Love my cast iron cookware

[_Dave_]

Hello everyone,

I'm making a side trip to this cooking forum from my usual hangout at the General Theology forums in order to encourage folks to switch to cast iron.

After viewing a YouTube video recently about the dangers of using modern non-stick cookware, especially frying pans, I decided to make the switch back to cast iron. I say "back" because early in our marriage (almost 40 years ago) we went "modern" and ditched my vintage cast iron skillet that I'd had since early college days.

I'm not here to recommend any particular brand. But because of price and being totally made in America it was an easy decision to go with Lodge brand.

As is my usual way of doing things I researched the heck out of buying, seasoning and cooking with cast iron before buying my first one -- Lodge's 12" skillet. Because of YouTube recommendations I immediately ground off the skillet's rough texture, and the seasoning that came with it, and went through a long, laborious process of seasoning it from scratch.

It took a few weeks of cooking with eggs sticking and such for the seasoning to build up. Now it's a beautiful skillet, smooth, and more non-stick than any Teflon or ceramic non-stick skillet we've ever owned. Plus, it will last forever, which can't be said about Teflon -- especially -- and even ceramic skillets that seemed to need replacing every couple of years.

I'm here to tell you, though, that I have discovered it was completely unnecessary to go through all of the time and trouble of grinding off the rough finish and re-seasoning. I made that discovery when I bought Lodge's little 6.5" skillet. I decided it would be easier to not have to lug around that big 12" frying pan just to cook a couple of eggs for breakfast.

So, just as an experiment, I took that skillet right out of the Amazon box, peeled off the label stuck to the inside, washed it in hot (not soapy) water, dabbed in a little butter, and cooked up two perfect eggs that slid right out of the pan onto the plate. Wow! Their pre-seasoning is GOOD!

Then, just today my wife came home from the store with Lodge's 12" griddle/grill. I peeled off the label, washed it, slapped that puppy down on the stove (carefully), dabbed on a little butter, and made a perfect two-egg omelet that did not stick at all!

OK, I am now an evangelist for cast-iron cooking, and a big fan of Lodge.

By the way, all this has taken place over only about a month's time. But it has revolutionized my cooking. I simply LOVE the food that comes off of that cast iron. And, the rough texture of the two pieces of cast iron cookware that I didn't grind down and re-season doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would.

This is getting long, so I won't go on. But if anybody is interested I can share tips on seasoning, cleaning, storing, etc., along with some of what I have cooked on my new cast iron.

Blessings,

Dave

 

[SinoBen]

This is getting long, so I won't go on. But if anybody is interested I can share tips on seasoning, cleaning, storing, etc., along with some of what I have cooked on my new cast iron.

Hey Dave, sounds interesting, I've never used one but we have an induction cook top, I'd hate to move that skillet around and have it scratch the glass. Do you use an induction cook top?

 

[timothyu]

Better suited to gas than electric. Or does the time required to heat it electrically get evened out by the heat the pan holds?

 

[ilovejcsog]

I could never get into them. I am a no stick woman.

 

[timothyu]

I could never get into them

With your million bucks you could hire a cast cook

 

[_Dave_]

Hey Dave, sounds interesting, I've never used one but we have an induction cook top, I'd hate to move that skillet around and have it scratch the glass. Do you use an induction cook top?

Do you mean induction, or a glass top? It works just fine on my glass top. I am careful not to slide it across too much, but sometimes it can't be helped and I haven't noticed any scratches.

I haven't researched induction tops, but I seem to recall running across some information that it shouldn't be used with that.

 

[_Dave_]

Better suited to gas than electric. Or does the time required to heat it electrically get evened out by the heat the pan holds?

Our glass-top stove has an 11" burner that perfectly matches the 11" bottom of my 12" pan. (Pans are measured across the top rim) So it gets heated very evenly.

So, given the quirks of electric stoves over gas, once you know how it heats up it's just fine. For example, on our particular stove if you ever want it to heat up to cooking temps the same day you want to cook you have to start on high for a minute or two, then turn it down to the cooking temperature you want. That's just ours, though. YMMV.

Of course, we all would prefer gas, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. We make do with what we have.

 

[JustRachel]

I got rid of all my teflon years ago in hopes that it might be a contributing cause to my husband's illness. It wasn't. I purchased stainless steel which I love and also have three pieces of cast iron. I love using them and I don't do any fancy treatment to them. They seem to be getting a bit heavier each time. Might be that I am getting old.

 

[_Dave_]

I could never get into them. I am a no stick woman.

I know you're joking, but so far I am extremely pleased with the non-stick properties of these pans ... better than any non-stick pan we've ever had.

Saying that, however, there are some negatives about these things. They are HEAVY! They take more work to maintain. And you can't take one backpacking ... although I did once when I was 25 years old and stupid for my age.

 

[ilovejcsog]

I know you're joking, but so far I am extremely pleased with the non-stick properties of these pans ... better than any non-stick pan we've ever had.

Saying that, however, there are some negatives about these things. They are HEAVY! They take more work to maintain. And you can't take one backpacking ... although I did once when I was 25 years old and stupid for my age.

Maybe they don't stick if you put a quart of oil in them, lol.

You don'r have to use any oil with no stick

 

[paul1149]

I went back to a cast iron skillet two years ago. Lodge, also, I believe. I don't like the sand finish interior at all. It makes no sense to me. And it's not that they can't polish it - the bottom exterior is smooth. How did you grind the interior down?

As long as I use enough oil, eggs don't stick. But sauteing mushrooms does cause the bottom to get gummy. And beef and fish I've given up on completely. I use stainless for them. They stick just as bad, but with stainless you can soak the pan clean.

Cast iron cooks great. It takes longer to heat up, but you can turn the heat off before you're done and let the job coast. The other downside is the handle gets hot.

 

[chevyontheriver]

I went back to a cast iron skillet two years ago. Lodge, also, I believe. I don't like the sand finish interior at all. It makes no sense to me. And it's not that they can't polish it - the bottom exterior is smooth. How did you grind the interior down?

As long as I use enough oil, eggs don't stick. But sauteing mushrooms does cause the bottom to get gummy. And beef and fish I've given up on completely. I use stainless for them. They stick just as bad, but with stainless you can soak the pan clean.

Cast iron cooks great. It takes longer to heat up, but you can turn the heat off before you're done and let the job coast. The other downside is the handle gets hot.

When I finish cooking something in my cast Iron frying pan I wipe it with a paper towel and apply some avocado oil and moderate heat and wipe the excess off and put the pan away. Ever so rarely I need to scour the pan, and when I do I then add the avocado oil with moderate heat and wipe off the excess before putting it away. Then before using again a tiny bit of avocado oil again. I like how it heats slowly and evenly and holds the heat. And how easy it is to clean. I gave up on Teflon a handful of years ago. I've tried ceramic and that's better than Teflon, so I use that too but I'm liking the cast iron the most.

 

[_Dave_]

I went back to a cast iron skillet two years ago. Lodge, also, I believe. I don't like the sand finish interior at all. It makes no sense to me. And it's not that they can't polish it - the bottom exterior is smooth. How did you grind the interior down?

As long as I use enough oil, eggs don't stick. But sauteing mushrooms does cause the bottom to get gummy. And beef and fish I've given up on completely. I use stainless for them. They stick just as bad, but with stainless you can soak the pan clean.

Cast iron cooks great. It takes longer to heat up, but you can turn the heat off before you're done and let the job coast. The other downside is the handle gets hot.

To sand down my 12" skillet I used my Ryobi orbital sander with a 4" pad of 80 or 100 grit, somewhere in there. It really doesn't take that much to get a smooth surface. But it took forever to get it back to being seasoned again. That's why I didn't sand the next two pieces I bought, and I am just as happy.

For meat, especially for sugar-cured bacon, I have found that it's best to get the skillet super hot before placing the meat in. It's the same principle as cooking on the grill outside. You want to sear the bottom of the meat so that the proteins release fairly quickly. A mistake that a lot of people make is trying to turn something too soon before the proteins have had a chance to release.

Once I applied that principle to my cast iron it all worked perfectly. My rule of thumb is the skillet has to be hot enough to make your meat, eggs, etc., sizzle more than just a little when you put them in.

If something does appear to stick, like the sugar in the sugar-cured bacon caramelizes, a few swipes with the metal spatula takes the sticky stuff right off. I very rarely need to so much as scrub in the sink most times after cooking.

Agree on the turning the burner off. If I am making eggs or pancakes, I turn the burner off when I flip them to the other side. There is plenty of residual heat to cook the other side. I have electricity so the burner stays hot longer, but gas might be different.

Lodge sells a silicone sleeve that slips right over their handles that work perfectly. But you can find cloth ones as well.

I'm glad you like your cast iron, and I hope this helps.

 

[Romans 8]

I bought a beast of a pan a few months ago. It's so heavy they added a small handle on the opposite side of the main one so one can pick it up!
I cook a lot of bacon which fills the pan will fat but it doesn't seem to have a nice of a non-stick surface as you describe. I even put in some oil and heated it upside down in the oven (youtube video) but my fried egg yolks break more often than not when flipping. So annoying. I'll take some advice from this thread thanks!
Also, I bought a waffle iron a week or so ago, and have been making non-stop waffles! Absolutely delicious! And goes great with maple syrup EH!

 

[_Dave_]

When I finish cooking something in my cast Iron frying pan I wipe it with a paper towel and apply some avocado oil and moderate heat and wipe the excess off and put the pan away. Ever so rarely I need to scour the pan, and when I do I then add the avocado oil with moderate heat and wipe off the excess before putting it away. Then before using again a tiny bit of avocado oil again. I like how it heats slowly and evenly and holds the heat. And how easy it is to clean. I gave up on Teflon a handful of years ago. I've tried ceramic and that's better than Teflon, so I use that too but I'm liking the cast iron the most.

That is virtually the same method as I use. The only difference is when I do need to wash with water (no soap) because I've cooked fish, for example, and need to give a good scrub with a stiff brush I dry the skillet with a towel and put it on high on the stove top to drive off any residual moisture. When I sense the moisture is gone I dab in a little Avocado oil to make a thin film, and then let it continue on high until the oil starts to smoke. After about a minute I turn the burner off and let the pan cool naturally on the stove. Before putting it away I wipe away any oil that might be left.

The reason I bring it to smoking hot is to re-polymerize to replace whatever might have been scrubbed off in the sink. So far, I believe I'm building on the seasoning, not losing. I believe that's why my non-stick cast iron is better than any Teflon or ceramic I've ever had.

 

[chevyontheriver]

That is virtually the same method as I use. The only difference is when I do need to wash with water (no soap) because I've cooked fish, for example, and need to give a good scrub with a stiff brush I dry the skillet with a towel and put it on high on the stove top to drive off any residual moisture. When I sense the moisture is gone I dab in a little Avocado oil to make a thin film, and then let it continue on high until the oil starts to smoke. After about a minute I turn the burner off and let the pan cool naturally on the stove. Before putting it away I wipe away any oil that might be left.

The reason I bring it to smoking hot is to re-polymerize to replace whatever might have been scrubbed off in the sink. So far, I believe I'm building on the seasoning, not losing. I believe that's why my non-stick cast iron is better than any Teflon or ceramic I've ever had.

I forgot to include what you did, which is to dry the pan fully, even using some heat to drive off absolutely all of the water. And then the oil. Sounds like we do it pretty close to the same.

 

[_Dave_]

I bought a beast of a pan a few months ago. It's so heavy they added a small handle on the opposite side of the main one so one can pick it up!
I cook a lot of bacon which fills the pan will fat but it doesn't seem to have a nice of a non-stick surface as you describe. I even put in some oil and heated it upside down in the oven (youtube video) but my fried egg yolks break more often than not when flipping. So annoying. I'll take some advice from this thread thanks!
Also, I bought a waffle iron a week or so ago, and have been making non-stop waffles! Absolutely delicious! And goes great with maple syrup EH!

Canada, huh? Darn, too far to come over for waffles.

Seriously, my eggs don't stick. They release perfectly, and then I slide them around the pan to pick up the outlying butter.

In fact, the first time I made an omelet in my 12-incher I was nervous about it sticking. When it was time to fold the omelet in half I tipped the pan up slightly to get a better angle with the spatula and almost slid the omelet out onto the stove top. I kid you not!

As I mentioned above, bacon will stick because of the sugar cure. But the trick is to get the pan almost smoking hot, then put the bacon in, it should sizzle a lot. Then wait for the protein to release, and keep working it with the spatula to keep it from resticking. It only takes a minute or two per side to make it crispy but slightly chewy, like I like it. By the time the bacon is done I've got the surface of the skillet smooth and non-stick again, ready for eggs.

 

[Romans 8]

Canada, huh? Darn, too far to come over for waffles.

Seriously, my eggs don't stick. They release perfectly, and then I slide them around the pan to pick up the outlying butter.

In fact, the first time I made an omelet in my 12-incher I was nervous about it sticking. When it was time to fold the omelet in half I tipped the pan up slightly to get a better angle with the spatula and almost slid the omelet out onto the stove top. I kid you not!

As I mentioned above, bacon will stick because of the sugar cure. But the trick is to get the pan almost smoking hot, then put the bacon in, it should sizzle a lot. Then wait for the protein to release, and keep working it with the spatula to keep it from resticking. It only takes a minute or two per side to make it crispy but slightly chewy, like I like it. By the time the bacon is done I've got the surface of the skillet smooth and non-stick again, ready for eggs.

Great tip I'll try that! I usually cook at lower temps, maybe that'll work better thanks!

 

[_Dave_]

Great tip I'll try that! I usually cook at lower temps, maybe that'll work better thanks!

Yeah. On the YouTube videos there are two schools of thought: Low and slow, or high and fast. I've tried both, and high and fast definitely works for me.

 

[paul1149]

When I finish cooking something in my cast Iron frying pan I wipe it with a paper towel and apply some avocado oil and moderate heat and wipe the excess off and put the pan away. Ever so rarely I need to scour the pan, and when I do I then add the avocado oil with moderate heat and wipe off the excess before putting it away

Similarly here, I rarely scour the pan. Maybe every two weeks a very light once-over. I used coconut oil for most of my frying, which is a saturated fat similar, I believe, to avocado oil. I don't wipe the pan after each use though, I just scrape it with the spatula and leave the extra coconut oil in it for the next round. Thanks.

To sand down my 12" skillet I used my Ryobi orbital sander with a 4" pad of 80 or 100 grit, somewhere in there. It really doesn't take that much to get a smooth surface.

I'm surprised that's all it took. I would have done it myself had I thought of that. I had read that the best oil for curing is flax seed. My conjecture for why this is so is that it is a polyunsaturate, and as such it has multiple weak points in the molecule where heat will deform and bend the molecule into weird angles. This is why one should not fry with unsaturates, but it works for curing the pan because the oil sticks to the pan big time.

For meat, especially for sugar-cured bacon, I have found that it's best to get the skillet super hot before placing the meat in. It's the same principle as cooking on the grill outside. You want to sear the bottom of the meat so that the proteins release fairly quickly. A mistake that a lot of people make is trying to turn something too soon before the proteins have had a chance to release.

I think that has been my problem. I don't let it get hot enough. I tend to keep the temperatures fairly low anyway, to preserve the nutrition as much as possible. I'm going to stick to stainless for meats and fish for now, but I will experiment with higher temps.

If something does appear to stick, like the sugar in the sugar-cured bacon caramelizes, a few swipes with the metal spatula takes the sticky stuff right off.

When something sticks here, it is substantial drama to get it off. The spatula doesn't do it. At that point I will lightly scour, or just keep applying generous coconut oil when using the pan for a couple of days.

Agree on the turning the burner off. If I am making eggs or pancakes, I turn the burner off when I flip them to the other side. There is plenty of residual heat to cook the other side. I have electricity so the burner stays hot longer, but gas might be different.

Lodge sells a silicone sleeve that slips right over their handles that work perfectly. But you can find cloth ones as well.

Yes, gas is pretty much an instant cessation of heat, except the residual in the burner grate, once turned off. I usually turn it off a moment after flipping the egg, and that's perfect.

I'll think about that sleeve, or make one myself.

Thanks for the information.