I used what I call the cover method to baste these eggs in heavy cream and butter.
Knob of unsalted butter and a tablespoon or so of heavy cream with fresh thyme leaves.
Shirred eggs? Ain’t nobody got thyme for that.
I was hungry for shirred eggs this morning but didn’t want to take the time to heat the oven for just two eggs. Shirred eggs are delicious and a great way to cook eggs if you are serving a group. Click here for my Shirred Eggs Recipe.
I began to wonder if I could achieve a similar result without the oven. Using a skillet and a method of basting an egg that I call the cover method, I came up with what I believe is a very tasty egg. To truly baste an egg you would ideally use bacon drippings to gently baste the eggs. With the cover method, I simply crack the eggs into a lightly oiled non-stick skillet along with a tablespoon of water and cover. The water will essentially steam the eggs giving a very similar result as basting.
Here is what I did:
Cream and Butter Basted Eggs
Ingredients
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter (Approximately)
2 Eggs
1 Tablespoon heavy cream (Approximately)
Fresh thyme leaves
Directions
Drop a knob of softened, unsalted butter in the center of a cold 7″ non-stick skillet. You want to start with a cold skillet so the cream comes up to temperature slowly and does not immediately curdle. Crack two eggs in skillet and add a tablespoon or so of heavy cream. Sprinkle fresh thyme leaves over the eggs, cover and turn burner on to medium. Resist the temptation to look at eggs for four minutes. Check eggs after four minutes and check to see how well the egg whites and yolk are set.
Plate eggs when yolks are set to your desired doneness. Drizzle any remaining cream and butter left in pan over eggs and serve.
The Blind Guy Cooks 
In my house, if you want fried eggs, you get basted eggs. My mother always made them that way. I usually use butter and water. No non-stick cookware for me; my well-seasoned stainless steel pan works fine. I’ll have to give the cream a try. Eggs are so much better when basted. Thanks! Btw, if you ever get a hold of some duck eggs, give them a try! They’re fantastic basted and they tend to be much larger than hen eggs!
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Never once have I ever commented on a recipe, but I needed to share with you just how much this recipe genuinely changed my life. I am 24 years old and I have never once eaten the egg whites and not found them absolute disgusting to the point of nearly throwing up. But this night I was constantly wasting eggs and having to swallow the cost of throwing half of them away. it didn’t matter how they were cooked whatsoever. I hated egg whites. I wouldn’t even eat potato salad if it had boiled egg pieces in it. Previously the best discovery I had surrounding egg whites was recently finding out that duck eggs and especially goose eggs, have much more palatable egg whites than chickens. but obviously, these are hard to find and incredibly expensive. I’m disabled and it can be difficult to cook and find your idea of making a sort of riff on coddled eggs in a skillet was genius. it was so easy for me to do. It requires so little maintenance on the stove and so little cleanup! Most of all it made the white delicious!!!! Like actually delicious not just palatable, but incredibly delicious. it completely changes the texture, the taste, even the smell of them. And your suggestion of thyme was wonderful as I couldn’t find any of my cabinet… but I found a seasoning mix that had it along with oregano, marjoram, basil, rosemary, and, sage. I had the eggs with some bread that I toasted in the pan with my favorite olive oil along with extra of the seasoning mix. finally, I did have some pate that I had alongside as pâté is one of my favorite things to eat! To finally be able to not only eat egg whites but enjoy them is life changing for me. Best of all this recipe is easy which is as rarity for me. Thank you!
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