According to culinary lore, the 100 folds in a traditional chef’s toque represent the 100 ways to cook an egg. (Escoffier’s Guide Culinaire offers 143 techniques, but who’s counting?). The good news: You only need one tool—a cast iron skillet—to apply most of them. Not only can you cook eggs many ways in cast iron, you should: the material’s superior heat retention and (especially in baking) heat distribution means better eggs—softer scrambles, crispier fried edges, and fluffier frittatas and stratas—no matter how you cook them.
Below, some of our favorite egg recipes for cast iron skillets:
Check to see if your skillet is hot enough by splashing a few drops of water on the surface. If the water sizzles when it hits the pan, you're ready to go! Right before adding the eggs, melt butter (or heat up some olive oil) in the bottom of the pan—enough to cover the entire surface.
All cast iron pans need a fat in the pan to prevent sticking, even if you have the most well-seasoned pan in all of history. I add 1 tbsp of butter for six eggs, which is enough for my family of four. I let it cook in the pan until it becomes golden, which adds to the depth of flavor.
Eggs fall into the category of sticky foods that are not ideal for cast iron skillets that haven't built up their seasoning yet. While cast iron can become non-stick with sufficient use over time, a newer skillet will almost certainly cause your eggs to stick to its porous surface.
You can also use butter, bacon fat, avocado oil, coconut oil, vegetable oil, or canola oil. Butter and bacon fat are just the right consistency to evenly coat the pan and stay in place. Other oils will also do the trick, just make sure to give them an extra swirl around the skillet before adding the eggs.
Introduction: My name is Domingo Moore, I am a attractive, gorgeous, funny, jolly, spotless, nice, fantastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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