Cast Iron Skillet

[advres]

Cooked a .82lb rib-eye this evening and devoured the whole damn thing. mmmmmmmmm.

[Arty50]

There's been a little bit of oil discussion thus far, so I thought I'd post this:

http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/colle...mokepoints.htm

I never use EVOO as a cooking oil anymore. Instead I use grapeseed, canola, or "standard" olive oil.

[Tippster]

I can't stand Canola Oil (Rapeseed, really - being explored as a diesel alternative commercially) - it smells and tastes fishy. I've actually gone back to using (cold pressed) Sunflower oil for higher heat applications, just put a few drops in the pan and use a paper towel to wipe it around - no gloppy mess.

Avocado Oil in a very hot stainless steel fry pan is awesome for searing tuna. Higher smoke point and tastes better than Grapeseed too.

Evoo is for lower heat, and never use expensive (first cold pressed, etc.) EVOO to cook with - the more solid there are in the oil (will taste "fruitier") the quicker it burns and will taste like shit. I do think you need the extra virgin olive flavor over regular OO for quick sauteeing of veggies/tossing pasta/Scampi, etc.

[MakersTeleMark]

Canard tetons anyone? Oh yeah!

[MakersTeleMark]

makerstelemark, telemike, d'oh.

That's old lefty creeping up on you. But we did live down the street from each other when Pwowen was a wee lad.

After my cast iron skillets, next on the list of my most treasured kitchenware is a reddish-orange 8qt porcelain-enameled cast iron roaster handed down from my grandma. For either stovetop or oven use, it is amazing for slow roasting or low temp stewing.
The procelain enamel is perfect for cooking food with a high acid content (tomatoe sauces and the like) that are harsh on the seasoning of the skillets. Bring the whole thing up to ideal cooking temp, turn heat to very low, and come back in a few hours - perfectly roasted/stewed.

Ah yes, another variant of the mountain culinary quiver, "THE BRAISER!" (Sear her, braiser her, crock her!) Cooked a really good meal in one of those pretty recently in Mtngrrl's pad.

[Chugachjed]

I encountered enameled cast iron pans today whilst searching for a nice wooden spatula for my favorite cooking utensil. $120 for a fucking pan holy balls is that expensive apparently they have a lifetime warranty and cannot be destroyed even dishwasher safe.

Made salmon taco's in my cast iron yesterday very nice, used the lots of leftover salmon to make a spicy salmon chowder tonight. Also quite nice.

[Viva]

^^^You must have been looking at the Frenchie stuff. I have one and love it!

[js3908]

I just ordered an "Emerilware" cast iron pan.... Anything wrong with this? I got it free from a work site so can't be all bad but I figure cast iron is cast iron. Thoughts?

[orlowskij]

^I've got one, no complaints.

[hafilax]

Wooden spatula?! The best thing about the cast iron pan is wielding a one piece stainless steel spatula. Great for scraping off all the caramelized deliciousness or making pan sauces.

[Spats]

The $20 Lodge Logic cast-iron pan is fine. It's cast iron, there's not much of a way to screw it up.

I can't stand Canola Oil (Rapeseed, really - being explored as a diesel alternative commercially) - it smells and tastes fishy. I've actually gone back to using (cold pressed) Sunflower oil for higher heat applications, just put a few drops in the pan and use a paper towel to wipe it around - no gloppy mess.

I use beef tallow. You're cooking beef anyway, most of the time, and it's remarkably neutral.

Anything else is just diesel fuel, as you correctly note. And oils high in polyunsaturates have significant unlabeled trans fat content due to the extraction process.

[Chugachjed]

Steel spatula will scrape off the seasoning. Maybe not so bad for a well seasoned pan but for a newer pan you'll never get that good seasoning.

[js3908]

Got mine in the mail today. It's in the oven now at 275 coated with bacon grease I've been saving since I ordered it. Looks like it's time for a nice hunk of steak from the store tomorrow.

[advres]

ON a note... If you put the pan in the oven preheating to 500º, take it out and cook on a high stove for 1:30 minutes and back in the oven for 4 minutes it's going to be hot as fuck! Even with my oven mit I burned the fuck out of my palm this evening.

[js3908]

Ouch! Good to know. I actually just ordered a handle off Amazon as I had a gift card and as a precaution as I have had way too many burns lately (don't ask). It was only $7 or so and sounds totally worth it.

[mrryde]

Kool-Aid drank. Got one and browned a chuck roast in it before putting in in my crock pot for a few hours. Damn good.

[Chugachjed]

ON a note... If you put the pan in the oven preheating to 500º, take it out and cook on a high stove for 1:30 minutes and back in the oven for 4 minutes it's going to be hot as fuck! Even with my oven mit I burned the fuck out of my palm this evening.

HAHA yea no shit I was absentmindedly searing steak talking to my wife on the phone when I felt the overwhelming need to reposition the pan on the burner. Holy shit that was hot, I escaped with a minor searing but I'm sure it singed my wife and kid's ears.

[hafilax]

Steel spatula will scrape off the seasoning. Maybe not so bad for a well seasoned pan but for a newer pan you'll never get that good seasoning.

Some think that a steel spatula will smooth out the surface of the pan improving its non-stickiness. Apparently it has to have a flat edge though.

[RedWolf]

Thanks, you motherfuckers. Yet another thing I've bought thanks to spending way too much time around here...

[Shadam]

so ... we lost one in the flood ???
how? fark knows ... its not like the farking thing floats.
maybe it will show up randomly, but its been gone a while.
it was older than me!

[Moeghoul]

Did a porterhouse with "burnt" onions and port wine ketchup. Used walnut oil. Survey says: Poyyyfect!

[Danno]

Steel spatula will scrape off the seasoning. Maybe not so bad for a well seasoned pan but for a newer pan you'll never get that good seasoning.

You'd have to scrape like a mofo to get rid of the seasoning. And seasoning a few rounds in the oven will create a coating that you could not scrape off with a metal spatula unless you were really trying to scrape it off.

[crackboy]

So not looking for cast iron specifically but we just threw away our giant nonstick saute/saucepan since the coating was coming off. Looking to replace it

needs a lid
main use would be for sauce but also large scale browning etc.

not looking to spend bank on it.

Anyone have any experience with the Emeril pro-clad stuff? sawa reasonably priced 4 qrt one that might work

[Chugachjed]

I won't even use the coated non stick pans unless they're hard anodized. OTOH i baked cornbread in my cast iron last night and made bacon and fried potatoes in it this morning. Might make a shepards pie in it tonite. Its the only pan worth using. Mines a cheapo lodge and it's great.

[Spats]

So not looking for cast iron specifically but we just threw away our giant nonstick saute/saucepan since the coating was coming off.
[...]
not looking to spend bank on it.

The two are related.

Calphalon has either a 10-year or a lifetime guarantee depending on whether you buy the moderately or extremely expensive line. Their top 12" skillet used to be $50 as a loss leader, but sadly that deal went away.

This is the cheapest thing I'd ever use:
http://www.amazon.com/T-Fal-Specialt...g=gnollsorg-20
Better:
http://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Essent...g=gnollsorg-20
Mack daddy and lifetime guarantee. I own this.
http://www.amazon.com/Calphalon-Nons...g=gnollsorg-20