Start Frying Eggs In A Creamy Liquid For An Elevated Dish

There's nothing like enjoying a plate of buttery fried eggs first thing in the morning. If you're a breakfast pro who knows everything from getting the perfect doneness to avoiding mistakes when cooking fried eggs, you may be ready to upgrade your go-to technique. For a tasty twist, instead of frying eggs in butter or oil, turn to the rich dairy product you normally use in your coffee. Heavy cream is the ingredient you need to take your eggs to the next level. 

Among all the fried egg hacks you wish you knew sooner, cooking them in heavy cream makes for an epic, flavor-loaded experience. When heated up, heavy cream separates into milk and fat solids, which may not sound amazing at first — but the milk will gently steam your eggs as it evaporates, while the butterfat undergoes caramelization in the pan, which gives your breakfast a more complex flavor. You'll have perfectly steamed eggs with toasted edges and a taste that's like brown butter.

To make these delightful bites, add the cream to a nonstick skillet, crack in your eggs, and warm it all up over low to medium heat. For every two eggs, use three to four tablespoons of cream. Once the water from the cream evaporates and egg whites become firm, remove your pan from the heat and cover with a lid for one minute to finish cooking. Now, all you need to do is season your eggs and enjoy.

To add more intrigue to this unconventional breakfast, consider combining a variety of herbs and spices with the cream. Before frying your eggs, infuse the dairy with chopped garlic or a bit of garlic or onion powder and spices such as dried thyme, basil, and oregano. Depending on how you plan on serving your eggs, you can also add a bit of citrus zest for a more complex flavor.

You can also jazz up your fried eggs with one spicy condiment: chili crisp, full of aromatic ingredients such as dried peppers, scallions, and garlic. Simply add the cream to your skillet and mix in one or two spoonfuls of the crisp. Stir and heat the combined mixture before adding in your eggs. If you don't have chili crisp, make spicy cream-fried eggs with a spoonful of your favorite hot salsa, diced jalapeños, or red pepper flakes. Or, try sprinkling in some salty capers, smoky roasted red peppers, or savory grated parmesan cheese.

If you end up loving the cream and eggs combo, try making eggs en cocotte or shirred eggs, which are baked in ramekins with a heavy cream sauce. As long as you know how to tell when your shirred eggs are finished cooking, they're about as easy to make as cream-fried eggs.