You've Been Frying Eggs The Wrong Way, According To Amanda Freitag - Exclusive

The fried egg is one of the key components of classic American diner food. And Amanda Freitag, who you know as a regular judge on "Chopped" and as the former host of "American Diner Revival," thinks you might be frying your eggs wrong. Apart from Freitag's expertise in all things diner, she has an honest-to-god zeal for eggs to back her up. Eggs, in fact, are one of Freitag's three constants. The celebrity chef revealed in an exclusive interview with Mashed that in addition to eggs, she is likely to always have "champagne and some kind of pickle" in her fridge. On nights when Freitag needs to whip something up quickly, she'll resort to egg-based breakfasts for dinner — think omelets and scrambled eggs.

When Amanda Freitag hard boils eggs, she boils her water first and uses a spoon to lower her eggs into the water to avoid unwanted cracks. She'll teach you exactly how to master a hard-boiled egg in her Easy AF YouTube videos. As for frying eggs? Freitag has an almost shockingly simple trick for that, too — one that will keep you from overcooking them.

If you don't have your technique down right, frying an egg is likely to be simultaneously as easy and as impossible as winning at rock paper scissors. "I think everybody just wants to know how to fry an egg," Freitag reflected to Mashed. Freitag said her Easy AF YouTube tutorial on how to fry an egg is one of her most-watched. The celebrity chef thinks that's because we're all missing a key part of the egg-frying process.

"The trick to frying an egg is to have a lid," Freitag revealed. "You need a lid," the "Chopped" judge emphasized. "And start with a medium-high heat and then go low with a lid so that you can cook all the egg white." A lid, Freitag explained, allows you to create a "temperature-controlled" space for your egg. That, in turn, ensures you won't overcook it. "When you put that lid on, it gives even heat all throughout from the top to the bottom," Freitag elaborated. "Most people just fry their egg on the bottom unless they're flipping it over. So you need a lid for that little egg pan that you have."

For more of Amanda Freitag's baking and cooking hacks, tune into new episodes of "EasyAF" every Monday on IGTV. Amanda Freitag has a new spice line to complement your new baking skills, AF Spice Blends. Also be sure to follow Freitag on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube for everyday inspiration.