For The Best Round Eggs At Home, Make Them Like McDonald's

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Plenty of people will argue that a home-cooked breakfast sandwich is going to be better than McDonald's, but it's hard to deny the Egg McMuffin gets the egg right. The circular egg puck is perfectly formed to fit on an English muffin sandwich, and it's also wonderfully tender while still being strong enough to not squish out the sides when you take a bite. It's the kind of result home cooks want to replicate in their kitchen, and you can do it with a basic technique involving tools you already have at home.

As you can see in a video from Made Vision, McDonald's makes those little egg rounds by using custom made molds. A fresh egg is cracked into the mold as as it sits on the griddle. After that, there are really only two steps to get the same result. The first is a light stirring of the yolk. It gets broken and swirled into the whites, but not enough to fully mix them. You just want to spread the yolk out a bit to get some in each bite. The second key is pouring water around the molds after adding the eggs. This creates steam that helps the eggs cook while preventing them from browning, which keeps the eggs soft. The eggs are then covered as they steam, for two-and-a-half minutes. They then come out of the mold and straight off the griddle and stay warmed until you place your order for an Egg McMuffin.

To replicate this at home all you need is something to shape the eggs. You can actually buy heatproof round egg molds if you make enough breakfast sandwiches to make it worthwhile, but there are things in your kitchen that can work too. The first is a mason jar lid ring. You simply butter or spray the inside to keep the egg from sticking, put it in the pan, and cook your eggs just like McDonald's does. You can also use heatproof metal biscuit cutters, or round cookie cutters the same way. Just make sure whichever option you use you go with one that is around three inches in diameter to get the right size.

However a jar lid is probably the best option, because you can also use the entire two-part mason jar lid. Just put the whole lid, ring and top, in the pan before you crack in the egg. The lid top will protect the bottom of the egg from overcooking from direct heat, giving you something closer to that tender Egg McMuffin texture. Then you can just add the water, cover, and steam for two to two-and-a-half minutes, just like McDonald's. It really is an amazing little trick to get perfectly shaped eggs for your favorite breakfast sandwich recipes, without a trip to the drive-thru. Even the most ardent champions of home cooking sometimes need to admit the professionals at McDonald's know what they're doing.