Cast iron cookware

[boing]

I've used teflon stuff forever, but when it comes to burning a hunk of meat to a crisp in a pan, I'd rather not put that much heat to teflon. I thought there was a cast iron cookware thread already, but I can't find it.

I picked up an el-cheapo skillet from WalMart, and as usual, I expect to get what I paid for. Will this cheap POS even remotely convey the cast iron cooking experience? If I can find the role that cast iron will do me for, then I'd be happy to invest a bit more, and deal with the minor inconvenience of it's upkeep.

This would mostly be a substitute for actually grilling meat, which is just too much of a PITA for me these days.

Thanks.

[hover]

just make sure you season the iron before getting into your first cooking.

[bassrique]

Also, have one iron pan just for fish. Keep in mind one doesn't use soap to clean these things. they absorb flavor.

[hover]

yup. coat the iron with lard and bake it for an hour, around 300 degrees...once the pan / heat breaks down all the fat, remove pan, pour out fat, and put it back on the oven and bake for another hour or so. Let it cool. Then when you go to cook with it, start with something fatty like bacon or the like, and keep a good layer of seasoning built up on the iron.

Did they pans come with any tips included for care past the seasoning?

[boing]

It claims to be "pre-seasoned", but I ain't buyin' it. I'll give it the once over, and let it have every chance at Winning.

Fish-Only Pan: thanks, that was already part of my plan, but I done forgot it already.

My understanding is that cast iron gets better with use. How often to re-season? Is animal fat better than vegetable fat?

[hover]

can't really season it well with vegetable "fat" / oil....and I would worry about how exactly they were pre-seasoned. It certainly does get better with use, but it all depends on how well the seasoning holds up. Treat it like you would non-stick pans as far as surface abuse, and the seasoning lasts a long time. If you see rust at all, re-season.

[warwick.hoy]

If by upkeep you mean scrubbing with steel wool after you use it,...yeah that can be inconvenient.

[boing]

Anything more than "chucking it in the dishwasher" is upkeep, IMO.

ETA: I'll save the grease from my next bacon adventure and season with that. Everything is better with bacon.

[iamlowsound]

Originally Posted by boing

Anything more than "chucking it in the dishwasher" is upkeep, IMO.

ETA: I'll save the grease from my next bacon adventure and season with that. Everything is better with bacon.

You aren't supposed to put the Teflon coated pans in the dishwasher either it will break down the coating and it will flake off in your food. All a good T-Fal takes is some hot water, a dab of mild soap, and quick wipe with a rag to clean. This method will take off week old egg like it was nothing.

lowsound

[stevetx19]

i bet you got the lodge skillet...they are $20-$30 and totally acceptable. I think that le creuset stuff is nice enough, but it certainly doesn't make the more traditional and much cheaper cast iron pans "el cheapo" or worth any less. I'm not sure there are too many companies still making these traditional cast iron skillets anymore.

I've never been able to get better pancakes than with my lodge.
Get some cornbread goin!

[warwick.hoy]

I have a lodge and an old smaller skillet I picked up at an estate sale.

[lunarpollen]

Get cast-iron enamel cookware.... You get all the benefits with much less hassle... There are some very expensive brands (like Le Creuset), but in recent years many more manufacturers have been offering cast-iron enamel items for a lot less $$.

[stratovani]

I have a 10" cast-iron skillet which I bought for $20 at Cracker Barrel a few months ago. It's supposed to be pre-seasoned, so I never seasoned it. I just spray some Pam in it before cooking, and nothing ever sticks. Makes the best bacon and eggs! To clean it I use a steel wool scrubber and - this is important - a couple of paper towels to immediately wipe it dry, so it doesn't rust. That's it!

[coreyfyfe]

I like the lodge stuff, I have a small pan that fits a nice steak perfectly and a larger pan for bigger jobs, as well as a press and an enameled cast iron pot (not sure of the maker on that one). Keep it nice and seasoned and it should last a good long time. My wife refuses to clean them because she's scared she'll ruin the pains, but it's really not that bad. I use hot water and a scraper like this to get everything off, then just wipe it down and put a thin layer or oil on before storing.

[ThudThudThud]

I would just be careful about buying Chinese made cast iron cookware. I've seen some of their dutch ovens that were just awful.

I keep mine seasoned by heating it to hot after every wash (easy with this!) and then rubbing oil into into it while it's still hot. Allow to cool, and put away! Easy.

I found a stunning recipe for cooking steaks with a cast iron skillet. It was a "Good Eats" apparently (missed the episode). It basically entails a very hot oven with the pan in there (450ºF+), then the pan goes on to the stove top on very high and you drop a seasoned steak into it (massive smoke - run the fan), flip it after 30 seconds, then stick it back in the oven. After a minute, flip the steak again, and leave for about a minute more. Perfect!!!!

One piece of advice that may seem very obvious - good protection for your hands. No matter how careful you are you WILL burn yourself at least once. I have a silicone sleeve that goes over the handle. Get the best, thickest oven mitt you can find.

A trick for 'non-stick' - even in stainless or other pans - is hot pan/cold oil. Add the oil after the pan has heated through. It forms a non-stick barrier.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

I have a number of high quality (really thick) cast aluminium pots and a skillet, they work really well. I also use a carbon steel wok for a lot of cooking (you can use them for just about anything!)

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

I used shortening to oven-season my Lodge cast iron skillets. It worked great. Over the six or seven years I've been using them, the cooking oils and food fats have really polymerized well into their surfaces. They've gotten better with use.

I use them for all sorts of cooking, any frying or sauteeing that doesn't require a wok or a really big skillet. They serve really well as deep dish pizza pans, too.

[tink9975]

Cast Iron is awesome, though you aren't supposed to use it on glass top electric stoves (I would kill to have gas cooking again).
Veggie shortening works great for seasoning a pan. I always used to do 2-3 rounds of seasoning once a year. The pan I have was my father's when he was a bachelor 50 years ago. I usually clean it with coarse salt and a paper towel, maybe a little water if it really needs it, but never soap.

Ive heard that using flax seed oil to season a pan can actually produce a much tougher coating that doesn't have to be re-done as often.

[Phalex]

Cast iron rocks! Never use soap. Soap is oil based and will cling to the oil burnt onto your pan. Don't use metal abrasives. Those plastic scrubby things are all you need. Once it's washed and wiped dry, rub a little oil onto it to keep it from rusting.

I love cast iron cookware. There's no reason not to have good stuff. It's not that expensive. It lasts forever if properly maintained, so used stuff is just as good as new.

Most of my cast iron was a hand me down from my aunt. I don't even think it has a manufacturers mark on it (In all fairness, the bottoms are coated in pretty thick blackness.) They do have "Fire Rings" on the bottoms of them though. (It's a raised ring around the bottom of the pan where it sits on the burner.) Fire rings were used to keep the pan slightly elevated off the top of a wood stove to avoid uneven heating. I don't know when they stopped the practice of putting fire rings on the bottoms of pans, but I don't imagine they were all that necessary since the early part of the last century.

Yeah, OK. 2 things I like to talk about bass stuff and kitchen stuff.

[Diogenes]

Originally Posted by hover

... It certainly does get better with use, ...

+1.

Cast iron is all I use except for acidic sauces (such as tomato) which I make in stainless steel.