Eggs are one of the most versatile ingredients in your kitchen. They’re used for baking and binding, emulsifying and leavening. But you don’t need a ton of other ingredients to make them palatable (unless you have an egg aversion, of course, which… valid). But how you decide to cook them makes all the difference. Some egg preparation methods yield chickens’ reproductive material silky, smooth and saucy, while others leave them thick, chunky and flavorless. I’ve decided to do the hard work of ranking the best egg-cooking methods to answer the age-old question: How would you like your eggs?
10. Baked
I have to be clear about what I mean by “baked” here. We’re not talking about a shakshuka type of situation, which requires tomato sauce to keep the eggs moist while they’re in the oven. We’re talking plain baked eggs, which are only good if you hit the cook time just right. Leave them in the oven for 20 seconds too long, and you’ll have a dry, rubbery mess. I just can’t trust myself with that kind of responsibility.
9. Hard Boiled
Hard boiling an egg is tragic because it looks so promising from the outside. You think you’re about to bite into a golden pocket of velvety yolk, and instead you’re met with a dry, sandy slap of reality: Somebody (probably you) boiled this egg within an inch of its life. The tell-tale greenish brown hue of the yolk is the first sign that something has gone very, very wrong here.
8. Fried
Fried eggs are okay. Good, even, if the perfect balance of exterior crispiness and interior liquidity can be achieved. All too often, though, the fried ones turn out just slightly wrong—a bit too cooked in the middle or a bit too liquidy on the outside—and it’s enough to ruin your whole breakfast.
7. Scrambled
The quality of any serving of scrambled eggs depends almost entirely on the other ingredients included. The addition of milk adds a creamy richness to scrambled situation, while ingredients like chives, soy sauce and chili crisp can add flavor and texture that break up the generic egginess of the rest of the dish. Without these additions, though, scrambling is just okay.