Question About Cast Iron Pans....

[thedailyshow]

I have a question about cast iron pans, since I'm plannning to get one. What's up with seasoning the pan? How do you do it? Should you wash it often? What are your favorite ways to use a cast iron pan?

[GOPisEvil]

1. If you buy Lodge,

their label has instructions for care. But really you can just put some oil, salt and pepper in the pan and stick it in the oven for a bit. Then when you're done, wipe it out and give it a fresh coat of oil.

You should wash it, but don't submerge it in water, and make sure it's cool before washing. When it's dry, give it a fresh coat of oil.

I make steaks and cornbread in mine!

[thedailyshow]

2. How can I wash it without water?

[GOPisEvil]

4. Use water, just don't submerge it.

The post below offers good suggestions.

Seriously, buy Lodge and follow their instructions. I have an old skillet that I bought in a thrift store. I pretty much made it new again and followed Lodge's instructions and it's good as new. I also have a new Lodge cast iron grill pan that is GREAT for steaks.

[thedailyshow]

8. alright, thanks

[Calvinist Basset]

3. Never use soap to wash cast iron.

That's an important rule. If you do, you will cause any food cooked in it to taste soapy.

You can clean cast iron skillets with water, but not soap. After you've cooked something in the pan, clean it with only hot water. Then, put it on the stove and heat it up until the water dissolves (stick around and keep your eye on it!). When the water is gone, turn off the stove, put the pan aside to cool, and then feel free to season it.

Having said all this, I have to admit one thing. These are the steps my mother taught me--so if I'm wrong about anything, and anybody out there wants to correct me, please do so. My mom was never known to be a great cook.

[thedailyshow]

7. excellent directions!

thanks for giving me them!

[radwriter0555]

15. I"ve washed my cast iron with soap and water for the past 20 years...

they seem fine.

That said, don't scrub them down to shiny metal, and to remove real crud, use salt as the scrubbing agent.

Pancakes cook best on cast iron; steaks are GREAT on CI... panini does real well.

[LiberalAndProud]

23. I use soap & water too ... have for the last 25 years.

I have three or four of them and my food never tastes soapy.

These are the only pans I have that have weathered all my married years.

[Calvinist Basset]

33. Like I said,

I was told this by my mother--who was never really a good cook anyway.

That being said, I have actually eaten food from cast iron skillets that were washed with soap (by a lady I knew in college who cooked on her pans), and the food definitely had a "detergenty" flavor.

Maybe it has something to do with the amount or type of soap used?

[indigobusiness]

34. Scrub with salt if an abrasive is desired.

But, you git it right.

[China_cat]

5. Take it camping with you

oil it and turn it upside down in the campfire.

[slackmaster]

6. Season a new one with peanut oil

First scour the pan to get rid of any wax, oil, foundry dust, etc.

Coat the inside with peanut oil and bake at 300 for an hour.

I avoid using detergent on the cooking surfaces of cast iron. Unless you've burned something badly it will clean up with hot water and a scrub brush or Scotch Brite pad. Use detergent on the handle or outer surfaces when they get greasy.

I have a small one that I use only for frying eggs. It gets lubed with butter. Usually hot water alone (no scrubbing) is enough to clean it, leaving a coat of butterfat behind.

If you use one to cook acidic food e.g. tomato sauce, that will eat away any seasoning.

The best seasoned pan I have is my wok. It's almost 100% black and very smooth. I like that much better than non-stick coatings, which inevitably get trashed by well-meaning friends, lovers, spouses, roommates, etc.

[yellowdogintexas]

32. I have one of those wonderful ugly old carbon steel woks too

The best!

Never soak your iron skillet or your carbon steel wok in the sink

Don't scrub with anything more abrasive than salt

oil after each use, wipe out w/paper towel and hang it up to store if you have a spot.

One of the best ways to really work that seasoning in, is after you have done the initial pre clean, and bake w/peanut oil, use it exclusively for things like french fries, fried chicken, and other things requiring deep oil. Then after pouring out the grease, rub with salt, oil it and wipe dry. It will start to look black and shiny and not slate grey anymore and you will know that it is getting there.

I have one that I use for cornbread which belonged to my mother in law

[Malva Zebrina]

9. old timers told me to coat it with oil and then bake in the oven for

a couple of hours at med to lo temp.

The pan is not supposed to be washed with soap and water. Instead, it can be swished or wiped with alcohol to clean it. Once it is seasoned, it is a great pan to use.

[Cleopatra2a]

10. My mother always washed it with soap and water

She has some pans that are at least 50 years old. Still going strong. I bought some at Goodwill that were already black from use. We wash with soap and water, dry on the gas stove. I use Crisco from the can to coat it, let it cook in.

[Floogeldy]

11. From Food Network

Technique courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2001

New cast iron cookware
Warm soapy water
Vegetable shortening
Paper towels

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Wash new cast iron cookware with warm soapy water and promptly towel dry. Generously coat cookware with vegetable shortening. Bake in oven for 1 hour.

Remove skillet from oven and rub again to redistribute oil. Place in the oven and bake again for 1 hour. Remove from oven. Wipe excess oil off with paper towels, then allow to cool before storing. Store in a cool, dry place, with paper towels below and on top of skillet to protect shelves and skillet.

-----------------------------------------------------

I've had a cast iron skillet for about twenty years, and I DO use a couple of drops (very little) of antibacterial dishwashing liquid when I wash it, or I don't feel like it is clean. The trick is to do it quickly with a Scotch Brite and rinse immediately. I've never cooked anything that tasted like soap.

When it is clean and dry, I pour in enough peanut or vegetable oil to cover the bottom and heat it up on the burner for a few minutes, put the lid on, and it is ready for next use.

[sam sarrha]

12. I have cooked exclusively in my Gr Grandmothers iron skillets for 48 years

There is all kinds of Orthodox systems preached about for the care of iron skillets, but i have worked out a quick and easy system.

The 'goal' is to keep the Seasoning* intact, *the dark shiny surface on the inside of the skillet that prevents sticking..

First, try to find a nice OLD skillet that looks good in a flea market or junktique store..it will have better Karma and it will be already 'started' for you. get an 8 inch, There are different styles, some have a smooth bottom and others have a spiral grove cut into the bottom, i don't like those. Some are thick and others are a bit thinner.. the thicker ones will spread the heat better, the thinner ones will have a tendency to overheat in the middle more easily , if you are not careful...but they are like the sports cars of skillets..they heat up faster and are lighter to 'flip' things with.

The seasoning is actually carbonized oil, Carbon can have a valence from 2 to 32. unfortunately you cant fry oil into a diamond.. it only makes a dull silver grey area in the skillet.. on which food sticks. if that happens you will have bare metal on the bottom again and will have to re-season it.

some people will not put any water at any time in the skillet.. and will have a Sh*t hemorrhage if you put it in the sink to soak, or god forbid the dish washer. they will only scrub it out with coarse salt.
I dont feel it is necessary to be so Orthodox, if i fry chicken or something that leaves a caramelized coating in the skillet..ad some wine or some water and you have Aujus or some toasted flour & water/milk and you have gravy. if there is gooey baked on stuff after cooking i put in some water and simmer it soft so i can wipe it out, i then dry it out and put it on the heat and dry the moisture out of skillet, then ad 1/4 tsp oil and wipe it around and let heat till it smokes- turn it off and wipe the bottom off, lit cool. water will soften or undercut the seasoning.. i feel that if the water isn't allowed to remain long enough to do that it is OK.

i happen to space out and burn the bottom, you can heat a ~1/2 tsp oil till it smokes, adjust heat and wipe out the oil with a paper towel, let it bake on, then repeatedly wipe a very thin layer of oil.. basically just the oil damp paper at about ~350* paper burns at 451*. with practice this will become evident.

another way to season a skillet is to male a double batch of pancakes in a hot skillet. put oil and a cake on any thin spot and bake the pancake till it is really brown.

not a good idea to cook acid foods in an Iron skillet, like simmering Tomato sauce or such.

I use metal spatulas on mine but i dont scrape with them and have a Low angle of attract,

Dont fry food to hot, over 350* it creates a Carcinogenic compound in the crusts, this is a compound that is every where in nature..my grandparents fried everything they ate all their lives in Lard and lived to be late 80's to 90's . but frying is still safer than a lot of commercial deep fried food. I h

[supernova]

13. Don't wash them

After using it, I put water in it and heat it on hi on the stove. While there's a rolling boil, use a utensil, I use an egg-turner, to gently scrape the material off the bottom and the sides. When you've got most of it off, throw the water away, safely because you can burn yourself. I throw it out in the yard. But, I'm in the country, so :shrug:

Return the skillet to the eye to dry out. When it's dry and cool, wipe more oil in it and its ready for the next time.

[thedailyshow]

14. the eye?

[supernova]

17. The eye.... on the stove.

What do you call it? :shrug:

[thedailyshow]

19. burner?

[Kathy in Cambridge]

16. They're heavy

if you're a chick you may find it hard to pick them up. I do.

[supernova]

18. Callit weight-lifting, I do!

:D

I have a 10" skillet. My wrists are kinda weak. The only time I have a problem is when I need to hold the skillet up and pour something out of it, like tomoato sauce. :P

[TexasBushwhacker]

21. But so much better for whopping

your SO up side o' the head! The old fashioned way is always the best, isn't it?

[Flammable Materials]

20. KISS THE PAN! *bonk* THE PAN KISSES YOU. KISS THE PAN! n/t

[linazelle]

22. Lodge sells pre-seasoned pans now--just buy and cook

but you shouldn't use tomato based products in cast iron--it causes a reaction that removes the pan's protective coating.

[Zomby Woof]

24. It's easy, but takes repetition

Mine in nearly 8 years old and can last a lifetime.

Use Crisco SHORTENING instead of vegetable oil. Completely coat it, using a strong paper towel, with the shortening. Heat it in the oven at 300 for an hour.

There may still be unprotected spots, and that is normal after the first seasoning. I would urge that you take it through several cycles like the one above until all bare spots of iron are gone.

It will have a copperish color at first, but when you start cooking with it, it gets darker and darker until it is eventually black.

Use very hot water and a strong paper towel to clean it... not boiling, because that could strip some seasoning, and NO SOAP. In the first year or so, it is okay to re-season if needed. You can never overseason an iron skillet, and cooking with it can add to it.

My favorite recipes include cornbread (I rule with cornbread), or just good old bacon and eggs. You can use it for all kinds of things. I throw mine directly on the coals of my Weber Kettle Grill and sear Cajun-style steaks or fish!

It is one of the best kitchen tools ever. Glad you want one!

[Floogeldy]

27. Hey ZombyWoof

How about sharing your cornbread recipe with us?

Please? :bounce:

[Zomby Woof]

28. more of you will have to BEG

Before I give it up. :P

[Floogeldy]

30. C'mon people, help me out here!

PAN FRIED CORNBREAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :loveya:

[NMDemDist2]

35. come on, it's freakin Christmas, find some charity in your soul

and give up the cornbread recipe

OH and BTW .. :hi:

[Lady Effingbroke]

25. I had a cast iron skillet, which was nicely seasoned through frequent use.

One night, my roommate, who admittedly was not the sharpest knife in the drawer, decided to wash the dishes. He thought the "seasoning" on the skillet meant that it was dirty and proceeded to scrub it with steel wool until you could just about see your reflection in it! :dunce:

True story.

[supernova]

26. Ugh, sorry to hear that

What a terrible thing to do to an iron skillet.

Mine's at least 70 years old and still going strong. :-)

[thedailyshow]

29. aw..sorry to hear that, man

[babylonsister]

31. We cook onions outside

on the cast iron pan when grilling steaks so the house doesn't stink up with burnt onion smells. Works for us!