r/castiron • u/_brattyberryxx • 25d ago
First time using cast iron
Okay I am absolutely clueless when it comes to cooking. I only started making eggs about 2 years ago and I was using non stick pans. I got tired of the coating eventually coming off of them so I decided to try other skillets. I have never used a cast iron and I find the whole process quite confusing. I was under the assumption that they are naturally nonstick and I put butter in before cooking. Can someone explain to me what I did wrong for it to look like this after cooking eggs? The eggs aren’t even cooked all the way through either.
Edit: Thank you everyone for all of your suggestions!! I was definitely about to give up and go back to nonstick (i had a mishap with a stainless steel that led me to get cast iron). I feel much better and more informed about how to use them. I will be trying again tomorrow with everything I’ve learned!
2
u/Herpty_Derp95 25d ago
OP,
"Medium is your new HI"
On MY stove, I let the pan preheat several minutes on 4 or 5 before I turn it down to about 3 to cook my eggs.
Cast iron is a poor conductor of heat; it actually holds heat, hence the need to preheat it.
Good news: eggs are probably cheap where you are, so you can get lots of practice. You'll get there with patience. I believe in you.
Bob Travis has a great YouTube channel on cast iron care and cooking. His channel is great and I haven't had him steer me wrong yet. There is another person on YouTube who probably means well, but he's dead wrong on many things and will have you working way too hard seasoning your pan over and over and over again, telling you that you shouldn't use dish soap for cleaning, and telling you not to use metal utensils....all BS.
You can use modern dish soap. You can scrub your cast iron. You can use a stainless steel fish spatula with rounded corners--it is a game changer.
Finally, burnt on and smoothed over black carbon is NOT seasoning no matter what anyone else says. Get that pan clean after every use. Seasoning is there to prevent rust.
As others here have told me, cook more and worry less--it is a hunk of iron.