I love my cast iron and just added a Wagner ‘chicken fryer’ to my collection, BUT I am having issues with fried eggs. We have chickens and there nothing like home grown eggs. I have a Griswald round griddle and eggs stick UNLESS is use a non-stick spray. Olive oil ect doesn’t work. If I spray with the non-stick sprays – no problem with sticking BUT I don’t really care to eat the Lecithin and Dimethyl Silicon. A main attraction to CI is that you not taking in aluminum or PTFE’s etc. Call me crazy, but I am convinced a lot of our health issues are due to the chemicals we take in from our food. Problem is the non-stick sprays really do work!

As an experiment, I tried my corn bread pan to fry eggs. This is a no-name pan but black as night and slick as snot. Oiled it up good with some olive and eggs stuck like crazy to it. So, unless, ya’ll can give me the secret (not involving a cup of lard) I may just have to go to the dark side and spring for a SS and ceramic non-stick pan for my eggs.

Crisco?

A bit odd. I don't have that problem. Maybe try an oil with a higher smoke point? Maybe you just need more of it?

Also your pans need more seasoning. Buy yourself a small CI dedicated egg pan. Season the crap out of it and NEVER wash it or cook higher than med heat.

Also lard or bacon grease.

Plenty of seasoning on my pans. That's why I experimented with my designated corn bread pan. That sucker has seen nothing but butter, corn bread batter, and a wipe from a towel for probably 10 years. It don't get much more seasoned than that pan.

I read somewhere to try a wipe of oil, then a pad of butter just before dropping the egg. That's why I was wondering if there was a technique. Something in that chemical cocktail spray sure works, but I don't want to use it.

That’s what I use if I don’t have bacon grease.

My skillets are seasoned with lard and I fry my eggs in bacon grease. They don’t stick.

butter, no stick

Yep. That works too if I don’t have any bacon grease or Crisco.

Funny how so many people recommend bacon grease or curing a pan by frying bacon. In my experience the sugar in the bacon causes major sticking.

I always drop a pad on butter in the hot pan before making cornbread and haven't found anything to cure a pan better than baking cornbread this way. I'll give the butter a go tomorrow.

There are three groups when it comes to frying eggs: those who have enough oil in the pan to float the eggs, those whose eggs always stick, and liars.

Amended.

I can't tolerate grease anymore, which means bacon fat will make me sick more often than not. I have started using an air fryer to cook bacon in, and I fry my eggs in a non-stick pan using a pat of butter.

Yeah, I know I'm missing out on the great flavor of bacon fat, but my stomach might argue that.

I use butter.

Too hot or not enough oil will stick anything.

djb - I usually use a Wagner #3 or a Griswold #5 (Gramma's old pan), both ca. 1920's, and butter to fry my eggs - bacon grease when available. Had sticking problems for quite some time until I wised up and figgered out eggs don't need anything more than low heat. Try reducing your frying temp, makes a big difference. I like runny yolks and don't like crunchy edges on the whites.

Listen to Fats.....

I use a carbon steel Lodge for eggs but I treat it just like CI which included seasoning it (with lard) every day for about a week to get it to come around. I have a 8" CI egg pan that doesn't stick either but I like the shape of the steel pan better.

Keep the heat low....your eggs will take a little longer but they won't stick.

https://shop.lodgemfg.com/prodcat/seasoned-steel.asp

Pre-heat your skillet and use enough oil/grease. Do not use too much heat. Don't get in a hurry and they will cook just fine.

Yup, got to start out with a hot pan with some grease or butter. They never stick if you put them in a hot pan.

Eggs will stick in a cool pan, and a dry pan. It takes some patience to allow the mass of CI to come to proper temperature; and some type of oil/fat is a must.

I usually use spray oil, but in such small amount I have no worries about the texture modifiers. Of course butter tastes better.

I wiped a little EVOO then heated the pan up slowly. Dropped a small pad of butter in the pan followed by the eggs and BINGO! Perfection! You can tell when the eggs are sticking because the outside edge gets very thin and dry looking with small bubbles. Not sure if it was the technique and/or the butter but it worked. I could only get the picture link to post from my iphone. Thanks everyone!

[img]https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/galleries/13764953/pan[/img]

you need to let the eggs cook long enough before trying to flip them. When they develop a 'skin' on the cooked side, they are not going to stick.

Correct, and it is easy enough to tell when, the whites start bubblling up...no stick

Well written

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4pBTI2vnd8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljSQrSoSYAE

The Mexican cooks in elk camp cooked everything in cast iron with plenty of lard.

I just fry eggs in a teflon skillet with pam. While its hot i hit it with hot water and wipe . I clean cast iron the same way. I do have instant hot water at the kitchen sink. Gota be hot for cast iron. Never use any olive oil. Stuff tears my stomach up , plus its nasty anyway.

Cooked a skillet full of eggs this morning.

Tablespoon of butter is all it took.

Waaaaaay overrated.

Still haven't found anything that works better than bacon grease.

This. Works well but you're gonna be there awhile which is a good thing as you won't leave grinding marks in your precious metal. BTDT

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Avanti-...Quick-Strip-Disc-PNW040100D01G/202830913

This vid was the basis of my purchase.BTW, it's not a sin to cook eggs in a ceramic pan. The one I use is scary slippery.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGLV7fd0-fQ&t=124s

Denny,
I agree wholeheartedly. I use them, too. Buy one. Use it until the finish becomes unacceptable, then buy another.

Pre heat then don’t overheat. I use bacon grease.

This old Wagner is my egg skillet, rarely use it for anything else. It’s like black glass. [bleep] store bought eggs don’t even stick. You can probably tell there isn’t a lot of grease in the pan. so I put pictures so’s not to be a liar...

rosco p coltrane, you were doing good, till you flipped 'em !

Because you could read a newspaper through those anemic store bought eggs ! Delicate compared to a good egg.

That’s my excuse anyway 😜

THUMBS UP ICON !

should come as no surprise, this is the secret for non-stick eggs in CI. Cook some bacon or sausage in a slippery skillet and it will take a cleaning, one or two tries before it will be comletely non-stick again

Season the cast iron well. When in doubt, season it two more times. Crisco or vegetable oil, 400' F for 30 minutes. ( Season all the cast iron you can fit into the oven. When baking ANYTHING in the oven, use the opportunity to season a couple of cast iron pans). Seasoning is good. More is better.

Cooking: let pan heat up on medium heat, and LET GET IT TO TEMP before cooking without any oil/lube. Drop a few drops of water into the pan to test for temp. When they sizzle/dance, you are hot enough to cook eggs.

Use a little butter to cover the bottom of the pan, and roll pan to get butter up about 1/2" on the sides.

Cook eggs.

Wipe down with paper towel when done, or add some water and gently brush ( plastic bristles)...no soap, then rinse. Drain/empty. Wipe dry. Oil.

Or tastes better than bacon grease.

I never have a problem with eggs sticking, the two keys are be patient and let it warm up, and use butter. When my wife and kids cook eggs, stick o rama because they are too impatient to let it get hot. If the butter isn't sizzling when you apply it, the skillet isn't hot enough, if it immediately smokes, it's too hot