Any good advise or recipes for cooking on cast iron? I’m looking forward to the idea of recipes that start on the stovetop and finish in the oven. Would love to hear about that or other ideas from your kitchen.
As mentioned in the Good Buy thread, we purchased this Lodge cast iron skillet today (on sale at Sir La Table for $40; also available on Amazon and elsewhere for less).
Lodge Chef Collection Skillet | Sur La Table
I use my cast iron for nearly everything - veggies, eggs, one pan chicken dinners, fish, etc…. I lives on the stove top.
Post deleted as premature. Sorry.
Same.
I don’t cook any differently with my cast iron pan. I use it all the time. It’s great for duck breasts where you sear them on the stove then stick them in the oven.
Yeah. I have a cast iron skillet that I got as a wedding present. It’s a Warner or Wagner. Not sure and it’s hot and in use right now so I don’t wanna flip it over. It lives on my stove. I have tons of cast iron. I love it. Have one that was my mom’s and maybe my grandma’s. It’s a little half frying pan, about half size. Have a skillet pan and a griddle pan and loaf pans and muffin tins. I use it for everything except boiling pasta just about.
Just need a little bit of butter and let it get hot and melt and then your eggs will come out almost as well as non-stick teflon stuff. (That said, my 19 year old has not mastered this technique so it might take a little trial and error.)
Oh, don’t be afraid to wash it with soap and water. I do it all the time. Then I heat it back up on the stove to make sure it is thoroughly dried out.
Oops meant that as a reply to the thread, but I am agreeing with @momofboiler1 that mine lives on my stove.
I’m making pasta and veggies tonight. Not cooking the pasta in the cast iron, but in my cast iron skillet I’m sautéing in olive oil some mushrooms, zucchini, onions, garlic, and throwing in fresh tomatoes at the end.
Oh the handle will get very hot if it stay on the burner long enough. I just use a pot holder, but you can get a silicone sleeve from Lodge for it if you want.
We cook steak this way, most cuts we brown on the stovetop and finish in the oven. I’ve done pork as well and lamb chops. My advice would be to preheat the pan in the oven before you move it to the stove, it makes for a nicer browning.
I even bake biscuits and cinnamon rolls in my cast iron in the oven.
We do this also and in fact I’m cooking skin-on chicken legs in the cast iron skillet tonite.
Get it hot over medium heat for a few minutes, then put in a layer of oil with a high smoke point (I like the avocado oil from Costco). Wait a minute for the oil to heat but if you see whisps of smoke it’s more than ready!
When the meat goes in turn up to medium-high to compensate for the addition of the meat but keep an eye on the pan; if the oil starts giving whisps of smoke turn it down. Brown one side for about two minutes, sliding it around a bit after 1 minute. If it’s not browned to your liking give it more time. Turn over onto the 2nd side for 1 minute then put into an oven; the hot pan will continue to brown the 2nd side. I use a remote temperature probe to cook to the desired temperature.
This works for chicken legs and breasts, steaks, pork chops.
Will post some recipes tomorrow. I have a 10 and 12 inch and love them. Will take my 12 inch on vacation when we do rentals.
If I could only have one pan/skillet , cast iron it would be.
But to wet your appetite, my first suggestion is DUTCH BABY! Different variations - a family favorite!
Dutch baby was one of the appealing ideas for cast iron skillet. The recipe on Lodge website is for 9”, so I’m hoping somebody can point me to a 12” recipe.
This is my recipe for a 10" pan which is nearly foolproof:
Williams-Sonoma has a very similar recipe for a 12" pan and I’m sure you can adjust the ingredients to match
And this recipe says you can use 10" or 12" depending on how you want the pancake to trurn out:
Can you use cast iron ware on an electric glass cooktop? I’m concerned about major scratches.
I don’t know about scratches but it works great on induction burners.
I have an electric glass top - it’s all I’ve ever had and I use cast iron frequently.
NYT’s Melissa Clark, Savory Dutch Baby (I actually prefer savory varieties)
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Step 1
Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Whisk wet ingredients into dry until just combined. Stir in thyme and the other herbs.
Step 2
Melt the butter in a heavy 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Let it cook until it smells nutty and browns, about 5 to 7 minutes, then swirl skillet so that butter coats bottom of pan.
Step 3
Pour batter into pan and scatter cheese and flaky salt over the top. Bake until puffed and golden, about 25 minutes. Serve with sriracha and lemon wedges on the side.
Abasket’s notes:
Use any cheese you like. I often mix a cheddar and whatever else I have. I often blend part of the cheese in with the whisking and then part of it to sprinkle on top.
If you’re a NYT Cooking subscriber:
If you can’t access any of these, let me know and I’ll post the recipe.
The most important thing with a skillet is treating it. It’s not hard! But important! Use very little to no soap. Soak pan in water for only short times if crusty. I buy a stiff scrubber that I use ONLY on my cast iron. Once I clean it I dry it and then just wipe it with a tad of oil to season it.
I use it for a lot of chicken recipes where I brown chicken and or veggies stove top and then add a grain/liquid and then bake the rest of the way. Use trivets underneath it for glass cooktops. They retain heat for quite sometime.
My cast iron has been living on my glass cooktop for 15 years and all seems fine. Not sure why it would scratch more than any other pan.
I’m glad there is discussion about glass cooktops. That’s what I have. Was worried about the risk of a heavier pan but will try to be careful.
Need to understand more about trivet use -
Just saying when you are done cooking a skillet in the oven (and the pan is super hot but the stove top is NOT hot…use a hotpad or trivet on top of the stove to set the pan on. Same goes for counter! The cast iron skillet retains heat longer than a baking dish or otherwise.