Lead me to the land of the cast iron skillet recipes

[BURNROPE]

mjj thanks for the tip on preheating CI. My pancakes are so much better now.

 

[Sharxfan]

My favorite thing to do in the cast iron is to heat it up put a thin layer of avocado oil at the bottom and then throw in a seasoned tri-tip until I get a good sear on both sides. Then I put a meat thermometer in it and toss it in a 350 degree oven to finish at 145 degrees. Comes out so good my wife who is not a steak eater will eat it up. Cheezy recipe but it works so well.

Also love me some ribeyes cooked in the cast iron.

We also use a cast iron to cook the homemade tortillas. Not sure what you would call it I had to find them at antique stores as the griddles they are out now have to large of a lip so it was an adventure to find a replacement for the one that cracked just had to eyeball them to find the right one.

 

[Cincinnatus]

I've got several CI skillets, an ableskiver pan (complex recipe, resulting in a hollow dough ball, fillable, etc. - https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/11037/aebleskiver/), and a pie-section pan that I haven't gotten seasoned well enough, it's always got cornmeal debris stuck in the corner.

 

[Sharxfan]

I've got several CI skillets, an ableskiver pan (complex recipe, resulting in a hollow dough ball, fillable, etc. - https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/11037/aebleskiver/), and a pie-section pan that I haven't gotten seasoned well enough, it's always got cornmeal debris stuck in the corner.

I do my pizzas on a steel plate with no cornmeal. I roll them out on parchment paper and put them in the oven on the paper then take it out after 2 minutes remove paper and put pizza back in to finish. Not a big fan of cornmeal on my crust at least for homemade can't do anything about it when I purchase one.

 

[stangmx13]

Metal pizza “stones” are so much better than ceramic in a conventional oven. Mine is cast iron. It heats up so much faster and browns the underside so much better.

I also use parchment paper. This thread got me thinking about seasoning the stone and trying without. But I’m lazy and prob won’t. I don’t bother removing the parchment because I can still get a crispy bottom with it.

 

[Jammer]

Are these recommended for cleaning?

 

[easy wind]

Those will work but can degrade the seasoned surface if used roughly. Also yucky particles stick in them that ya can’t rinse away. I have Lodge silicone scrapers but usually just rinse while hot and use green scrubby immediately, then dry in or on stove and then wipe with thin coat of grapeseed oil while warm. Have had to boil stuff loose sometimes first.
Also if you like peanuts, roasting them yourself is da bomb. Shelled nuts in a single layer on a cold skillet into a cold oven. Then set at medium, like 325-50 and roast until shiny/oily and you smell them, like 25 min give or take. Will be softish like boiled peanuts at first then harden as cooled. Salt if desired.

 

[mikev]

Grab one of these for 20 bucks from Target or whatever. THey're great. https://www.lodgecastiron.com/products/chainmail-scrubbing-pad


and yes, you can fucking wash your CI with soap. Dish soap doesn't have lye in it anymore and that's what would strip the seasoning.

 

[Abacinator]

I do my pizzas on a steel plate with no cornmeal. I roll them out on parchment paper and put them in the oven on the paper then take it out after 2 minutes remove paper and put pizza back in to finish. Not a big fan of cornmeal on my crust at least for homemade can't do anything about it when I purchase one.

You can use semolina instead of cornmeal. But if it's a texture thing, it's moot.

 

[Jammer]

Those will work but can degrade the seasoned surface if used roughly. Also yucky particles stick in them that ya can’t rinse away. I have Lodge silicone scrapers but usually just rinse while hot and use green scrubby immediately, then dry in or on stove and then wipe with thin coat of grapeseed oil while warm. Have had to boil stuff loose sometimes first.
Also if you like peanuts, roasting them yourself is da bomb. Shelled nuts in a single layer on a cold skillet into a cold oven. Then set at medium, like 325-50 and roast until shiny/oily and you smell them, like 25 min give or take. Will be softish like boiled peanuts at first then harden as cooled. Salt if desired.

Scotch-bright?

 

[Sharxfan]

You can use semolina instead of cornmeal. But if it's a texture thing, it's moot.

texture thing.

 

[Cabrito]

Scotch-bright?
View attachment 587556

Look up plastic cast iron pan scrapers. I use them for anything really stuck and I use a wood handled natural round brush with some warm water in a warm pan. Sometimes with a little dish soap. Swish the brush around and if that doesn’t get it I use the scrubby side of the sponge.
I don’t use metal scrubbies but to each their own.

 

[Akira-R]

I usually drop a cup of water into the hot pan to loosen anything stuck, and use tongs and some paper towels to wipe it up.
The rest a simple sponge scrub can clean.

 

[Abacinator]

I use a 6" angle grinder with a wire wheel

 

[Cincinnatus]

Hot skillet, let cool a little, a 1/4 cup of kosher salt & a folded paper towel works fine, too.

 

[msethhunter]

The only thing I cook on is cast iron. I have skillets, a griddle and Dutch ovens.

To season them, I’ve always used sesame oil (needs to be refined) and heat the pan until it barely starts to smoke. One of them is coated in porcelain, and it doesn’t require seasoning. I made birria in it last night. Found a 2.25lb sirloin in the “buy this shit now or we’re throwing it out” section at the grocery store.


Home made breakfast sausage.


Pot Roast


Don’t remember


Shepards Pie


Chicken soup.


It’s your kitchen, cook how you want. Recipe….whats that?

“HEY KIDS, I MADE DINNER, BUT IT SUCKS. GET IN THE TRUCK, WE’RE GOING TO TACO BELL!”

Recipes are a lose guide. A table spoon? Well, that’s about yay much in the palm of my hand. How much is half a cup? Bout that much.

To clean cast iron? It’s super easy. Get some super coarse stainless steel wool. Under hot water, scrape all the chunks off. Like, as hot as you can stand. Then, I use just a dot of of Dawn. Just a dot. Any more, and you might contaminate the seasoning. You’re not trying to get it “clean”, you’re just trying to sanitize it. Dawn is about the only soap I’ve found that doesn’t remove the seasoning and also doesn’t leave a soapy taste. Then, you want an oil with a fairly high flash point, usually refined oils are that way. You’re looking for something with a flash point above 400-425°.

Congratulations. If you didn’t enjoy cooking, you probably will now, and you’ll probably buy more cast iron. It cooks so much better. I wasn’t a believer until I was.

 

[easy wind]

+1 on dawn being the one and only soap drop. If I actually rinse and swab immediately it usually isn’t required. But, life! Unroasted sesame oil is an fab anti cancer food for humans. One tidbit is that sesame seems to be the first cultivated foodstuff . Gotta find where I read that tho.

 

[msethhunter]

Scotch-bright?
View attachment 587556

NO! That’ll remove the seasoning.

 

[Sharxfan]

Not sure what the wife uses on the cat iron on the stove but we have some other steelish and cast iron for oven use(pizzas) that I season with safflower oil as it has a high smoke point. Just checked and refined avocado oil is super high also.

 

[GAJ]

My son gave me a cast iron skillet for Christmas and I've never owned one. Please tell me about the care n feeding of cast iron and any recipes that you enjoy that work for two adults. Thanks

Try Picadillo.

Mexican Picadillo Recipe

This easy Mexican picadillo recipe is made with ground beef, potatoes and plenty of seasonings, great over rice or served with tortillas for a full meal. Big on flavor!

www.chilipeppermadness.com