I LOVE fried eggs. Yum yum yum! I'm an over easy kind of girl...gotta have the yolk runny, but cooked on both sides. So when I saw this pin on Pinterest, I put it in on my "Delighting the Taste Buds" board fast. It looks so pretty and is a fun way to dress up breakfast (or lunch...or dinner...or whenever you make fried eggs).
The Original Pin
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| http://www.apronstringsblog.com/uncategorized/flower-power-eggs-recipe-sunny-side-up-eggs/ |
I was a little curious exactly how it was going to work though...I could see it being kinda a mess. I wasn't sure how I was going to keep the egg from spilling out the bottom of the bell pepper slice, which is just what happened, and I was worried that if I used too large of an egg or too small of a bell pepper that the egg would run over. So I tried to pick my pepper and my eggs carefully.
The Pinstrosity
I very carefully cracked the first egg into the pepper and immediately it started oozing out the side. That's the top egg in the picture. So the second egg (the bottom one) I tried the good ol' crack with one hand while I pushed the bell pepper down onto the pan with the other hand. It was a little tricky since I'm not very good at cracking eggs one handed. But I got the egg in the pepper and was able to keep it from oozing out the bottom as much as the first egg...but I still got a slight ooze. After that they cooked up beautifully and flipped really easily. So we didn't have an egg overflow, it was more of an "underflow"
added 7-19-2012: We had a question of how to flip the eggs emailed to us. You'll have to wait to flip the egg until it is cooked through quite a bit or you'll get egg splatter all over and have leakage on both sides. Either that, or just go sunny side up. I'm not a sunny side up fan (too slimy) so I let my eggs cook a long time so that they were as cooked through as they could be since I wasn't going to try flipping them.
The taste was a little odd with the two combined, and I'm not sure I liked the crunchy texture of the bell pepper mixed with the soft texture of the egg, but it wasn't bad and it did make them look fancy and dressed up the top of my flat fried burrito (basically a quesadilla with beans in it).
How hot was your pan when you put your eggs in? The hotter your pan the less running you'll get because the egg cooks faster than it can run. You could try cooking your peppers for a few minutes before adding the eggs so that they are more tender/crisp than crunchy. Maybe I'll have to try this one, I think it looks yummy.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't touch it and your arm vaporizes hot, but it wasn't all the way hot yet (I was impatient...a chronic problem of mine). That would make sense to have the pan hotter.
DeleteYou can help keep the egg from running out of the bottom of the pepper by first coating the bottom of the pepper with a little egg. Crack the egg into a bowl and then put some of the whites onto the pepper. Be careful not to break the yolk. Then put the egged pepper on the skillet then fill the pepper with the whole egg,
ReplyDeleteI have done this and the key is to cut the peppers perfectly straight. If they don't sit perfectly flat, the egg seeps out. I have a bread knife that is adjustable for cutting different thicknesses. I had perfectly straight cuts and the whites stayed in.
ReplyDeleteI think the original pin also shows a slice of tomato inside the pepper "ring" to support the egg a little bit.
ReplyDeleteI have done this and it worked for me. I like to think that's because I used a mandoline slicer to get the pepper pieces all flat flat flat. Also, you have to use a very flat pan, if yours has warped at all you're in for seepage.
ReplyDeleteI would:
ReplyDelete-Get as flat a slice as I could
-Use a very hot pan
-Use a very fresh egg (they don't spread out as much)
-Tip the egg out from a glass - you can usually do this quicker than breaking an egg straight from the shell.
You just have to get the pan hot first. Sear the pepper (or onion, as I've seen and used) so that it sticks to the pan a little, THEN add the egg. Since the pan is hot it will immediately start to cook the white and reduce the underleakage problem. You really only have to wait as long as you would when making a normal egg to flip it. I think this needs to be revisited!
ReplyDeleteIf you don't want to flip your eggs but want the whites cooked, just put a lid on your pan while cooking (a la Alton Brown). Perfect runny yolk and cooked whites every time!
ReplyDeleteAlso. Just as a suggestion, although different from the original pin, you could also use the bottom (rump, if you will) part of a pepper, and just pour the broken egg into it. It will take longer as should be on lower heat, but it will still eventually cook (almost poach) that egg. :0)
ReplyDeletei've made these as well, using peppers and onion rings. You just need to cut them flat and evenly, and not too thin or the egg will seep right out/the ring will break.
ReplyDeleteAlso, cook the peppers for a minute or 2 first, then add the egg if you don't like how crunchy they are.
-M
I saw these and made them very successfully. I wish I had a picture. I cut my pepper as flat as possible and cooked them on a griddle at medium high heat in some real butter for a few minutes to get the peppers a little softer. (Not a fan of hard peppers.) Then I cracked the eggs into each pepper slowly; making sure the white went in first and then the yolk. Then I added a little salt and pepper. I also didn't have a real problem flipping. I just treated it like a fried egg, used a wide spatula, and flipped delicately but quickly. By the time they were done, the pepper was a nice, sweet softness and the eggs were wonderfully fried. I love them on toast with a little bit of sriracha and pepper jack cheese on top. Just one of my absolute favorites.
ReplyDeleteAlso, when I know I'm going to make this, I find larger peppers so there isn't any overflow. That was my biggest concern since I use jumbo eggs and finding meaty peppers isn't easy most of the year.
Tip to cook the yoke without flipping: I'm a horrible egg flipper and so is my aunt. Thankfully she taught me a little tip that may work for this.
ReplyDeleteStep 1: add a dap of butter to the hot pan to keep the eggs from sticking
Step 2: crack the eggs like normal and let them cook
Step 3: about the time you'd flip the eggs, add about 1 tbsp to the hot pan and immediantly cover with a lid. The steam will actually cook the yoke and add the typical little white layer to the top of it
It doesn't take very long for the steam to cook the yoke. Maybe about a minute or so for a sunny side up egg. I like mine mostly hard with a little runny so I let it steam for about 2 min.
I think you should try again, with a very hot pan. So that the egg gets cooked fast and don´t ooze.
ReplyDeleteI have always referred to "flat burritos" as Quesaritos, a combination quesadilla and burrito. For some reason, I thought you should be aware of this!
ReplyDeleteYou know...I think I did need to be aware of that and may adopt Quesaritos as the new name for Flat Fried Burritos. Love it!
DeleteInstead of using a searing hot pan (which will cause the underside of your egg to get all crispy and gross) use a nonstick pan on medium heat. You want a gentle heat to cook your egg through. Get the pan to medium heat and add your butter. Once it has foamed up you can add your green pepper. Hold it firmly down to the bottom of the pan while you crack your egg with the other hand. Let it cook for a moment while continuing to press down on the pepper. Once you have a firm seal, cover pan with a lid. This will let the egg cook through without having to flip it and risking a broken yolk. Once your white is cooked through use a silicone spatula to get under your egg and put it onto a plate.
ReplyDeleteMine turned out perfectly.