Anyone cook with cast iron?

[Guest]

We just replaced our primary cooking pan with cast iron. We also purchased a 7 quart Dutch oven and griddle. We have no idea what we're getting into here. So far, we've heard good and bad things about cast iron cook wear. Can anyone here enlighten us?

[qrprat77]

Season them!
Even if it's been "preseasoned" do it again, with shortening.
use unsalted butter only, and cover liberally before cooking. I'm only 34, but I've been using cast iron since I first started cooking at 6 years old. Don't forget to use your pan to cook cornbread, especially after cooking bacon...
...hmmmm... cracklin' cornbread....

... anyway.
If you use the Dutch Oven for frying a lot, you may have to "Burn the pot" once or twice a year. When I was a kid, Grandpa and his brothers held a fish fry every week. They used big dutch ovens for frying the fish. Every year, they would burn the pots in a hard wood fire and reseason them. Usually this was right before fishing season kicked off, say about Feb/March. Best fish I've ever had come from them pots, french fries too!

[thedreamers]

Practice, practice, and practice some more with them. Once you know how they work, you wont burn dinner or breakfast. Once you get the hang of using them you'll never go back to alum. pans ever. (Can't say ever cause they do make a nice older version of a turkey pan. Usually find them at flea markets.)

[SeldomSeenSlim]

I've read that folks are now cleaning cast iron with soap, but I never have. Really hot water and a good stiff bristle brush is all it really needs. If it's really stubborn add some fine sand into the pan to act as an abrasive. It's best to clean while the pan is still hot and make sure it is dry before putting it away. Most of the complaints about cast iron are because it isn't something that can just be stuck in a dishwasher. It takes a little care and work, but if you get right after it when you're done cooking it cleans up pretty easy.

[barfife]

There are some great youtube videos on dutch oven cooking with charcoal, hot coals and stacking dutch ovens when you're cooking.

[SCinPNW]

I have used cast iron almost exclusively for about 11 years now and I love it! You definitely want to season it, and definitely do not want to use soap on it. I generally rinse out my pan with very hot water and use a stiff brush to get the cooked on food off, dry with a paper towel, set it back on the burner to warm it up a little and make sure it is dry, then wipe it down using a new paper towel with oil. I genearlly use canola or olive oil, but lard or crisco works great too.

Here is a link to the Lodge Cast Iron website on how to care for your cast iron, in my opinion, they are the experts on cast iron: http://www.lodgemfg.com/use-care-seasoned-cast-iron.asp

I hope this helps! Enjoy your cast iron, it is truly the best cookware in my book.

SC

[scoob]

i for one have absolutely nothing bad to say about cast iron cookware, its the best and very versital, it takes a lil digilance to keep it cleaned up , but well worth the effort. it distributes the heat evenly so less burnt food . and holds heat better. very good for cornbread and fried foods (fried chicken, yumm) lol. easy to use over a campfire too. i suspect that you will be very satisfied with your new iron cookware. good luck and enjoy!

[BioG8r]

Lodge and Wagner, Great names in Cast,

We use Cast almost exclusively, I am in charge of the Seasoning. There are many theories to seasoning Cast Iron. I use My Grandmothers
I use butter, coat evenly, place in the oven for 45 - 60 minutes @ 400 degrees. Comes out nice. I allow it to cool wipe it out, rinse it with water ONLY and reslick and rewipe them before putting them away.
We re-season about every 6 to 12 months whether they need it or not.
For washing; I deliver whatever I have cooked to a plate, platter, bowl or..., rarely do I leave the food in the skillet. I use water with a bristle bruch while the cast is still warm/hot, place back on the unlit stove and eat, after the meal,,,,reslick, rewipe and put away.

Pre-Teflon Non Stick Cooking!
I tried the sand SeldomSeenSlim was talking about and must have been to aggressive, I had to reseason. Thats why the no food left in the skillet rule/ritual.

[WiseOwl]

We use our Lodge pans about 3 times a week.
I even cook steaks and burgers in them in the oven.

They are a great asset to have in the kitchen. My wife found some at Marshalls one day on Clearance. She had no idea that they were the same brand as my camping pans.


And I echo the bacon grease and cornbread.........dat be da stuff right there!

[EX121]

I don't like using tomatoe based stuff in the oven is seams to remove the seasoning. I sometimes use hot cowboy coffee to clean the skillet if cooking over an open fire. It helps cut out the crud. I have cheated recently when cooking cakes and have started using a ceramic liner.

[protus]

we use nothing but cast iron here for 90% of our meals.

[Daelith]

Only way I know how to make cornbread. My skillet was handed down to me from my grandmother.

[WiseOwl]

Thanks for the posts on seasoning the pans with oil or butter. I had no idea. Just ran all of ours through the process. Will do this after each use on top of the usual clean and dry.

[Pop_45]

I love my cast iron. My wife gets so angry with me because I grab the cast iron skillet and ignore the $90 skillet with the diamond hard non stick surface. I can't help it, the food just tastes better. I've used the dutch oven over many a campfire. From peach cobbler to deep fried fish.

[Patriotic Sheepdog]

Can you use cast iron in a solar oven? Just wondering. I have been looking at solar ovens but want to be able to use cast.