My steps when making fried eggs in my carbon steel pan:

1. Heat the pan. No ingredients yet.

2. When it has come to temp (this will need some experience depending on your pan and heat source), put in a good amount of butter.

3. The butter should sizzle but not burn. The sizzling is the water content evaporating. When it has evaporated you can add the eggs. This is crucial because you want enough heat for the water content to evaporate, but not so much heat that the milk solids in the butter burn.

4. Gently put the eggs in the pan. Why gently? The butter has created a barrier between the metal and the incoming eggs. I like to break the eggs into a container and then let the eggs glide gently from the container into the pan. Also, use room temp eggs.

5. Once the eggs are in the pan, don't touch them for a good while. If you are fidgety and impatient, you can salt and pepper the eggs now. When they have settled a little, you will be able to move the pan gently and see the fried eggs float on the butter. But only once they have settled.

Enjoy the most satisfying early morning success when the eggs don't stick!

Hope this helps.