Name: Cast Iron Fried Eggs
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; 4 large eggs; Salt and pepper; 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Why This Recipe Works

A classic fried egg features a tender white with crispy, lacy brown edges and a fluid but lightly thickened yolk. When you're working with a hot cast-iron skillet, all you need is a touch of butter and a lid to produce perfectly cooked fried eggs in just a few minutes. Preheating the skillet for 3 minutes guaranteed a skillet free from hot spots, which gave us eggs that cooked evenly throughout. We gave the eggs diner-style richness by adding butter to the skillet just before the eggs went in to fry. Cracking the four eggs into two small bowls made it possible to add them to the skillet all at once so they cooked at the same rate. Adding a lid to the skillet during cooking was necessary to trap heat and steam so the eggs cooked from above as well as below, firming up the white before the yolk overcooked. After 1 minute, we moved the pan off the heat, allowing the whites to finish cooking gently using the residual heat from the cast iron while keeping the yolks fluid.

Before You Begin

You will need a 12-inch cast-iron skillet with a tight-fitting lid for this recipe. When checking the eggs for doneness, lift the lid just a crack to prevent loss of steam should they need further cooking. When cooked, the thin layer of white surrounding the yolk will turn opaque, but the yolk should remain runny. To cook two eggs, use a 10-inch cast-iron skillet and halve the amount of butter. You can use this method with extra-large or jumbo eggs without altering the timing.

Instructions

Grease 12-inch cast-iron skillet with oil and heat over medium heat for 3 minutes. Crack 2 eggs into small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Repeat with remaining 2 eggs and second small bowl.

Add butter to skillet and quickly swirl to coat. Working quickly, pour 1 bowl of eggs in 1 side of skillet and second bowl of eggs in other side. Cover and cook for 1 minute.

Remove skillet from heat and let sit, covered, 15 to 45 seconds for runny yolks (white around edge of yolk will be barely opaque), 45 to 60 seconds for soft but set yolks, and about 2 minutes for medium-set yolks. Transfer eggs to plates and serve immediately.