You Can Fry an Egg in a Deep Fryer
“It doesn’t really fry anything.” How many times have we deep fryers heard these words? How many times have we had to pry hair from the scalp with our hands and have to beg someone to look beyond the name and approach the device with an open mind? Seemingly mentally strong men—people who are famous for their logic and scientific mindset—threw their psyches into turmoil over the name of this device, unable to overcome the slight inaccuracy of it all .
“BUT NOTHING FRYS,” haters bleat over and over again to anyone who dares to share their favorite grilled salmon recipe.
Well, nothing more, my brothers and sisters in Christ. Now it ‘s time to be pedantic. Now we can say with our heads held high, “Bitch, yeah. He can fry a damn scrambled egg.”
In just five minutes, you can fry an egg, sunny side up, with slightly crispy edges and runny yolk. All you need is an egg and some bacon fat. Why didn’t I think of this before? I don’t know! Frying eggs in a pan has been on my mind for a long time, and scrambled eggs in a deep fryer is the next logical step. I’m ashamed that it took me so long, but at least I got there in the end.
If you have a basket fryer, you don’t even need a frying pan; just remove the small tray and crack the eggs right into the bottom of the basket (with non-stick coating). Biting wind and hot fat join forces to cook your breakfast in no time, without sticky whiteness.
If you like, you can cook some bacon there first, let the fat drain, and then cook the eggs in the hot fat. Three strips of bacon gave enough fat to cook four eggs, and I could probably fry even more if I wasn’t tired of eating eggs.
Heating the fat is key, as this helps establish the egg white boundary. Once the fryer (and fat) is at 375℉, I pull out the drawer, tilting it slightly so that the fat accumulates towards the front, then I break the eggs in the fat and let them set for 20 seconds or so until the outer edges of the white begin to grasp. This prevents the white from blowing out too much when you first close the drawer, although the little thin bits of white are nothing to be upset about.
After about three minutes, the white will set and the yolk will become runny, without any sticky white spots. Some of the white may deflate and cover the yolk, but don’t worry, the yolk won’t harden (unless you keep cooking it).
Even if your eggs come out like this:
The yolk will come out like this:
Fried eggs in an air fryer
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons bacon fat (or a couple strips of bacon)
- eggs
Remove the small tray from the fryer basket and set it aside. (I can’t vouch for frying eggs in a toaster-style air fryer, but I think you could handle it with a small skillet.)
If you are cooking bacon with eggs, place it in the (cold) basket. Set the temperature to 375℉ and let the bacon warm up along with the basket. Let the bacon cook a little longer once the fryer hits 375℉ until it renders a fair amount of fat and is ready in a couple of minutes. If you are not cooking the bacon at this time, you can simply add a couple of tablespoons of bacon fat to the crate and let it thaw while the fryer heats up.
Crack the eggs into several teacups or molds, then open the fryer drawer and put the bacon back in (if using). Tilt the box towards you so that the fat collects forward, then pour the eggs into the fat. Let the egg whites set for about 20 seconds until you see a border begin to form. Close the drawer, let the eggs cook for a minute; take a look to make sure the squirrels aren’t too crazy, and if they’re crazy, push them back to the egg.
Cook for two more minutes for the yolks to become runny, or longer if you want the yolks to be firmer. Take out with a slotted spatula and eat immediately, with a sense of superiority, because on this glorious day you really fried something on the air fryer.