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I've always read you're not supposed to boil water in a cast iron pan. It's ok to do?
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Apr 6, 2014 19:18
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| # ? May 27, 2024 22:38 |
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Thats how my father has always cleaned his cast iron - boil water and scrape the poo poo out of it. And his pans are very old - seems to work. I think the general theory of "its cast iron, just don't leave it wet" is pretty accurate.
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Apr 6, 2014 20:23
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The Ferret King posted:I've always read you're not supposed to boil water in a cast iron pan. It's ok to do? You can't boil water in a pan? haha. What email from grandma with the funny jokes did you read that from? You wouldn't be able to do ANY cooking if that were the case. But honestly, where'd you read that? Like above, you certainly don't want to leave it wet when you're done, but there's nothing wrong with boiling water.
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Apr 6, 2014 20:35
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When I'm done cooking, I get my pan nice and hot, spray the inside down with cold water (it should hiss and spit), scrub with a plastic brush (no soap), spray again, dry with a towel, then put it back on the burner with a little bit of vegetable oil and wipe that around the pan while it heats and dries the rest of the way. When that's juuust at its smoke point I remove the heat and let the thing air dry.
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Apr 6, 2014 21:50
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Thank you guys for the awesome advice!
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Apr 6, 2014 21:55
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Brocktoon posted:So, I'm planning on buying my first cast iron skillet, possession of which is long overdue at this point. There's one small problem, though, which I forsee causing problems: Never buy a barbecue or smoker at any point in your life. Protip.
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Apr 6, 2014 22:44
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Drifter posted:You can't boil water in a pan? haha. What email from grandma with the funny jokes did you read that from? You wouldn't be able to do ANY cooking if that were the case. But honestly, where'd you read that? I mean, the #1 google result on how to clean a cast iron pan says it's fine. But the #2 result says never do it. I've read concerns from goons about boiling water in past threads about cast iron, including this one, which I noticed you addressed already, sorry for missing it. A firm enough kitchen utensil has always been everything I needed to scrape my pan clean, so it never occurred to me to try water on it since I'd heard it might be a bad idea and I guess the negative association stuck stronger than anything I read countering that advice. Won't make that mistake again though, holy cow.
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Apr 6, 2014 22:48
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I saw a thing about the making of Le Creuset enameled cast iron cookware on How It's Made, and now I'm really curious about it. I've been wanting a cast iron skillet for a while, but didn't want to deal with seasoning and whatnot. Is this stuff a good, if expensive, alternative?
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Apr 6, 2014 23:15
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Ferret King, I didn't mean to sound disparaging or anything, I was legitimately surprised someone would say you can't cook water in it. Like, you're not supposed to cook a stew or soup or jambalaya or anything else like that? If seasoning is coming off at 212F+water then it's not a proper season to begin with. In that case you just season a little more carefully at a higher heat.BLARGHLE posted:I saw a thing about the making of Le Creuset enameled cast iron cookware on How It's Made, and now I'm really curious about it. I've been wanting a cast iron skillet for a while, but didn't want to deal with seasoning and whatnot. Is this stuff a good, if expensive, alternative? You don't really 'deal' with seasoning, it's just something us You preheat the pan, add a little oil before you add the food and then you're golden. It's certainly an alternative, but I honestly can't see why you'd spend the extra money. I guess enamel might not discolor certain sauces or something, but you shouldn't be using cast iron for delicate little things like that in the first place. Also there are certain reactive/acidic dishes and you don't have to worry at all about rust (just dry the goddamn pan, for real)...but I don't know. Enamel can chip if you're rough with it, and unlike normal CI seasoning which can repair through cooking, you now have a chipped enamel pan. I don't care what you cook with - if you like it, you like it - but it's such a huge price inequality for almost the same thing, in my opinion. To get a good seasoning over time without any fuss you literally just cook with the normal cast iron like normal, but then you rinse it out with a brush and water, put it back on the burner to get it hot and completely dry, and pour a scoonch of oil that you can spread around the hot pan (you can wipe it down with a cloth or paper towel) and then let the whole thing cool down. Drifter fucked around with this message at 00:07 on Apr 7, 2014 |
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Apr 7, 2014 00:00
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Drifter posted:Ferret King, I didn't mean to sound disparaging or anything, I was legitimately surprised someone would say you can't cook water in it. Like, you're not supposed to cook a stew or soup or jambalaya or anything else like that? If seasoning is coming off at 212F+water then it's not a proper season to begin with. In that case you just season a little more carefully at a higher heat. Yeah, I was kinda thinking the same thing. It seems cool, but for $150, I think I could just get the cheap alternative and do a little more work.
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Apr 7, 2014 00:08
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So first cast iron use trip report: I decided to first cook some bacon, and added vegetables (potatoes, carrots and zuchini) The bacon cooking went well but then I let it go too hot and poo poo started burning, which gave it a nice carbon flavour. Lesson learned: Do not set too warm or poo poo will burn.  Once the veggies were done, I let it warm quite a bit more and then added canola oil. poo poo smoked all over the house, and I mean like really thick smoke, I opened all windows. I then cooked steaks for a few mins each side. poo poo was really tasty. I need to try this with a nice thick rib-eye all I had were small steaks. All in all nice experience. poo poo was tasty but a bit burned! I will need to clean it a bit better following advice given just now.
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Apr 7, 2014 09:22
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BLARGHLE posted:Yeah, I was kinda thinking the same thing. It seems cool, but for $150, I think I could just get the cheap alternative and do a little more work. I have this one. http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-EC6D43-Enameled-Island-6-Quart/dp/B000N501BK $50 with prime shipping. I've had mine for 5 years. Love it. Great for searing meats right before adding the rest of the ingredients, like for stews or soups. Makes awesome french onion soup. Cleanup is super easy since it's enameled. Good in the oven to 500F. I also have many cast iron pans, one of which I brought back from the dead. It was covered with rust for years. I ran it through a cleaning cycle in the oven, scrubbed off all the rusty ash, sprayed it with canola Pam and baked it on in the oven at 500F for an hour. It now looks like I just bought it and cooks awesome. For cleanup I put dish soap on a soft scrubby sponge and lightly scrub. Dry immediately and leave out until completely dry. That's it. I do it to all my cast iron, been doing it for years and my pans are still seasoned and the police haven't come to my house.
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Apr 7, 2014 15:09
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Le0 posted:So first cast iron use trip report: One of the weirdest parts of cast iron when you first start using it is heat control. Compared to most (everything but heavy-duty AlClad type stuff) cookware, cast iron has a gently caress-off huge amount of mass, and it takes awhile to get to temperature. You can very easily find yourself chasing the right pan temperature, because you didn't preheat the pan.
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Apr 7, 2014 16:34
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Can I get some info on properly seasoning/cleaning a cast iron? I have one handed down to me from my grandmother that as far as I know is properly seasoned, but the bottom side leaves rust rings whether wet or dry. It's not completely non stick as some food with usually get stuck on it. My mom says to clean it I just put it on high heat, throw in some salt and oil, and then scour the pan until it's clean but this doesn't get it completely clean. I have a cast iron griddle and a cast iron dutch oven that need to be completely seasoned as well.
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Apr 25, 2014 22:27
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I grabbed what I believe is called a "cowboy steak" for dinner tonight: a rib-eye a little over 2 lbs and 2-2.5 inches thick. I've looked around and advice on how to cook it seem to be all over the place - searing first and roasting at high heat (500), searing and roasting at low heat (225), roasting first and searing at the end.... Any have any advice that would help cut through the static?
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Apr 27, 2014 19:13
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Sear first, then roast, probably at the higher temperature. I did the exact same thing with a pork loin last night (sear top and bottom 4 minutes each, sides 1.5 mins, stick in 450° oven for ~15 mins) and it came out perfectly tender and juicy. Sure, they're different meats, but the principle should still be the same.
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Apr 27, 2014 19:28
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You get a better crust and edge to edge pink if you roast first at a low temperature, then sear. It's a great piece of meat, though, so long as you don't overcook it, it will be delicious.
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Apr 27, 2014 19:48
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Did a high-heat sear first then roasted in the oven. Developed a really kick rear end crust and tasted great. The only disappointment was that despite pulling it at 125 degrees, I looked more mid-to-high medium when sliced than a nice medium rare. Not sure what I did wrong. Did I rest it too long? (10 min) Should I not cover it with foil while resting?
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Apr 28, 2014 00:22
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Brocktoon posted:Did a high-heat sear first then roasted in the oven. Developed a really kick rear end crust and tasted great. The only disappointment was that despite pulling it at 125 degrees, I looked more mid-to-high medium when sliced than a nice medium rare. Not sure what I did wrong. Did I rest it too long? (10 min) Should I not cover it with foil while resting? 125 degrees is about exactly medium, and it rested up from there.
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Apr 28, 2014 03:22
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Invisible Ted posted:125 degrees is about exactly medium, and it rested up from there. Really? Everything I've read says 125 is rare, medium rare being 130-135...
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Apr 28, 2014 03:39
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Invisible Ted posted:125 degrees is about exactly medium, and it rested up from there. I think you're a bit low on that...
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Apr 28, 2014 07:01
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BLARGHLE posted:I saw a thing about the making of Le Creuset enameled cast iron cookware on How It's Made, and now I'm really curious about it. I've been wanting a cast iron skillet for a while, but didn't want to deal with seasoning and whatnot. Is this stuff a good, if expensive, alternative? One advantage of enameled is that you can cook acidic things in it without worrying about having to rebuild your hard earned multi-layered seasoning. I really like my enameled dutch oven for doing braises, or tomato recipe heavy dishes like this http://www.goonswithspoons.com/Moroccan_Chicken_and_Couscous
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Apr 28, 2014 15:34
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VERTiG0 posted:I think you're a bit low on that... Is there something I'm missing? Working with beef tenderloin, ribeye and to some extent N.Y strips, 125 out of the oven was always medium, resting up to med-well given maybe 8 minutes or so, depending on the temperature of the oven it came out of. If it was prime rib, 125 might be more med-rare. I don't have nearly as much experience with that, however.
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Apr 28, 2014 18:31
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http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/mintemp.html says 145F with a 3 minute rest is "safe", so I always took that to mean medium. I usually pull it out of the oven at 130F for medium rare.
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Apr 28, 2014 18:40
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contrapants posted:http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/mintemp.html says 145F with a 3 minute rest is "safe", so I always took that to mean medium. For my past year on grill at my old job, I'd pull beef out at 112-115 and rest about 5 minutes to medium rare, final temp usually around 120, always came out fine 
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Apr 28, 2014 20:11
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My experiences echo that of invisible Ted. If I want the max temperature of my steak to hit 132 or 133 in the middle, I would pull the steak around 118 to 121, and in the 3-4 minutes I would let it rest the steak would continue rising in temperature in the middle until it would peak around 133. If you pull your steak out of the pan at 130 or 135 it's gonna go up another 8-10 degrees while its resting. edit: stake
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Apr 28, 2014 21:15
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Maybe it's the way I cook it, then. I tend to sear it on one side, then flip it over and immediately put it in a 350F oven. It usually only stays in the oven for 5 minutes or so until it hits 130F. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.
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Apr 28, 2014 21:27
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I tend to sear both sides until I'm satisfied (so about the same amount of time each side) before throwing it in the oven. It generally doesn't kill one side like you might think. Usually it gives each side a slightly different texture, which is quite pleasant.
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Apr 28, 2014 21:37
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I've been thinking it's about time to buy some more cast iron, so I just ordered a new Lodge 5 Quart Dutch Oven with Skillet Cover. The cover will be nice, as I actually only have 8 inch and 15 inch cast iron skillets right now. I didn't realize how big 15 inches was until I got it, but I do love that thing. http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-L8DD3-Casserole-Skillet-5-Quart/dp/B000LEXR0K/
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Apr 30, 2014 07:49
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Double post to say that I've now used my new dutch oven. I heated it on a medium burner for a while with some oil, then added a whole chicken to brown a bit on both sides. After a few minutes of that, I took it out and filled it with large chunks of potato, carrot, and onion. I covered the bird with rosemary that I wetted with olive oil, placed it on top of the veggies, and put the whole thing in a 350 degree oven for like and hour and a half. I'm liking the results. It's not super amazing, but it was quite easy and delicious. I should have used more salt, but I'll try to remedy that a bit tomorrow.
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May 4, 2014 08:29
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Triple post because on day two of owning a dutch oven, I baked a loaf of bread.
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May 5, 2014 04:36
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I poked my head in here to see about a cast iron dutch oven as my wife ruined my enameled one.  And that one looks perfect. I like that you can use both top and bottom.Massasoit posted:boil water and scrape the poo poo out of it. That how I clean mine, the boiling water does most of the work. Sometimes I'll scour it with salt and paper towel.
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May 5, 2014 05:33
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The girl is staying here for the weekend, so I told her I'd make pancakes on Sunday morning. "I love pancakes! I'll bring my Perfect Pancake Maker™!" "I always just use my cast iron pan..." "Ooooh, fancy, those pans rock."  So what if my square pan makes pancakes with corners?
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May 15, 2014 22:04
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Captain Trips posted:The girl is staying here for the weekend, so I told her I'd make pancakes on Sunday morning. Is it such a small pan or are you just making giant fuckoff pancakes? I've never made a pancake that touched the side of my pans. Maybe I should start increasing my pancake volume. I do love pancakes.
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May 15, 2014 23:51
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Drifter posted:Is it such a small pan or are you just making giant fuckoff pancakes? I've never made a pancake that touched the side of my pans. Maybe I should start increasing my pancake volume. I do love pancakes. It's not a huge pan by any means, but they are fuckoff-huge pancakes.
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May 16, 2014 04:03
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BLARGHLE posted:I saw a thing about the making of Le Creuset enameled cast iron cookware on How It's Made, and now I'm really curious about it. I've been wanting a cast iron skillet for a while, but didn't want to deal with seasoning and whatnot. Is this stuff a good, if expensive, alternative? You could get a Le Creuset pan with their black satin finish which you then season... The normal enamel finish isn't non-stick, btw. Le Creuset stuff is awesome but it is rather expensive. If you earn lots of money then go for it. If you're a struggling student or gas station attendant and you really want enameled cookware there are cheaper brands out there that would be just as good. drgitlin fucked around with this message at 16:42 on May 17, 2014 |
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May 17, 2014 16:38
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I achieved crust on a steak. Still some improvements to be made, mainly getting thicker steaks... but I'm getting there.
Le0 fucked around with this message at 14:05 on May 18, 2014 |
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May 18, 2014 13:57
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Always pat dry the steak, use kosher or another large grained salt, allow steak to rise to room temperature beforehand, and get the pan really drat hot (and keep it that way), and then don't crowd the pan and try to do too many at once. Crust every time.
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May 20, 2014 18:09
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I agree with the above post but I have also been doing the flip your steak way and that works fantastically as well. The butter helps rapidly develop a very good crust as well.
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May 21, 2014 02:00
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| # ? May 27, 2024 22:38 |
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 That pan has been seasoned and in use for several multiples of my life span. Family on my father's side gives cast iron to brides as wedding presents, with explicit instructions regarding both how it's the best cookware and that you can kill your husband with it while he's sleeping if he ever cheats. Mamaw gave this one to my mother and I think she got it from hers (my great-grand mother), who was a Floyd (that Floyd's niece).
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May 21, 2014 20:25
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