Cast Iron Skillets. You dig them?

[mlyonsd]

I just pulled out my grandma's cast iron skillet this weekend to cook hamburgers because it was too windy to grill. It's been in the family so long there is no doubt she cooked breakfast in it when my dad was a kid and he's 90.

[KS Smitty]

penzed by Pablo.

[Sorry]

rec. on how long to put in the oven for best lasting seasoning? do you do a light layer of oil?

[wazu]

Originally Posted by Sorry

rec. on how long to put in the oven for best lasting seasoning? do you do a light layer of oil?

Go to Post #14 of this thread.

[Pablo]

Finally got this pan fished outta the garage and in service. Looked it up online and says it was manufactured sometime between 1933-39. It's like a full lb lighter than the other one I got the same size.

It was good to go but definitely has interesting color and wear. Dunno what it means but here's some pics.

[frozenchief]

I try to keep my cast iron pans in good shape. Then my wife cooks in them and she puts them in the sink and fills them with water to soak before cleaning.

I re-season my pans a lot.

[frozenchief]

I try to keep my cast iron pans in good shape. Then my wife cooks in them and she puts them in the sink and fills them with water to soak before cleaning.

I re-season my pans a lot.

[Indian Chief]

Used chain mail to clean my skillet for the first time. Really did the trick.

[A8bil]

They're the best, and I think with the trend toward banning gas stoves, cast iron will become more popular. They can be heated on electric and give food that nice browning that you can't get from non-stick or other surface. By stock in Lodge.

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by A8bil

They're the best, and I think with the trend toward banning gas stoves, cast iron will become more popular. They can be heated on electric and give food that nice browning that you can't get from non-stick or other surface. By stock in Lodge.

So I think even after gas line hookups disappear for stoves and furnaces, propane tanks will be around for gas grills for a long time.

I've taken to using my cast iron skillet on my gas grill.

A few years ago I was going through burger recipes on the Serious Eats site and got interested in Kenji's "Best Burger" recipe.

Food lab:

https://www.seriouseats.com/the-burg...e-man-or-woman

Recipe:

https://www.seriouseats.com/ultra-crispy-burgers-recipe

But this part concerned me:

Heat vegetable oil in heavy-bottomed 8-inch sauté pan over high heat until smoking. Carefully transfer patty to skillet and cook without moving until dark crust forms, about 2 1/2 minutes (open your window, disarm your fire alarm, and be prepared for splatters).


Which is when I got the idea that maybe I would put the skillet on the gas grill outside and not make a mess of my kitchen. I used a IR thermometer gun to figure out how hot the skillet was.

It was so easy and worked so well, any time that I'm going to cook something that is likely to splatter, I use the outdoor grill with my cast iron skillet.

I didn't use Kenji's recipe directly. I will say that grinding your own meat for a burger, where you mix in something like sirloin, brisket and then something fatty (I used pork belly instead of ox tail) makes for an amazing burger that you aren't going to find in a typical restaurant (I'm sure you can buy a $50 custom ground multi-meat burger somewhere).

There's nothing complicated about it if you have stand mixer but cleaning the stand mixer up afterward is tedious. I make a batch up and vacuum seal freeze some of the patties for later.

[A8bil]

Originally Posted by Chief Pagan

So I think even after gas line hookups disappear for stoves and furnaces, propane tanks will be around for gas grills for a long time.

I've taken to using my cast iron skillet on my gas grill.

A few years ago I was going through burger recipes on the Serious Eats site and got interested in Kenji's "Best Burger" recipe.

Food lab:

https://www.seriouseats.com/the-burg...e-man-or-woman

Recipe:

https://www.seriouseats.com/ultra-crispy-burgers-recipe

But this part concerned me:

Heat vegetable oil in heavy-bottomed 8-inch sauté pan over high heat until smoking. Carefully transfer patty to skillet and cook without moving until dark crust forms, about 2 1/2 minutes (open your window, disarm your fire alarm, and be prepared for splatters).


Which is when I got the idea that maybe I would put the skillet on the gas grill outside and not make a mess of my kitchen. I used a IR thermometer gun to figure out how hot the skillet was.

It was so easy and worked so well, any time that I'm going to cook something that is likely to splatter, I use the outdoor grill with my cast iron skillet.

I didn't use Kenji's recipe directly. I will say that grinding your own meat for a burger, where you mix in something like sirloin, brisket and then something fatty (I used pork belly instead of ox tail) makes for an amazing burger that you aren't going to find in a typical restaurant (I'm sure you can buy a $50 custom ground multi-meat burger somewhere).

There's nothing complicated about it if you have stand mixer but cleaning the stand mixer up afterward is tedious. I make a batch up and vacuum seal freeze some of the patties for later.

You may be right but in some parts of the country all new homes are built gasless. Lots of kitchens in apartments, condos, townhouses don't have the ability to use a propane grill.

Like you, I cook a lot on the side burner or my grill for the exact same reason as you. On the ground meat front, lately I've been buying Wagyu on occasion, and I trim the extra fat because the meat itself is laced with fat. Then I used the fat trimmings for ground beef or to cook in. Excellent. I like the pork fat in the burger ideal. My SO's meatballs with half beef, half pork are my favorites.

[Stewie]

I love my cast iron. Old Lodge, new Lodge, Ozark Trail. All stellar when treated right.