Cast Iron Skillet(s)

Discussion in 'Food & Drinks' started by Von Jones, Mar 26, 2015.

  1. Bill Boggs

    Bill Boggs Supreme Member
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    I always liked cast iron but my roommate thought cast iron belonged
    In a museum. She does the cooking. She uses a combination of
    Coated cast iron, most of which I don't like. Looks to me that most of
    these different colored coatings are disguised marketing devises. But
    truth be known, neither of us could handle a cast iron anything. They
    Are too heavy.
     
    #16
  2. Mary Robi

    Mary Robi Veteran Member
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    I used to use cast iron skillets only on camping trips to cook over a fire.

    One cast iron pot that I use regularly is my grandmother's dutch oven that she got as a young wife in 1921. I can't cook without it. I also have a small Lodge cast iron crockpot that I bought to use in the small RV oven. It'll hold four chicken breasts or a small roast or …….
     
    #17
  3. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I don't carry cast iron on camping trips because it's too heavy. We do have some in our camp but for anything that I have to hike to, I use either stainless steel or titanium. I bought some titanium cookware a few years ago because it was available at a better price than usual, and I thought I'd have it to replace my stainless steel set with, but my stainless steel set has never needed to be replaced so the titanium stuff hasn't been used yet.

    As for cast iron, my wife, who was primarily the one involved in selling the large collection of it, a 12x12' shed full of it, has read up on the proper use and maintenance of cast iron skillets so, of course, she is concerned with not using soap or abrasives on it. Since I'm the one who actually cleans the stuff, I know that there are times when I would never be able to clean the skillet without using soap and minor abrasives. If I could persuade my wife to rinse the pans out when she's done with them, there would perhaps be no need for that, but, once food has dried onto a cast-iron skillet, there is no cleaning it without soap and (sometimes) minor abrasives. So, when I do have to do that, I spray a little bit of olive oil on it and spread that around with a towel before putting them away, and she doesn't know the difference. They do have to be re-cured in an oven from time to time, as well.

    All in all, I much prefer cast iron to any other type of cookware that I've tried.
     
    #18
  4. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    Before I was married, all y cookware was cast iron with the exception of a clay baker that I sometimes used. Once married, my wife found the iron too heavy, so we have bought several stainless sets and one non-stick thing. I have a griddle that is still my favorite piece of cookware and what I use any time am cooking anything flat, such as bacon, pancakes, etc. Wife does most of the cooking, and she uses stainless most but does realize the benefits of cast iron. Does anyone bake in cast iron, such as cornbread?
     
    #19
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  5. Teresa Levitt

    Teresa Levitt Veteran Member
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    yeah they're heavy...i like the cornbread from a cast iron...i always joked that best wedding present for bride to be...grandma's old cast iron skillet...attitude adjuster...ha!
     
    #20
  6. Krystal Shay

    Krystal Shay Very Well-Known Member
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    I use to use a cast iron skillet for making cornbread and fried potatoes. Over the years, it got to be much too heavy for me to lift. So... I invested in various pieces of good quality stainless pots and pans for cooking. I am very happy with them. I have one non-stick skillet I use only when I want to scramble or fry eggs.
     
    #21
  7. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    Weird that this thread got bumped today. I just finished cleaning my Griswold #8 after pan frying okra. I had to soak it (boiling water on a slow burner) to loosen the stuck okra, then used a steel wool scrubby to get all the residue off. I put it back on the burner to warm up and dry completely, then wiped the inside with a film of Crisco.
     
    #22
  8. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    I have posted these before but in a shopping thread; this is a Lancaster #8 made in Lancaster PA. I bought it a couple of months ago but I haven't used it yet.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    #23
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  9. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    Haha. I figured Hal's joke was that most wrought-iron is open design, like fences and what have you. Much to my surprise, I googled and found wrought iron pans for sale on Amazon. Sheesh.
     
    #24
  10. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
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    I bake cornbread, fry hoke cakes, home fries, chicken, ground beef for different meals in my cast iron skillet. Like @Beth Gallagher, when cleaning it I soak it and or heat it up again to loosen up food that needs scrubbing before cleaning. I'm at the point that I don't like scrubbing when washing dishes, etc. so I soak them. I always dry my cast iron with a paper towel and then wipe a little drop of vegetable oil before storing. I had to learn all this stuff on my own after my mother moved to Texas. No Google available back then.
     
    #25
  11. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
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    I’ve got one of these it’s great for grilling meat or browning/ crisping a piece of bread if I’m making somthing like a steak sandwich for our evening meal which is a once in a while meal
    It’s really heavy … and takes a while to heat up on my electric stove

    I bought my mine exactly the same ……in a op near home for $5 bargain for anything with the name Scan Pan on it
    I’ll get up soon and take a photo of the one I bought it’s got a little staining on the bottom of pan where I think it’s been used on a gas stove but apart from that I think it’s had very little use …same size as this one as this however this screen shot is from scan-pan website it’s $210 but I’ve seen them elsewhere for around $130.00


    B617485A-DCA8-4206-B958-7F57450C3E2D.jpeg
     
    #26
    Last edited: Dec 26, 2022
  12. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    cast-iron.png
    Does anyone know what these are? They are cast iron and they have legs. They are left over from a large collection of cast iron skillets that my wife sold a few years ago. They are all in pretty good shape.
     
    #27
  13. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    #28
  14. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Thanks. I did have to look trivet up, however. The only thing I could think of was a fuzzy little creature from Star Trek.
     
    #29
  15. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    The Trouble With Trivets

    Great episode.
     
    #30

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