Cast Iron Cooking

First thing i do with all my new cast iron i make chicharrones gets nice and seasoned

 

That works too.

I use clarified butter for my stovetop popcorn. That and fine powdered salt. It turns out just like the movie theater.

 

Forget trucks. This forum makes me cook more stuff!

i love cast iron. Mother in law bought me an 8 inch skillet 3 years ago. Best present ever! Ive made eggs in it 6 days a week since.

then i bought a 12 inch skillet for bacon. This one has had maybe 50 lbs of bacon and sausage through it, yet it cannot hold a season worth a darn. I can’t figure it out

I don’t use soap, but i am ordering a brush to use with hot water. Seems to work good on the youtube

 

Ive done the oven thing a few times with it. I wonder if i got it too hot when burning food when it was new?

re read yours. I have tried the oven treatment at a lower temp. I should try 350.

 

When you are seasoning, make sure to use very light coats. I wipe them with oil, then wipe them down with a dry towel so they are almost dry. Then cook in the oven. Light coats help it cure on better and you don’t get the gummy finish.

 

Anyone else use the ringer to clean?
https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai...vnK7sAhWICjQIHZdRDA4Qwg96BAgTEBc&dct=1&adurl=
My cleanup process is: give it the ringer, followed by a quick rinse, heat to dry, light coat of oil and you’re good to go the next time

 

Give it a try!!

 

I know I will be getting some cast iron skillets and a Dutch oven soon. For country fried steak and chicken specifically and the Dutch oven for all kinds of stuff.
We currently have Salad master pots and pans. We are never getting rid of those things.

 

You got the right recipe for seasoning, but I do it on the BBQ instead of the oven due to the smoke.

New cast iron in my opinion needs to be sanded down. It is too bumpy. I use a palm sander with 60 grit sand paper until it is smooth. Then spray it with cooking spray and wipe almost all of it off and put it in the bbq at 400 degrees or so until it stops smoking (20 mins to a half hour).

The seasoning is there to protect it from rust and gives the oil a low-tension surface to spread out on. Seasoning is not needed unless you sand down your pan, they come pre-seasoned and as long as you keep using them don't ever have to season them again.

Cleaning is done at the stove with a metal spatula, heat and a paper towel. Will bring it to the sink and rinse with water. Sometimes need water and heat, can drizzle water into a hot pan and will clean almost anything. Cast iron holds flavors well, and I do not like the flavor of soap. But soap will not hurt the finish at all. Also, do not oil the pan after cleaning, oil it again at next use (just gives a sticky mess if oil it). There will still be a thin layer of oil in it after you clean it. If you push your finger into your clean dry pan you will feel the oil.

Quality metal spatula is key to making a good meal with cast iron.

Cast iron excels in cooking anything in a thin layer of fat.

 

Long story about my brother and stomach cancer. One of the Oncologists told us to stay away from non stick pans and a lot of other things. So after doing some research we went with salad master. And its made in the U.S.A.

 

I cleaned up mine and in the oven.



can’t wait to try a dutch oven, but first I’d really like to get a griddle for the grill

 

Thanks

 

This is the spatula I use.

$25 Dexter-Russell 4"" x 2½"" Pancake Turner", Silver/Brown

https://www.amazon.com/Dexter-Russe...keywords=dexter+flipper&qid=1602480054&sr=8-7

Has the right amount of stiffness and flexibility. Also nice balance and size.

Leading edge had to be sanded, 120 grit sand paper. Hold at angle to go under food and reverse and hold at angle used to clean.

 

My late grandmothers Wagners pretty much never leave my stove top. I took out her corn stick pan for the pic too. I also have an old Dutch oven lid that fits one of them from her kitchen. I believe one of the skillets belonged to her mother.

my more contemporary purchases are an even larger POS Calphalon that I will eventually replace, a nice Lodge Dutch Oven and a couple all purpose Lodge skillets: one in the travel trailer and one in the car camping bin.

 

We can do it at the next get together.

 

Have you tried to find older pans? The "bumpy" is how they cast the newer pans

 

Sorry for the loss. also scored pans from my grandma a Griswald,Wanger and un marked dutch oven

 

The type of acid that is is used to make teflon ( I dont remember the name of it) has been linked to testicular and kidney cancer. Not linked to stomach cancer. It has been said to be a possible carcinogenic. My brothers cancer is believed to have been caused by a type of bacterial infection If I remember correctly, eating salty processed smoked meats has a lot to do with it. He was also Hispanic which put him in a higher percentage rate of developing the type of cancer that he had. Genetics also played a part as well.
The doctor said to avoid cooking with non stick pans and to cook food with stainless steel and or cast iron. Cut back on processed foods, to included canned processed foods. Buy frozen vegetables instead or fresh. Especially foods with processed sugar. Use honey or raw unprocessed cane sugar instead. Somehow cancer fuels on the glucose in the blood. It doesnt make it grow faster. I hope I got that part right. Things like processed flour or things made from it like pasta.
I am paraphrasing the hell out of a weeks worth of being fire hosed by all of this information.
So after all of what we had experienced, we are eating better, we cut way the hell back on the quick easy to cook processed food. No way in hell am I giving up grilling and smoking my own meat. I just eat way less processed meat that is high in nitrates. Hotdogs, lunchmeat.
I am not a doctor, I am a functional meat missle. So take what I say with a grain of salt. There are a lot of holes in there but, that was the gist of it.

 

I have used cast iron for about 15 years now when it comes to skillets.

I have 2 lodges, one I use for pizza and the other the 10 inch is my day to day use one.

I season as I use it, I heat it up, add a little oil if needed, add food, cook, remove food, turn burner to high, take the pan to the sink, turn on hot water, scrub out with a sponge, add dawn dish soap from time to time to laugh at those who fear it, rinse off pan, place on burner let heat dry off pan, add a small splash of any cooking oil handy, rub all over the pan, wipe off any excess, turn off burner place pan on back of stove top to cool, food has rested at this point, then eat.

I have once re seasoned in the oven, did not remove the pan from the oven, left in there to cool with the oven, then repeated.

I like that I can from stovetop to oven if needed, can use any type of utensil I want and they get better with time.

Mine are made by lodge, dont worry and fret about the not smooth as glass surface, just use it, all those bumps and ridges fill in over time and the surface becomes smooth and well seasoned.