1 glug olive oil or cooking fat of your choice
Salt, pepper, herbs, spices or hot sauce, or all of the above
Over a high flame, heat a skillet for a full minute. Add a glug of oil and let it heat until it just begins to smoke, another 30 seconds. Add your egg, reduce the heat to medium-high, and step back; it’s going to hiss and sputter and basically be the most wildly dramatic thing to happen at breakfast in a long time. Within a minute, it should get brown at the edges but don’t touch or move it. Let it cook until the white looks fully opaque, another 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Shimmy a thin metal spatula under the egg, gently loosening any stuck parts. Transfer to whatever you’re serving it on (toast, latke waffles, fried rice, home fries, a plate), shower it with seasonings, herbs and spices of your choice and waste no time digging in. Repeat as needed.