My mother always used a cast iron frying pan (Skillet ?), and I've always used one too, never anything else. It has a wooden handle, and remove it to make cornbread. I have a small one too.
Cast-Iron Skillets
- Thread starter The Critic
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Originally Posted By: Silk
My mother always used a cast iron frying pan (Skillet ?), and I've always used one too, never anything else. It has a wooden handle, and remove it to make cornbread. I have a small one too.
Do Kiwis have a good attitude towards illegal immigrants from the US?
Everything you describe about New Zealand makes me want to move there.
My mother always used a cast iron frying pan (Skillet ?), and I've always used one too, never anything else. It has a wooden handle, and remove it to make cornbread. I have a small one too.
Do Kiwis have a good attitude towards illegal immigrants from the US?
Everything you describe about New Zealand makes me want to move there.
$100 for cast-iron seems a bit pricey to me. Looks like their selling point is it's not a wrist breaker.
I use an old Lodge CI skillet I bought 33yrs ago. Works for me.
America's test kitchen/Cook's Illustrated/Cook's Country...one of them tested CI skillets recently. Also tested how best to season & clean them.
I use an old Lodge CI skillet I bought 33yrs ago. Works for me.
America's test kitchen/Cook's Illustrated/Cook's Country...one of them tested CI skillets recently. Also tested how best to season & clean them.
Wow! Thanks for the suggestions, friends.
I will skip the high-priced one and look for a Lodge.
I will skip the high-priced one and look for a Lodge.
JHZR2
Staff member
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Wow! Thanks for the suggestions, friends.
I will skip the high-priced one and look for a Lodge.
Admittedly I haven't read the whole thread but I have noticed the following....
I have some old generic cast iron skillet. Seasoned, works great, will last forever. My in laws have a very old Le cruset. It is far smoother, with what I believe to be much smaller cast iron pores than mine.
I bought a new one because I liked theirs and while not as seasoned yet, it does have a smoother finish/pore structure, which I prefer.
My original is like the lodge units. IMO, the LE cruset is a little bit better. Might want to have a look..
Wow! Thanks for the suggestions, friends.
I will skip the high-priced one and look for a Lodge.
Admittedly I haven't read the whole thread but I have noticed the following....
I have some old generic cast iron skillet. Seasoned, works great, will last forever. My in laws have a very old Le cruset. It is far smoother, with what I believe to be much smaller cast iron pores than mine.
I bought a new one because I liked theirs and while not as seasoned yet, it does have a smoother finish/pore structure, which I prefer.
My original is like the lodge units. IMO, the LE cruset is a little bit better. Might want to have a look..
As posted earlier - avoid any Chinese cast iron cookware. Sam's Club is running some Emeril special chinese cast iron skillet that has the surface texture of 20 grit sandpaper. For another $4 one can get a Lodge and have real cast iron.
Finding cast iron cookware at yard sales and thrift stores can be a treat. I'll put 'em on the cooktop, set the gas on high, and let the thing get as hot as it's going to get. Then (with a nice thick mitt) take it outside and lather it in Easy Off, and let it soak until the iron is warm to the touch. Hose it down and generally you have bare cast iron. Rinse it out with a bit of dish soap to make sure all the lye is gone, and when it's rinsed, I can see if it needs to be sanded or otherwise have rough spots dealt with.
Then it's put back on the cooktop. Medium heat and some olive oil - or any kind of cooking oil - and a paper towel and wipe it all around the cooking surface, then let it cool.
Finding cast iron cookware at yard sales and thrift stores can be a treat. I'll put 'em on the cooktop, set the gas on high, and let the thing get as hot as it's going to get. Then (with a nice thick mitt) take it outside and lather it in Easy Off, and let it soak until the iron is warm to the touch. Hose it down and generally you have bare cast iron. Rinse it out with a bit of dish soap to make sure all the lye is gone, and when it's rinsed, I can see if it needs to be sanded or otherwise have rough spots dealt with.
Then it's put back on the cooktop. Medium heat and some olive oil - or any kind of cooking oil - and a paper towel and wipe it all around the cooking surface, then let it cool.
Originally Posted By: ArcticDriver
Originally Posted By: spasm3
Originally Posted By: Noey
But, for a quick sear, it's not nearly as ideal as a carbon steel (Lodge, a favorite) skillet...it heats quicker, it distributes the heat as evenly and effectively as cast iron, and its far easier to maneuver b/c it's lighter.
I agree, I prefer to heat up my cast iron slowly, to avoid cracks.
Cracks in what?
Not the cast iron skillet?
I have never heard or seen this and I am not sure how it would happen since the material is expanding as its being Heated.
Cracks in materials typically occurr during a rapid cooling process.
Can you explain? Thanks
Yes, if you shop for old skillets, you will run across cracked ones. I'm not sure how it happens, i tend to think like you that it might be a hot skillet dumped into a sink of water. But still i heat mine gradually.
Originally Posted By: spasm3
Originally Posted By: Noey
But, for a quick sear, it's not nearly as ideal as a carbon steel (Lodge, a favorite) skillet...it heats quicker, it distributes the heat as evenly and effectively as cast iron, and its far easier to maneuver b/c it's lighter.
I agree, I prefer to heat up my cast iron slowly, to avoid cracks.
Cracks in what?
Not the cast iron skillet?
I have never heard or seen this and I am not sure how it would happen since the material is expanding as its being Heated.
Cracks in materials typically occurr during a rapid cooling process.
Can you explain? Thanks
Yes, if you shop for old skillets, you will run across cracked ones. I'm not sure how it happens, i tend to think like you that it might be a hot skillet dumped into a sink of water. But still i heat mine gradually.
I'd love to look at one up close, it does look nice. It is missing pouring lips on the edges for pouring out oil.
Nice dutch oven btw!
Nice dutch oven btw!
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Forget that
How do you keep the stove top and surroundings so clean?
P.S.yup, really nice skillets and dutch oven
How do you keep the stove top and surroundings so clean?
P.S.yup, really nice skillets and dutch oven
Truths.
#1 Cast iron does NOT heat evenly but it is great at RETAINING heat. "Slow to heat, slow to cool". This is why cast iron is great for searing steaks and transferring pan in the oven to finish cooking.
#2 Pebbly or smooth surface it doesn't matter. Just use it and the seasoning will build up.
#3 Washing with a little soap is fine.
#4 They are ALMOST non-stick.
Truths about carbon steel (Cast iron little brother).
#1 It has all the attributes of cast iron but weighs about 1/3 less.
#2 These are restaurant pans so they're cheap to acquire and easy to season but seasoning is a little easier to come off. Restaurant kitchens don't care about this because it only takes a second to re-season on a commercial burner.
#3 Carbon steel pans can be found from 1.5mm to 3mm in thickness. The thin ones can warp when used under extended high heat.
#4 Because of the potential for warping these pans are great for gas.
#5 Long handles stay cooler vs cast iron, but they make the pan difficult to store in a residential kitchen and place in a residential oven.
I have a Lodge 10.5" and use it every weekend.
#1 Cast iron does NOT heat evenly but it is great at RETAINING heat. "Slow to heat, slow to cool". This is why cast iron is great for searing steaks and transferring pan in the oven to finish cooking.
#2 Pebbly or smooth surface it doesn't matter. Just use it and the seasoning will build up.
#3 Washing with a little soap is fine.
#4 They are ALMOST non-stick.
Truths about carbon steel (Cast iron little brother).
#1 It has all the attributes of cast iron but weighs about 1/3 less.
#2 These are restaurant pans so they're cheap to acquire and easy to season but seasoning is a little easier to come off. Restaurant kitchens don't care about this because it only takes a second to re-season on a commercial burner.
#3 Carbon steel pans can be found from 1.5mm to 3mm in thickness. The thin ones can warp when used under extended high heat.
#4 Because of the potential for warping these pans are great for gas.
#5 Long handles stay cooler vs cast iron, but they make the pan difficult to store in a residential kitchen and place in a residential oven.
I have a Lodge 10.5" and use it every weekend.
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Best way to EVENLY heat cast iron skillet is in an oven. It won't warp the pan either.
Originally Posted By: Ausfahrt
$100 for an heirloom quality pan is nothing in the grand scheme of life. I am buying a new Field pan and this is from a guy that loves his old Griswold.
Here is a pic of a Lodge and a Field.
That's one pretty pan there.
$100 for an heirloom quality pan is nothing in the grand scheme of life. I am buying a new Field pan and this is from a guy that loves his old Griswold.
Here is a pic of a Lodge and a Field.
That's one pretty pan there.
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