How to Make an Emoji Egg

The emoji egg, that impossibly perfect looking sunny side up egg that you thought only existed as a little cartoon on you smart phone. I’ll let you in a little secret — you can make a real egg that looks just like an emoji. It’s not that hard if you know a couple of tricks.

First things first. Likely you’ve noticed when you crack an egg into a bowl or on to a pan that there are two consistencies to the white. There is a thicker (sometimes slightly cloudy) white that clings around the yoke. Then there is the thin, runny white that makes trails and tries to attach itself to any other eggs in the pan.

The fresher your eggs, the less of that runny white you will have. In the video below, I explain how to determine how fresh the eggs are by looking at the numbers on the carton. Even the freshest eggs will still have a little of that runny white, so you’ll want so remove that by cracking the egg into a slotted spoon, fine colander, or sieve over a paper towel (see video for example).

Next you will want to heat up a non-stick skillet or saute pan to between 270F and 280F — an IR thermometer will allow you to get the temp right where it needs to be. Add a little spritz of the non-stick spray of your choice to your skillet/pan and then add the egg.

Cook the egg until the white is glistening, but dry to the touch. If you’re squeamish about the yolk not being cooked enough, add a teaspoon of water to the pan and cover for 1 minute. This steam will create a nice membrane over the yolk that you can “pop” with your fork.

For sure, emoji eggs are a bit more work and take a bit more time. You probably won’t use this method that often. But if you are trying to do some impressive plating or food photography, it’s a nice method to have in your culinary bag of tricks.