I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with cast iron. Â I love all of my enameled Le Creuset pieces but the regular cast iron drives me crazy.
It’s an amazing conductor of heat. Â It makes the best crust you’ll ever have on a steak and is also perfect for skillet cakes and baked egg dishes. Â But it can be SUCH a pain to clean.
 I know proper seasoning makes all the difference, but I bet everyone who uses cast iron has at least one story of endless scouring.
Mine happened just the other day when I pulled these mini-skillets out of storage. There was rust on the sides! NOOOOOOOOOO. What a pain it was to clean.
No matter how much coarse salt I used, the rust just wouldn’t go away completely. I tried salt, heating the pans until they were smoking and then scouring, more salt… finally it seemed as though I had a clean skillet, ready to be re-seasoned and used.
Until I go and mess everything up again.
But these baked eggs with chorizo kind of made the whole ordeal worth it. I bought some fantastic sausage from the local butcher.
I don’t eat a lot of meat, but when I do I try to get the good stuff. I have no time for cheap sausage in my life. I kept adding ingredients as I went along.
The few remaining grape tomatoes from my garden… some Sriracha to tickle my palate. Baby arugula for a splash of green and a bit more spice.
Tell me, readers, what are your tricks for dealing with pesky cast iron?
Baked Chorizo and Eggs
Ingredients
- 2 chorizo links, preferably fresh
- 1 15 ounce can plain tomato sauce
- Sriracha or your hot sauce of choice
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 6-8 grape tomatoes, halved
- baby arugula
- 2 large eggs
- kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- If using fresh chorizo, slowly render the fat in a skillet over low heat. Gradually begin turning up the heat, allowing all sides of the chorizo to cook and eventually brown. Periodically deglaze the pan with water and scrape up the brown bits. This will prevent the bottom of the pan from burning and it will incorporate the yummy caramelized bits back onto the sausage. This should take approximately 20 minutes, give or take.
- Allow the sausage to cool for a bit and then slice each link into 10-12 pieces.
- Briefly saute the chopped onions in the leftover chorizo fat (you can also use olive oil if pre-cooked chorizo was used).
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- Ladle 1/4 cup of tomato sauce into the bottom of mini cast iron skillets or ramekins.
- Drizzle some Sriracha on top of the tomato sauce (the amount will depend on your preference for heat. I used about 2 tablespoons per pan.)
- Line the chorizo slices in the bottom of each skillet and top with another dollop of tomato sauce (approximately 2 tablespoons per pan, doesn't need to be exact.
- Divide the onions in half and evenly spread over the chorizo.
- Layer on the cherry tomatoes followed by the arugula.
- Break the eggs into separate ramekins, leaving the yolk intact, and then carefully pour the into each skillet.
- Bake until the egg whites are just set, 10-15 minutes (they will continue to cook outside of the oven).
- Sprinkle salt and fresh ground pepper on top before serving
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
For immediate help troubleshooting a recipe, please email me using the form on my contact page. I’ll try to respond to urgent questions as quickly as possible! For all general questions, please leave a comment here :)
Denise Albares says
Here’s how I deal with my cast iron:
Clean as soon after cooking in it as you can;
Wash with really warm water–as hot as your hands can tolerate;
NO SOAP WHATSOEVER!!!–cannot stress that enough;
If there is a copious amount of stuck-on food, let pan soak with hot water in it–do not submerge in water;
I like to use Scotch Brite heavy duty scouring pads;
Season after every use–dry completely and place about a teaspoon of vegetable oil in pan and use a pastry brush or paper towel to coat the inside of the pan. Place in a pre-heated 200 degree oven for 30 minutes.
Your pan will develop a nice patina and will become virtually non-stick.
Savory Simple says
See, I was always taught NEVER to use water, that is causes rust. I always wish I could soak it!
Jenn and Seth says
oh my gosh this sounds like the perfect breakfast! YUM!!
Bill says
I love my cast iron and use it frequently – I think a big factor of what happened with your mini-skillets was the fact that they were in storage? Cast iron is meant to be used as much as possible – the more it’s used, the better it will function.
Some of the comments above reference using no soap and soaking in hot water to remove any stuck-on food. I totally agree – I always rinse mine with hot water, dry with a paper towel and put away. I also season mine frequently after using – not after EVERY use . . .but frequently.
Jill says
I don’t have a cast iron skillet, but it’s on my list! Love all the tips though!
This looks great! Totally delicious!
Jenny @ BAKE says
I love these photos! I have such a hard time photographing on dark backgrounds but yours have so much light!
Laura says
This looks so yummy and is being pinned immediately. Because of the tomatoes I will probably use my enameled skillet–do you not worry about them reacting with the cast iron?
Regarding cast iron… the more you use it the better. I always place it on a burner after washing and drying to make sure it is thoroughly dry.
Laura Dembowski says
That looks amazing! I’m not a big user of cast iron, though I love my Le Creuset grill pan, but this recipe could change my mind. I also don’t eat a lot of meat but splurge on the good stuff when I do.
Debra says
This is a lovely dish! I like the addition of the arugula, and since I like breakfast for dinner, this is a keeper. About cast iron…I was taught by my grandmother and have excellent results. I agree with others about the “no soap” rule, but not to be too afraid of water. I do put the skillet on the stove to dry it. I always heat it thoroughly after each cleaning, and then add just a little bit, very little, oil to the pan after it cools. As the pan seasons some of the problems seem to lessen, too. And I like your statement about buying “good” sausage. My much older friend always says, “Life is too short to eat stale chips.” Same idea…and worth remembering! :-)
Bev @ Bev Cooks says
Why am I not scuba diving in that right now?
Rachael {SimplyFreshCooking} says
My trick is to make my husband do it… I’m not even joking. lol. This recipe looks totally yummers!
Katie @ Blonde Ambition says
This sounds sooo good. I love chorizo but I rarely indulge in it, and eggs are one of my favorite weekend breakfast foods!
I’m kind of intimidated by the thought of owning a cast iron skillet, but I know it would be worth it!
yummychunklet says
What a delicious breakfast skillet!
Monet says
My grandmother always cooked in cast iron, but I’m still not comfortable with it. I guess I need another excuse to pull mine out! Thank you for providing it for me. And thank you for sharing such sensuous photograhs. Your blog was a delicious stop during my lunch break. I hope you have a great Monday!
claire says
Baked eggs are my absolute FAVORITE.
Jackie @ Domestic Fits says
I think I need to get a new cast iron skillet. i think I cause irreversible damage to mine before I knew what I was doing. AND I think I need to find some great chorizo. This looks amazing.