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Dirty fried eggs is the name I gave them - eggs fried in bacon drippings that gives them that speckled look from all the bacon yum-yums gathered on the bottom of the skillet. |
Okay, yeah, it's just fried eggs, but indulge me for a bit would ya? I love eggs. I love all kinds of eggs. Deviled eggs, scrambled eggs, omelets, poached eggs, just plain old boiled eggs, egg salad with shrimp, with ham, and with tuna, eggs on huevos, in quiche, in a hash, as migas, in a breakfast casserole, a quesadilla, on a BLT, and yeah, even on a po'boy! Yep. I do love eggs.
But, this post here - this is just about fried eggs and specifically Dirty Fried Eggs. Aw, heck. Might as well make this post a minor 101 about fried eggs, and then show y'all how we do a proper dirty fried egg down here in The Deep South! After all there are folks who pass through here that are just learnin' to cook, right?
A fried egg is an egg that has been cooked in a skillet using butter or a bit of fat, but with the yolk left intact, unlike a scrambled egg, which while also fried in a pan with fat, is beat, or scrambled, either before or after being put in the skillet. I prefer to use butter only when scrambling eggs, but not when frying, since butter doesn't have a very high flash point for frying. I cook my fried eggs in some kind of oil, but you can then top it with just a bit of butter after cooking it to get the flavor, which is much more appealing to me.
An egg that is simply cracked in the pan and cooked only on one side is called "Sunny Side Up" since the yolk is predominant and looks a bit like the sun. When I do a sunny side up egg, I use an egg turner
I do love omelets and I love scrambled eggs, but most of the time when I eat fried eggs, I do what is called an "over" egg and depending on how long you prefer the egg yolk cooked, would be "Over Easy," sometimes called eggs up, where the yolks are runny, "Over Medium" where the yolk is partially cooked through but with some runny yolk, or "Over Hard" or over well, where the yolks are cooked completely through. The Cajun will only eat an egg that is over hard, with the yolk fully cooked.
I have learned that if you order fried eggs Sunny Side Up in a restaurant, you might receive those eggs with the whites also not fully cooked. That to me is gross and not at all a proper Sunny Side Up egg, so I always ask for over easy eggs when eating out.
I love over easy eggs, despite the fact that people get all freaked out about eating eggs with runny yolks. I've been eating them this way all of my life and well, I'm still here, and I can say that I have never (knock on wood yet) gotten sick from eating fried eggs this way. Your mileage may vary. When I eat them on a sandwich or a homemade egg muffin, I tend to like the yolks a little more cooked, mostly because it makes it much easier to eat without yolk running down your hands!
Another favorite fried egg I love is known by many names around the world, but I call it Birds in a Nest. Birds in a Nest are made by cutting a hole into a slice of bread, then placing the bread into a hot skillet with either butter or fat and dropping the egg into the hole. Once the egg is slightly set, you flip it over to cook the whites on the other side.
Fried eggs are great as a BLT (one of my favorite sandwiches), on a homemade Egg McMuffin sandwich (another favorite that I love), and on fresh, made from scratch biscuits, but my favorite way to eat fried eggs is to make 'em DIRTY. Even better. It absolutely, positively must involve bacon! So, first you gotta fry up a bit of bacon and for, cooking eggs, I prefer to use a non-stick skillet

See those yummy yum yums in the bottom of the pan left from the bacon? Oh yeah... On top of that I add just a splash of canola oil.
And then crack your eggs into the skillet. I also prefer to salt and pepper my eggs while they are cooking instead of afterward. When the outside of the egg is cooked like this, but the yolk and the center of the whites are still raw, I turn the eggs.

And look at that! This is why I call them "Dirty Eggs." the underside of the egg picks up the bacon yum yums from the skillet. Okay it's not the healthiest thing to do with fried eggs, and no I don't eat them this way all the time, but oh my goodness is it good. Once I turn the eggs, I cook them only just enough to cook the whites, but not the yolk.

Plate those beauties with that side of bacon and, of course...

... some kind of toasted bread vessel, why, for dipping in those yolks, of course! Breakfast, brunch or even breakfast for dinner, oh yeah - that my friends is a Dirty Fried Egg! Helloooooooo lover.

Of course, you could use that for one of these...

or cook that yolk a little further too, for one of these delectable breakfast sandwiches too.

Or perhaps, one of these homemade egg muffins!

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Good to know that somebody else appreciates dirty eggs too!
ReplyDeleteI love my eggs over easy! And dirty eggs are delicious!
ReplyDeleteGreat post - I grinned the whole read. I grew up on dirty eggs (but never called them that), always fried in bacon grease, but rather than flip them, Mom had enough grease in the skillet to flip it on the egg tops (baste) to cook them. She got the same effect you've described without the risk of breaking the yolk when flipping the egg. I haven't eaten an egg this way in years, or even thought about it, but I will have to try it soon.
ReplyDeleteLove this post and I love eggs!! we have them for supper at least once a week;) Mmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteI love eggs any way you can make them. I love watching Julia Child thanks for the video.
ReplyDeleteNow there is no excuse for us to fail Eggs 101. I'm an egg lover and I prefer mine poached, thank you :-). Your dirty fried eggs look delicious.
ReplyDeleteMy kids order their eggs "dippy" with lacy edges please. :) gotta get the bacon grease really hot when you put them in to get the nice lacy edges. If I use the right cast iron skillet, I can just about turn the heat off by the time I'm done adding the eggs to the skillet.
ReplyDeletelove your eggy post...I love eggs too
ReplyDeleteI love it when you talk "dirty" like that! Seriously, this weekend I watched a video that talked about using clarified butter to make sure your whites stayed "pristine", lol. I like dirty eggs too!
ReplyDeleteMmmmm....I would love dirty eggs. I meand I DO love them. We cooked them that way all the time, just didn't name it "dirty".
ReplyDeleteAlso....the way eggs are cooked is called different things depending on where in the US you live. My friend in PA said that she loved "dippy" eggs. I have never heard of that. I guess it's a NorthEast thing. We just say "over easy" or "basted" in the west (for dippy). But "dirty" with "dippy" is my favorite!
Great post.
you make the most common things so fun to read about!
Add some venison sausage and you're ready to eat
ReplyDeleteYou about covered eggs here! I like them dirty too the way Mom used to fix them. Fried in bacon grease, splashed over the top, edges slightly burnt! One grandaughter told her she wanted some of those eggs with lace. Don
ReplyDeleteMe too Smokin Don! And I love the way your granddaughter describes them too. Thanks for stopping by for a visit too! Did ya see I was talking about you on the FB page recently? ;)
ReplyDeleteIs there another way to eat fried eggs? I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteSome folks just fry them in plain ole oil - I don't know why!! Unless they happen to be out of bacon I guess.
DeleteHad a dirty omelet for breakfast before reading this. ate half the bacon, threw the other half into the eggs with with some cubed cheddar. My favorite name for the eggs in the toast is Toad in a Hole (save the circles for dippin')
ReplyDeleteYeah I love them like that too. :) Your omelet sounds good!!
DeleteI Love me some "dirty" eggs! Add some fried bacon or sausage (or maybe a left over pork chop) and some good ole "grits" with a nice "cat head" biscuit! That's a breakfast(or supper)that'll hold you over for a long while!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorites! Pair these eggs with some grits, bacon,sausage,ham or left over pork chops and a nice big "cat head" biscuit and you've got a meal that will hold you over for a long while!
ReplyDeleteI make this for "supper" some nights too!
Now THAT'S my kinda weekend breakfast for sure!!
DeleteYummmmy! I love fried eggs with runny yolks and of course you have to sop up the yolk with a biscuit! Or toast. I also love love love fluffy omelets and I would love to see your recipe and your expertise on how not to screw that up. My omelets always turn in to scrambled eggs. Still good,but not the same :(
ReplyDeleteI love your site, it's very helpful!! I know I'm years behind lol, but I'm from the country we move at a slower pace.
Hi Gina & thank you so much! You can find how I do my my omelets by clicking here- it's shown with a seafood filling but the same method applies when I use plain cheese, ham or turkey with cheese or veggies. Hope that helps!
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