I record all of the Pioneer Woman's shows and have noticed that

K

karennoca

Well-known member
she cooks almost exclusively with black cast irons pans. I bought a pre-seasoned one years ago and found it such a pain to maintain. Are they really that much better to cook with?

 
we use our dutch oven and a small frypan constantly when at our cabin. I actually do wash it

and then immediately oil them. works well for us. I saw the Lodge company owner on some cooking show and he said it was perfectly OK to wash them, then oil. our dutch oven has a heavy lid, and when storing it we leave it ajar so air can get in---otherwise we get some moisture buildup and rust can form. we visited a friend in Tennesee who had several old dutch ovens that were "footed" and I'm on the lookout for something like that for firepit cooking.

 
IMO, yes. Once you get the hang of them, they are easy to maintain. I have one I use for eggs

all the time. All I have to do is wipe it out with a paper towel and put it away. Over time it has become more non-stick than a non-stick pan, and it browns food so much better. If I cook something stinky like fish or bacon, scrubbing it with a paste of salt and water usually takes care of it. Or, like Ang, I wash it with detergent if I have to and then oil it.

Things I always use cast iron for:
omelets, fried and scrambled eggs
Pancakes and French toast
Crepes
Grilled Cheese
Roast chicken, (and the pan gravy later)
Searing Meat
canned biscuits
Cornbread
bacon
almost all frying
Tarte Tatin
Pineapple Upside-down Cake

They're less useful for braising or sauces because the iron can react with the liquid, and you can lose the seasoning, but using them with liquid once in a while won't hurt.

 
Iron pans are not hard to maintain

At first, wash, then put on a burner to dry, and then wipe with grease. Every chance you get, use it to fry in--particularly bacon so the seasoning will build up.

 
castiron skillets

I have a Lodge pre-seasoned 12 in. and several very old ones that I use all the time. I don't use dish soap on them , just very hot water and then dry and light coating of olive or canola oil. My husband knows not to touch them!!! and leaves them for me to clean. I fry eggs, make omelets, etc no problem. Don't be hesitant to use. They are really easy to take care of. I'm baking cornbread in mine as we speak!

 
That saying - just isn't like Grandmas (my Mother's) cooking must be because

she cooked in cast iron and not aluminum!
I have used the same "drie pootjie" for some 45 odd years (it belonged to my parents)...we make a stew like meal in it at least a couple times a month over the outdoor fire. I can easily fry eggs in it and anything else in fact.
The pan is used almost every day and as Joe says it is more non-stick than any non-stick pan I have ever owned. I do wash them with dish soap very lightly and only oil like everyone does if the pot or pan will not be used again the next day or so.
Falkirk make the "footed" kind, wonder if you can find them in the States. (I bought all mine with me on the yacht from SA wrapped in thick plastic bags.)
Problem is as I age it is not graceful either seeing me try to pour or carry the heavy pan and neither is it graceful when I mutter to the cast iron Gods that they are ridiculous making the things so darn heavy.
But I will use cast iron until I can't wield them any more - they are fantastic.

 
The only dutch oven I have is mom's cast iron one...

I keep thinking I should get a Le Creuset one, but then I sorta wonder why.

I have mom's cast iron skillet as well, which I've sort of hidden from myself because I've used it to sear, then put in the oven and at least 3 times have reached in like an idiot and grabbed the pan/lifted it clean out of the oven/burnt the holee heck outta my hand. I do not know why I do this, I can even think, now remember you can't just grab the pan like last time...and then I do it again.

Clearly I'm insane, but I do love the pans. The weight, yeah not so much.

 
That's another advantage I forgot--cooking over a fire. No need to worry about blackening it

since it's already black.

If I feel the need to oil the pan--like when I've scrubbed it with soap--I always put it back on the burner until it starts to smoke. The directions don't say to do that but heat is what seasons it and the oil dries out for storage.

 
Cast iron pan(s) envy . . .

I've always been curious about this. I didn't grow up with cast iron pans in any way. At one point I "inherited" an old rusty pan or two that might have been a grandmother's in another life. Just couldn't figure it out at the time (there was no internet then,) but what really deterred me was the pans were just too heavy for me to comfortably lift.

I grew up on Revereware and I am STILL a "Revere girl" at heart. My friends have much more fancy cookware than my hand-me-down Revereware, and I always complain about how heavy their cookware is to me when I cooking with them! Maybe I am a wimp?!

But then you have to consider that I grew up learning to cook on an electric stove and I STILL don't have the hang of cooking on gas after almost 30 years!!

 
Lodge sells enameled dutch ovens. I bought 2 six-quart dutch ovens last year...

...and I love them. I am looking for a bargain on a bigger one (7.5 quart), and when I find it I'm going to buy it.

These things are well-made, beautiful, even-heating and they retain heat beautifully. I paid $39.00 each for the two I have now. My supermarket had them on sale. I can't imagine a $250 Le Creuset model would be so much better as to justify the price difference, but that's just me.

If you were in the market for one of these (see link), I would bet you could find them on sale somewhere for around 40 bucks.

Michael

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Color-Dutch-Island-6-Quart/dp/B000N501BK/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1357313259&sr=8-18&keywords=lodge+cast+iron

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top