I make scrambled eggs in a well oiled cast iron pan and it forms an impenetrable layer of burnt egg that is as hard as concrete. Your not really supposed to let cast iron soak in water for extended periods right? taking a scrubby to it and reoiling it actually takes longer than cooking and eating the food did. what am i doing wrong? its not just eggs anything you cook on it adheres and is very difficult to remove and everyone says how amazing they are and instead they are a chore.
I never understood the fan wanking over cast iron skillets, especially when camping.
They’re heavy as fuck and they take forever to heat up. The only advantage I can see with cast iron skillets is that they distribute heat evenly because they take so fucking long to heat up.
You can avoid burning your eggs by either seasoning your pan; buying a pre-seasoned pan, a lot of people like Lodge skillets; buying an enamel coated pan (kinda pricey) or just skipping the cast iron altogether and going for one of the new fangled skillets with an extra thick bottom with multiple layers of metal that somehow makes the whole thing heat evenly.
Here is a good tutorial on how to season and clean a cast iron pan.
That said, I’d go with a non-stick pan for frying eggs. It’s the right tool for the job.
I cook eggs most days in a cast iron pan, and because I leave the pan sitting until much later in the day to clean, it often needs a bit of a soak to get the dried on bits of egg off. No big deal for me, my pans work fine, but I’ve heard the no soaking “rule” too.
I let my pan heat on low for about five minutes, add some butter and then drop in the eggs. Also, I use a metal spatula with a thin edge to move the eggs, so they don’t get a chance to stick. A plastic spatula just smears the eggs to the bottom of the pan and I end up with a mess like you are describing.
Or just get a nice Teflon pan… they work well too.
Never had eggs stick to my cast iron pans unless I’m making an omelette and melt a lot of cheese into it. Even then, no layer of burnt eggs hard as concrete. Not sure what you’re doing wrong but it isn’t a characteristic of cast iron pans in general, I assure you.
After proper seasoning, it should become more ‘NO stick’, with use. The more you use it, the less things stick. My wok was the same way. At first everything stuck! But now, nothing ever sticks!
Don’t give up!
If you need to soak and scrub a cast iron pan then do it. It may need more seasoning after that but it’s not going to damage the pan. It takes a while to build up a good carbon layer on a pan so you may have to scrub it now then until you get to that real non-stick finish. And if it’s a newer pan with a pebbly surface it takes even longer unless you grind it smooth yourself to start with.
1.) Cast iron is the wrong tool for scrambled eggs. Sometimes, to conserve on pans, it’s okay to cook eggs in there after you’ve cooked bacon. But for eggs by themselves, you should just use Teflon.
2.) Soaking in water sans soap shouldn’t be a problem for a well seasoned pan.
3.) Despite what most people think, cast iron does NOT heat evenly. It RETAINS heat. Which is something completely different. The best way to get cast iron evenly heated is to first preheat it in the oven, and THEN use it for stove top cooking. I strongly recommend this method for cooking steaks.
Or just heat it slowly on the stovetop or over a fire. It won’t maintain even heat no matter what you do unless you use it as a roasting pan in the oven.
You can use a seasoned cast iron pan to cook eggs. But you have to know how to cook eggs. I think that may be one of your problems.
To cook scrambled eggs: heat the fat to just below sizzling. Don’t skimp on the fat. Add a drop or two of the mixed egg – does it immediately cook? If not, your pan is too cold, and your eggs will stick if you add them now. If hot enough, pour the egg in slowly and then TURN THE STOVE OFF. Stir/flip gently with metal spatula until desired consistency. If you need to turn the stove back on, do it on very low.
Fried eggs you’re on your own, I don’t like them and the whites are much harder to keep from sticking.
My pan is forty years old, I use it every day.
If ever a Pit thread called for recipes…
Regards,
Shodan
For cleaning, get yourself a little piece of chainmail that’s made for cleaning cast iron.
Swirl the chainmail around in your pan while running hot water over it for a few seconds. The mail will knock off 99.9999% of the crud without stripping off the seasoning.
Wipe dry with a paper towel, then fully dry off on the stove for a couple of minutes on high heat.
Yep, wrong tool for the job.
While we’re mentioning Teflon pans - don’t bother spending a ton on one. They scratch no matter how careful you are. Just buy a reasonably-priced one and treat it as a consumable, not something you’ll pass on to the grand-kids.
Eggs in cast iron need fat. Eggs in teflon can be a low fat cooking experience, you are better off with fat in there. Then, when you are done, put water in the hot pan, scrap off the stuck bits, dump out the water, wash, put back on the burner to dry and heat, and coat with more fat while still hot.
This is why your grandmother got used to cold eggs.
You wanna start trolling, or shall I?
I’ll go first.
Take one cat. Declaw, circumcize, and rub with spices. Place the cat in an SUV with a “TRUMP - GREATEST PRESIDENT EVER” sticker. Drive to work, forgetting to drop the cat off at daycare. After eight hours, the cat will be medium well done. Drive to the nearest Mexican restaurant. Serves four. No tipping.
Regards,
Shodan
That was pretty wow. Well done.
I would like to challenge everything Shodan said in the previous post. That said…
Buy a top-quality nonstick 8-inch pan (All-Clad is my choice) and reserve it for eggs-only cooking. Fry your damn bacon or ham or sausages in whatever cooking utensil you want. Pour off a tablespoon of grease into your egg pan and make your omelette or fried egg in in that. Or use butter. Or chicken fat. Or olive oil.
Put a Post-It into the egg pan when you store it that says “MAKE ANYTHING OTHER THAN AN EGG IN THIS PAN AT YOUR PERIL.”
Cast iron is good if you want to roast something in the oven, say a chicken. I do use it on the stove top. I just go real slow. Works fine.
And be sure and remove the Post-It before frying your next egg.