Cast iron has been around for centuries.
It's one of the longest lasting type of cooking utensils.
This workhorse can cook everything (literally) from soup to nuts.
I am blessed to have my mom's iron skillet
and it is cherished, especially now that she's gone.
I can remember her making omelets and all kinds of roasted veggies in it.
In fact, it rarely got a day off.
The bonus with using cast iron, is that some of the iron leaches into the food,
so if you have difficulty keeping your iron stores up, (like I do),
this is a great way to add iron to your diet without having to take pills.
Before you begin your seasoning it's okay to wash it with soap and water.
I use a repurposed nylon mesh bag to scrub it well.
After this initial cleaning, you shouldn't use soap on your pan again.
After allowing the pan to dry well,
lather it with olive oil or your favorite animal fat.
Make sure you coat the outside and the handle as well.
Place it in a 350 degree oven for at least an hour.
You'll notice the shiny patina when it comes out.
This ensures a nonstick surface .
Once seasoned, coarse salt can be used to scrub
any stubborn remnants in the pan after cooking in it.
Usually hot water and a swipe with a paper towel is enough to do the trick.
You can season as often as you wish,
but the patina should last a good long time
as long as soap isn't used on it.
Cast iron skillets are one of the easiest things to find
in thrift stores and yard sales.
With just a little bit of time and patience,
you can acquire pans that will last your lifetime
without spending much money.
Here are a couple of yummy recipes we've featured using cast iron:
Crispy Catfish
Ghee
I use a repurposed nylon mesh bag to scrub it well.
After this initial cleaning, you shouldn't use soap on your pan again.
After allowing the pan to dry well,
lather it with olive oil or your favorite animal fat.
Make sure you coat the outside and the handle as well.
Place it in a 350 degree oven for at least an hour.
You'll notice the shiny patina when it comes out.
This ensures a nonstick surface .
Once seasoned, coarse salt can be used to scrub
any stubborn remnants in the pan after cooking in it.
Usually hot water and a swipe with a paper towel is enough to do the trick.
You can season as often as you wish,
but the patina should last a good long time
as long as soap isn't used on it.
Cast iron skillets are one of the easiest things to find
in thrift stores and yard sales.
With just a little bit of time and patience,
you can acquire pans that will last your lifetime
without spending much money.
Here are a couple of yummy recipes we've featured using cast iron:
Crispy Catfish
Ghee
My Mom cooked in nothing but cast iron ~ and now my son does as well. There's a wholesome, healthy appeal to it in my opinion . . . and sentimental when you are blessed to have your Mother's pan. Priceless. This is a great post. I'm going to have to share with my husband as he tends to be "soap happy" with our cast iron cookware. :-(
ReplyDelete;0) Glad you found something helpful here.
DeleteWhen I saw that top picture, my heart just stopped---I didn't realize that it was a PRE-seasoned scrub. That is cardinal rule number one--never EVER let soap touch a seasoned pan. I've got ones with such a great season, they rival the non-stick pans (without the chemical GOO)
ReplyDeleteHubby LOVES a good steak seared in a pan so hot, the smoke detector goes off. Throw in some onions and call him IN LOVE--LOL!
Have a great weekend, Daisy
Ha! He sounds easy to please. Thanks for visiting. Hope you enjoy your weekend.
DeleteDaisy, most of my cast iron has been given to me by in law relatives. None of the younger generation 40 and under in my family will cook with cast iron. It's just too hard so they say. My skillets and pots get daily use. When some burned on crust happens from cooking, I just put water in the skillet and turn the stove burner up on high. After a few minutes of boiling the crusty debris comes right off. A scrub with a brush cleans it up nice and a good coat of plain old lard while it's still warm will keep the pan seasoned for the next time.
ReplyDeleteHave a great cast iron cooking day.
Thanks for the cleaning tip. So glad you have your family's treasures to use.
DeleteI need to do this more often.
ReplyDeleteI'll bet you have a nice collection of thrifted pans. ;0)
DeleteDaisy thank you for sharing this...I have two cast iron pans I brought home from my fathers cabin last fall, and wasn't sure how to get them back to working order!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you found something helpful here! It's all about passin' on the good stuff!
DeleteSo can cast iron go rusted if not dried properly after washing? If so how would you deal with rust? Also can you just wipe out with paper towel if a lot of oil was used and the pan seams fairly clean?
ReplyDeleteYes, it should be dried properly so that rust doesn't form. Rust can be scrubbed with a stiff brush or coarse salt. My mom always used paper towels to wipe her pans. Hope this helped! ;0)
Delete