Add your egg to the skillet and season to taste. Don't be afraid to lower the heat after the eggs hit the pan. Cast iron will continue to absorb the heat from the hot cooktop and stay hot enough to cook the eggs, but will prevent them from sticking.
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.
Any eggs that require a flip — over easy through over hard — are also far more likely to end up on your plate with a broken yolk. Finally, since cast iron retains heat so well, any style of eggs are more likely to brown and overcook. Avoid cast iron altogether with eggs and opt for a thinner, nonstick skillet.
Acidic foods (unless you make it snappy)
Acidic foods (like tomato sauce, wine-braised meats, etc.) enter the red zone when they spend too much time cooking in the skillet. It's particularly important to not marinate anything in a cast-iron pan, as many marinades are quite acidic in order to tenderize the meat.
But cooking eggs in a cast iron pan can be a bit of a sticky situation if you are not as seasoned as your skillet. For some reason, cast iron can cause your fried eggs to stick. Food Crumbles reveals there is no definitive explanation for why this occurs, but they note several issues can cause it.
But given that toast is my favorite food, quickly followed by eggs, she's pretty much the ultimate culinary goddess in my eyes. One thing she does exceptionally well is cook eggs in a cast iron pan. They never ever burn and they always taste better than anything I cook up.
Cast iron reigns supreme
One of the primary reasons scrambled eggs turn out so well when cooked in a cast iron pan is that, once the cast iron is hot, they cook quickly and thoroughly. Though cast iron pans do not always heat in an even manner, they retain heat better than other pans.
You let your skillet soak.
Soaking your cast iron skillet in your sink is a recipe for rust, as is washing it in the dishwasher. Instead, clean it ASAP, even using simple soap and water if you must.
Nutritionally speaking, cooking with cast iron can increase iron content in food—especially acidic food like tomato sauce. A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that the iron content in 100 grams of spaghetti sauce jumped from 0.6 mg to 5.7 mg after being cooked in a cast iron pot.
First, the black specks you see coming off into your food are not harmful. They are most likely carbon deposits. This happens due to overheating of fats and oils. Using an oil with a low smoke point will carbonize at high temperatures and cause residue from the pores of your pan to rub off onto your food.
Best Pan for Eggs Overall: Caraway Fry Pan. Best Cast Iron Pan for Eggs: Lodge Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet. Best Stainless Steel Pan for Eggs: All-Clad D3 Stainless Steel French Skillet. Most Durable Pan for Eggs: Le Creuset Toughened Nonstick PRO Fry Pan.
A well-seasoned cast iron pan is great for making eggs, but I prefer to use it only occasionally (they are great for steaks, pancakes, and tortillas). In my opinion, good quality stainless steel pans are the best everyday cookware. They are safe, easy to clean, and now you know: they are also non-stick.
Cast iron pans heat evenly and retain temperatures well, and they can become quite nonstick if you take care of them properly. These attributes make them great for eggs, especially for recipes you want to transfer to the oven and finish cooking gently like a frittata.
The "naked" cast-iron cooking surface of an unenameled skillet can cause "acidic foods to become discolored and acquire a metallic taste," says Weinstein. In terms of the discoloration, Weinstein describes it as “brown tomato sauce and purple-black wine sauces.”
The first is that since oil is used to season the cast iron skillet and create a nonstick surface, soap would effectively wash away the cure that you worked so hard to build. The second reason that this myth persists is that soap isn't the most efficient cleaner of cast iron.
Although salt is hard, it's still softer than cast iron, so it doesn't risk scratching the surface of your skillet.
The vinegar solution will dissolve the rust, but once that's gone, it can penetrate further and start eating away at the original cast surface of the pan, the ultimate death sentence for your skillet. If that happens, retire it to a piece of farmhouse-chic kitchen decor.
Cast iron pans can leach a sizeable amount of iron into your food, exceeding dietary intake in some cases. Acidic foods will contribute to much more leaching while an old, heavily-seasoned pan will leach much less iron than a newer one.
CLEAN CAST-IRON SKILLET AFTER EVERY USE
Wipe interior surface of still-warm skillet with paper towels to remove any excess food and oil. Rinse under hot running water, scrubbing with nonmetal brush or nonabrasive scrub pad to remove any traces of food. (Use small amount of soap if you like; rinse well.)
Never put cast iron pans in the dishwasher or let them soak in a sink of water. Never put cold liquid into a very hot cast iron pan. The pan could easily crack or warp.
To ensure even heating, gradually pre-heat the cast iron skillet on a similar-sized burner. Since cast iron holds heat, it's not necessary to use a heat setting above medium. These steps help prevent food from sticking. Don't forget to use a hot handle mitt!
Generally, we recommend seasoning your cast iron about once per month, but after every time you use it works as well if you find that it could use some seasoning.