(Adapted from Alton Brown and The New Best Recipe.)
2 eggs, plus extra in case of disaster
salt
butter
Carefully crack eggs and place each into its own custard cup.
Melt about 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a nonstick saute pan over medium/medium-high heat. Tilt the pan so that the butter is concentrated near the edge opposite the handle, and gently pour one egg into this buttery region. Keep the pan tilted for 5-10 seconds so that the whites start to set without spreading out too much.
Return pan to level and allow egg to cook until whites are almost entirely opaque. You will see the whites becoming opaque from the bottom-up and the outside-in. When there’s just a little bit of transparent egg white left, salt eggs and jiggle pan (or use a rubber spatula) to release eggs from pan. It’s time to flip the eggs using Alton Brown’s technique:
…lift the pan, holding it about a foot above the heat. Now, flip the eggs over by pushing the pan away and snapping upward simultaneously. Once the eggs start their somersault, raise the pan to meet them so that the exposed yolks experience the softest landing possible. The goal of course is to avoid breaking the yolks.
Immediately slide the egg of the the pan onto a plate. Repeat with second egg.
This takes a few tries to get right. It’s important to cook eggs one a time to stop the whites from pooling and becoming too thick.