Cast Iron Skillet

[bumjim2000]

Lodge

do you own a cast iron skillet? I've never had one but it seems some people swear by them. I'm thinking of investing in one. What brand is yours? What are your likes & dislikes about it? I want all the dirty details! Thanks!

Lodge is all I own. I have several of them including a couple of their dutch ovens. You really owe it to your self to pick one up. Its the only way to make buttermilk cornbread, fry fish, chicken or cook outdoors over a open flame. Be sure to read the instructions on how to properly season your new pan. Look on eBay, might find a bargain. And finally, Never wash in water. just wipe out with paper towel and rub in oil with a paper towel. Use it often and it will be your best non stick high heat skillet.

v\r
Bumjim

 

[GB]

When it comes time to buy one Cora, instead of looking in a kitchen store, check your local hardware store. They usually carry them and for a good price.

 

[jennyema]

And finally, Never wash in water. just wipe out with paper towel and rub in oil with a paper towel. Use it often and it will be your best non stick high heat skillet.

v\r
Bumjim

It's perfectly ok to use water on cast iron. Lodge recommends using hot water and a stiff brush to clean their products. They say not to use "harsh detergents." I use dish soap on mine (they are well seasoned) when they need it and they are fine.

The key is to dry all the way. Some people lightly oil theirs, but I don't.

 

[GB]

I agree with Jenny (what else is new ). Water is fine as long as you dry the pan completely after use. One way to do this is put it back on a hot burner after you wash it. Personally I just use a dish towel and wipe it down realy well.

The reason you need to keep it so dry is that it will rust if left wet.

I have never used soap on mine. I know that once the seasoning is built up then you can use soap, but I have never been able to bring myself to try. I am able to get it clean with just hot water and a paper towel. If I need some abrasive power then I will toss some salt in and use that to scrub it out. Some day I may get brave enough to try some soap, but I am not there yet.

 

[jennyema]

I don't use soap every time, but I'd be if i didn't get the gunk out from heavy use. Plus, mine are well seasoned. I'd not recommend soap until they are.

I think i told you that my mother put hers in the dishwasher. They are as slick as teflon. BUT DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!

And, even at Williams Sonoma a 12 inch Lodge skillet is only $24. I am sure you can find it cheaper at a hardware or camping store. Estate sales are also great places to find them.

 

[mudbug]

corazon, I am shocked - SHOCKED - that a good cook like you doesn't have one already!

Listen to all these other people here. You won't be sorry.

 

[subfuscpersona]

castiron - how do I love thee, let me count the ways...

I started counting the number of pieces of castiron cookware I own and ran out of fingers - 5 skillets (from a 6" mini to a #10, which is about 12" across - the #8 and #10 skillets also have castiron lids) - a saucepot, 2 dutch ovens, a mini dutch oven about 7"-8" diameter, a grill pan, a crepe pan and a muffin tin! A collection of many years in the making...

The mini dutch oven (has a pyrex lid) makes perfect rice and other cooked grain every time.

I use the flat side of the grill pan (preheated) in lieu of a baking stone for baking a baguette and the crepe pan

as a baking surface for round or oval "artisan" bread or pizza.

I roast garlic on the stove top using castiron if it has a tight-fitting lid (a castiron lid is ideal) - I use a round cake rack on the bottom as a trivet to keep the garlic bulbs from direct contact with the bottom of the pan so they won't burn. Saves on preheating a large oven just to roast a bunch of garlic bulbs!

I use smaller skillets to dry-roast spices to make my own spice blends (you need a small electric coffee mill to grind the spices) and to toast small portions of sesame seeds, which are great sprinkled on vegetables.

Southern cooks love to cook their cornbread in a preheated castiron skillet (you throw in some lard in the preheated pan just before pouring in the batter and baking in the oven).

Sometimes ppl have skillets or pots they've inherited or picked up that don't have lids - Lodge sells castiron lids for skillets and dutch ovens - or you can often find pyrex lids that will fit your utensil, which I also use. A castiron lid is perfect for slow-heat long-cooking dishes cooked on top of the stove since heat is evenly applied from the top as well as the sides and bottom. Sometimes you can pick up lids on eBay. (BTW, Griswold castiron has become a collectors item and fetches mucho $$$ if in good condition.)

Castiron does take a little extra care - you shouldn't wash it in a dishwasher or let it soak a long time (though I will admit I'm not overly solicitous about caring for some of mine) and they seem to survive with periodic reseasoning.

My only problem - where do I store all this castiron cookware?

 

[BreezyCooking]

I believe it was Food Network's Alton Brown who used 2 cast iron skillets - one fitting inside the other - to make a grilled cheese sandwich.

 

[Andy M.]

I believe it was Food Network's Alton Brown who used 2 cast iron skillets - one fitting inside the other - to make a grilled cheese sandwich.

Leave it to AB to find an unnecessarily difficult way to do a task.

 

[sattie]

Yep, own one my dad left me. I think it is a good gadget for the the 'ol bat belt!!! I love to cook with them where you sear a meat and finish cooking in the oven.... easy transition. Plus there is nothing better to cook cornbread in!

Nothing that I dislike, it is a tool in your tool box, as long as it is used properly, I see it as adding to my Craftman's tool set! (Forgive me, I do not know much about tools, using it as a metapho.)

 

[corazon]

You have me convinced! Thanks for all your wonderful & helpful responses! Special thanks to gb, who seems to have all the answers, you're always so helpful! And thanks for the nice compliment mudbug!

 

[GB]

Let us know once you buy one and we can walk you through the seasoning process and give you detailed instructions on how to care for it. It is not hard at all, but there are things that are important. You are going to love your cast iron I am sure!

 

[urmaniac13]

I am also rather new to cast iron cook ware, we purchased a set of cast iron fajita griller some months ago, it grilled the chicken, vegetables and pork so well we started to use it for many things other than fajita. We imagine fish would be great grilled on cast iron and would love to try it, however one thing I am rather concerned about is how to eliminate the fish smell afterwards without the usage of any soap. Lemon juice? baking soda? anyone has a suggestion for this?

 

[GB]

I wouldn't use lemon juice because the acid will eat away at the seasoning. I would just use a lot of hot water and some salt as an absasive. Hopefully that will take care of the smell.

 

[Lady C]

however one thing I am rather concerned about is how to eliminate the fish smell afterwards

I grill fish on it all the time. It only smells when you clean it after cooking the fish. The next item does not smell or taste like fish. I usually clean it with hot water and a non-abrasive spounge. I only use soap when it the smell is real bad.

GB is right the seasoning will be eaten away quickly by the acid in the lemon juice.

 

[BreezyCooking]

I second that. I cook fish in mine all time. Have even shallow-fried oysters in them.

I put mine in the sink & fill it with hot water & let it sit for awhile - sometimes overnight. Next morning I just scrub it out with an un-soaped plastic scrub pad & let it air-dry thoroughly on the dish rack.

Have yet to have any lingering food odors of any kind in either my regular or grill pans.

 

[Robo410]

I have inherited Griswald of Erie PA (historically the finest) from my folks, and bought Wagner (now outa business) and Lodge. Maybe it's years of seasoning and use, but the Griswald has the smoothest surface. Lodge is the roughest...makes a difference with eggs.

Never use soap...scour with kosher salt if necessary.

Only once had the iron taste problem with acidic food.

season with lard, cook bacon, make baked beans, roast a chicken in it, cook up a mess of ham hocks and greens, sausage and peppers and onions...you will have a well seasoned pan!!! now make red sauce...it'll be ok. But don't let acidic foods sit in the pot or pan and cool down.

 

[urmaniac13]

Thanks GB, Lady C and Breezy for your advices!! We really wanted to try this as we are sure fish would be delicious cooked this way. Will try washing it away with lots of hot water and salt immediately when we do this, and no lemon juice... thanks again!!

 

[BrianMorin]

Well that is the key breezy, it has to be very well seasoned. If it is then the seasoning is almost like a force field protecting the metal underneith. If the seasoning is not strong enough though then you will taste the metal.

I think that that is the key to using cast iron, seasoning. Most people feel they have to wash there pots and pans in soap and water. If you do your seasoning takes longer to build up. If I don't have to I don't wash my cast irons, I just wipe them with a dry cloth and if need be a slightly damp cloth.

If, however, I feel that I just can't get away without soap and water, I make sure that they are completely dry after washed and an ample supply of my favorite seasoning formula applied...

Oh ya, did I say "SEASON"???

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Upon purchase, my Lodge Cast Iron was fairly rough textured. I thought it would create problems. But after seasoning, eggs slid around in the pan just as well as they do in my old Wagner pans. Also, the cooking surface has become very smooth after just a couple years of use. It didn't take a lifetime of cooking to get the pans smooth.

What I like about the Lodge brand, is the metal thickness. Although it takes longer to heat up than does a thinner pan, it has more thermal mass. That is, there are more molecules in an agitated state (hot metal). That means that more heat can be quickly delivered to the food for a longer period of time before the metal cools.

This is important when adding colder food to the hot pan. It doesn't rapidly cool the pan. Your cooking oil will therefore maintain a more even temperature when frying chicken, or cooking bacon, or a stew. The downside to this is making sure that the temperature is right to begin with. If the pan is too hot, it will burn foods excepionally well.

As with any tool, it just takes time to learn its properties, and how best to use it. It has strengths and weaknesses. But as most of us have learned around here, cast iron is cheap, sturdy, and works very well for most cooking chores. But if you're used to cooking pancakes on a large, teflon-coated electric griddle, you're likely to burn the first few pancakes on your cast iron pan, until you learn how to adjust your stove properly for the item being cooked.

I agree, buy the cast iron. My cast iron pans are the most widely used cooking vessels in my kitchen, though I have many types. I use them fro everything from searing beef to baking pizza, and even use them over charcoal when the meal requires the smoke, but not the direct infra-red heat emitted by the charcoal. It also works great over a campfire, as long as you have something to support its weight.

Oh, and a cast iron dutch oven, with the flat lid can be used when camping to mimick an oven. By placing the correct amount of hot coals under and on the flat lid, you control the temperature and can bake cakes, make casseroles, and bake breads, or coblers. Or, you can make a dandy stew or boiled dinner as well. And then again, it works great in your kitchen oven. Now just how verstile can you get.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North