a culinary no no?

Question

All my life, I have always LOVED sunny side up eggs with crispy edges. Today I was watching a cooking program and several chefs chimed in saying that crispy edges were a no no! I Googled this and indeed it seems to be a commonly held belief. What do you guys think? 

Of course we all have our preferences, but some preferences seem to be widely reviled in the culinary world, like people who prefer their steaks well done instead of medium rare..

Answer

I'm curious about the rationale for declaring crispy edges forbidden, aside from "because I say so". I mean, it's a fried egg - we're not talking posh cuisine here. 

But count me in - my perfect fried egg would have cripsy edges, fully set white, and still runny, just warm yolk. And it would be fried in bacon grease, and served with well buttered brown toast to sop up the yolk.

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Even Delia Smith describes a slightly crispy egg so I think you are fine.

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who cares what 'they' say. what do YOU like?

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If you like crispy edges, then that's the right way to make them.

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I can't remember if it was bon Appetit or saveur, but one (both?) of those magazines ran an article on crispy fried eggs last month. They are anything but no no, I think they might be en vogue.

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I saw this on Masterchef (I think it was the american version), no crispy whites allowed apparently. Ridiculous. Crispy bits are great, I love them.

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I like the crispy edges as long as the rest isn't overcooked! Which, to me, means a soft but not runny yolk.

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I hate crispy eggs (the smell of the dry, crunchy protein reminds me of burned hair). But yes, it is now en vogue to cook them as you describe. Whatever floats your boat. Rules are meant to be broken.

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Interesting. I didn't know this. Obviously, whatever you like is fine with you. I certainly don't mind. That being said, I wonder if this is some kind of culinary standard for certain applications of fried egg.

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Deep fried eggs are crispy and delicious.

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If crispy eggs are wrong, I don't want to be right.

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The only "no-no" is listening to what culinary experts (there's an oxymoron) say. Eat them the way you like them.

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Smitten Kitchen had a post a few months ago praising the crispy egg:
http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2014/10/the-crispy-egg/

To me, it seems like nothing more than an egg preference, no different than liking soft scrambled eggs vs. dry/well done.

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I think as long as it's not unsafe to eat, these "culinary experts" can only say what they like. If you like crispy edges, then crispy edges are a yes yes, not a no no. (For that matter, if you want to slather your scrambled eggs in ketchup and hot sauce, then that's okay too.)

Answer

Some people seem to like them, but I think there is a nostalgia factor involved. Most people have eaten a lot of fried eggs with burnt edges because they are easier to produce. Getting a perfectly cooked white with a runny yolk requires the right equipment, more care, and more time. That's why burnt edges are so common.

Soft-boiling or poaching avoids the problem -- I used to cook mostly soft-boiled eggs. But when I retired I had time to look into cooking eggs more carefully. Now that I have discovered how to fry eggs that are as good as soft-boiled, I rarely soft-boil eggs anymore. With the right pan and sufficient care, gently cooked fried eggs with just-cooked whites, runny yolks, and no burnt edges is easier.

I wouldn't say I "revile" crispy edges, but I certainly look down my nose at them. Burnt eggs, like burnt toast, are the mark of a poor cook.

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It depends on what you yourself want. The opinionated "correct" way of sunnyside up comes from a very specific local, and that local isn't mine.
That said, a friend eats radishes with butter on them at breakfast...which is obviously wrong, very wrong.

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Sunny side eggs up are boring if the edges aren't crispy! Always make 'em like that. Scrambled, on the other hand, I prefer to cook low and slow, just until creamy.

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I'm an over easy kinda guy.
I have always viewed a crunchy crispy egg with contempt. The dishwasher at the local diner makes them brown and crispy for himself.
Hipster joints are doing this everywhere now. 
I find the crispy edges that Always have a crispy bottom to be vile and the sight and smell make me retch.

I also made a small post about this last March:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/968304?commentId=8805799#8805799

And there are plenty of hacks on teh interwebz making "sunny side up" eggs that look like a disaster. 

If you like them poorly cooked, fine. Just don't sit near me. Please.

And as Christina Mason writes, the smell of burnt hair and the brown cellophane/plastic is as vile, to me, as it gets.

Also, omelets. Omelets are so overcooked, dry, dense, brown and smelly, I always avoid them. No matter how hard I try to request it to not be so inedible.
Here's a link to a post of mine on that topic:


http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/895392#7972663

Answer

Not to me- if I can get eggs with crispy edges and not-yet-set yolks, I'm a happy camper. It's my gold standard, in fact.

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I like crispy edges, my mom likes crispy everywhere! 
To each their own, no one can tell us what our taste buds are craving

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I've heard the same thing about omelettes - some say it's OK for them to be browned a bit, while others say you should strive for no browning at all. 

They're your eggs, if you like crispy edges, then by all means, enjoy them that way. 

Incidentally, I watched a cooking segment with Gordon Ramsay where he explained how to make the "perfect" scrambled eggs. It was this overly fussy process where he took the eggs on and off the burner several times, and they basically looked like slimy oatmeal by the time he was done. They may be "perfect" to him, but they looked like vomit to me.

As for fried eggs, I prefer the crispy edges. It's easy to make fried eggs with no crispy edges, just spray the pan with cooking spray and put a lid on them while cooking. The crispy edges usually happen when I cook them in a generous amount of butter and it starts to brown a bit around the edges of the eggs. It tastes fantastic and is totally decadent.

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For those like me who eat barely warm runny yolks, are you concerned about salmonella? Depending on what you read it can be as rare as 1 in 20,000. I'm pretty sure I got salmonella once from chicken eggs.

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Yeah those chefs are stupid. Give me crispy eggs!

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My mom fried over-easy eggs with what you refer to as "crispy edges" when I was a kid--and I never did like them. I recall thinking that those eggs would be better if cooked less. As an adult, I cook eggs to my preference: sunny-side up and no more than needed to firm up the whites.

Answer

Silly French rules. In school we had to make a perfect, folded-twice plain omelet with no brown at all on it. Sure, I did it then, but I couldn't care less about a brown bottom in my home, as long as the middle is still soft. 

According to the French masters, if eggs brown, you're cooking them at too high a heat, and they will get tough. 

I like crispy edges just fine.

Answer

It depends on who you talk to. I saw Jose Andres fry an egg with crispy edges on Made In Spain. Serious Eats tried the same recipe and decided it yielded perfect results.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/04/jose-andress-fried-egg-with-chorizo.html

Answer

I take "culinary" here to mean in the professional culinary world, not home kitchens. So I consulted my James Beard books, the authority I always turn to first, and discovered he had nothing much to say about fried eggs. He did say this about scrambled eggs:

“I have had, in my time, memorable meals of scrambled eggs with fresh truffles, scrambled eggs with caviar and other glamorous things, but to me, there are few things as magnificent as scrambled eggs, pure and simple, perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned.” James Beard, 'On Food' (1974)

In retrospect, it seems to me that the professional culinary world does not have much to say about fried eggs because they are generally inferior to scrambled eggs and omelettes, especially as customarily prepared in American hash houses. Of course, American scrambled eggs are nothing special, either, but at least the proper preparation can be easily taught. Fried eggs which aree as good as a carefully prepared scramble are more difficult, but if you like them burnt to a crisp they are pretty easy.

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I just found this interesting link on the subject of fried eggs:

http://foodists.ca/2006/07/07/how-the-french-fry-eggs.html

It confirms exactly what I have been doing with my eggs, including salting only the whites. My technique requires a small pan to confine the eggs so they don't spread out too much, however. Otherwise, it's the same. Great minds think alike.

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If you like tender whites with no crispy bottoms and edges, then that's the right way to make them.

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The first time I had crispy brown edges on fried eggs was in local mexican diner type places. On top of enchiladas. I was enthralled. Sometimes I think they almost deep-fried them, but the yolks are soft. I've not been too successful trying this at home, I always overcook the yolks. So it's usually over easy and steamed a little at home, though sometimes an egg fried gently till hard (break the yolk!) makes an awful good sandwich that you don't have to wear. 

When I make pad thai, I like to brown the omelette I'm adding, I like the flavor combination. When I make a french-style rolled omelet, I want that little guy to be pale and tender with a liquid center, no brown at all. Sometimes I like my scrambled eggs fluffy and dry and firm, like Mom made. Sometimes I like them creamy and barely cooked, with soft curds enveloped in soft egg like custard. Eggs are good all kinds of ways.

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Who cares. 

It's your food. Eat it the way you like.

Heck, I really enjoy Miracle Whip with my tuna sandwiches (not salad, but tuna steak). 

Anybody who thinks that's gauche can go fornicate with themselves.

Answer

Eggs. I like my crispy edges and my syrupy yolks for dipping toast, cooked in either bacon grease or butter. My husband likes barely cooked whites and runny yolks. We make our breakfasts separately. For any culinary expert to declare one way of frying eggs "right" is an attempt to impose his taste preference on people too insecure in themselves to trust their own taste buds. We don't all taste things the same way!

 I have made creamy scrambled eggs, and admit they are glorious, but I will never eat them again. I have some odd familial sensitivity to uncooked egg protein, and the gastrointestinal distress from consuming even a tiny amount of uncooked white is severe. From a health and safety viewpoint, those barely cooked scrambled eggs are too risky for me. I settle for cheesy scrambled eggs with salsa.

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If I don't receive crispy, browned edges on a fried egg when ordering out, it's going back. If they won't do it or can't do it without overcooking the yolk, I'm leaving the restaurant.

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Are crispy eggs a culinary no no?

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