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When Alton Brown tells you something is essential, you listen, even if it’s for something as simple as what pan to use when frying an egg. Through his many cookbooks and seasons as host of “Good Eats,” Brown has tackled the science of cooking and tested the best ways to do almost every imaginable kitchen task. This has given him many outspoken opinions, from his hatred of single-use kitchen equipment to his love for simple things like board scrapers. With that said, it turns out one of the great loves of his culinary life is, in fact, a pan. In his 2022 cookbook Good Eats: The Final Years, Brown revealed that after years of cooking fried eggs with different equipment, he finally settled on carbon steel pans as the superior option.
Brown also admitted that his love of the popular carbon steel pan might come as a bit of a surprise, since he never mentioned it on his TV show. Regardless, he claims it is an essential tool and the number one way to get perfect fried eggs. Brown says cooking eggs perfectly requires a lot of precision with heat, which is what makes carbon steel so perfect for the task. Plus, his preferred recipe includes the unusual step of preheating his pan in the oven — something carbon steel pans are tough enough to handle, while remaining light enough for easy handling.
Why Alton Brown prefers carbon steel pans
Carbon steel is actually the same mixture of metals used to make cast iron pans, which is what makes them so tough. However, there are a few differences in how the pans are put together that give them some unique advantages. Carbon steel is shaped into a single flat stamp of metal and then bent into shape, instead of being made from a mold. This form actually makes carbon steel even more durable than cast iron, while also making it easier to form into thinner, lighter weight shapes. This stamping process also creates a smoother surface than cast iron, meaning seasoned carbon steel will actually be even more non-stick than seasoned cast iron. And we all know that the better the non-stick properties, the better the egg.
Knowing this, how does Brown use his carbon steel pan to make his perfect fried eggs recipe? After preheating the pan in a 450 degree Fahrenheit oven, which gets the pan searing hot and evenly heated, he removes it and places it on the stovetop without heat. He then drops the eggs into the pan and covers them for four minutes. According to Brown the residual heat from the pan is exactly the right level to perfectly fry the bottom of a fresh egg without overcooking. It’s a very specific recipe that takes longer than other popular fried egg methods, but knowing how meticulous Brown is we are going to trust that the results are worth it.
