Random observations:
-My Lodge CI grill pan got much better at being nonstick after a few uses and post-wash seasonings. Even for a pre-seasoned pan I think you’ll see this.
-one time I didn’t have steel wool (my preferred choice for scrubbing the grill pan) and a wad of foil did the trick.
-I’m a soap user. And I’ve soaked overnight out of laziness. The rust happens mainly on the bottom and comes off. Not a big deal. All that being said, I’m a religious and generous oil seasoner.
-I use my CI Dutch oven much less frequently. But for a while I used it to make socca (farinata). Easy Italian chickpea flour savory pancake. Google it. It’s probably supposed to be made in something shallower, but the cast iron is key.
For a very fast meal: cast iron+Costco thinly sliced ribeye. You can see the meat change color so fast, then flip and it’s done.
Looks like your question has an answer! My cast iron pans are very old; they belonged to my late MIL and my husband thinks they’re from the 1950s or 60s and were made by Wagner.
I make a paste of parsley, garlic, shallots, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and slather it all over a pork loin and let it sit for a couple of hours. Go light on the balsamic and even lighter if you want to leave it overnight. While your pan and oven are preheating, wipe off all of the paste (it will burn if you don’t) and brown the pork loin. Once brown on all sides, throw it into a 350 oven (I use a meat thermometer to alert me when it’s done).
Remove from oven when the internal temperature is to your liking and move pork loin to a platter to rest. Add about a cup of wine and a cup of beef or vegetable stock to the drippings with a couple of chopped shallots and a few sprigs of rosemary. Bring to a simmerm scrape up the fond and reduce liquid by about half. Once reduced, (it should coat the spoon) add a pat of butter for body and gloss. Strain (I usually only strain if we are having guests) and serve with sliced pork loin.
Thanks! I was not sure if the pre-seasoned skillet would need seasoning, but hubby went ahead and did it this afternoon.
I was sad to find that our old 12” lid is just a little too big for the new 12” cast iron skillet. The good news is that so far none of the recipes that have interested us need a lid.
I put this in the Good Buy thread but Amazon has the Lodge pans on sale; they seem to be quite inexpensive for cast iron but apparently Ina Garten loves them!
For those who are interested but want to see the item first, Walmart stocks it (website says in aisle H19 at my store). $20 for the 10”, $25 for 12” https://www.walmart.com/search?q=lodge
Gosh, there might be a run on Lodge cast iron after its good advertising via NYT/Wirecutter review (I’m a subscriber, and the kitchen item article came in an email).
Grew up with cast iron, married a guy with cast iron. We just naturally reach for our big 12 inch pan to make lots of things from stove top chicken divan, beef stroganoff, spaghetti sauce, steak, grilled marinate chicken, etc.
My SIL has taken to cast iron cookware as a hobby. He finds them, cleans them (lye bath) then reseasons them. He’s quite good at being able to identify the various brands and approximately the era of manufacture. They come out beautifully when he’s done.
Side note as well, cast irons are VERY hot on the resell market! People cast them off at garage/estate sales because they didn’t get into the method and people buy them - many decades years old - refurbish and sell them for big $$!
There are two styles of Lodge cookware, Classic and Chef Collection. The Classic skillets are the ones at the low low low price. Here’s a nice discussion.
So which level of pan might depend on the use. Since I primarily use my similar aluminum skillet for Dutch Baby pancakes, I want the straighter sides. I was thinking of getting a true cast iron, but some recent reviews give me pause.
No special way to clean it. You can use soap or not. Use scrapers or scrubbies or a dishcloth. You won’t hurt it, speaking as someone who regularly has used soap on cast iron almost daily for the past 30 years. There’s a lot of B.S. online about how to properly take care of cast iron and most of it is overly precious. This is good advice here:
How to Clean a Cast Iron Skillet
In my (Faith’s) house, washing a cast iron skillet is extremely basic: Wash with a little regular soap and a scrub brush, which is gentle but firm and will remove any bits of food without harshness. Dry with a towel and, if you like, heat up briefly on a burner to evaporate any moisture more quickly. That’s it.
Now, Meghan does have different thoughts on soap. “Faith,” she told me, “people are going to freak a little bit when you mention soap. I don’t use soap on mine, if only because it rarely needs it.” In her house, it’s just warm water, a little scrub with a brush (and some salt for really stuck-on food), and then dry completely and seal with the tiniest bit of oil.
But that’s the difference between the two of us and yet we both have really lovely and well-seasoned skillets. Use soap if you like; don’t if you don’t want to.
BTW, you can literally stick a cast iron pan straight in a campfire. I’ve done it. Same pan I use here at home on my stove. You can hurt a cast iron pan, but it’s really hard to.
I even cook with cast iron on charcoal. I make a lamb stew in a cast iron Dutch oven that’s wonderful. Happy to share the recipe if anyone is interested.
Had to chuckle looking at this thread. I bought H a lodge cast iron pan a few years ago. Don’t ask me why but he never could get used to it. Hated making his omelettes in that pan. I got so fed up that when someone in our town’s buy nothing group posted asking for one, I gave his away! Now, all these posts are making me think I need to get one again
I do have a Le Creuset pot that I use a ton - and love for the uniform way it retains heat. Make an eggplant dish in this pot that takes just a few minutes to cook the eggplant and really well as opposed to the other pots.
