Cast-Iron Frying Pan - I'm Liking It!

[Queen_Bruin]

One of the most simple and delicious things made in a cast iron pan is sauteed mushrooms. Like a wok, a properly seasoned cast iron pan will impart its own flavor. Heat up some butter, add sliced mushrooms and a dash of kosher salt and some pepper and let those babies get nice and golden brown. I served some atop beef barley soup a few weeks ago and it was a smash hit. The sizzle as they hit the soup was a nice touch too. I am not a big mushroom lover but I sure love them this way.

Rubystreak, I second the Crisco - it is my fat of choice to maintain my century-old cast iron pans. Good luck! Just make sure to get the rust spots out all the way before you season.

[MacTech]

I found a great tool for use with those incredibly hot CI handles (that’s really the only downside I can find with CI cookware)

I found that even at low-to-medium temperature cooking (5 and below on my electric burner) the intensity of heat emitted by the handle would saturate a conventional oven mitt or potholder in minutes

So, I obviously needed a better oven mitt…

I stopped off at the second kitchen supply store in my area (Kittery, Maine), much closer than the one in Newington, NH and went in looking for a Grease Keeper and oven mitt, and maybe another piece of CI cookware (Dear Og help me, I’m becoming addicted!)

I was very dissapointed with this kitchen supply store, as it had a poor selection, no grease keeper, lots of teflon and anodized aluminum cookware, and only one CI piece, a Lodge Fajita skillet and wood base

While I was looking around, I saw the “welding glove” style oven mitt, and was getting ready to purchase it, until I walked by a display of a rather interesting oven mitt, or should I say glove

It’s the “Ove Glove”, it looks like a knit winter mitten, one size fits all, and it has silicone grip ridges on both sides, so it can be used on either hand

what makes it interesting is that it’s made out of a combination of Nomex and Kevlar fibers, the same stuff used in flame-proof fireman clothing and bulletproof vests, yet it’s as soft, pliable and comfortable as a knit winter glove, it’s heat resistant to almost 500 degrees

Worth a try, if worse comes to worse, I can always return it

It works, it works brilliantly in fact, I was able to hold onto a hot skillet handle for twice as long as with a standard potholder or oven mitt, and I was able to retain my manual dexterity

In fact, I decided to truly put the glove to the test, after cooking some breaded turkey cutlets, I cleaned the skillet and re-oiled it, put it back on the burner on 3, let it sit for about 5 minutes to reinforce the seasoning layer, then…

…placed my gloved hand directly on the skillet!

the glove DID warm up, but not signifigantly so, and I was able to keep my hand to the skillet for at least two minutes before temperatures began to get uncomfortable

I then turned off the burner, and allowed the skillet to cool, then hung it back up on the pot rack

The Ove Glove works as advertised, it will signifigantly extend the safe handling time of hot cookware, it won’t allow you to hold a hot piece of cookware indefinitely, but I’d hazard a guess that it’ll at least double the safe-handling time before things get uncomfortably warm

A great accessory for us CI chefs

[cbawlmer]

I’ve seen those Ove Gloves, and wondered about them. I’ve set a couple of the big, clumsy hot pad gloves on fire before by accidentally touching the tips of them to the heating element of the oven, and sometimes they still don’t keep the heat out as well as they need to. Sounds like I’m getting a pair of Ove Gloves!

[MacTech]

Thanks to my scientific mindset, I decided to perform an experiment after I cooked dinner (a juicy 1" thick burger, made of 85% lean Angus Beef, mmmmmmm)

As expected, the CI cooked the burger brilliantly, nice tasty Malliard crust, and pink and warm all the way through (yes i know medium burgers are risky, but i’ve never had a problem with them yet)

I began to wonder, after wiping down the skillet and giving it a quick spritz of Pam and setting it on the burner on setting 2, how hot does the burner actually get at my cooking temperature

so I put a Lodge handle cover in the skillet and grabbed my digital meat thermometer, turned it on, and rested the plastic head on the handle cover to prevent it from melting

on setting 2, the temperatures stabilized around the 250-270 Farenheit range, perfect for reinforcing the seasoning on the pan, setting 3 took it into the mid 300’s, so i’d assume 4.5-5, which is the setting I cook at, should be in the mid 400 to 500 degree range

then I decided to see how hot the burner could actually get, and tuned one of the side burners to “HI”, within 20 seconds, the burner had spiked the thermometer above it’s 500 degree high point, it redlined the thermometer :eek:

and it was still heating up, the burner was only a dull red, not bright orange as is normal, I can only imagine what the temperature would climb to…

bear in mind, before my Cast Iron Epiphany (Band Name! ), I was cooking on my TEFLON coated aluminum pans on the HI setting, no wonder they didn’t last, it’s also amazing I didn’t come down with an illness from the teflon fumes that were undoubtedly being released…

[TimeWinder]

My burners with a CI pan on them quickly exceed the 800 degree limit of my infrared thermometer, too. They’re those goofy electric burners that are smooth on top, with a translucent ceramic surface.

I thought I’d read somewhere that a burner on high will get to 1200-1300 degrees, but I can’t find it in a quick google.

[Oslo_Ostragoth]

@TimeWinder

My burners with a CI pan on them quickly exceed the 800 degree limit of my infrared thermometer, too. They’re those goofy electric burners that are smooth on top, with a translucent ceramic surface.

Smoothtop? I thought CI was taboo on those.

[Oslo_Ostragoth]

@fessie

What, now you want me to BAKE, too?

They’re perfect for cornbread.

[Oslo_Ostragoth]

@MacTech

in the Cast Iron skillet, the bacon browned perfectly, the grease from the bacon was largely absorbed into the skillet’s pores, the bacon never stuck to the pan, even when raw, and I even had to pour off some bacon grease halfway through cooking, as the bacon was starting to swim in it, and cooking slower, pouring the fat off accelerated the cooking back to normal, still without sticking (I actually poured off the grease into a small used foil cake pan, and will be storing it in the fridge/freezer so i have a source of grease for reseasoning the pan, I’m recycling

I meant to respond to this earlier. Wouldn’t bacon grease contain salt, thus making it less suitable for seasoning?

[Ogre]

I have to mention this in every thread started on cast iron cookware: my family’s CI pans are treasured heirlooms. I have several pieces that belonged to my great-great grandmother. Soap has never, to my knowledge, touched them. That means they have been oil-seasoned to perfection for probably 150 or more years. I can cook absolutely anything in them, and cornbread is a particular delight.

I highly, highly recommend cast iron.

Oh, and Lodge is a great company to buy from. It is still independently owned and operated, and is the primary source of employment for the little town of South Pittsburg, Tennessee. S. Pittsburg also boasts the annual Cornbread Festival (lots of fun,) and during this time, Lodge gives free tours of its foundry. You get to see all the inner workings (with lava-esque molten iron aplenty!)

Home

No, I don’t work for 'em, but I used to live about 10 minutes away.

[fessie]

Neat.

I may have to try cornbread sometime. I did figure out a trick for making that - take a Jiffy mix, replace some of the water with part of a can of creamed corn, and add some diced jalapenos (from a jar) & some of the juice.
Sunday I promised my husband I’d make some spaghetti - the kids had picked out a nice package of fresh mushrooms. So I started them up sauteeing. The smell was so delightful, I couldn’t bear to douse the poor things with Prego. Instead, I added chopped fresh tomatoes, diced green pepper, some fresh onion and minced garlic. Little olive oil. The tomatoes became a delightful sauce all on their own, no effort necessary. It was absolutely delicious, we scraped the pan. No salt, no sugar.

[fessie]

@MacTech

…maybe I AM a good cook after all, it wasn’t me that was incompetent, it was my substandard cookware holding me back…

It’s been really fun reading your adventures - I think you’re probably correct about this. Isn’t there a saying about pros and their tools?

You’re so methodical, I can imagine how frustrating it is to do it all right & still not get the outcome you’re looking for.

Interesting – Looks like “Iron Chef” actually does refer to the use of cast iron!

[TimeWinder]

@Oslo Ostragoth

Smoothtop? I thought CI was taboo on those.

I’ve heard that, too, but I’d been using CI on it for years when I first heard it. It’s quite likely not a good idea, but I’m a rebel.

(The concern seems to be about scratching the surface, which I haven’t, but I wouldn’t care too much about.)

[silenus]

@Oslo Ostragoth

They’re perfect for cornbread.

Cast iron is freaking required for cornbread!

fessie - For foolproof cornbread, follow the recipe in the old Joy of Cooking. Then add whatever your little heart desires. Personally, I add cheese, jalapenos and bacon.

[MacTech]

@TimeWinder

My burners with a CI pan on them quickly exceed the 800 degree limit of my infrared thermometer, too. They’re those goofy electric burners that are smooth on top, with a translucent ceramic surface.

I thought I’d read somewhere that a burner on high will get to 1200-1300 degrees, but I can’t find it in a quick google.

:eek: 1300 degrees?!? and I was cooking on that temperature with my teflon cookware?, heck, I just Googled the melting point of Iron and found it was 1,535 degrees Farenheit, if the 1300 degree temperature is accurate, that’s awfly close to the melting point of iron…

Guess I won’t be cooking on the HI setting with my CI stuff then…

[Spit]

After reading this thread last Friday, I went wandering around Big Lots to see if they had anything cheap that I could try out. I ran across a $3 dollar 10" pan (the last one they had), and brought it home.

I haven’t used anything else this week.

All of the time & money I spent buying cheap teflon pans…

[Shalmanese]

Too late for you now but I wouldn’t bother buying new cast iron. Almost any thrift store will have well used cast iron for a fraction of the price of new. A judicious eye can easily pick out the well maintained ones and you end up with a set of already heavily seasoned pans for a song.

[redtail23]

@MacTech

Guess I won’t be cooking on the HI setting with my CI stuff then…

Oh, go ahead, it’ll be fine. Somewhere there’s some threads with steak recipes calling for heating the CI to some ungodly temp on the stove top, but I can’t remember who posted them.

I grew up with cast iron. When I moved out, I was alone and adrift in my kitchen, till I found some at a thrift store somewhere.

It makes me grin watching all y’all discover cast iron cookware. Life is good.

[sciguy]

I’ve been reading this thread off-and-on since it started. A couple years back, I tossed “Cast iron cookware” on my christmas list for my family. I got a nice Lodge 12" skillet from my brother, and a three-piece set (10", 8" and I think a 6") from my fiancee’s family. I’ve greatly enjoyed the experience of cooking with them. Well, except for the one time my SO helped clean up, and I came back into the kitchen to see the 12" skillet sitting next to the sink filled to the brim with soapy water. :eek: A quick explanation of the CI Rules of Engagement ensued. Rule #1: never let soap touch the pan. Rule #2: See rule #1.

But last night, I discovered that I had failed my pans. As I was dumping out the remains of the chicken fajitas into some tupperware, I flipped it over to wipe some sauce that had dripped down the outside, and noticed…rust spots. While I had been fastidious in maintaining the seasoning on the inside cooking surfaces, I had neglected the outside. The factory seasoning must have gotten cooked / scraped off, leaving the bottom mostly a dull grey, with bits of reddish brown encroaching in places.

The other pieces seem ok. I do almost all my cast iron cooking with the 12", although the little pans have been used for small batches of cornbread. Any recommendations on how to buff out the rust? Would just steel wool be ok (I seem to remember seeing that mentioned somewhere), or are there other options that would work better? Any doper recommendations on long-term care? A friend has a cast iron skillet and dutch oven he uses when camping (you know he’s a fan if he’s willing to haul 10+ pounds of pans up a mountain) and he does a full-surface seasoning once a year, along with oiling up the inside after every use. Or should I just keep a closer eye on the underside, and reseason when the black looks like it’s wearing through?

[Ogre]

No big deal, SciGuy. Cast iron is nothing if not resilient. Just take a bit of steel wool and buff out the spots. A good overall reseasoning (high temp, oil, lotsa smoke) can be done, but really, all you need is something to stop the oxidation. What I’d do is maybe plan to cook something in the oven requiring relatively high heat. Make up a batch of cornbread or something at 500 degrees. Lightly oil the bottom of the pans, and bake the bread. The oil will carbonize reasonably well at 500. Clean as usual, and make sure to oil the pan on both sides again. Next time you cook with it, you’ll build up more carbon. Next thing you know, rust will be a thing of the past.

[Dead_Badger]

I too bought a cast iron skillet (just a small one, a bit less than 10") on the strength of this thread. I promptly smoked my house out running it through three seasoning sessions (only had vegetable oil to hand, but it still seems okay). Anyway; man this thing is non-stick now. It’s ace. I just made an awesome omelette with pancetta and cheese, and it barely needed wiping afterwards. And that’s only the second time I used it, too. I’m a convert. And so cheap as well! Of course, I’m now going to bankrupt myself buying steaks to sear in it, but never mind.

I intend to cook everything in this from now on. Breakfast cereal; tea; you name it.