You know what’s better than a fried egg? A crispy fried egg. I mean, that’s pretty much inarguable, right? Which is why this past year I started frying mine in olive oil. I noticed a lot of hip restaurants in these put-an-egg-on-it times doing this, and it’s a technique that the Spaniards have embraced for, I’m going to say, centuries. Why the fuss? Well, olive oil has a higher smoke point than butter, and because olive oil is healthy-ish, you don’t feel guilty adding a extra glug to the pan. And when you crack an egg into a pool of extra-virgin olive oil (I like to let the oil get nice and hot over medium heat for, say, a minute or two, before frying), the white pops and sizzles and percolates, until the edges take on a crunchy, lacy, deep golden-brown texture. The yolk, meanwhile, remains warm and runny. After a few minutes, the egg is done. A sprinkle of sea salt, some fresh cracked pepper, and a few dashes of hot sauce and you’ll never go back to butter again.
Here's how to do it right, according to senior food editor Alison Roman:
1. Heat 1-2 Tbsp. oil in a medium skillet over medium-high.
2. When oil is very hot (will take a minute or so), crack your egg into the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Oil should be bubbling around up around the whites from the start—this is a good thing!
3. Cook, rotating skillet occasionally, until whites are golden brown and crisp at the edges and set around the yolk (which should be runny), about 2 minutes. No need to baste the white or fuss with it too much. If you like your yolk more on the medium side (Adam does), cook an additional 30–60 seconds longer.
4. I find the best way to remove the egg is with a fish spatula, but any diner-style flat edged spatula will do.