I tried Chrissy Teigen's controversial technique for making perfect eggs and found she doesn't deserve the hate

Anneta KonstantinidesSep 18, 2020, 00:27 IST

Insider

Chrissy Teigen accidentally started a heated Twitter debate when she posted a video of herself cooking eggs.
Many took issue with Teigen's use of olive oil instead of butter, even though her technique was approved by Michelin-starred chef José Andrés.
I decided to fry eggs in olive oil and butter, respectively, to see which turned out better.
While the egg made with butter tasted a little richer, the one made with olive oil was far less burnt.

Chrissy Teigen recently kicked off a heated debate when she posted a video about cooking eggs.

The short clip, which Teigen dubbed the "perfect sunny eggs tutorial," showed that the cookbook author uses olive oil to fry her eggs — much to many of her followers' dismay.

I was shocked that so many people were against Teigen's technique. And so, never one to say no to an eggs-periment, I put her preferred olive-oil method up against butter, which Twitter critics claimed was far superior when it came to frying eggs.

Chrissy Teigen made headlines after demonstrating how she cooks sunny-side up eggs.

Chrissy Teigen recently shared her hack for making "perfect sunny-side up eggs." Craig Barritt/Stringer/Getty Images

Many on Twitter were appalled that Teigen had cooked her eggs in olive oil instead of butter.

Teigen makes her eggs (pictured) in olive oil. Chrissy Teigen/Twitter

I already had all the ingredients I needed to test Teigen and Twitter's egg hacks.

I put eggs made with olive oil and butter head to head. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

I decided to start with olive oil first, since it's what I already use to fry my own eggs every day.

To start, I put a capful of olive oil in my pan. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

I don't own a ramekin, so I cracked my egg into the smallest bowl I could find in my kitchen.

Like Teigen, I cracked my egg in a bowl before putting it in the pan. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Then, I used the common trick Teigen used to see if the oil was hot enough for the egg.

I sprinkled water to see if the olive oil was ready for the egg. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Teigen places a lid over her eggs during the cooking video, so I followed suit.

I placed a lid over my egg as it cooked. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

I quickly realized, though, that I had put the lid on far too early.

My egg didn't look very similar to those in Teigen's video. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

I skipped the lid on my second attempt.

I tried again with olive oil, this time leaving my egg uncovered. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Just like Teigen, I made sure to add plenty of salt as the egg cooked.

I sprinkled a generous amount of salt as my egg cooked. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Overall, my second attempt with olive oil looked far more like Teigen's eggs.

The yolk came out perfect, and the edges were slightly crispy. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

After thoroughly cleaning my pan and running it under cold water, I tried frying an egg with butter.

I let the butter slowly melt around the pan. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

To keep things consistent, I cracked my egg into a bowl again before adding it to the pan, and didn't use the lid.

I could already tell the edges were going to be far more burnt than my olive-oil egg. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

The edges of my butter egg ended up burning far more than those of my eggs cooked in olive oil.

Parts of the egg weren't edible because they were burned to a crisp. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Overall, I thought the olive-oil egg had a nicer appearance than the one made with butter.

The butter egg did look a tad fluffier than my olive-oil egg. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

When it came time to taste, I decided to throw my semi-basted egg into the mix as well.

Not wanting to waste them, I tasted all three eggs. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Overall, my eggs-periment proved to me that, no matter how you cook them, fried eggs are really delicious.

I thought the butter and olive oil eggs both tasted great. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

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