Cast Iron Skillets. You dig them?

[RockChalk]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

Sure, why not? Only thing you'd want to be wary of are acidic ingredients, especially if the pan is not really well seasoned.

Yeah, mine is fairly new, so I'm still working on the seasoning. I don't really overload anything I cook in it with acidic ingredients though.

Have you ever done a chop in one? If so, any recipe/seasonings you recommend?

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by RockChalk

Yeah, mine is fairly new, so I'm still working on the seasoning. I don't really overload anything I cook in it with acidic ingredients though.

Have you ever done a chop in one? If so, any recipe/seasonings you recommend?

I like to just season with salt and pepper, then top with some kind of fruit sauce, compote or chutney. Apples are classic with pork. Try a really good applesauce, or make one of your own. Most fruits pair really well with it. Try apricots, pineapple, oranges, cherries... one of my favorites is blueberries.

The key to a good pork chop is buying them thick and not overcooking them. People think it needs to be white throughout, and that's not the case. You don't want it medium rare, but as long as the internal temp is 145 degrees, you're good to go. And you can remove from the heat before it gets there and tent under some foil to get carryover.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Give this one a shot: http://www.phoodista.com/2011/07/pan...loin-with.html

Note: I've never used this one, but it's very similar to one I really like, but don't have with me. You should be able to sub frozen blueberries without any problem.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Round 1 on the carbon steel pans.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Round 2. Round 3 is in the oven.

[Fire Me Boy!]

I've got pics, but no one seems to care anymore. Five rounds, and these pans are awesome!

For Christmas, my SIL is getting into cooking a lot and does a little with cast iron. I'm going to buy her a couple of carbon steel pans and pre-season them for her using this method. I think she'll love it.

[Fritz88]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

I've got pics, but no one seems to care anymore. Five rounds, and these pans are awesome!

For Christmas, my SIL is getting into cooking a lot and does a little with cast iron. I'm going to buy her a couple of carbon steel pans and pre-season them for her using this method. I think she'll love it.

What are you talking about?

I do care. Mine will probably undergo the same treatment.

Pics or it never happened

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

I've got pics, but no one seems to care anymore. Five rounds, and these pans are awesome!

For Christmas, my SIL is getting into cooking a lot and does a little with cast iron. I'm going to buy her a couple of carbon steel pans and pre-season them for her using this method. I think she'll love it.

I'd like your opinion on something, kind sir:


I got some Imusa aluminum calderos and some Lodge cast iron for Christmas. I'm going to season the Calderos using this method. I'm wondering about the Lodge cast iron though. Is it worth it to start it from scratch right away, remove the seasoning and re-season, or should I just keep the Lodge as is and only season the Calderos?

[DJ's left nut]

So I did the ol' Cast iron steak....HOLY SHIT that's a lot of smoke.

I used olive oil and that may have made a difference due to the smoke point (I'll have to experiment), but 4 minutes of total cooking time was enough to absolutely fill the house with smoke.

Fortunately it was a tasty steakhouse smoke, so I didn't mind. Still, it was an amazing amount of smoke pouring off that steak. As soon as the steak hit the pan I thought "oh shit...I'm going to be in soooooo much trouble when the wife gets home..."

[Fritz88]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

So I did the ol' Cast iron steak....HOLY SHIT that's a lot of smoke.

I used olive oil and that may have made a difference due to the smoke point (I'll have to experiment), but 4 minutes of total cooking time was enough to absolutely fill the house with smoke.

Fortunately it was a tasty steakhouse smoke, so I didn't mind. Still, it was an amazing amount of smoke pouring off that steak. As soon as the steak hit the pan I thought "oh shit...I'm going to be in soooooo much trouble when the wife gets home..."

I do it and you are right, lots of smoke.

It tasted great, so I'm fine with it.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

So I did the ol' Cast iron steak....HOLY SHIT that's a lot of smoke.

I used olive oil and that may have made a difference due to the smoke point (I'll have to experiment), but 4 minutes of total cooking time was enough to absolutely fill the house with smoke.

Fortunately it was a tasty steakhouse smoke, so I didn't mind. Still, it was an amazing amount of smoke pouring off that steak. As soon as the steak hit the pan I thought "oh shit...I'm going to be in soooooo much trouble when the wife gets home..."

It's probably not a good idea to use olive oil in that scenario. Olive oil has a really low boiling point, and therefore it burns off faster than it takes for the meat to cook. And that's bad. I've heard that you shouldn't use olive oil at any temp over 250... That olive oil smoke is full of toxins....

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by KC Fish

It's probably not a good idea to use olive oil in that scenario. Olive oil has a really low boiling point, and therefore it burns off faster than it takes for the meat to cook. And that's bad. I've heard that you shouldn't use olive oil at any temp over 250... That olive oil smoke is full of toxins....

I wondered why the recipe called for canola when it's...well it's a shitty oil.

I'm pretty sure I learned a valuable lesson there.

[Stewie]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I wondered why the recipe called for canola when it's...well it's a shitty oil.

I'm pretty sure I learned a valuable lesson there.

Cast iron cooks much hotter. It's not that it IS hotter, but it doesn't lose heat due to its mass. Don't use olive oil and if you normally cook on medium-high, turn it down to medium. It definitely depends on your cooktop.

I'm not sure what you're talking about when you say "shitty" oil. Canola is a better option than olive oil, but for high temperature cooking I use soybean oil. When cooking with cast iron you're not looking for flavor from the oil, you're looking for performance.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Stewie

Cast iron cooks much hotter. It's not that it IS hotter, but it doesn't lose heat due to its mass. Don't use olive oil and if you normally cook on medium-high, turn it down to medium. It definitely depends on your cooktop.

I'm not sure what you're talking about when you say "shitty" oil. Canola is a better option than olive oil, but for high temperature cooking I use soybean oil. When cooking with cast iron you're not looking for flavor from the oil, you're looking for performance.

That it tastes like crap. Olive oil doesn't. It seemed odd to put a heavy oil like Canola oil on your steak.

I didn't even give a thought to the smoke point until the next day. I just thought the cookbook was going cheap on me. Pretty much a brain cramp.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by Stewie

Cast iron cooks much hotter. It's not that it IS hotter, but it doesn't lose heat due to its mass. Don't use olive oil and if you normally cook on medium-high, turn it down to medium. It definitely depends on your cooktop.

I'm not sure what you're talking about when you say "shitty" oil. Canola is a better option than olive oil, but for high temperature cooking I use soybean oil. When cooking with cast iron you're not looking for flavor from the oil, you're looking for performance.

I've started using ghee as my high-heat oil. Very tasty, easy to make at home, and ver high smoke point.