How do you cook an egg in a cast iron skillet?

[neophyte]

It probably seems like a funny question, but I figured the mustachians would know!

I've heard more than once that cast iron is non-stick enough that you can cook an egg on it, but darned if I can!  Our skillet is well seasoned and my roommate doesn't have trouble frying an egg without it sticking, but he basically floats it in a puddle of oil. I invariably get bits of egg stuck to the skillet when I try. 

What am I doing wrong?  Too hot? Not hot enough? Not cooking long enough? Cooking too long? Is using a lot of oil unavoidable? I don't seem to have any trouble cooking other things....

[Greg]

I use olive oil at medium heat.  If the heat is too cool, the egg can stick.  I usually make mine scrambled and gently pour the mix into the pan.   I clean mine by scrubbing with a bamboo brush in hot water and heat it to dry, oiling before it cools.  Different oils can cause problems, so see if you and your roommate can agree on an oil to use.

[seemsright]

It took me almost 15 years to get my cast iron egg pan to be able to cook a egg with a bit of spray oil and flip without egg sticking.

I love cast iron...my tip would be re-season it in a hot oven. Oil it up with lard and put in the oven for as long as you can. But time will be your friend here. Also start using the pan for other things and it will help it season.

[TheOldestYoungMan]

Anytime I'm having an issue with cooking, I add butter.

It seems to fix most things.

[southern granny]

I remember that my grandmother had several cast iron pans, but she had one that was her egg pan.  Nothing but eggs was cooked in it and it was never washed.  She just wiped it out after every use.  No sticking at all. 

[Goldielocks]

+1 on the 15 years, I am only approaching the right level of glazing. My aunt's 40? Year old pan is fabulous, though.

[Rural]

I plain can't do it, not even in my grandmother's pan, seasoned for the last 70 or so years (unless it was her mother's, in which case make that 100). Never once have I managed it, and I cook everything else in cast iron. I keep a steel pan just for scrambled eggs.


I can hard boil eggs in a cast iron Dutch oven though. Does that count? :)

[Hamster]

Are you opposed to using oil because of calories? Or just looking for the novelty of cooking an egg without oil directly on the pan?

Unless the calories are a major issue, I say add a bit of oil and enjoy. Tastes so much better that way.

[GizmoTX]

Coconut oil: Good for you, helps with the pan seasoning & sticking, & makes the eggs taste great.

[Mirwen]

I use plenty of bacon drippings to cook my eggs.  Hot pan, cold oil, food won't stick.  Your roomie has the right idea.

[neophyte]

Great!  Lots of ideas.  I like them all except the bacon grease. I don't like eggs cooked in bacon grease or with bacon in them for some reason. But that's just my own weirdness.  I'll keep at it. 

Ours is a thrift store skillet, so I've no idea how old it is. I'm not 100% opposed to using oil, but I'd prefer not to, or just a small amount. And I always forget those spray oils exist, that seems like a good way to just use a small amount.

I think hard boiling eggs in the dutch oven totally counts!  ;)

[Arktinkerer]

Clean bacon grease (cooled after cooking so solids settle to bottom of storage container) works great for cooking.

We have a spray bottle for olive oil similar to this: http://www.amazon.com/Zyliss-Olive-Oil-Mister-Bottle/dp/B00IJW6EBA

Not related to sticky eggs but I like to use a smaller pan and add a dash of water and a lid to the hot pan after putting the eggs in.  Sort of a combination poached/fried egg.  Lets you go sunny side up but still get the top more done without crisping the bottom of the egg.

[lizzzi]

Melt some real butter in the pan and fry the egg in butter. Salt and pepper the egg, lift it out onto your plate (maybe pre-warmed in the oven or microwave), drizzle any remaining melted butter on top of the egg. There you go.

(My parents always saved their bacon grease to fry their eggs in. Used it for pie dough, too...mostly apple pies, as I recall.)

[Gone Fishing]

Try salting the pan BEFORE putting the egg in. 

[FrugalShrew]

So it slides around, like this:

"eggs slide around on a cast iron skillet"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=K3hGxEpuY2U

[lemondirgopie]

This has always worked for me:

http://tandemonimomlm.hubpages.com/hub/perfectscramble

Basically preheat the pan until a drop of water skitters across the surface, turn down the heat to low then add the oil/butter and eggs.

[tooqk4u22]

I'm not 100% opposed to using oil, but I'd prefer not to, or just a small amount. And I always forget those spray oils exist, that seems like a good way to just use a small amount.

Hard to get good at using a cast iron pan whose main benefit comes from oil soaking into said pan when you pretty much want to avoid using oil.....you may be better suited for a good non-stick pan (even those do better with a touch of oil).

[neophyte]

I'm not 100% opposed to using oil, but I'd prefer not to, or just a small amount. And I always forget those spray oils exist, that seems like a good way to just use a small amount.

Hard to get good at using a cast iron pan whose main benefit comes from oil soaking into said pan when you pretty much want to avoid using oil.....you may be better suited for a good non-stick pan (even those do better with a touch of oil).

I thought the point of cast iron over, say stainless, was that once it's well seasoned it's not necessary to continue using a lot of oil while you cook? 

I had better results frying an egg yesterday with letting the pan get hotter before adding the egg and using a different spatula. As for grease, I used a very little bit of tallow I rendered from a beef heart. I've been ignoring the spatula, but the one I usually use is too big to easily fit in the little egg skillet.  Will continue experimenting.

Edit: Forgot the egg variable. Ran out of my old 'normal' eggs. Yesterday they were replaced with local, cage-free eggs. So the egg itself could have been different.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

I guess I haven't had my pan that long--maybe 8 years--but I feel like it does still need a fair bit of oil for cooking eggs. We also keep a Calphalon omelette pan for cooking just a couple of eggs without so much sticking. Our old omelette pan lasted 14 years.

[kite]

This has always worked for me:

http://tandemonimomlm.hubpages.com/hub/perfectscramble

Basically preheat the pan until a drop of water skitters across the surface, turn down the heat to low then add the oil/butter and eggs.

This.

[zolotiyeruki]

I had this same question several months ago.  Here's what I've found:
1) Even with the "non-stick" qualities that build up, I still use a (usually very) small amount of fat every time.  I'm partial to bacon grease or butter.  If I'm frying an egg, I'll use maybe 1/8 teaspoon, and most of that stays in the pan--when the egg goes in, the grease gets pushed outwards, with a tiny layer under the egg.
2) once you put the egg(s) in the pan, DON'T TOUCH THEM until you flip them.  I often cook a mix of hash browns, crumbled sausage, and eggs in our cast iron.  A bit of oil/butter/grease for the hash browns at the beginning, then add the sausage and brown that, and then I pour the eggs on top and leave them alone.  When the eggs are solid enough I flip or fold them.  In short, don't stir your eggs or poke at them while they're cooking, and use a bit of fat at the beginning, and it'll be fine.

I thought the point of cast iron over, say stainless, was that once it's well seasoned it's not necessary to continue using a lot of oil while you cook? 

I had better results frying an egg yesterday with letting the pan get hotter before adding the egg and using a different spatula. As for grease, I used a very little bit of tallow I rendered from a beef heart. I've been ignoring the spatula, but the one I usually use is too big to easily fit in the little egg skillet.  Will continue experimenting.

You certainly still need to use a little oil, but it's definitely not much.  This is doubly true if you properly clean it and give it a very thin coat of oil after each use.

[Rural]

I think I've figured out why I have so much trouble. Does anyone scramble eggs in cast iron? That's the only way I cook eggs.

[zolotiyeruki]

I think I've figured out why I have so much trouble. Does anyone scramble eggs in cast iron? That's the only way I cook eggs.

Yup, I do it.  See my post above--for me, the trick is to 1) use a little grease/oil/fat, and 2) move the eggs as little as possible.

[stachethis]

May be issue with seasoning technique.

I have had success with flaxseed oil.

This website is super in depth but helped me: http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/

[Bateaux]

It took years to get my skillet egg ready.  I use real butter.  I only wash it with water and a soft brush.   

[Spork]

I see a whole lot of people that baby their cast iron or go through extensive seasoning processes...  But I gotta say:  We don't baby ours at all.  We wash it with soap <gasp!>.   We don't use expensive oils to season it.  We mostly just cook in it, but if it gets a little dry looking we do a quick rub with an animal fat based grease.   One or two seasonings and... it basically works fine.

[lizzzi]

+1