Once long ago -- I was in my early twenties, probably -- I was an overnight guest at someone's house, and the next morning when breakfast was in the offing, I was asked if I liked my eggs fried country style. I said that I didn't know what that meant and was told it meant that the eggs were fried in bacon grease. I said, "What else do you fry eggs in?"
No, I wasn't being a smartass -- I really didn't think there was any other way to fry an egg. At our house there was always a small glass dish with a lid that sat near the stove into which any left-over bacon grease was deposited. When making eggs, if I didn't fry some bacon first, I availed myself of the grease jar. I even recall a period in my life when I was trying to cut calories and decided bacon shouldn't be on my diet. When making eggs for myself, I would fry a couple pieces of bacon to render the fat but leave them for someone else to eat.
I have since, of course, learned you can fry eggs in margarine, butter, oil, vegetable shortening, and cooking spray. What with making bacon in the microwave, I generally fry eggs in butter now. This morning, however, I did something I haven't done in a long time -- made scrambled eggs in bacon fat, and, oh my, they were good.
According to what I can find on the Internet, the "country style" term is most often applied to eggs cooked by starting the frying process, then turning the heat to low, adding water, and covering the pan until the eggs set (which sounds like steaming to me). So, I have no idea why my hosts of long ago thought "country style" meant frying eggs in bacon grease or whether that method even has a name.
Well, whatever you call it, bring it on.
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