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Cast iron pan problem

Wilfrid

By Wilfrid
in Kitchen Consumer

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oraklet

oraklet

Posted
Posted

having trouble with one of my cast iron pans, i performed ze search, and here i am in the middle of an avalanche of infos. great! my questions are:

should i not make tomato sauce on cast iron? or, should i then re-season it every time?

and

the big one is slightly convex. is there anything to do about that? (like slamming it real hard)

christianh@geol.ku.dk. just in case.

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Fat Guy

Fat Guy

Posted
Posted
should i not make tomato sauce on cast iron? or, should i then re-season it every time?

Once it's a thoroughly seasoned, veteran pan you can get away with making tomato sauce in it and you probably won't have to reseason. I do it sometimes. Those who say "EEEEEEEK! NEVER PUT TOMATO SAUCE IN CAST-IRON," are being hysterical. But it's not the best tool for cooking tomato sauce. You really want to use a non-reactive material like stainless or a non-stick surface.

the big one is slightly convex. is there anything to do about that? (like slamming it real hard)

Well, if you have a furnace handy . . .

Your best bet is to replace it. New cast-iron cookware is incredibly cheap and you can even get the old stuff on ebay.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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DaveFaris

DaveFaris

Posted
Posted

I inherited a really crusty old cast iron frying pan a couple years back. The thing felt positively spongey with black, crusted on goop. I built a nice hot fire with lots of coals in my webber, with all the vents wide open, tossed the pan right onto the bed of coals, put the grill's lid on, and walked away. 4 hours later, the pan came out fine, and ready to be seasoned.

So, if vegetable oils leave the pan sticky (as I've found), is it preferable to use lard or bacon drippings instead?

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Bux

Bux

Posted
Posted
Those who say "EEEEEEEK! NEVER PUT TOMATO SAUCE IN CAST-IRON," are being hysterical. But it's not the best tool for cooking tomato sauce. You really want to use a non-reactive material like stainless or a non-stick surface.

I would say "Don't put tomato sauce in cast iron." Note the absence of eek and caps. If it's not the best tool for cooking an acidic liquid, why use it at all. If you have two pots, one of them should be non reactive. That is the big selling point for Cruset, which otherwise, I'm not particularly fond of.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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Fat Guy

Fat Guy

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Dave: Lard is better than bacon drippings, because the drippings have all sorts of impurities that will carbonize at high heat. But vegetable shortening is the best.

Bux: You are as always a hysteric.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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FoodMan

FoodMan

Posted
Posted

I am also late into this discussion but here is what I do (based on a advice from Alton Brown). Normally I season (cure) my cast iron pan only once a year. To season it, just heat it in the oven until very warm but not blazing hot, put i a little crisco (app. 2tsp.) and rub it all over the pan with a paper towel (inside and outside). Now put the pan back in the oven UPSIDE DOWN so that the grease won't pool in the center and botch the cure. after about an hour turn the oven off and let it cool. Wipe and store, now it's seasoned.

To clean it after cooking I never use water or soap. If there was some grease left from the cooking I just put a tbsp worth of kosher salt and rub it with a paper towel. Sometimes I do this twice to get rid of all the little particles. If there was no grease left in the pan I use a little crisco. Now you have a clean pan .

I've been doing this for a while now and it works perfectly.

FM

E. Nassar
Houston, TX

My Blog
contact: enassar(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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mixmaster b

mixmaster b

Posted
Posted

I love cast iron! I have several pans, including one from each of my southern grandmothers. It seems like they will last forever.

My aunt puts her pan upside-down in her oven (gas) after each washing to dry it. The oven is off, but the dry, warm air from the pilot does the job. This method might work for Wilfred, as the offending pot will be out of sight of the significant other! :wink:

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Bux

Bux

Posted
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Bux: You are as always a hysteric.

I would point a finger at the polictical incorrectness of such gender bashing here, but I have to ask if the singluar form of that word existed before you used it.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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Bux

Bux

Posted
Posted

I meant to say as a noun.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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Fat Guy

Fat Guy

Posted
Posted

Yes. Merriam-Webster lists the variants as:

- hys·ter·ic /-'ter-ik/ noun

- hys·ter·i·cal /-'ter-i-k&l/ also hysteric adjective

- hys·ter·i·cal·ly /-i-k(&-)lE/ adverb

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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nyfirepatrolchef

nyfirepatrolchef

Posted
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I followed Fat Guys protocols for cleaning and seasoning my five pieces of cast iron....still have the burn scars to prove it (gloves huh...used FIRE gloves and still got burned lol)...they came out (to my knowledge) beautiful...as close to nonstick as I think theyre ever gonna be...andI LOVE them...

but I get the little schmutz on my paper towels too when I touch up the oil sometimes too. I scrub out with a metal scrubber..hot water...no soap. Heat on full blast burner for two minutes...light schmear with oil...cool it...then wipe out.

Thaaaaaaank you Fat Guy.

NYFPC

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Fat Guy

Fat Guy

Posted
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Awesome. Somebody buy a piece of this pre-seasoned stuff immediately and give us a full report!

Is anybody aware of any food media coverage on this?

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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Taboni

Taboni

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I should be receiving a new skillet soon (ordered it yesterday, couldn't be bothered to search the stores) and I'll let you know.. a little apprehensive about the performance as compared to my own feeble attempts at creating the perfect non-stick surface but we'll see.....

Get your bitch ass back in the kitchen and make me some pie!!!

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Marlene

Marlene

Posted
Posted

Although I've discovered that nothing kills a thread faster on this site than me posting to it, using my cast iron pan tonight reminded me of this thread. I clean mine by wiping it out with a damp cloth and then heating it on high heat to dry it. I used to coat it with a thin layer of oil, but find I don't need to now. For anyone who's interested, here's what I made tonight. Dead simple, but really really good.

2lbs ground sirloin, shaped into a round, and refrigerated for at least 4 hours. (this holds it shape when frying). Grind fresh pepper on top.

Heat 3 tablespoons butter in cast iron frying pan. Sear sirloin on both sides on high heat for 2 minutes each. Reduce heat to low, and cook sirloin 15 minutes on each side. Remove to warming plate. Add three tablespoons butter, 1 pkg oxo or one cube oxo, 1/2 to 3/4 cup red wine, and stir. Add a little mix of cornstarch and water to thicken if desired. Stir 5 minutes until thickened. Pour over sirloin and serve.

Don't knock it till you try it.

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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  • 1 month later...
torakris

torakris

Posted
Posted

While I was in Kappabashi (cook's heaven) this weekend for their annual sale, I picked up a very large Lodge cast iron fry pan. Then today I pop into egullet and have found out how to season it with out even having to do the search myself.

The directions said to heat it the oven, but since it is too big for my small oven I wasn't sure what to do. Now I am going to heat it up on th egrill along with the monster cast iron dutch oven (for camping and BBQ's) that my husband picked up a couple of weeks ago.

Thanks for doing most of the work for me! Now if someone wants to come over here and start up the grill..................

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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Suzanne F

Suzanne F

Posted
Posted

My Lodge grill pan is now sitting in the sink, filled with dish soap and water. (I already wiped out the gunky lamb fat.) In the morning, I will give it a swipe with a scotch-brite, rinse it with very hot water, and then wipe it dry. I'll put it away with a piece of paper towel inside.

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torakris

torakris

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Posted
My Lodge grill pan is now sitting in the sink, filled with dish soap and water.  (I already wiped out the gunky lamb fat.)  In the morning, I will give it a swipe with a scotch-brite, rinse it with very hot water, and then wipe it dry.  I'll put it away with a piece of paper towel inside.

Nice to know that others love to clean up as much as I do.

I put off buying cast iron for years because of the clean-up/seasoning factor.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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phaelon56

phaelon56

Posted
Posted
My aluminum omelet pan gets the same treatment, but I'm not at all sure any aluminum in my diet is as healthy as the iron.

I've just been cleaning my aluminum omelet pan with a Dobie plastic scrub pad (less abrasive than Scotchbrite) and soapy hot water. It appears to clean up just fine. Should I have seasoned it before I began using it or should I do so now? I use it only once a month or so as my egg intake is limited but I'd like to ensure that I'm treating it properly and getting optimal performance.

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