cant belive more people dont like cast iron skilet

i mean once i got mine seasoned corect it blows every thing else away. i dont have to worry about useing metal in it.i can beat iit up but the cooleset thing is how it heats up and retains heat.man ya can load 4000 lbs a chciken it it and it still stays hot great for freid chciken so the grease dont get to cool and soak in chciken great fro steaks man i love mine plus ther eonly like 5 bucks.there my fav thing to cook with

Re: cant belive more people dont like cast iron sk

Man, you must have a big frying pan and a big, heavily reinforced stove if you can put two tons of chicken in and on it !!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I like cast iron frying pans for cooking, and a good heavy cast iron dutch oven for camp cooking... But when it comes time to wash them, give me a light weight, non-stick one every time... Either that or someone else to wash the dishes.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/party.gif

Re: cant belive more people dont like cast iron sk

[ QUOTE ]
Silviron said:
Man, you must have a big frying pan and a big, heavily reinforced stove if you can put two tons of chicken in and on it !!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
lol true on the big stove i egarated a bit.far as cleaning mine clean up easy i just empty the food out while pan is still hot if grease was used i put it in old spagheti jar then it still is hot i run under water and scrud with heavy duty pad no soap put it back on burner so it uses the heat that is on burner even know it is off then i spray some pam in it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
I like cast iron frying pans for cooking, and a good heavy cast iron dutch oven for camp cooking... But when it comes time to wash them, give me a light weight, non-stick one every time... Either that or someone else to wash the dishes.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/party.gif

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Re: cant belive more people dont like cast iron sk

There are a great pair of threads on eGullet explaining this:

Understanding Stovetop Cookware, Instr: Samuel Lloyd Kinsey (slkinsey)

Q&A -- Understanding Stovetop Cookware, Post your questions here

-john

Re: cant belive more people dont like cast iron sk

what are you feeding with 2tons of chickens? Do you have tigers living at your home? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Re: cant belive more people dont like cast iron sk

I have a little 8 incher that I sometimes use for breakfast (bacon, eggs) and for frying some stuff. I haven't used it enough to comment on it but it heats fast and retains heat pretty good. I've yet to season it right though; I'm just doing the "keep using it and it would get better with age" method.

The drawbacks are that it is heavy (ok for me but my mom has a weak wrist so she prefers to use lightweight aluminium cookware instead) and the handle gets hot after a while so you'll need to use a towel or potholder to hold it.

(Funny story, I grilled a steak and when it was almost done, I got my pan out and fried some onions in it on the sideburner. Once the steak was done, I just dropped it on my plate and poured the fried onions over the steak then went to put the plate on the table. Well, I left the pan itself on the still-hot grill which gave it enough time for the handle to get hot while I put down the steak. I went back outside to get the pan and just picked it up with my bare hands without thinking. I got halfway through the living room (my kitchen is towards the front of the house) before I started yelling "Ouch, Oh, EEE, OW!" and started running toward the kitchen so I could toss the pan on the stove and run cold water over my hand.)

Anyway, my grandmother herself uses a wok and she still has some of her old ones. They are carbon steel sheet metal vs cast iron but they also need to be seasoned. She does this on a new wok by heating it up and rubbing pork fat (bacon grease should work) over it and allowing it to "cook" for a hour. After that, she just keeps using it and it gets better with use.

PS Dermoplast pain releaving spray works good on superficial burns. But still, you should get a proper potholder

Re: cant belive more people dont like cast iron sk

Cast iron cookware proves high tech cannot improve on age old goodness

Re: cant belive more people dont like cast iron sk

Yep. They sure are great!

The only advantage of the new stuff is that in the cast iron, if you're a no-good cook and misjudge the cooking time or temp, then you'll end up burning stuff even if you switch off the stove, since the cast iron retains so much heat.

Re: cant belive more people dont like cast iron sk

peak of some technologies occur long ago. cast iron cookware is one.

dig around at the flea market, see if you can get ahold of some really old cast iron cookware. size is aprox. same with more veriations, but some had thin wall construction. these are the ones you are looking for.

after aquiring you gotta season. doing it on stove or oven takes next to forever. best way is in a hot wood fire, let fire die overnight and dig out next morning.

your will have the best seasoned surface ever!

Re: cant belive more people dont like cast iron sk

i rub mine with crisco and bake at 200 in oven..works pretty good.....

Re: cant belive more people dont like cast iron sk

My mother has about 5 of them, most of them the large 12" ones. I plan on taking at least one of them with me if and when i move out, lol. several of them belonged to my grandmother. Whenever we fry we ALWAYS use cast iron. there is no substitute.

Shane

Re: cant belive more people dont like cast iron sk

[ QUOTE ]
bindibadgi said:
Yep. They sure are great!

The only advantage of the new stuff is that in the cast iron, if you're a no-good cook and misjudge the cooking time or temp, then you'll end up burning stuff even if you switch off the stove, since the cast iron retains so much heat.

[/ QUOTE ]i most the time turn of stove way before im done to save on power.what i love about mine is i think it is more non stick then a good nonstick pan with teflon.omletes comes out awesmuly

Re: cant belive more people dont like cast iron sk

[ QUOTE ]
DarkLight said:
i rub mine with crisco and bake at 200 in oven..works pretty good.....

[/ QUOTE ]

wait till you try the wood fire method... surface will come out like a cast iron skillet that's been used for years.

well broken in cast iron skillets are treasured here!

Re: cant belive more people dont like cast iron sk

Don't forget cast iron frying pans makes a great weapon for self defense. Easy to use and makes a satisfying "Donk!" when you wack someone in the head with it.

Re: cant belive more people dont like cast iron sk

Anyone ever cook country ham in a cast skillet? It is awesome.

Re: cant belive more people dont like cast iron sk

I love bacon and eggs in one but after my last major concussion I hid it from my wife. She's like Bruce Lee meets Martha Stewart with that thing. She thinks seasoning a skillet means hitting me in the head with it during the spring, summer and fall. Ok, I'll keep my day job.

For keeping it in shape after seasoning we only wash it with mild soap, never put it in the dishwasher. Let it air dry then rub it hard with a teaspoon of table salt before hanging it back on the rack. The salt soaks up any remaining moisture.

Re: cant belive more people dont like cast iron sk

Hmm.. who's up to giving me a brief tutorial on how to use one of these things? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif I've only used the aluminium/teflon stuff so far, but if cast iron offers that compelling an advantage, I might be interested. While my wrists can still handle it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

Can eating be considered a hobby too? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crackup.gif it seems most of us live to eat, know what's good and how to get it..

Re: cant belive more people dont like cast iron sk

[ QUOTE ]
KevinL said:
I've only used the aluminium/teflon stuff so far, but if cast iron offers that compelling an advantage, I might be interested.


[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, the big advantage of cast iron is in searing because it can retain heat very well (see the links I provided earlier in the thread for details). It does become fairly non-stick, but for stuff like cooking bacon or whatever, it isn't clear you are going to see an advantage over Teflon based cookware.

[ QUOTE ]
KevinL said:
Hmm.. who's up to giving me a brief tutorial on how to use one of these things? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif


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Dealing with cast iron is pretty easy. When you get a new cast iron cookware item, I like to wash it out with soap and water, then dry it off. Then, coat it with a thin coat of Crisco. Then, put it in a 300F oven for about an hour. Yes, it will smoke at first, that is normal. Then, remove it and let it cool. Now you are ready to cook. This is known as seasoning.

After cooking, wash it out by hand (no dishwasher) and don't scour it if possible (and if you do, re-season). Dry and store. Personally, I tend to put a very small amount of Crisco on it each time prior to storage, but then again, I wash (and season) more agressively than most cast iron users.

Every once in a while, re-coat and re-bake (re-season).

-john

Re: cant belive more people dont like cast iron sk

For me part of it is the nostalgia, it's a feeling. When you see the bacon popping in a cast iron skillet or see how the eggs look a little dirty when you pour them in right after cooking the bacon, man oh man it's like going back 30-40 years when all your Mom had for frying was cast iron. Or it reminds me of bitterly cold morning cooking bacon and eggs over a pit fire at the hunting camp.

Teflon is terrific even though people are trying to sue over it right now. I have a few Calphalon brand pans and there is no doubt they are terrific. They cook so evenly, the handles don't get hot, they hold heat well and the food that comes out of them will make a better presentation on the plate that cast iron. With all that said they still aren't as fun for this cook as good old cast iron. I must admit to using the Calphalon about 5 to 1 over cast iron but all that means is I'm lazy about the clean up.

Time to put my money where my mouth is. Today is my wife's Birthday. She and the kids are still in bed. I getting up right now and busting out the cast iron. See Ya.

Re: cant belive more people dont like cast iron sk

I didn't mean to suggest cast iron wasn't good stuff. But the way it was phrased, I was worried that KevinL expected some sort of magical cookware and I was worried he might be dissapointed. I was just trying to set expectations to a reasonable level.

-john