That it tastes like crap. Olive oil doesn't. It seemed odd to put a heavy oil like Canola oil on your steak.

I didn't even give a thought to the smoke point until the next day. I just thought the cookbook was going cheap on me. Pretty much a brain cramp.

use ghee...highest smoke point, no impurities

Canola is a heavy oil?

Olive oil has its place, but not cooking steaks in cast iron. You want an oil that's neutral, like canola, that can handle the heat. Canola basically has no flavor as opposed to a fresh pressed olive oil. For some reason people are really confused about olive oil. You can cook in olive oil (which is refined to the hilt), but its smoke point is low. The other end of the range (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) is rarely used in cooking. It's more of a finishing oil.

And simple to make if you want that flavor.

Very simple. I make it using a couple of pounds of butter at a time! And it tastes amazing!

I tend to use corn oil for high heat applications.

For some reason, I have a bias against canola oil. I think it's because Bittman disses it in one of his cookbooks.

Has anyone tried the Alton brown method of cleaning cast iron?

Once you are done cooking, either use the fat from whatever you were cooking, or pour in some oil, then pour on about a tablespoon or two of (kosher) salt, use tongs and a wad of paper towels to thoroughly wipe the inside of the cast iron, then wipe out all the salt and oil with a clean paper towel.

Seems easier than the ususal method of wiping, oiling, wiping, baking, wiping.

I'd like your opinion on something, kind sir:


I got some Imusa aluminum calderos and some Lodge cast iron for Christmas. I'm going to season the Calderos using this method. I'm wondering about the Lodge cast iron though. Is it worth it to start it from scratch right away, remove the seasoning and re-season, or should I just keep the Lodge as is and only season the Calderos?

I don't use any fat or anything, I just pour salt in and wipe away. My pans look GREAT

Yes! The seasoning from Lodge is minimal. I'd strip it and start with this method for sure on a new pan.

I've never had any trouble with using Kosher salt to clean like you do, but I do prefer using just hot water and a non-scratch scouring pad.

I clean it with hot water and a scouring pad as well. However, after it dries, some white spots as fabric appear on the surface. I scratch it fingernail and find that the spots are ingrained into the surface.

Thanks. I'll be doing the Calderos this week, and I'll do the Lodge after that if I get the Calderos right.

I've started using ghee as my high-heat oil. Very tasty, easy to make at home, and ver high smoke point.

I have been using CI on it for about a year now. No problems that I can see. Just don't drag the pan across it and it won't scratch the ceramic.

Just bought my first cast iron skillet. A nice 10 inch Lodge I found at the local TJ Max for $11.99. Great place to find it on the cheap.

Question about the flaxseed oil seasoning technique. Do you have to do the entire process in a single day, or can I do not over a weekend? If I can do if over a couple days, I'll start tonight. If not, I'll start early tomormorning .

Do it over a couple days. Just don't use in between seasoning sessions.

:clap:I knew I could count on a quick response from you FMB! You're the man.

:thumb:

Got a 12" Lodge seasoned CI skillet and ceramic Dutch oven for Christmas. Made a few batches of fried chicken and some Sunday breakfasts in the skillet and a homemade applesauce (Ina Garten's recipe) in the Dutch oven. Pretty good. Seeing this thread surface I'm going to strip and reseason the skillet with the EasyOff / Flaxseed / Jack Up My Electric Bill method. Great reads guys. And trusting my KC friends for prepping the perfect filets. Thanks all!

Another question. Why paper towels? Wouldn't rubbing them on the cast iron surface leave behind bits and pieces of paper and lead to imperfections?

My Viva paper towels are soft and seem to do this.

I don't ever seem to have this trouble. You mean it's leaving behind bits of the paper towel? Could just easily use a dish towel, I suppose.

:LOL:Or ex-hubby's leaving them in the oven when the oven cleaning cycle is on. Wonder which is worse, soapy-soaks or oven-cleaning when already cleaned?

I know a cast iron skillet will sear a steak nicely...
I can make a better steak on a cast iron skillet than I can on a grill

It is because of this that I really need to pick one up!

That's also why I sear my sous vide in cast iron.

It makes a helluva burger, too.

I've switched in the last year or so, and found the cast iron much better for steak.
I then toss in the broiler for last minute though, with some red wine and a bit of butter for a wine sauce.

What oil do you use for steaks in the cast iron? I've switched to ghee mostly, which has a very high smoke point - a bit higher than even canola - and it's gone a ton of flavor. :drool:

And if you make your own, it's cheap. Whenever I start to run low, I pop a couple pounds of butter in my dutch oven and put it in a 250-degree oven for a couple hours. Once the milk solids have sufficiently browned and it's ready, I'll pour it all through some cheese cloth and save the oil.

No oil for a rib-eye if your skillet is good and seasoned.. A small amount of soft butter on it afterwards is what I use.

I like if I have a 2 inch ribeye I like about 3 mins on each side and it produces a MR steak for me.

Mine CI are well seasoned, but I still like to cook with a little oil... I feel like I get a better sear. To each his own.

:thumb:

As long as that skillet is not too cold when you put the steak in there isn't much of a way to mess it up unless someone cooks it well done or something...

Yup. But ghee is yummy on a steak!

Jesus Christ, I know being late to a pile-on isn't cool, but JESUS CHRIST!!! That's just un-****ing-cool of her!

Got a link on how to make ghee? I know you said it was a simple process, but I typically need step by step instructions when trying something new like making my own cooking oil. Thanks! :thumb:

Before trying it in the oven, do a smaller batch of browned butter on the stove top.

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes..._brown_butter/

Once you've made it and know what it's supposed to look and smell like, move to the oven.

Preheat your oven to 250. Pop anywhere from 1 to 3 pounds of unsalted butter in a dutch oven (an enameled cast iron is best for this, if for no other reason than having an off-white interior) and cook uncovered.

After a couple hours, check on it. If it's still bubbling a lot, that means there's still water in the oil, so continue to cook until the bubbling has subsided and you see those marvelous little browned bits at the bottom of your dutch oven.

Once it's where you want like it, take out of the oven and strain through a double layer of cheesecloth.

It'll keep in the fridge for several months.

I used the newly seasoned caldero for the first time last night, to make fried rice. It's not fully nonstick yet, and adding the egg meant that I had a bit more cleaning than I expected (I should have cooked it in a nonstick first and then added it), but the seasoning held and everything but the egg was free of any sticking. It's definitely going to need more seasoning, but I was thrilled with the first time performance. Thanks for the tip about the flax oil method. I'll definitely be using it for my larger caldero and my cast iron items.

FYI, I went with 8 applications instead of 6, because the pan had a couple of small pits in it. That seems to have been a good decision.

One time I was a dumb ass and grabbed my skillet to move it off of a burner. After taking it out of a 435 degree oven.... for 30 minutes. never again

did that once myself. then I bought a handle mitt...

Never happened to me

ever


well...maybe

They make good weapons.

Awesome. I need to do that flaxseed oil treatment to my 12-inch skillet...

I'll let you boys in on a little secret. If you start to check out 'antique malls' here in the midwest, you'll find a lot of used cast iron skillets - for not much money. Look 'em over carefully, you don't want one that's been used to melt lead for fishing sinkers. Assume they're in pretty good shape, but if you wipe your fingers in the pan and it comes out lead-grey, leave that one for a Raider fan.
You're all familiar w/Lodge cast iron, but there was another good cast iron making competitor in the olden days that made very good cast iron - the brand name was Griswold. If you find old Griswold skillets, you might just want to snatch 'em up, they're good stuff. My Dad used to compete in cast iron cookoff competitions in MO, OK, TX and he swore by Griswolds.
Another thing to keep an eye peeled for - square cast iron skillets. They're really for cornbread (despite what your math teacher said, pi are round, cornbread are square) I always put mine in the oven for 10-12 minutes w/a bit of butter before I add the cornbread batter. Love that batter-hits-the-hot-fat sizzle. Round skillets work fine, but the square one I inherited will always be a fave. The little 'corn sticks' molds are dandy too (watch 'em - the batter cooks up fast and you'll burn your cornbread if you follow advice/timing for a regular pan)

Pop was the cast iron king in the family, he had about 8 or 9 great big dutch ovens he used in said cookoff competitions. They got a good clean up at home - and he always stored the lid on the pan w/a peg of wood or a rolled up bit of paper towel under the lid, to let some air get in under the lid, keeps rust from forming was his explanation. I do it because he did it (and I suspect he did it that way because my grandmother did it that way.)

So I finally got my Lodge stripped and I'm on my second coat of seasoning oil. Will probably get through my third tonight. Finish up tomorrow night unless I decide to go with more than 6 coats. Depends on if the family can stand the smell.

Excited. I've been cooking more often lately, and can't wait for that flavor.

Also, I thought someone in this thread had applied too much oil and had a sticky finish in the bottom of their pan, but maybe I read that elsewhere while researching. Anyway, good tip I got researching was to heat the oiled pan upside down. That way any oil will drip off onto a pan or foil below. Nice smooth surface.

I did that with the caldero I seasoned (I'm doing the same with the larger caldero now). The area by the rim has the thickest seasoning and is the closest to being fully non-stick, as a result. :thumb:

I clean my cast iron with just a little salt. That's it.

I also just bought a set of stainless tonight. Trying to get rid of all that other Shit.

After first two seasonings I realized a flaw. The oil I'd put in pits would run out. So I did the third upright hoping for a more even finish over pits.

Are you saying you're getting rid of your cast iron in favor of stainless? Don't gwt mw wrong, I love some good stainless steel cookwarw. But there are some things I'll nevwr give up cast iron for. And to that point, there are some things you need a cheap non-stick skillet for (eggs are great and easy in a $15 Teflon pan).

My mom and her siblings just finished going through my grandma's place to figure out what all they wanted to keep vs. wanted to sell... Mom snagged me her two OLD Griswold cast irons... I. Am. Stoked.

New (old) cast iron. When my grandma passed, I got her cast iron. This one is a vintage Griswold. It's very clean, just gonna require a tiny bit of cleanup, but no rust and smooth as a baby's butt.

http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/2407/38a7.jpg

I just finished up eating dinner...a thick porterhouse that I baked on my cast iron skillet.

Bumping 'cause if I don't go to jail first, I'm going to need this. Soon-to-be ex-Mrs. FMB! washed my favorite cast iron skillet. Just a little soap in the sponge totally wrecked my 15-years of seasoning.

Damn. Sleep on it before you decide whether or not to kill her, man. Sorry to hear about it.

When you get it back in shape, hook us up with some quesadillas, would you?

FMB.

Summarize this thread and how I should go about seasoning my new bitch!

If you bought it new, didn't it come pre-seasoned?

It says it did but I think this thread stated to season it yourself anyway before using.

It's why I need FMB in here! :cuss:

Post 14 in this thread. My wife killed my seasoning on my favorite pan, staring over and that's what I've been doing.

Would recommend washing with soap and water first.

I feel your pain. Had house guests while we went out of town, and I forgot to hide the cast iron. Came home and they are looking like shit. Found one in the dish drainer. Looks like it has been washed. Recovery under way.

I scored big time on Cast Iron this week...will post photos later in week . 10 pieces total, all old BSR...

Ugh. Awful. I'd shiv someone if that happened.

LMAO

I've got three old Griswolds I got when my grandmother passed. I love those pans. The only thing that would make the largest better is if it was a 12-inch (it's only 10"). But it's beautifully seasoned.

Wife ended up buying a 12" cast iron today. Good choice I think

FMB, how does this raise my socioeconomic status?

At least 3-fold, I think (without checking my Cast Iron Effects on Socioeconomics handbook).

For realsies, my 12-inch is the workhorse of my kitchen. I adore it. Which is why I was practically devastated when the wife accidentally killed the seasoning.

The seasoning method I outlined above is pretty time consuming, but it's totally worth it, especially on a new or unseasoned pan.

If you haven't even done it before, try hamburgers on that sumbitch. I love hamburgers in my cast iron skillets. I love a thick, crunchy crust on a burger.

Get it good and hot. Remember that cast iron retains heat better than other pans, and also takes a bit longer to heat.

I love burgers with a crust so I will try that.

Here's my question then. If the pan gets hotter than normal pans, you'll obviously get a good sear but how do you finish cooking the burgers through without just burning the outside them?

I never have a problem with cooking them 100 percent in the pan, and I rarely ever go over medium high on my stovetop with the cast iron. With the iron's heat retention, you don't need to get it as hot (you can if all you're trying to do is a fast sear with something like sous vide). They end up darkly browned, but not burned.

Depending on the thickness of your burger and how you like them (I like steaks medium rare, but burgers need to be medium), I put a touch of oil in the pan and get it around 400 degrees (I used an IR thermometer from an auto shop so I don't have to guess). Then put the burgers in, give them a little smash with the back of a spatula to get really good surface contact with the burger and the pan, and don't touch it for 3 minutes. Flip and repeat. Then rest for 3-5 minutes and enjoy.

Mine are 5-6 ounce patties, and I've started going a little thicker with them so I can develop a better crust. I don't have my timing down 100 percent on them yet, so I'm still using my Thermapen to ensure temperature accuracy.

I went to hand wash mine w/ dish soap and now it turned rust orange.

had to get a new one.

Cast Iron Skillets. You dig them?
 

First, you should never use soap unless you're trying to strip the seasoning.

Second, you didn't dry it, did you? You must dry cast iron THOROUGHLY and IMMEDIATELY. If it was fresh rust, you very likely could have used a scrubber pad and scrubbed it clean.

Whenever I actually do a wash, I'll throw it in a hot oven or on the stovetop for 10 minutes to get any last it of remaining moisture.

I just started round 3 of the flaxseed oil treatment on my 12-inch Lodge.

Cast irons are great for beating a wayward hubby. I really dig 'em!

Sorry for not reading all 16 pages of wonderful info.

My niece cleaned her cast iron pan this way:

Scrub the used pan with soap and water. Then heat-dried it. Put the oil afterward on the surface.

She said that she did this every time.

No soap. The hot water is fine, but using that soap every time prevents from ever really seasoning it. She's not getting the best of cast iron, ever.

My Mother said she just used a Brillo pad on then wiped out and dried re-oil and put away. That pan has cooked more delicious fried chicken over the years than I can remember. I know brillo pads have a soap in them. I looked that pan the other day and its seasoned perfectly. Sadly she doesn't use it at 89 years her arms from arthritis have wrecked her joints and its just to heave for her to manage.

Im not sure I am buying the soap wreaks the iron pan.

Cast Iron Skillets. You dig them?
 

First, never said it'd wreck the pan. Said it'd wreck the seasoning, and there is no doubt and no argument about it. It will, plain and simple.

My scrub pads don't have soap after a couple squeezes through water. You wanna wreck the seasoning on your CI.

Also, if all she used it for was fried chicken, the seasoning didn't really matter because she was filling it with a good thick layer of oil.

i just deglaze it with hot water and maybe some salt. put it back on a low heat to evaporate all the moisture. then while still warm, just a light coating of crisco before putting it away.

thohgh, things have begn sticking a little, so I think I need to re-season it etc.

Well when I was a kid I didn't pay attention to such things. I just sat down and flap my lips over the food. I am sure she probably cooked other stuff like burgers and what have you. I asked her about it she said she ran a brillo pad and never soaked it. And for many years rubbed it with oleo whatever that is?

Bagger