Egg in skillet

I've already written at great length about the wonderful breakfast food that is eggs. Cooking them is a skill many of us take for granted, shrugging off how easy it's supposed to be. But these little suckers are a lot more complex than you might think. After all, you can cook them in dozens, if not hundreds, of different ways. Read on for some how-to's, both in list and chart form.

For the sake of somewhat-simplicity, let's look at cooking methods in list form:

Hard-boiled: Put the egg in a saucepan. Cover with water; you'll probably fill the saucepan a little more than halfway. Bring to a boil over high heat. When the water is rapidly bubbling, turn the heat down to low and set the timer for 12 minutes. When ready, rinse the egg with cold water to cool it enough to be able to peel it.

Scrambled: Crack an egg into a bowl and beat well with a fork, until it's evenly yellow and looks well-mixed, about 30 seconds. Get your non-stick pan or skillet over medium-low heat. Add half a tablespoon of butter. When it stops foaming, add the egg. Let it sit 1 minute before stirring gently with a rubber spatula. The finished egg should be cooked through but still soft and moist-looking. Cook time varies depending on how many eggs you're cooking, but it'll probably take 3-5 minutes.

Sunny-side up: Get your non-stick pan or skillet over medium-low heat. Add a tablespoon of butter. When it stops foaming, add the egg. And wait. Let the whites set, then jiggle the pan to ensure non-stickiness. Spoon over some of the melted butter onto the egg. Keep waiting. The whites will be white - no longer translucent - and will be easy enough to transfer to a plate with a rubber spatula, about 3 minutes. (Pioneer Woman actually has a great how-to on sunny-side up eggs.)

Over-easy: Get your non-stick pan or skillet over medium-low heat. Add half a tablespoon of butter. When it stops foaming, add the egg. Wait until the whites start to set, about 30 seconds. Jiggle the pan to ensure non-stickiness. If you're feeling brave, flip the egg over in your pan by grasping the handle and making a quick, downward-then-upward forward motion. Otherwise, use a spatula. Cook about 15 seconds longer.

Over-medium: Get your non-stick pan or skillet over medium-low heat. Add half a tablespoon of butter. When it stops foaming, add the egg. Wait until the whites start to set, about 30 seconds. Jiggle the pan to ensure non-stickiness. If you're feeling brave, flip the egg over in your pan by grasping the handle and making a quick, downward-then-upward forward motion. Otherwise, use a spatula. Cook 20 seconds longer. Flip over again and let cook 20 seconds longer before plating and serving.

Over-hard: Get your non-stick pan or skillet over medium-low heat. Add half a tablespoon of butter. When it stops foaming, add the egg. Cook for 3 minutes. Jiggle the pan to ensure non-stickiness. If you're feeling brave, flip the egg over in your pan by grasping the handle and making a quick, downward-then-upward forward motion. Otherwise, use a spatula. Cook about 2 minutes longer, until the yolk is, well, hard.

Poached: In a saucepan, bring water with a dash of vinegar to a simmer. (There should be lots of tiny bubbles in the water, with little to no activity bubbling at the surface.) Break the egg into the water (or break it into a small dish and pour into the water) and let sit for 3 minutes. Gently remove with a slotted spoon. More details on this here.

Now that you've read that, you can refresh your memory on the tools needed and cook times in this handy-dandy chart:

Type of Egg

Hard-boiled

Scrambled

Sunny-side up

Over-easy

Over-medium

Over-hard

Poached

Tools Needed

Small or medium-sized saucepan

Non-stick pan or skillet, and rubber spatula

Small or medium-sized saucepan, and slotted spoon

Basic Ingredients Needed

A few cups of water

Butter

A few cups of water and a tablespoon or two of vinegar

Total Cook Time

12 minutes

3-5 minutes

3 minutes

45 seconds

1 minute, 10 seconds

5-6 minutes

3 minutes

Eggs in skillet image courtesy of Michael Marler via Flickr.