No one has mentioned seasoning the cast iron pan. It’s probably one of the most important parts of cooking with cast iron.
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Thanks for the link. So it looks like I should do these seasoning (oil/bake) steps even though I bough a Seasoned skillet (?)
We use our cast iron for cooking meat, mainly steaks and pork chops. We place the cast iron on high heat for several minutes to come to temp, then sear the meat on both sides. After there is a nice sear, we put the cast iron in the oven at 350 for a short time to cook it through.
Lately, we have gotten fancy and cooked pork tenderloin in a sous vide bath, then seared it in the cast iron. As an appetizer, I recommend cooking a beef tenderloin medallion in the sous vide, then searing it in the cast iron. Let sit for a few minutes, then slice thin at an angle and serve with chimichurri sauce.
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abasket, You are like a sensei for cast iron recipes. Thanks for sharing.
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You can also pull off a decent pizza in a cast iron skillet if you don’t already have a pizza oven.
- Preheat your oven as high as it can go.
- Blast the skillet with high heat for 5+ min. Turn off heat. (Edited to note that this is using a commercial-style gas stove top. YMMV.)
- Carefully (its hot! ) place your stretched dough into the skillet. Then add your sauce, cheese, and toppings desired.
- Place the skillet in hot oven and cook to taste.
This way the pizza gets a little extra high heat cook on the bottom creating a crispy crust that doesn’t always happen with a pizza stone in a regular oven.
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Lol, that was the tip of the iceberg…
I use mine a lot. Really with correct heating, oil and using the right size, anything you make in a cast iron you make in any other skillet.
One of my fav easy, quick dinners is weekend breakfast is to fry a couple of pieces of chopped bacon or sausage, remove from pan leaving fat in, add diced raw or leftover potatoes, onion, mushrooms, pepper and seasoning- stir fry till crispy and brown, add protein back in top with shredded cheese of choice and some fresh herbs. Yum.
Frittatas! The cast iron will give it a nice crispy edge.
I’ve had my cast iron pan for 40 years. I have a gas range (which I love) and make my traditional foods on it. I was also given the Le Creuset cast iron griddle-works great!
For recipes, I found a new favorite on Youtube while looking for a mac and cheese recipe. Yes, it is NOT good for the arteries, but It is delicious, and a good side dish with any barbecued meat.
It starts off with cooking the macaroni in broth and setting that aside.
Then the cheese sauce is made in a deep skillet, but you then transfer everything to a buttered cast iron pan and layer the mac/cheese with the sauce in the skillet and finish it in the oven.
I add Panko and bacon bits to give it crunch (just to add more arterial risk to it).
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@abasket - thank you for the recipes. I am going to make the enchilada one tonight with some rotisserie chicken since I have all of the other ingredients. It looks yummy!
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I have never done this in 30+ years of using cast iron and having a glass cooktop (we have had two glass cooktops, got a new one when we remodeled the kitchen). It’s no problem to put anything super hot right on the glass cooktop. That’s just silly.
No you do not have to season a pre-seasoned pan. I have some Lodge preseason pans and did not additionally season them.
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Good to know you didn’t have an issue! I’ve seen footage of damage done with intensely hot cookware directly on a surface (including counter as I mentioned) so I don’t really think it’s “silly” to indulge in this habit.
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Nothing silly about using trivets or padding. I’ve seen burn marks on countertops at rental condos. Apparently, left by previous renters not accustomed to that use. 
It never hurts to be careful. Sometimes I put hot items onto a cutting board instead of directly on glass stovetop. My bigger fear though is dropping something onto it.
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You really don’t need to use a trivet on a stove. Honestly I’ve been cooking with cast iron for many decades and have never hurt my glass top stove. I put the cast iron in a 500 degree oven and pull it out and put it right on the stove.
It’s also a myth that you will ruin a cast iron pan by using soap. Been using soap to clean mine for 30 years. They are just fine. I use them almost every single day.
You read stuff online by bloggers, etc who get all precious about cast iron, but it is the opposite of precious. It’s indestructible.
The one thing you don’t want to do is let it sit in water for a really long time (like weeks). It will rust, but you can get that off with a little steel wool and then just oil it up or fry some potatoes and it will be good to go. I try not to soak mine more than 20 minutes or so.
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A cardiologist’s dream!
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I’ve read that you shouldn’t use anything higher than medium while pre-heating cast iron to avoid hot spots. Cast iron doesn’t conduct heat very well but retains it beautifully, so warming over medium gives the cooking surface time to come up to temp everywhere. Another way some recipes call for is to preheat the pan in the oven, easy to do if you are searing and then finishing in the oven since you need to get the oven warm anyway.
Lodge also recommends medium heat on their website at How to Start Cooking With Cast Iron | Lodge Cast Iron
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You do you.
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I will thanks. Been using cast iron my whole life and cook in it daily.
Really good info on cast iron and cooking with it here:
Why Cast Iron Skillets Make Good Cooks Think They Are Dummies
There’s a whole lot of lore about how you should and shouldn’t use your cast iron pan. Even smart cooks have heard that they should never cook acidic foods in their cast iron, that their cast iron should never be used on a glass cooktop, and that soap should absolutely never touch their precious skillet. Honestly most of that lore is completely bull. Think about it! Cast iron cookware is beloved for camp cooking — over a fire without a fancy setup for washing it “properly” — how could you possibly ruin it with a little tomato sauce?
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