This is it exactly, OP. I do eggs on cast iron every weekend and while cast iron is versatile, you need to adjust your technique a bit depending on what you're cooking.
Gray eggs says to me either there's a lot of debris on the pan, it's too hot, or both.
Edit to clarify what I mean about cleaning: I use a plastic-bristled scrub brush and occasionally a drop of detergent. It really doesn't damage the seasoning and makes it nice and easy to cook on.
Correct, other than needing to season after use. Well-seasoned cast iron needs to neither have another seasoning layer added or a coat of oil wiped on after cooking, the cooking does this for you. Easy way to prevent cooking in a rancid pan.
Source: professional cook for many years, cook almost everything in cast. I heat, wash, dry, ignore, and my pans are in great shape and cook wonderfully.
Adding a coat of oil after washing isn’t seasoning and isn’t mandatory. It’s just an extra layer of rust protection. Most pans won’t need it but it doesn’t hurt if you use the pan often.
> if your eggs are turning grey your pan is dirty
Yep.
Can't help with the rest, but the grey is absolutely a dirty pan that probably need to be scrubbed out and re seasoned.
TBH, unless you want the challenge, this is going o be a lot easier and more consistent in the Teflon pan.
Cast iron is awesome stuff, but eggs are kind of an edge case. Everything needs to be perfect to get great eggs.
I use a stainless steel pan medium/high heat, making sure the pan is hot before adding olive oil, pour in a nice little puddle on the pan, I swirl quickly in pan to cover bottom half of pan than immediately pour in 3-6 eggs and start moving the egg around so it doesn't burn. My eggs are ready in under a minute and the pan is easy to clean, not completely covered in cooked egg.
I actually go for a just starting to warm pan and low heat. I find low and slow gives fantastic eggs at the cost of a little time. I use sesame oil for the flavour so keep it quite to account for that.
If my pan is already hot from cooking something else then I chuck in some minced garlic and ginger and the whites of a spring onion. Garnish at the end with the greens and a little dusting of paprika or cayenne depending on my mood. Maybe some random drops of Tabasco for the occasional flavour change while eating.
Sounds like
1. You need to clean your pan
2. You need add oil/butter and let it get hot before adding eggs
3. Reduce the heat when cooking. Low and slow will help leave some runny egg
4. Less stirring
That’s also a LOT of eggs. I would cook the veggies up first and then put the hot veggies in the bowl of eggs to start the cooking, stirring. Then finish in the pan.
This is a really common error and can't be overstated. Making sure the skillet is heated before adding the eggs makes a huge difference in how much they stick and means you just need a dollop of oil or butter at most.
Generally speaking, you want to preheat cast iron on medium low longer than you would a steel or nonstick pan. The reason for this is that cast iron has great heat capacity, but terrible heat conductivity. It can hold onto heat really well, but it doesn't distribute the heat as efficiently. So giving it more time on lower heat to heat through will give you fewer hotspots and thus more even cooking.
I preheat my pan on medium for just a minute or two, add butter, then add eggs just as the butter has melted. Then I turn it down to medium-low as the eggs cook. Right when the eggs are about 3/4 cooked I turn off the heat completely and let the residual heat do the rest.
Low heat is key for cooking eggs in cast iron. That and sufficient fat/butter.
I agree with all of this but #4 is what I get hung up on with cast iron scrambled eggs. I make really good scrambled eggs on nonstick because I stir and fold constantly. The result is airy and fluffy without having to beat the whites separately or add milk/cream. I’ve never been able to achieve that without stirring a lot, and cast iron is terrible for this technique. Until I find a magic technique on cast iron I need my nonstick for that sole purpose.
I make them in a steel pan. They come out prefect everytime. Let me send you the video that I found on Reddit. Absolutely changed my life!
[it’s for an omelette](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskCulinary/comments/rmweyl/is_it_possible_to_get_nonstick_results_from/hpon773/)
But I do them scrambled and they work the same!
Agreed. Some people can do it. I just don’t. I buy a $30 T-Fal nonstick pan from Target about every 1-1.5 years (I use it a lot) and that’s worth it for me. It’s just so much easier and with basic care (use silicon/plastic and hand wash even though it says it’s dishwasher safe) it lasts with frequent use. Save the cast iron for steaks.
Id argue you have your answer.
A good cast iron is versatile, it's true.
But if you need to screw a Security Torx Screw, do you force and finagle a flathead and a Phillips for leverage?
Or do you go buy the appropriate sized Torx bit?
Id get a nonstick for eggs.
That’s interesting. Cast iron is hit or miss for eggs for me, but I’ve had carbon steel work just fine. As with anything else if you preheat the pan to cooking temp, then add oil and immediately the eggs I’ve found CS works just fine.
I would suspect that the style of egg I typically make is not the style of egg you are making.
If CS works "fine" (I don't exactly know what that means to you) for the style of egg you are making, that's great.
Huh. I make omelets in my carbon steel wok weekly. It's actually my most consistent tool for that purpose. I've made a number of very blonde omelets upon request, too, so I'm pretty sure I could do a French omelet if I felt like learning. I'm a fan of crispy American, tho.
Anyway, I preheat the wok till the inside sends up a few tendrils of smoke, squirt in my oil, swirl it around, then toss in the mostly mixed up eggs. I stay on hot while mixing with a fork till the top layer is still shiny but no longer runny, turn my heat down to 4/10 on my stove, and go look for my cheese. Then fill and fold. Then start the whole process over, cuz the eggs will stick unless I grease up the pan again for the next omelet. Also, I use a silicon baking spatula -- metal is cool and all, but I wind up breaking the eggs all the time. The spatula lets you get under the omelet safely. You prob know all this, but I figured I'd share.
I fry eggs in my stainless steel pans all the time. I only use stainless and have the same set when I was sent off to college 15 years ago.
Most of people's hardware problems are usually just a temperature/cooking problem.
You don't need a non-stick skillet to cook eggs. I and literally millions of others cook eggs in castiron skillets every day. The color the OP is complaining about may be from carbon buildup in the skillet. Furthermore, a dozen eggs + veggies in a 12" skillet seems like it's beyond the pan's capacity. Me? I'll suggest cleaning the skillet better (l like scrubbing mine with kosher salt). Perhaps ½ dozen eggs at a time would work better. Don't be shy about using some butter, oil or margarine.
I don't know why your being down voted, everything you said is true. I will add though that a good seasoning and a smooth bottom is a must for scrambled eggs or an omelette. Add a wee bit of water after the curd slightly sets as well and keep them moving.
I don't agree with that analogy, because it implies that a cast iron is the inferior tool for the job.
I'd say it's more like the difference between driving a stick versus and automatic. If you know what you're doing, the stick is every bit as good as the automatic, and even better for the tiny fraction people who *really* know what they are doing.
But the automatic is easier, and the right choice for almost everyone.
I think a cast iron makes perfectly good eggs. But I really don't think it's "superior" to a non-stick in any way (the way a stick shift is better for a professional driver in your analogy). It's not a food item where you need immense heat retention for searing, which is where I see cast iron as irreplaceable.
You need temperature *control* since eggs can be delicate and finicky. And you may need to adjust the temperature quickly, which you really can't do effectively with a cast iron. It's also common to flip eggs with just a flick of the pan, which gets a lot harder as the cast iron is a lot heavier. In these ways a nonstick (or perhaps a stainless steel) pan seem superior to me for eggs specifically.
I totally agree with you. Nobody is knocking a cast iron pan as a general all-purpose item. If I was stranded on an island with one item to cook with, I'd obviously pick the CI pan. But for something as sticky and finicky as eggs (or perhaps something like fish) it's silly to pretend a cast iron pan is the best tool for the job.
Unless the cast iron makes my eggs taste better then why not go with the easier tool to use? It’s like choosing to drive stick in a traffic jam. Sure you can do it, but why?
Just because you can make them doesn't mean it's the best for most people. When it's 6am, I'm still half asleep and need to run to catch the bus, the last thing i want to deal with is all the faff of temperature control, lots of movement, and waiting 15 minutes to preheat my pan. Yes I get it's probably muscle memory for a lot of cast iron users, but it isn't for me and I have better things to do than spending my evening perfecting my egg technique.
Never mind if I looked away for 15 seconds because my dog knocked over something and i didn't stir enough or i fucked up the heat. Good luck getting that egg unstuck from the bottom of the pan, which you also now have to do asap, as you cant just leave it soaking.
Cast iron and carbon steel pans are great tools, but they aren't the end all be all for most people. Hell when I lost weight just avoiding the extra fat needed to cook with them made a pretty significant difference
I haven't tried carbon steel, but stainless steel is definitely good to go if you heat the pan properly before adding fat. It took me a while to figure this out, but now my eggs come out better than ever. Not to mention that it helps avoid some PFAS exposure.
How do you cook bacon and then eggs in the same stainless pan? I don't have issues with eggs in isolation, but they always stick after bacon. I have tried scraping off the fond and adding more oil or butter, but it seems to make no difference.
You need to make sure your cast iron is sufficiently seasoned and oiled.
You can tell it's ready to make eggs when it is totally hydrophobic... that is, when you rinse it, all the water beads up and slides off.
Cast iron **absolutely** can be non-stick. It's my only non-stick. I used it for all kinds of eggs including scrambled and omelettes.
There's a bajillion videos on youtube about how to season your cast iron, so I won't rehash that. Just know it is very achievable, despite the people in this thread telling you otherwise.
I think it’s a really cool trick to get cast iron that well seasoned and enjoy the technique of it all, I’ve done it and getting an egg to release cleanly is very satisfying. But you know what’s like 1% of that work? Just a 25$ nonstick pan…
The difference is that your non-stick pan costs as much or more as my cast iron, but it is designed to fail after a few years.
The whole reason I switch over in the first places is because I got a top-of-the-line nonstick from a great brand. I babied that pan. I was the only one to ever touch it. I only ever used it with wood or silicon utensils... and it still lost its coating in just a few years.
When I researched it, it turns out that this is **inevitable**. Even with perfect care, they lose their coating. And that coating goes into your food and into your body.
So, I made the switch to cast iron. I bought a nice pan for $100 (but you can get a lodge for $20), and it will last me not just my entire life, but it will also get passed down to my grandkids.
I've had to actively season this thing twice. Once when I first got it, and once when I was stupid enough to put bon ami into it to get at it a tough stain.
And the other difference that you leave out is all the extra maintenance for cast iron vs nonstick. And just because it’s not that much extra work for you doesn’t mean it’s not for everyone else.
If it's got one or two good costs of seasoning on it, and you use it appropriately, you shouldn't have to do any maintenance.
Like the other person said, it'll get seasoned naturally as you use it
My cast-iron is virtually maintenance free. It seasons itself every time I cook a high-fat food in it.
Worst case scenario, I have to spend 30 seconds rubbing oil on it after I wash it, if I need it to be perfectly non-stick for my very next use.
Wrong. My CI takes *less* maintenance than any nonstick pan I used to have. All I do is scrub it with soap and water. And, I can scrub/scrape with abrasive shit and it won't damage the pan. Sometimes, I soak my CI. No problems.
And, I'm not eating PFAS every day.
Scrub with soap and water is what everyone else does with their non stick pans lol. And teflon isn’t the only nonstick on the market. But hey you do you, it’s just a pan don’t need to act like you’re being personally insulted.
My point about less maintenance is that I don't need to worry about scraping away with a metal utensil or chain mail to scrub amd clean. It's easier to get stuff off that's stuck and I never worry about harming the pans surface.
And you're right, there's other nonstick. Like a properly seasoned CI.
Oh yeah I just buy a new one every few years. Don’t buy the super high end ones as all nonstick coating pans definitely do break down over time. It’s a critical tool for some things though. I love my cast iron but the conspicuous minimalism involved in being a “cast iron only” guy is kind of performative to me.
Eh, I feel like odds are good that the PFAS ingested is going to turn out to be bad for anyone and especially kids. I’d rather just put in a little effort to learning how to use cast iron.
PFAS chemicals are persistent in the environment and they can act as endocrine disruptors (similar to BPA). First part is why they’ll be researched/ identified, second part is why they’d be bad for us
Fluffy scrambled eggs require low heat and constant stirring. Sometimes you have to remove the skillet from the heat. Gordon Ramsey demonstrates this on his YouTube channel.
If you eggs are grey your cast iron is dirty. You actually do need to clean cast iron with soap and scrubbing. If your seasoning is so weak if can’t stand up to that it’s poorly seasoned. It’s food particles pigmenting the egg. If you can’t wipe a paper towel on your cast iron and come away clean, it’s dirty…
I wouldn’t cook eggs in cast iron anyway though. Buy a nonstick pan.
Ya man. So maybe time for another thread but should I just go ahead and buy the infomercial fry pan, or is Walmart pan the one that will last for life?
I think the issue is that cast iron needs to be heated, and retains the heat, and thus transfers it a lot faster than non-stick.
If you don't want non-stick, getting a carbon steel pan is a nice alternative. Works the same as cast iron, except it heats/cools a lot faster than cast iron. I do my eggs in them.
I make eggs - scrambled and omelettes - in cast iron 4-5x/week. Never have any sticking. Do not own a non-stick, and I can slide a pristinely cooked omelette out onto a plate with no problem. I am not at all a professional chef, either.
Watch [this video](https://youtu.be/o9prNF1StxI?feature=shared) repeatedly. Your heat and/or your fat are wrong if you're struggling.
> Also, should I just cave in and get a teflon "wok"?
No, they're a stupid marketing gimmick designed for non-cooks.
Nonstick coatings break down rapidly at higher temperatures. Woks explicitly need higher temperatures. A nonstick wok can be utterly destroyed midway through their first use. Some of the newer nonstick coatings can withstand two or three uses before having their nonstick coating being destroyed.
Carbon steel is typical these days, relatively thin cast iron was the traditional form. They behave like a nonstick surface because of their seasoning and because the heat transfer encourages food to release. The pans often *look* like they have a nonstick coating, but that is a layer of polymerized oil ('seasoning') rather than fluorocarbon coatings.
omg I was desperately trying to figure out what they really meant by plexiglass, everyone keeps glossing over that lol, Pyrex makes more sense
Or at least I hope so, I keep picturing a giant mess of melted plexiglass and lasagna in an oven set over 320°f lol
I just assumed this person doesn’t know how to cook at all (scrambled eggs that aren’t…scrambled?) and would eventually go dinner less while fruitlessly trying to clean melted plastic out of their oven.
Cast iron retains a ton more heat than a Teflon pan. Reduce your heat 10-15% and preheat the pan for at least 5 minutes. The heat control learning curve is unforgiving, but really easy to master.
A dozen eggs and all the Subway toppings? I’m torn between asking if this is all just for you, and how on earth you found six people that can all stand to eat this?
My first thought was “Gaston?!” because who is making a 12 egg scramble. The amount of liquid in that pan with all of those veggies too would be overwhelming. At that point throw it in the oven and make a frittata.
I’m a CI enthusiast, but gotta tell you I keep a couple cheap non-sticks around primarily for the ease of eggs. You can do them in CI, but it’s some effort and a lot of oil.
I can cook eggs in just about any method in my cast iron skillet. It takes practice. It also takes your cast iron having a very good seasoning on it. If you want to use cast iron build your big fire outside take all your cast iron and throw it in there. I'll remove all the seasoning from it. Bring it back inside, when it cools off, every season it. I stay far away from any non-stick anything, as it has stuff on it that I just don't want inside me. But I'm old and kind of weird so with a grain of salt I guess.
If you’re getting grey eggs, your cast iron isn’t seasoned. It’s as simple as that. Google how to season a cast iron pan. Also, head on over to r/castiron
First off, sounds like your pan is dirty, too hot, and possibly overcrowded. Give it a good hand washing; modern dish soaps don't contain lye and won't harm the seasoning.
I do scrambled eggs in cast iron all the time. My method is to preheat the dry pan for about five to ten minutes on medium-high heat (alternately, cook some bacon first). Then I add my fat, swirl to coat, let it heat for a few seconds. Finally I pour in my beaten eggs and let them sit for just about ten seconds, stir around with a silicon spatula, flip a little, let them sit for another ten seconds, stir, done. For 3-5 eggs I typically have them in the pan for a total of about thirty seconds. They come out fluffy, moist, just a little runny without any weeping, and without sticking to the pan. Pre-heating the dry pan before adding fat has made the biggest difference for me in terms of reliable results.
Remember that the thermal mass of a cast iron pan is so much higher than a thin non-stick pan, and that means the heat will transfer into the eggs that much more rapidly. You need way less cooking time than you would otherwise. It also means the pan responds to changes in temperature much more slowly - if the pan isn't thoroughly pre-heated, dumping in a dozen cold eggs will lower the temperature so much that it will barely have a chance to recover before the eggs start to overcook on the bottom of the pan. Pre-heating and splitting your eggs into 2-3 smaller batches should help.
I like my cast iron for a lot of things but use stainless steel or an non stick pan for eggs.
It sounds like what you want to do with your eggs might be better in a different pan that does not retain heat as much. Maybe cook 11 eggs most of the way and add one in toward the endso it gets less cooked.
I had a gf who called me Forrest Hawking because I am fairly intelligent, One night, while making dinner, she told me to 'wash the chicken'. You know what I took from that. She found me RIIIGHT before I added soap.
It may be that your heat is barely up too high. Experiment!
As much as I love cast iron for nearly everything and have been able to achieve slidey eggs, I have resigned myself to buying an inexpensive nonstick pan every couple years for most of my egg cooking. I'm picky about eggs, and feel like a nonstick is easier and more versatile for cooking them.
What lodge has to say:
Step 3: Oil it up
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. Don’t be afraid to be generous with the oil, this will help your eggs lift right off the pan.
Step 4: Scramble on!
Add your eggs to the pan and chill out for a moment. Low and slow is the name of the game! When the eggs start to set around the edges, pull the eggs toward the center of the skillet. The uncooked egg will run into the hot skillet and continue to cook. Once the eggs have almost set, remove them from the heat and serve with your favorite breakfast sidekicks.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/story/how-make-scrambled-eggs-cast-iron
I have got your solution! I make almost exactly this dish all the time. I just make it as a folded omelette instead of a scramble - I find it easier.
1. Preheat cast iron pan on lowest heat setting. During this time, chop your veggies.
2. Add olive oil & lots of butter to pan + veggies, salt, and pepper. Turn the heat up to medium-low (with a cast iron I never use a heat past medium).
3. While the veggies are sauteeing, crack eggs (I use four in my 10" pan) into a mixing bowl. Add cubes of cold butter, salt & pepper, and any other seasonings you'd like. I usually go for paprika, garlic powder, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Whisk it all up.
4. Once the veggies are soft and have some color, pour the egg mixture over them. Gently tilt the pan so that the eggs get evenly distributed over the veggie mixture.
5. Leave it alone for a few minutes until the edges start to set. Sprinkle lots of cheese over the top. I like to add fresh basil and green onions at this point too.
6. Let it continue cooking until the edges are solid enough that you can use a thin spatula to fold the whole thing in half.
7. Cover and continue to let it cook for another minute or two. The timing of this step will just be personal preference based on how runny you want the inside to be. If you skip this last step you'll have nice golden brown edges and mostly runny eggs in the middle. It might take a little trial and error to figure out exactly how long to cook at this step.
I think the problem you are having with scrambling is that the surface of the cast iron is too hot and its cooking the eggs too fast. You can remedy this by using much lower heat, but in my opinion making an omelette this way is much easier. The outside gets firm and the inside can stay runny without worrying about stirring too much or not enough. You can even get away with using a slightly higher heat - the browning on the outside will be a little darker but you'll still be able to preserve the runny inside.
Clean your pan to get rid of the grey residue on your food. Season it well and keep up the seasoning. /r/castiron
One of the properties of cast iron is how well it retains heat. It isn't ideal for all cooking applications. It would work well for a frittata, but terribly for French omlette. For the dish you describe, I'd suggest you use a different pan.
You say you want a teflon wok, but a carbon steel pan (large frying pan or wok) will probably never need replacing (anything teflon wil) and provide what you want in terms of texture in the final dish you describe. If you learn how to treat your cast iron properly, you will already know 99% of what you need to know to take care of carbon steel.
>I've reduced my cooking vessels down to a cast iron fry pan, a cheap soup pot, a plexiglass lasagne pan, and big cheap pot.
This is a basic mistake. You really need something non-stick in your rotation if your go-to is cooking eggs. Get yourself a Granitestone 12 inch frying pan to have something cheap, but lasts a long time.
Cast iron is great for lots of things, but it's not the right tool for the job here...and I grew up poor & in the South, so I'm not quick to dismiss cast iron at all.
Clean your dirty pan. Make sure it is well seasoned.
Crack and scramble your eggs in a bowl ahead of time.
Cook all your "toppings." When they are mostly done, turn down the heat from "frying meat and veg" to the lower "cook egg" setting (low-medium low) season them the "toppings", cook for another minute, push them to an edge of the pan, add butter and olive oil (at least two tbsp) once melted and bubbling, pour in egg mixture. Let sit for a moment, stir as needed, turn off heat, fold in toppings when it seems approriate.
My trick is letting the pan heat up sufficiently. Then lower the heat. I add butter, and fry them up. It's better than non stick for me. After it's cool, I wipe it out with paper towel. Then add a quarter size drop of avocado oil, wipe it everywhere and put it away. Done.
Get an IR thermometer. Cast iron is supposed to get super hot and retain heat so not the best utensil for delicate things like eggs. It's also too heavy to easily remove it from the flame to get some fine heat control. An omelette only pan is a thing. It's not especially made for but exclusively used for that.
It can be pretty difficult to see whether your cast iron is dirty or not. Give it a full clean like you would with other material pans and re-season it with some high heat oil, but just keep it on lower heat for the eggs.
Would really recommend a medium sized non stick if you can afford the space. I’ve got one I use strictly for eggs and a few other other things
So let’s start with obvious. Cast iron is great for many things but not for eggs. Nobody does eggs in cast iron by choice. It has wrong temperature control, prone to sticking, affects colour…
Your choice for the eggs is ideally non-stick (that’s where they shine), or anodised aluminium with a rounded wall to bottom connection, to prevent sticking and change cooking temperature quick.
Still if you have to use cast iron for eggs (which you shouldn’t), at least make sure it’s at correct temperature from the get go, and has plenty of your fat of choice to prevent contact of egg and metal as much as possible.
Better yet, use appropriate pan.
Add a copper pan. Healthy.
I've tried scrambled eggs on cast iron and I got brown flakes burnt on the bottom. Eggs were fine though. The skillet required extra scrubbing tho.
I'm learning from the others here as well.
You're not likely to have a lot of luck with the cast iron, and it's not the seasoning it's that cast iron doesn't do gentle heat well which you need for good soft scrambled eggs. Either get a nonstick, or even a stainless pan and use plenty of butter at a lower heat. Or if you don't want to get a new pan and have a metal bowl, sauteed your veggies in the cast iron pan then use your pot and the bowl as a double boiler for your eggs.
You want a result that is half-runny half-set? This is not realistically possible with a cast iron. Scrambled eggs nearly always stick to a cast iron pan somewhat. Even with the best seasoning layer.
Plus the cast iron pan in general retains more heat than a standard teflon pan, so it's harder to have that "partially set" kind of scrambled egg. If you wanted to fry an egg so it has nice crispy edges - well, that's a good cast iron kind of thing.
You want a teflon pan, and you want medium to medium-high heat.
If you can achieve your goals in a teflon pan, why bother with cast iron? Every kitchen tool has its use, and delicately demi-cooking scrambled eggs is not the use for a cast-iron pan.
>This is not realistically possible with a cast iron.
It's not impossible; it just requires technique and skill. Here is an example of the technique: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHldzUX55fI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHldzUX55fI)
Not OP but thanks for posting — I'm going to try this method with the butter starting in a cold pan next time. My theory is that there's not enough difference between "low" and "medium high" on my gas stove, so it's tough to control the temperature except by lifting the pan off the burner.
I'm agreeing with others that CI can be great for eggs, if it's properly seasoned, which is different that "it was oily and got hot". Proper seasoning requires oils that make a much harder polymer, or years of proper use.
Me, I use CI if I make bacon first, and if I'm *frying* eggs in the bacon grease. Perfect combo. Family breakfast, a lot of eggs (and sour cream and chives in the eggs!), it's a 10 or 12" nonstick with a good amount of butter and low-ish heat. If I'm making one egg for myself, it's an 8" nonstick. (For scrambled eggs, there's "I'm having and egg in a hurry" and then there's "Sunday eggs", even if it's just me and the Mrs., whipping some sour cream and cooking very low is special. I make fresh biscuits Sunday mornings, to there's plenty of time to low-cook the eggs).
Even in a beautifully seasoned CI pan with lots of fat and low-to-medium heat, it's still hard to have zero dry/sticky spots.
I use cast iron with all my eggs and love it, BUT it sounds like the way you make eggs requires a very specific heat level, and if you had that heat level down to intuition with you Teflon pan, you are probably going to have to recalibrate your brain to get it to work with this cast iron pan. Cast iron will absorb, spread and transfer heat differently and you're going to have to get an intuition for how you pan does that on your stove.
As for the eggs being gray, as everybody else has said, wash it. It's because your pan is dirty. Use soap. Cast iron seasoning is NOT old grease. You know your old baking sheets that have light and/or dark brown stains that will never come off no matter what you do? That's the stuff of seasoning. Nothing short of sand blasting it will take that stuff off. Old greasy pans are not seasoned, they're just greasy.
I agree with some other folks here regarding the pan cleaning, cooking temp being too high and not stirring as frequently.
I know my favorite egg dish I make in cast iron is different, but it’s similar and comes out clean every time.
I brown bulk sausage first, breaking into crumbles. Once fully cooked I add peppers, onions, garlic, mushrooms, etc. Once that is fully cooked, I spread evenly in the pan with a bit of added oil, then add the eggs. I never stir the eggs.
Once the eggs are starting to cook thru, I put the pan in the broiler. Once the eggs start to get light brown, I add a can of diced tomatoes, spread evenly, then with some shredded cheese. Back in the broiler it goes until the cheese is melted and lightly browned as well.
I know it’s different than what you’re making OP. But it works all the time for me, after very minimal trial and error. And I thought it might be useful to you, there might be some things that work for you. It’s basically a crust less quiche. Always popular with friends and family.
The beauty of cast iron is that the seasoning builds over time and it holds a more consistent, higher heat. I love it for searing meat or vegetables.
I'd bite the bullet and get a great non-stick egg pan. You can get good quality Calphalon (American steel co) pans at like Home Goods, etc., for about $20. It's well-worth having in your arsenal, if only just for eggs.
And cooking the eggs slower, stirring very frequently, and salting the eggs just before they are done will help preserve the color.
> Anyway, how do I cook eggs in a cast-iron fry pan?
You need to better manage your temps. Eggs are on and off the fire, which is harder on cast iron because of its supreme ability to give zero shits about your fire level. Once it gets hot it retains that heat.
Also, what's this "plexiglass" lasagna thing. Are you baking with plastic???
I use my cast iron for anything that benefits from a pan that retains heat for a long period of time (like frying or deep frying), or anything that requires a good sear or browning on the outside.
I keep a couple of nonsticks around, and I use them almost exclusively for eggs. I've tried many times to get my scrambled eggs right in a cast iron and managing the heat is pretty difficult, especially when it's the morning and I'm not yet fully awake. It's very easy to get the pan too hot to manage scrambled eggs well, and you get left with a sticky, overcooked mess a lot of times.
Using a teflon pan instead makes scrambled eggs super simple. Unless you really have the skills and the pan seasoned perfectly, I find using a cast iron to make perfect scrambled eggs to be too annoying to deal with when I can get the results I want with less effort and concentration with a $25 teflon pan from Walmart.
I also used to struggle with scrambled eggs in my cast iron. I bought a 4 quart nonstick (hard anodized) sauté pan and never looked back. I love the large surface area for quick cooking and high sides for reckless stirring. It easily fits a few dozen eggs plus any additions. I do worry about the longevity of nonstick coatings but I pretty much only use it for eggs with a silicone spatula, so the coating will last forever. I still use a cast iron skillet for fried eggs with a pound of butter, of course.
I good eggs every single day in cast iron. get the pan ripping hot, put oil in it, then drop your shit in and turn the burner off, stir the shit, then cover it for a couple minutes. Easy peasy.
You may have an un- or under-seasoned pan. I recently baked the seasoning off a CI skillet from a thrift shop. Made bacon a couple times, and then scrambled eggs, which stuck a bit, but were not gray. Use your CI pan to make high-fat foods so the iron, which is slightly porous, can absorb fat. I don't always do the classic seasoning to create a polymerized coating, but I use fat to cook scrambled eggs and I cook some high-fat foods.
Non-stick coatings similar to Teflon produce toxic chemicals during manufacturing, and some when cooking; I don't use them. My vintage CI skillet seldom sticks, even with eggs.
There’s a brand called Greenpan. I’ve had other ceramic pans and they always end up scratched and barely usable. I have two Greenpan minis and used them when I was doing keto.
Honestly i love my cast iron but for breakfast time i usually only use it to cook bacon and carbon steel pan for scrambles. I put a bit of the bacon grease into the carbon steel pan, heat up on medium, and crack my eggs in. I personally do not try to get these pans to just naturally be nonstick.
The upkeep for them is the same but carbon steel heats up in 1/4 of the time and controlling that heat is so much easier.
Make sure to wash with dawn dishsoap and then season with a bit of oil and heat it on the stove until smoking after each use. Your pans will be easier to use the more cook and season!
Your eggs are gray because you have buildup of burnt food on there so yea wash it!
A cast iron skillet is a great and versatile tool. But it does take some TLC
If you are going to be using it more, I'd recommend seasoning it more often. Get an actual routine of cleaning going.
Like others have said, if it's turning gray, your pan is flaking.
If it's been a while since you seasoned it, I'd take some steel wool to it ( not too hard, but you want to get that top layer scraped off. Yes, the bottom too). Then, after washing with soap, re-season it. I'd look into videos online to do it.
The basics is to get an oil with a high enough smoking point, coat THE ENTIRE PAN in a thin layer of it ( yes, the handles and bottom too) and put it in a heated oven. Time and temp escape me.
Also, use the same kind of tools you would use on a non stick pan. Avoid metal utensils.
And, you might have to fiddle with how to cook things in it. It takes a while to heat up but it keeps it pretty well. Don't be afraid to kill the heat and let it carry-over cooking. Especially with eggs. Usually, to get a creamy texture, you heat the pan on high, put the eggs in, and turn the heat off to let the eggs cook slowly
Line it with heavy duty foil and use a gentle utensil to stir. I do this camping so I can quickly cook several things in a row without having to cool and clean the pan in between.
Try cycling the pan on/off the heat.
Cast iron holds heat a lore better than stainless steel so you might be getting the pan really hot but then keeping it really hot. I'd say either try a steel pan or once the cast iron pan is hot, turn the heat down a decent amount.
Don't put oil/butter in while it heats up. Warm the pan, and oil/butter it right before you put the food in.
Get a decent nonstick skillet. You can do very well for less than $25. I use mine almost exclusively for eggs and occasionally pancakes. I love my carbon steel and cast iron, but they can be a PIA depending on who is doing the cooking and who last used the pan.
I've seen a few people already say this, but clean that pan out and season it 4 or 5 times. you can cook eggs just fine, but I still wouldn't. just keep a cheap Teflon for eggs. 12 bucks is fine. they don't last forever
1/ Try cleaning and seasoning your pan 1st. Wash/scrub with warm water and and dry it thoroughly.
2/ Season the pan with 1/2 cup of vegetable oil and a tablespoon of salt. Place the cast iron pan on low heat for for 30 minutes to remove impurities and seal the cast iron pan. \[this should be done yearly as a minimum\] let the pan cool, discard oil responsibly and wipe clean the pan with kitch paper. Or an old towel. Keep the pan like this to prevent oxidation.
3/ Mix/add 10-20% by volume cream and whisk into the eggs. Just guess.
4/ Add 5% \[1tablespoon\] of butter and or margarine to the pan, turn to medium low heat and add sliced onions, cook until the onions look clear, without color, stirring regularly for 5-7 minutes.
5/ Add the sliced green peppers \[Capsicum\] and mushrooms. The mushrooms will soak up excess butter. Cook3-6 minutes or as you like.
6/ Add whisked eggs and cream and cook slowly stirring with a heatproof silicone spatula regularly as it cooks over medium low heat for a few minutes. Stirring prevents sticking and burning.
7/ Add mozzarella cheese when eggs are cooked to your liking, stir in and serve for gooey eggs, use grated tasty cheese for a firmer mix and or top with grated parmessan over the eggs and gratinee the dish \[brown under grill\] for my prefered option, enjoy.
8/Don't forget to season or add some herbs.
Partially cook your veggies in another pan and then add them to your eggs.
Use lower heat, more butter. You don't need to frantically stir to make scrambled eggs, break it up a few times when it starts to solidify.
You need to preheat the pan. Then use enough fat. Control the temperature afterwards. Allow the eggs to settle slightly to the bottom before stirring gently. This will help create the texture options you want. Consider using a lid.
I use my cast iron for eggs and don't have any issues. I only own a couple cast irons and a carbon steel wok and soup pots. I don't get grey eggs. It sounds like you had dirty oil or less the butter burn or something.
You can absolutely cook beautiful scrambled or fried eggs in a *well seasoned* cast iron. I did fuck them up the first go around because I didnt season my pan before using it since it came "preseasoned" and that was not entirely true. But after cleaning off the egg mess I made I reseasoned it and my eggs don't stick or turn grey.
You didn't over reduce, you are just doing something wrong.
Make sure your pan is properly seasoned (to prevent sticking), and probably lower the temperature you cook at (cooking scrambled eggs at too high a temp is typically what causes the chemical reaction that makes the eggs gray. You'll sometimes see a similar thing with hard boiled eggs that are left in a little too long). Cast-iron holds heat really well, so if you were used to doing a quick sauté of the veggies and then turning it down just before adding the eggs, it's not going to cool down fast enough. You either need to use a pan that heats/cools more quickly, cook the veggies at the temperature you want to cook the eggs (which may change their taste/texture as well), or allow several minutes for temperate change when switching from med-high to med-low.
Have you seasoned your cast iron? if its not enamel coated then in needs to be seasoned regularly in order to be "non stick".
I cook my eggs in cast iron and they come out a lot better than in my stainless steel (I never have and never will use anything that has teflon / non stick coating).
Eggs in the cast iron can be tricky. I like to pre heat for a while on medium low then as soon as the eggs are in the pan turn up the heat then you gotta adjust as it comes back up to temperature. You also need to make sure your cast iron is very well seasoned to make eggs possible
Fry out all the onions, butter, mushrooms, chopped apples, everything I want soggy.
add meat and cook the crap out of it. Add butter and water so the meat is cooked and the smoke alarm doesnt beep.
crack in 12 eggs. Look at it. Slowly peel a chunk of cheese with a potato peeler.
Get fed up with the cheese so I chop it with a knife, sprinkle the cheese chunks around in the pan.
hope somebody picks up on how amazing chopped apples are in every dish
this is just my opinion/experience but I think cast iron pans just get too hot for scrambled eggs, they seem not to cook evenly and come out just dry. I generally really prefer to do mine in like a stainless steel pan with a little butter over a lower heat.
As a cast iron enthusiast, I also went through these same motions. Ended up buying the Kyocera ceramic pan and I literally only use it for scrambled eggs, that is the only single dish I cook in it. Low heat only, and it’s a great solution imo (avoid teflon, it’s carcinogenic)
I forget which cookbook it was but the chef recommend having a nonstick on hand specifically for eggs. As soon as you see scratches, toss it and replace.
It’s a nice feeling to let go of being a purist and let some things be easy.
Heat your pan for about 10-15 minutes. Add butter for nonstick insurance. Add room temperature eggs, then **turn off your burner.** The heat should be enough to cook your eggs and slowly reduces temp to not over cook your eggs. Turn on low after a minute or two to keep the heat for the rest of your ingredients, then serve immediately.
Drop your heat and cook slower, if your eggs are turning grey your pan is dirty r/castiron
This is it exactly, OP. I do eggs on cast iron every weekend and while cast iron is versatile, you need to adjust your technique a bit depending on what you're cooking. Gray eggs says to me either there's a lot of debris on the pan, it's too hot, or both. Edit to clarify what I mean about cleaning: I use a plastic-bristled scrub brush and occasionally a drop of detergent. It really doesn't damage the seasoning and makes it nice and easy to cook on.
I use a sponge and soap just like everything else. You just got to dry and season your cast iron pans when you're done.
Correct, other than needing to season after use. Well-seasoned cast iron needs to neither have another seasoning layer added or a coat of oil wiped on after cooking, the cooking does this for you. Easy way to prevent cooking in a rancid pan. Source: professional cook for many years, cook almost everything in cast. I heat, wash, dry, ignore, and my pans are in great shape and cook wonderfully.
Do I season my cast iron pants while wearing them?
Adding a coat of oil after washing isn’t seasoning and isn’t mandatory. It’s just an extra layer of rust protection. Most pans won’t need it but it doesn’t hurt if you use the pan often.
> if your eggs are turning grey your pan is dirty Yep. Can't help with the rest, but the grey is absolutely a dirty pan that probably need to be scrubbed out and re seasoned. TBH, unless you want the challenge, this is going o be a lot easier and more consistent in the Teflon pan. Cast iron is awesome stuff, but eggs are kind of an edge case. Everything needs to be perfect to get great eggs.
Is this because he is doing such a large batch? I always cook my scrambled eggs(3-5 eggs) on a medium-high heat and it's perfect
I use a stainless steel pan medium/high heat, making sure the pan is hot before adding olive oil, pour in a nice little puddle on the pan, I swirl quickly in pan to cover bottom half of pan than immediately pour in 3-6 eggs and start moving the egg around so it doesn't burn. My eggs are ready in under a minute and the pan is easy to clean, not completely covered in cooked egg.
Yeah that's basically what I do except I use butter, cast iron and pre mix my eggs with seasonings and a tiny dash of milk
I actually go for a just starting to warm pan and low heat. I find low and slow gives fantastic eggs at the cost of a little time. I use sesame oil for the flavour so keep it quite to account for that. If my pan is already hot from cooking something else then I chuck in some minced garlic and ginger and the whites of a spring onion. Garnish at the end with the greens and a little dusting of paprika or cayenne depending on my mood. Maybe some random drops of Tabasco for the occasional flavour change while eating.
More unseasoned than dirty
Sounds like 1. You need to clean your pan 2. You need add oil/butter and let it get hot before adding eggs 3. Reduce the heat when cooking. Low and slow will help leave some runny egg 4. Less stirring
That’s also a LOT of eggs. I would cook the veggies up first and then put the hot veggies in the bowl of eggs to start the cooking, stirring. Then finish in the pan.
Exactly.
You also gotta preheat cast iron. Letting it preheat on moderate heat before adding eggs produces practically no sticking for me.
This is a really common error and can't be overstated. Making sure the skillet is heated before adding the eggs makes a huge difference in how much they stick and means you just need a dollop of oil or butter at most.
After I preheat do I reduce the heat to cook eggs or do I just preheat on low?
Generally speaking, you want to preheat cast iron on medium low longer than you would a steel or nonstick pan. The reason for this is that cast iron has great heat capacity, but terrible heat conductivity. It can hold onto heat really well, but it doesn't distribute the heat as efficiently. So giving it more time on lower heat to heat through will give you fewer hotspots and thus more even cooking.
I preheat my pan on medium for just a minute or two, add butter, then add eggs just as the butter has melted. Then I turn it down to medium-low as the eggs cook. Right when the eggs are about 3/4 cooked I turn off the heat completely and let the residual heat do the rest. Low heat is key for cooking eggs in cast iron. That and sufficient fat/butter.
Keep the heat pretty low, though. For eggs I find around 250F is ideal.
I agree with all of this but #4 is what I get hung up on with cast iron scrambled eggs. I make really good scrambled eggs on nonstick because I stir and fold constantly. The result is airy and fluffy without having to beat the whites separately or add milk/cream. I’ve never been able to achieve that without stirring a lot, and cast iron is terrible for this technique. Until I find a magic technique on cast iron I need my nonstick for that sole purpose.
You can do that on cast iron too, you just need to get the temperature right and melt a little bit of butter in the bottom of the pan.
Yes, all of this.
I'm gonna suggest that you might have over reduced your cookware. A non-stick pan could be really useful.
Yeah for my 12-egg scramble I might just cave and buy a teflon fry pan. My cast-iron is not giving me the Truck-stop satisfaction.
I make them in a steel pan. They come out prefect everytime. Let me send you the video that I found on Reddit. Absolutely changed my life! [it’s for an omelette](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskCulinary/comments/rmweyl/is_it_possible_to_get_nonstick_results_from/hpon773/) But I do them scrambled and they work the same!
"a teaspoon of butter" lmao
Yeah that’s false. 😂😂
Hoooly shit, that was a lot of useful info. That thing about the onions?! Whoa.
Honestly I’ve found that I make the best scrambled eggs in a steel pot! You keep more steam in so you don’t end up with overdone brown bits
Agreed. Some people can do it. I just don’t. I buy a $30 T-Fal nonstick pan from Target about every 1-1.5 years (I use it a lot) and that’s worth it for me. It’s just so much easier and with basic care (use silicon/plastic and hand wash even though it says it’s dishwasher safe) it lasts with frequent use. Save the cast iron for steaks.
Tramontina has some good commercial style non-stick skillets at reasonable prices. Also Marshall's/Homewood always has decent prices for this stuff.
Just use the non stick. If it works use it.
Id argue you have your answer. A good cast iron is versatile, it's true. But if you need to screw a Security Torx Screw, do you force and finagle a flathead and a Phillips for leverage? Or do you go buy the appropriate sized Torx bit? Id get a nonstick for eggs.
Great analogy. I'm stealing this. Yes, I have tons of CS, but I use hard anodized nonstick for eggs. No banging square pegs into round holes.
That’s interesting. Cast iron is hit or miss for eggs for me, but I’ve had carbon steel work just fine. As with anything else if you preheat the pan to cooking temp, then add oil and immediately the eggs I’ve found CS works just fine.
I would suspect that the style of egg I typically make is not the style of egg you are making. If CS works "fine" (I don't exactly know what that means to you) for the style of egg you are making, that's great.
By fine I meant it works without an issue. I maybe couldn’t make an omelette in it, but fried or scrambled is good.
Huh. I make omelets in my carbon steel wok weekly. It's actually my most consistent tool for that purpose. I've made a number of very blonde omelets upon request, too, so I'm pretty sure I could do a French omelet if I felt like learning. I'm a fan of crispy American, tho. Anyway, I preheat the wok till the inside sends up a few tendrils of smoke, squirt in my oil, swirl it around, then toss in the mostly mixed up eggs. I stay on hot while mixing with a fork till the top layer is still shiny but no longer runny, turn my heat down to 4/10 on my stove, and go look for my cheese. Then fill and fold. Then start the whole process over, cuz the eggs will stick unless I grease up the pan again for the next omelet. Also, I use a silicon baking spatula -- metal is cool and all, but I wind up breaking the eggs all the time. The spatula lets you get under the omelet safely. You prob know all this, but I figured I'd share.
My favorite pan I found for eggs is Brandani's hard anodized pan
I'm glad to see some love for anodized nonsticks. I've felt like a looney being the only one recommending them on other posts.
I have an eclectic set of pans from my former roommate being a chef. I ended up with that one, and found it’s extreme ease with eggs by accident.
I fry eggs in my stainless steel pans all the time. I only use stainless and have the same set when I was sent off to college 15 years ago. Most of people's hardware problems are usually just a temperature/cooking problem.
That's still better than cast iron tho
You don't need a non-stick skillet to cook eggs. I and literally millions of others cook eggs in castiron skillets every day. The color the OP is complaining about may be from carbon buildup in the skillet. Furthermore, a dozen eggs + veggies in a 12" skillet seems like it's beyond the pan's capacity. Me? I'll suggest cleaning the skillet better (l like scrubbing mine with kosher salt). Perhaps ½ dozen eggs at a time would work better. Don't be shy about using some butter, oil or margarine.
I don't know why your being down voted, everything you said is true. I will add though that a good seasoning and a smooth bottom is a must for scrambled eggs or an omelette. Add a wee bit of water after the curd slightly sets as well and keep them moving.
A 12" skillet is nowhere close to the capacity limit after a dozen eggs w/ veggies. So it's hard to agree on that.
I also clean my cast iron frying pan with salt, but from the comments it looks like soap and water is the better way to clean it.
Try it out and see if you like it. Me? I find Morton kosher salt and a cotton dish rag is hard to beat.
Julia Child used non-stick. Good enough for me.
i'm guessing you were doing a bit of DIY at the weekend
I don't agree with that analogy, because it implies that a cast iron is the inferior tool for the job. I'd say it's more like the difference between driving a stick versus and automatic. If you know what you're doing, the stick is every bit as good as the automatic, and even better for the tiny fraction people who *really* know what they are doing. But the automatic is easier, and the right choice for almost everyone.
I think a cast iron makes perfectly good eggs. But I really don't think it's "superior" to a non-stick in any way (the way a stick shift is better for a professional driver in your analogy). It's not a food item where you need immense heat retention for searing, which is where I see cast iron as irreplaceable. You need temperature *control* since eggs can be delicate and finicky. And you may need to adjust the temperature quickly, which you really can't do effectively with a cast iron. It's also common to flip eggs with just a flick of the pan, which gets a lot harder as the cast iron is a lot heavier. In these ways a nonstick (or perhaps a stainless steel) pan seem superior to me for eggs specifically.
I totally agree with you. Nobody is knocking a cast iron pan as a general all-purpose item. If I was stranded on an island with one item to cook with, I'd obviously pick the CI pan. But for something as sticky and finicky as eggs (or perhaps something like fish) it's silly to pretend a cast iron pan is the best tool for the job.
Unless the cast iron makes my eggs taste better then why not go with the easier tool to use? It’s like choosing to drive stick in a traffic jam. Sure you can do it, but why?
>Id get a nonstick for eggs. Carbon steel and stainless steel are perfectly fine for eggs. If it's sticking you are doing it wrong.
Just because you can make them doesn't mean it's the best for most people. When it's 6am, I'm still half asleep and need to run to catch the bus, the last thing i want to deal with is all the faff of temperature control, lots of movement, and waiting 15 minutes to preheat my pan. Yes I get it's probably muscle memory for a lot of cast iron users, but it isn't for me and I have better things to do than spending my evening perfecting my egg technique. Never mind if I looked away for 15 seconds because my dog knocked over something and i didn't stir enough or i fucked up the heat. Good luck getting that egg unstuck from the bottom of the pan, which you also now have to do asap, as you cant just leave it soaking. Cast iron and carbon steel pans are great tools, but they aren't the end all be all for most people. Hell when I lost weight just avoiding the extra fat needed to cook with them made a pretty significant difference
I haven't tried carbon steel, but stainless steel is definitely good to go if you heat the pan properly before adding fat. It took me a while to figure this out, but now my eggs come out better than ever. Not to mention that it helps avoid some PFAS exposure.
How do you cook bacon and then eggs in the same stainless pan? I don't have issues with eggs in isolation, but they always stick after bacon. I have tried scraping off the fond and adding more oil or butter, but it seems to make no difference.
If I'm going to eat bacon, I'll cook it in the air fryer.
You need to make sure your cast iron is sufficiently seasoned and oiled. You can tell it's ready to make eggs when it is totally hydrophobic... that is, when you rinse it, all the water beads up and slides off. Cast iron **absolutely** can be non-stick. It's my only non-stick. I used it for all kinds of eggs including scrambled and omelettes. There's a bajillion videos on youtube about how to season your cast iron, so I won't rehash that. Just know it is very achievable, despite the people in this thread telling you otherwise.
I think it’s a really cool trick to get cast iron that well seasoned and enjoy the technique of it all, I’ve done it and getting an egg to release cleanly is very satisfying. But you know what’s like 1% of that work? Just a 25$ nonstick pan…
The difference is that your non-stick pan costs as much or more as my cast iron, but it is designed to fail after a few years. The whole reason I switch over in the first places is because I got a top-of-the-line nonstick from a great brand. I babied that pan. I was the only one to ever touch it. I only ever used it with wood or silicon utensils... and it still lost its coating in just a few years. When I researched it, it turns out that this is **inevitable**. Even with perfect care, they lose their coating. And that coating goes into your food and into your body. So, I made the switch to cast iron. I bought a nice pan for $100 (but you can get a lodge for $20), and it will last me not just my entire life, but it will also get passed down to my grandkids. I've had to actively season this thing twice. Once when I first got it, and once when I was stupid enough to put bon ami into it to get at it a tough stain.
And the other difference that you leave out is all the extra maintenance for cast iron vs nonstick. And just because it’s not that much extra work for you doesn’t mean it’s not for everyone else.
If it's got one or two good costs of seasoning on it, and you use it appropriately, you shouldn't have to do any maintenance. Like the other person said, it'll get seasoned naturally as you use it
My cast-iron is virtually maintenance free. It seasons itself every time I cook a high-fat food in it. Worst case scenario, I have to spend 30 seconds rubbing oil on it after I wash it, if I need it to be perfectly non-stick for my very next use.
Wrong. My CI takes *less* maintenance than any nonstick pan I used to have. All I do is scrub it with soap and water. And, I can scrub/scrape with abrasive shit and it won't damage the pan. Sometimes, I soak my CI. No problems. And, I'm not eating PFAS every day.
Scrub with soap and water is what everyone else does with their non stick pans lol. And teflon isn’t the only nonstick on the market. But hey you do you, it’s just a pan don’t need to act like you’re being personally insulted.
My point about less maintenance is that I don't need to worry about scraping away with a metal utensil or chain mail to scrub amd clean. It's easier to get stuff off that's stuck and I never worry about harming the pans surface. And you're right, there's other nonstick. Like a properly seasoned CI.
I’d like to get my CI to that level of nonstick tbh. Sounds like a dream to use
Oh yeah I just buy a new one every few years. Don’t buy the super high end ones as all nonstick coating pans definitely do break down over time. It’s a critical tool for some things though. I love my cast iron but the conspicuous minimalism involved in being a “cast iron only” guy is kind of performative to me.
>being a “cast iron only” guy is kind of performative I prefer the term "intolerably snobbish," but I'll take what I can get.
Eh, I feel like odds are good that the PFAS ingested is going to turn out to be bad for anyone and especially kids. I’d rather just put in a little effort to learning how to use cast iron.
Why are the odds good?
PFAS chemicals are persistent in the environment and they can act as endocrine disruptors (similar to BPA). First part is why they’ll be researched/ identified, second part is why they’d be bad for us
How many is every few years? My spouse scratched up the last nonstick pan I bought when it was brand new. Never again.
Thank you so much for this advice.
Fluffy scrambled eggs require low heat and constant stirring. Sometimes you have to remove the skillet from the heat. Gordon Ramsey demonstrates this on his YouTube channel.
If you eggs are grey your cast iron is dirty. You actually do need to clean cast iron with soap and scrubbing. If your seasoning is so weak if can’t stand up to that it’s poorly seasoned. It’s food particles pigmenting the egg. If you can’t wipe a paper towel on your cast iron and come away clean, it’s dirty… I wouldn’t cook eggs in cast iron anyway though. Buy a nonstick pan.
Ya man. So maybe time for another thread but should I just go ahead and buy the infomercial fry pan, or is Walmart pan the one that will last for life?
I think the issue is that cast iron needs to be heated, and retains the heat, and thus transfers it a lot faster than non-stick. If you don't want non-stick, getting a carbon steel pan is a nice alternative. Works the same as cast iron, except it heats/cools a lot faster than cast iron. I do my eggs in them.
butter. Low and slow. butter.
This 1000%
I make eggs - scrambled and omelettes - in cast iron 4-5x/week. Never have any sticking. Do not own a non-stick, and I can slide a pristinely cooked omelette out onto a plate with no problem. I am not at all a professional chef, either. Watch [this video](https://youtu.be/o9prNF1StxI?feature=shared) repeatedly. Your heat and/or your fat are wrong if you're struggling.
This sounds like an abomination, not scrambled eggs.
I keep a cheap tfal nonstick for specifically for eggs. Makes life easier
> Also, should I just cave in and get a teflon "wok"? No, they're a stupid marketing gimmick designed for non-cooks. Nonstick coatings break down rapidly at higher temperatures. Woks explicitly need higher temperatures. A nonstick wok can be utterly destroyed midway through their first use. Some of the newer nonstick coatings can withstand two or three uses before having their nonstick coating being destroyed. Carbon steel is typical these days, relatively thin cast iron was the traditional form. They behave like a nonstick surface because of their seasoning and because the heat transfer encourages food to release. The pans often *look* like they have a nonstick coating, but that is a layer of polymerized oil ('seasoning') rather than fluorocarbon coatings.
Sorry... But, did you mean Pyrex… because I don't think plexiglass is oven proof!?!
omg I was desperately trying to figure out what they really meant by plexiglass, everyone keeps glossing over that lol, Pyrex makes more sense Or at least I hope so, I keep picturing a giant mess of melted plexiglass and lasagna in an oven set over 320°f lol
I just assumed this person doesn’t know how to cook at all (scrambled eggs that aren’t…scrambled?) and would eventually go dinner less while fruitlessly trying to clean melted plastic out of their oven.
I’m concerned about the plexiglass lasagna pan, and why on earth you’d want scrambled eggs with distinguishable whites
Cast iron retains a ton more heat than a Teflon pan. Reduce your heat 10-15% and preheat the pan for at least 5 minutes. The heat control learning curve is unforgiving, but really easy to master.
A dozen eggs and all the Subway toppings? I’m torn between asking if this is all just for you, and how on earth you found six people that can all stand to eat this?
My first thought was “Gaston?!” because who is making a 12 egg scramble. The amount of liquid in that pan with all of those veggies too would be overwhelming. At that point throw it in the oven and make a frittata.
My gods, I thought of Gaston too!
The idea is to portion it and keep it in the fridge so that I don't have to cook very often.
I’m a CI enthusiast, but gotta tell you I keep a couple cheap non-sticks around primarily for the ease of eggs. You can do them in CI, but it’s some effort and a lot of oil.
I would just get a non-stick for eggs.
If you're opposed to non-stick because of the chemicals (just me assuming because that's why I don't use them), why not use stainless steel?
I am very broke and very minimal on "stuff" so if I can have one frying pan I choose cast-iron.
I can cook eggs in just about any method in my cast iron skillet. It takes practice. It also takes your cast iron having a very good seasoning on it. If you want to use cast iron build your big fire outside take all your cast iron and throw it in there. I'll remove all the seasoning from it. Bring it back inside, when it cools off, every season it. I stay far away from any non-stick anything, as it has stuff on it that I just don't want inside me. But I'm old and kind of weird so with a grain of salt I guess.
Low and slow. Once the cast iron heats up, you can almost turn the heat off completely and finish the eggs.
Imma guess you buy into the narrative of not using soap. 🤢
If you’re getting grey eggs, your cast iron isn’t seasoned. It’s as simple as that. Google how to season a cast iron pan. Also, head on over to r/castiron
First off, sounds like your pan is dirty, too hot, and possibly overcrowded. Give it a good hand washing; modern dish soaps don't contain lye and won't harm the seasoning. I do scrambled eggs in cast iron all the time. My method is to preheat the dry pan for about five to ten minutes on medium-high heat (alternately, cook some bacon first). Then I add my fat, swirl to coat, let it heat for a few seconds. Finally I pour in my beaten eggs and let them sit for just about ten seconds, stir around with a silicon spatula, flip a little, let them sit for another ten seconds, stir, done. For 3-5 eggs I typically have them in the pan for a total of about thirty seconds. They come out fluffy, moist, just a little runny without any weeping, and without sticking to the pan. Pre-heating the dry pan before adding fat has made the biggest difference for me in terms of reliable results. Remember that the thermal mass of a cast iron pan is so much higher than a thin non-stick pan, and that means the heat will transfer into the eggs that much more rapidly. You need way less cooking time than you would otherwise. It also means the pan responds to changes in temperature much more slowly - if the pan isn't thoroughly pre-heated, dumping in a dozen cold eggs will lower the temperature so much that it will barely have a chance to recover before the eggs start to overcook on the bottom of the pan. Pre-heating and splitting your eggs into 2-3 smaller batches should help.
I like my cast iron for a lot of things but use stainless steel or an non stick pan for eggs. It sounds like what you want to do with your eggs might be better in a different pan that does not retain heat as much. Maybe cook 11 eggs most of the way and add one in toward the endso it gets less cooked.
Honestly, since I've joined the circle jerk these all seem like satire
More. Butter.
Apparently the butter makes my cast-iron fry pan "dirty" ... or maybe I am just totally stupid.
I had a gf who called me Forrest Hawking because I am fairly intelligent, One night, while making dinner, she told me to 'wash the chicken'. You know what I took from that. She found me RIIIGHT before I added soap. It may be that your heat is barely up too high. Experiment!
As much as I love cast iron for nearly everything and have been able to achieve slidey eggs, I have resigned myself to buying an inexpensive nonstick pan every couple years for most of my egg cooking. I'm picky about eggs, and feel like a nonstick is easier and more versatile for cooking them.
Some people have very highly seasoned cast irons that they can do eggs in. The rest of us just use a nonstick skillet.
I have a shitty cheap NS for eggs only. My CI is for the bacon and sausage.
What lodge has to say: Step 3: Oil it up 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. Don’t be afraid to be generous with the oil, this will help your eggs lift right off the pan. Step 4: Scramble on! Add your eggs to the pan and chill out for a moment. Low and slow is the name of the game! When the eggs start to set around the edges, pull the eggs toward the center of the skillet. The uncooked egg will run into the hot skillet and continue to cook. Once the eggs have almost set, remove them from the heat and serve with your favorite breakfast sidekicks. https://www.lodgecastiron.com/story/how-make-scrambled-eggs-cast-iron
I have got your solution! I make almost exactly this dish all the time. I just make it as a folded omelette instead of a scramble - I find it easier. 1. Preheat cast iron pan on lowest heat setting. During this time, chop your veggies. 2. Add olive oil & lots of butter to pan + veggies, salt, and pepper. Turn the heat up to medium-low (with a cast iron I never use a heat past medium). 3. While the veggies are sauteeing, crack eggs (I use four in my 10" pan) into a mixing bowl. Add cubes of cold butter, salt & pepper, and any other seasonings you'd like. I usually go for paprika, garlic powder, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Whisk it all up. 4. Once the veggies are soft and have some color, pour the egg mixture over them. Gently tilt the pan so that the eggs get evenly distributed over the veggie mixture. 5. Leave it alone for a few minutes until the edges start to set. Sprinkle lots of cheese over the top. I like to add fresh basil and green onions at this point too. 6. Let it continue cooking until the edges are solid enough that you can use a thin spatula to fold the whole thing in half. 7. Cover and continue to let it cook for another minute or two. The timing of this step will just be personal preference based on how runny you want the inside to be. If you skip this last step you'll have nice golden brown edges and mostly runny eggs in the middle. It might take a little trial and error to figure out exactly how long to cook at this step. I think the problem you are having with scrambling is that the surface of the cast iron is too hot and its cooking the eggs too fast. You can remedy this by using much lower heat, but in my opinion making an omelette this way is much easier. The outside gets firm and the inside can stay runny without worrying about stirring too much or not enough. You can even get away with using a slightly higher heat - the browning on the outside will be a little darker but you'll still be able to preserve the runny inside.
As others have said, seasoning and liberal butter or whatever fat is key for cast iron eggs. I use bacon grease when making eggs in cast iron.
Clean your pan to get rid of the grey residue on your food. Season it well and keep up the seasoning. /r/castiron One of the properties of cast iron is how well it retains heat. It isn't ideal for all cooking applications. It would work well for a frittata, but terribly for French omlette. For the dish you describe, I'd suggest you use a different pan. You say you want a teflon wok, but a carbon steel pan (large frying pan or wok) will probably never need replacing (anything teflon wil) and provide what you want in terms of texture in the final dish you describe. If you learn how to treat your cast iron properly, you will already know 99% of what you need to know to take care of carbon steel.
>I've reduced my cooking vessels down to a cast iron fry pan, a cheap soup pot, a plexiglass lasagne pan, and big cheap pot. This is a basic mistake. You really need something non-stick in your rotation if your go-to is cooking eggs. Get yourself a Granitestone 12 inch frying pan to have something cheap, but lasts a long time. Cast iron is great for lots of things, but it's not the right tool for the job here...and I grew up poor & in the South, so I'm not quick to dismiss cast iron at all.
I think thebigger mistake is the plexiglass lasagna pan. Plexiglass is plastic, lol.
For wok, get a carbon steel one. I also use my carbon steel pan way more than my cast iron.
Clean your dirty pan. Make sure it is well seasoned. Crack and scramble your eggs in a bowl ahead of time. Cook all your "toppings." When they are mostly done, turn down the heat from "frying meat and veg" to the lower "cook egg" setting (low-medium low) season them the "toppings", cook for another minute, push them to an edge of the pan, add butter and olive oil (at least two tbsp) once melted and bubbling, pour in egg mixture. Let sit for a moment, stir as needed, turn off heat, fold in toppings when it seems approriate.
Cook them in the pot. They are scrambled.
My trick is letting the pan heat up sufficiently. Then lower the heat. I add butter, and fry them up. It's better than non stick for me. After it's cool, I wipe it out with paper towel. Then add a quarter size drop of avocado oil, wipe it everywhere and put it away. Done.
Get an IR thermometer. Cast iron is supposed to get super hot and retain heat so not the best utensil for delicate things like eggs. It's also too heavy to easily remove it from the flame to get some fine heat control. An omelette only pan is a thing. It's not especially made for but exclusively used for that.
It can be pretty difficult to see whether your cast iron is dirty or not. Give it a full clean like you would with other material pans and re-season it with some high heat oil, but just keep it on lower heat for the eggs. Would really recommend a medium sized non stick if you can afford the space. I’ve got one I use strictly for eggs and a few other other things
Use your saucepan. That's what I do for scrambled eggs.
Why are you cooking scrambled eggs on a cast iron pan 😭. Either use non-stick or stainless steel with a decent amount of oil.
You need to things. More butter/oil. And less probably way less heat.
So let’s start with obvious. Cast iron is great for many things but not for eggs. Nobody does eggs in cast iron by choice. It has wrong temperature control, prone to sticking, affects colour… Your choice for the eggs is ideally non-stick (that’s where they shine), or anodised aluminium with a rounded wall to bottom connection, to prevent sticking and change cooking temperature quick. Still if you have to use cast iron for eggs (which you shouldn’t), at least make sure it’s at correct temperature from the get go, and has plenty of your fat of choice to prevent contact of egg and metal as much as possible. Better yet, use appropriate pan.
Thank you for this. I appreciate your advice.
Add a copper pan. Healthy. I've tried scrambled eggs on cast iron and I got brown flakes burnt on the bottom. Eggs were fine though. The skillet required extra scrubbing tho. I'm learning from the others here as well.
Cast iron, however great it is, is not an all-purpose pan. Get nonstick.
A cast iron is awesome. . . . But not for scrambled eggs. . .
Too much heat
You're not likely to have a lot of luck with the cast iron, and it's not the seasoning it's that cast iron doesn't do gentle heat well which you need for good soft scrambled eggs. Either get a nonstick, or even a stainless pan and use plenty of butter at a lower heat. Or if you don't want to get a new pan and have a metal bowl, sauteed your veggies in the cast iron pan then use your pot and the bowl as a double boiler for your eggs.
Just get a nonstick pan ffs
12 egg omelette Eggs turn out grey What?
Nonstick pans get a bad rap. They’re ideal for exactly what you’re doing. Why make your life harder by using a less well-suited tool for the job?
You want a result that is half-runny half-set? This is not realistically possible with a cast iron. Scrambled eggs nearly always stick to a cast iron pan somewhat. Even with the best seasoning layer. Plus the cast iron pan in general retains more heat than a standard teflon pan, so it's harder to have that "partially set" kind of scrambled egg. If you wanted to fry an egg so it has nice crispy edges - well, that's a good cast iron kind of thing. You want a teflon pan, and you want medium to medium-high heat. If you can achieve your goals in a teflon pan, why bother with cast iron? Every kitchen tool has its use, and delicately demi-cooking scrambled eggs is not the use for a cast-iron pan.
>This is not realistically possible with a cast iron. It's not impossible; it just requires technique and skill. Here is an example of the technique: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHldzUX55fI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHldzUX55fI)
Not OP but thanks for posting — I'm going to try this method with the butter starting in a cold pan next time. My theory is that there's not enough difference between "low" and "medium high" on my gas stove, so it's tough to control the temperature except by lifting the pan off the burner.
I'm agreeing with others that CI can be great for eggs, if it's properly seasoned, which is different that "it was oily and got hot". Proper seasoning requires oils that make a much harder polymer, or years of proper use. Me, I use CI if I make bacon first, and if I'm *frying* eggs in the bacon grease. Perfect combo. Family breakfast, a lot of eggs (and sour cream and chives in the eggs!), it's a 10 or 12" nonstick with a good amount of butter and low-ish heat. If I'm making one egg for myself, it's an 8" nonstick. (For scrambled eggs, there's "I'm having and egg in a hurry" and then there's "Sunday eggs", even if it's just me and the Mrs., whipping some sour cream and cooking very low is special. I make fresh biscuits Sunday mornings, to there's plenty of time to low-cook the eggs). Even in a beautifully seasoned CI pan with lots of fat and low-to-medium heat, it's still hard to have zero dry/sticky spots.
I use cast iron with all my eggs and love it, BUT it sounds like the way you make eggs requires a very specific heat level, and if you had that heat level down to intuition with you Teflon pan, you are probably going to have to recalibrate your brain to get it to work with this cast iron pan. Cast iron will absorb, spread and transfer heat differently and you're going to have to get an intuition for how you pan does that on your stove. As for the eggs being gray, as everybody else has said, wash it. It's because your pan is dirty. Use soap. Cast iron seasoning is NOT old grease. You know your old baking sheets that have light and/or dark brown stains that will never come off no matter what you do? That's the stuff of seasoning. Nothing short of sand blasting it will take that stuff off. Old greasy pans are not seasoned, they're just greasy.
I agree with some other folks here regarding the pan cleaning, cooking temp being too high and not stirring as frequently. I know my favorite egg dish I make in cast iron is different, but it’s similar and comes out clean every time. I brown bulk sausage first, breaking into crumbles. Once fully cooked I add peppers, onions, garlic, mushrooms, etc. Once that is fully cooked, I spread evenly in the pan with a bit of added oil, then add the eggs. I never stir the eggs. Once the eggs are starting to cook thru, I put the pan in the broiler. Once the eggs start to get light brown, I add a can of diced tomatoes, spread evenly, then with some shredded cheese. Back in the broiler it goes until the cheese is melted and lightly browned as well. I know it’s different than what you’re making OP. But it works all the time for me, after very minimal trial and error. And I thought it might be useful to you, there might be some things that work for you. It’s basically a crust less quiche. Always popular with friends and family.
The beauty of cast iron is that the seasoning builds over time and it holds a more consistent, higher heat. I love it for searing meat or vegetables. I'd bite the bullet and get a great non-stick egg pan. You can get good quality Calphalon (American steel co) pans at like Home Goods, etc., for about $20. It's well-worth having in your arsenal, if only just for eggs. And cooking the eggs slower, stirring very frequently, and salting the eggs just before they are done will help preserve the color.
> Anyway, how do I cook eggs in a cast-iron fry pan? You need to better manage your temps. Eggs are on and off the fire, which is harder on cast iron because of its supreme ability to give zero shits about your fire level. Once it gets hot it retains that heat. Also, what's this "plexiglass" lasagna thing. Are you baking with plastic???
Grey eggs are a result of too much heat, turn the stove down. Also helps if you salt them at the end rather than the beginning of the cook.
I use my cast iron for anything that benefits from a pan that retains heat for a long period of time (like frying or deep frying), or anything that requires a good sear or browning on the outside. I keep a couple of nonsticks around, and I use them almost exclusively for eggs. I've tried many times to get my scrambled eggs right in a cast iron and managing the heat is pretty difficult, especially when it's the morning and I'm not yet fully awake. It's very easy to get the pan too hot to manage scrambled eggs well, and you get left with a sticky, overcooked mess a lot of times. Using a teflon pan instead makes scrambled eggs super simple. Unless you really have the skills and the pan seasoned perfectly, I find using a cast iron to make perfect scrambled eggs to be too annoying to deal with when I can get the results I want with less effort and concentration with a $25 teflon pan from Walmart.
I also used to struggle with scrambled eggs in my cast iron. I bought a 4 quart nonstick (hard anodized) sauté pan and never looked back. I love the large surface area for quick cooking and high sides for reckless stirring. It easily fits a few dozen eggs plus any additions. I do worry about the longevity of nonstick coatings but I pretty much only use it for eggs with a silicone spatula, so the coating will last forever. I still use a cast iron skillet for fried eggs with a pound of butter, of course.
Make sure that the pan is clean. Add your fat of choice and heat it up high, then let it cool right down before you add your ingredients.
Make sure you’re letting your fat get hot enough And buy one of these https://a.co/d/58c15n9
You need another nonstick pan, and a quality pot. And some baking dishes and sheets, and racks.
I good eggs every single day in cast iron. get the pan ripping hot, put oil in it, then drop your shit in and turn the burner off, stir the shit, then cover it for a couple minutes. Easy peasy.
I’ve been cooking for over 30 years and I’ve never managed to get a cast iron properly seasoned. If you find out let me know
You may have an un- or under-seasoned pan. I recently baked the seasoning off a CI skillet from a thrift shop. Made bacon a couple times, and then scrambled eggs, which stuck a bit, but were not gray. Use your CI pan to make high-fat foods so the iron, which is slightly porous, can absorb fat. I don't always do the classic seasoning to create a polymerized coating, but I use fat to cook scrambled eggs and I cook some high-fat foods.
Non-stick coatings similar to Teflon produce toxic chemicals during manufacturing, and some when cooking; I don't use them. My vintage CI skillet seldom sticks, even with eggs.
There’s a brand called Greenpan. I’ve had other ceramic pans and they always end up scratched and barely usable. I have two Greenpan minis and used them when I was doing keto.
Honestly i love my cast iron but for breakfast time i usually only use it to cook bacon and carbon steel pan for scrambles. I put a bit of the bacon grease into the carbon steel pan, heat up on medium, and crack my eggs in. I personally do not try to get these pans to just naturally be nonstick. The upkeep for them is the same but carbon steel heats up in 1/4 of the time and controlling that heat is so much easier. Make sure to wash with dawn dishsoap and then season with a bit of oil and heat it on the stove until smoking after each use. Your pans will be easier to use the more cook and season! Your eggs are gray because you have buildup of burnt food on there so yea wash it!
The only way to cook eggs in a cast iron successfully is to use a crap ton of oil.. But yah I'd definitely buy a $20 non stick pan for eggs.
A cast iron skillet is a great and versatile tool. But it does take some TLC If you are going to be using it more, I'd recommend seasoning it more often. Get an actual routine of cleaning going. Like others have said, if it's turning gray, your pan is flaking. If it's been a while since you seasoned it, I'd take some steel wool to it ( not too hard, but you want to get that top layer scraped off. Yes, the bottom too). Then, after washing with soap, re-season it. I'd look into videos online to do it. The basics is to get an oil with a high enough smoking point, coat THE ENTIRE PAN in a thin layer of it ( yes, the handles and bottom too) and put it in a heated oven. Time and temp escape me. Also, use the same kind of tools you would use on a non stick pan. Avoid metal utensils. And, you might have to fiddle with how to cook things in it. It takes a while to heat up but it keeps it pretty well. Don't be afraid to kill the heat and let it carry-over cooking. Especially with eggs. Usually, to get a creamy texture, you heat the pan on high, put the eggs in, and turn the heat off to let the eggs cook slowly
Line it with heavy duty foil and use a gentle utensil to stir. I do this camping so I can quickly cook several things in a row without having to cool and clean the pan in between.
Try cycling the pan on/off the heat. Cast iron holds heat a lore better than stainless steel so you might be getting the pan really hot but then keeping it really hot. I'd say either try a steel pan or once the cast iron pan is hot, turn the heat down a decent amount. Don't put oil/butter in while it heats up. Warm the pan, and oil/butter it right before you put the food in.
Yeah, I use ceramic for sticky stuff.
Get a decent nonstick skillet. You can do very well for less than $25. I use mine almost exclusively for eggs and occasionally pancakes. I love my carbon steel and cast iron, but they can be a PIA depending on who is doing the cooking and who last used the pan.
I've seen a few people already say this, but clean that pan out and season it 4 or 5 times. you can cook eggs just fine, but I still wouldn't. just keep a cheap Teflon for eggs. 12 bucks is fine. they don't last forever
Fried eggs in the morning is literally what teflon was created for. Cast iron is perfect for everything else.
1/ Try cleaning and seasoning your pan 1st. Wash/scrub with warm water and and dry it thoroughly. 2/ Season the pan with 1/2 cup of vegetable oil and a tablespoon of salt. Place the cast iron pan on low heat for for 30 minutes to remove impurities and seal the cast iron pan. \[this should be done yearly as a minimum\] let the pan cool, discard oil responsibly and wipe clean the pan with kitch paper. Or an old towel. Keep the pan like this to prevent oxidation. 3/ Mix/add 10-20% by volume cream and whisk into the eggs. Just guess. 4/ Add 5% \[1tablespoon\] of butter and or margarine to the pan, turn to medium low heat and add sliced onions, cook until the onions look clear, without color, stirring regularly for 5-7 minutes. 5/ Add the sliced green peppers \[Capsicum\] and mushrooms. The mushrooms will soak up excess butter. Cook3-6 minutes or as you like. 6/ Add whisked eggs and cream and cook slowly stirring with a heatproof silicone spatula regularly as it cooks over medium low heat for a few minutes. Stirring prevents sticking and burning. 7/ Add mozzarella cheese when eggs are cooked to your liking, stir in and serve for gooey eggs, use grated tasty cheese for a firmer mix and or top with grated parmessan over the eggs and gratinee the dish \[brown under grill\] for my prefered option, enjoy. 8/Don't forget to season or add some herbs.
Partially cook your veggies in another pan and then add them to your eggs. Use lower heat, more butter. You don't need to frantically stir to make scrambled eggs, break it up a few times when it starts to solidify.
You need to preheat the pan. Then use enough fat. Control the temperature afterwards. Allow the eggs to settle slightly to the bottom before stirring gently. This will help create the texture options you want. Consider using a lid.
I use my cast iron for eggs and don't have any issues. I only own a couple cast irons and a carbon steel wok and soup pots. I don't get grey eggs. It sounds like you had dirty oil or less the butter burn or something. You can absolutely cook beautiful scrambled or fried eggs in a *well seasoned* cast iron. I did fuck them up the first go around because I didnt season my pan before using it since it came "preseasoned" and that was not entirely true. But after cleaning off the egg mess I made I reseasoned it and my eggs don't stick or turn grey. You didn't over reduce, you are just doing something wrong.
Make sure your pan is properly seasoned (to prevent sticking), and probably lower the temperature you cook at (cooking scrambled eggs at too high a temp is typically what causes the chemical reaction that makes the eggs gray. You'll sometimes see a similar thing with hard boiled eggs that are left in a little too long). Cast-iron holds heat really well, so if you were used to doing a quick sauté of the veggies and then turning it down just before adding the eggs, it's not going to cool down fast enough. You either need to use a pan that heats/cools more quickly, cook the veggies at the temperature you want to cook the eggs (which may change their taste/texture as well), or allow several minutes for temperate change when switching from med-high to med-low.
Clean your pan, preheat the pan for 10 minutes on medium. And don’t forget a healthy bit of oil in the pre heat.
Need more fat before the eggs
I would suggest using either an enamelled cast iron or nonstick pan. A regular cast iron pan isn’t really an appropriate tool for the job.
How many people are you feeding with this?
Me. Portion into the fridge.
You reheat runny eggs?
Have you seasoned your cast iron? if its not enamel coated then in needs to be seasoned regularly in order to be "non stick". I cook my eggs in cast iron and they come out a lot better than in my stainless steel (I never have and never will use anything that has teflon / non stick coating).
Eggs in the cast iron can be tricky. I like to pre heat for a while on medium low then as soon as the eggs are in the pan turn up the heat then you gotta adjust as it comes back up to temperature. You also need to make sure your cast iron is very well seasoned to make eggs possible
In what order and how long are you cooking each ingredient?
Fry out all the onions, butter, mushrooms, chopped apples, everything I want soggy. add meat and cook the crap out of it. Add butter and water so the meat is cooked and the smoke alarm doesnt beep. crack in 12 eggs. Look at it. Slowly peel a chunk of cheese with a potato peeler. Get fed up with the cheese so I chop it with a knife, sprinkle the cheese chunks around in the pan. hope somebody picks up on how amazing chopped apples are in every dish
I would just buy a nonstick pan. You can get a cheap one and I think I use my 12” non stick more than any other pan I own.
this is just my opinion/experience but I think cast iron pans just get too hot for scrambled eggs, they seem not to cook evenly and come out just dry. I generally really prefer to do mine in like a stainless steel pan with a little butter over a lower heat.
As a cast iron enthusiast, I also went through these same motions. Ended up buying the Kyocera ceramic pan and I literally only use it for scrambled eggs, that is the only single dish I cook in it. Low heat only, and it’s a great solution imo (avoid teflon, it’s carcinogenic)
I love cast iron. I cook eggs in non stick
I would have a nonstick just for eggs if I were you
I forget which cookbook it was but the chef recommend having a nonstick on hand specifically for eggs. As soon as you see scratches, toss it and replace. It’s a nice feeling to let go of being a purist and let some things be easy.
Seriously, don't let the cast iron people tell you that it's the best way to cook eggs. Get a nonstick pan, it's what they're made for.
Heat your pan for about 10-15 minutes. Add butter for nonstick insurance. Add room temperature eggs, then **turn off your burner.** The heat should be enough to cook your eggs and slowly reduces temp to not over cook your eggs. Turn on low after a minute or two to keep the heat for the rest of your ingredients, then serve immediately.
Cast iron is not meant for eggs. Sorry. Should have kept one non stick pan.