It annoyed me.
What a better time to take the plunge into cast iron than when you have no other option.
We have two small(ish) cast iron pans that we've always used, but not for the *tough stuff*. You know, like fried eggs. But since I wasn't going to spend any money on a new pan, I figured I better learn how.
And since that time, I've never looked back.
Girlfriend loves her cast iron skillet.
And I'll tell you why.
The first skillet was a gift from my parents, which makes me happy to think of whenever I use it. The second, and smaller skillet, was a gift from a wonderful lady in our church who has since passed. It was well seasoned, having been used for years in her own kitchen - full of love and flavor.
How many things do we own like that now days? Items that actually get better with age? Items we can pass down to our children with all their history and use? Maybe it's my nostalgic nature, but I think that's rad.
And, let's be honest, what's a homestead without a cast iron skillet.
After I learned how to properly season the cast iron, I have been able to use it for everything. Mixing sauces, browning meats, frying eggs, sauteing vegetables, mixing omelettes, reheating food - you name it. The seasoning makes these skillets naturally non-stick (which, in my humble opinion, greatly beats Teflon coated pans...on which the toxicity verdict has been made).
But don't worry, I'm not going to get all dooms-day on you and tell you that if use commercial non-stick pans you children will grow mutant arms out of their foreheads. I'm not here to be anti-Teflon. I'm here to be pro-cast iron.
Since we don't own a microwave, all of our food leftovers are reheated in our cast iron - so it was really important to me that they remain non-stick. Here's how I seasoned them:
Step One: Smear the entire skillet in oil of choice. I used half coconut oil and half bacon lard.
Step Two: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place a large piece of foil on the bottom rack and then place the cast iron skillet, upside down, on the top rack. Let it hang out in the hot oven for about two hours. Then, shut the oven off and let it cool down in there.
Voila. Easy as pie.
You will easily be able to tell if your cast iron skillet needs to be seasoned: the surface will appear rough, rusted, and stuff will stick to it.
Don't worry, it's not rocket science.
So if you're out and about at garage sales or antique stores this beautiful spring, might I encourage you to give an extra look at that aged and worn cast iron? After all, a skillet like that has a story to tell.
Plus, it makes the food taste better.
Trust me on that one.
Throw some 'maters in that bad boy, and you've got some serious iron-ized 'maters. :) We love out CI up in here, too!
ReplyDeleteI found your blog earlier this week and have loved going back and reading some of your archives. You crack me up! I also have one daughter (now is 2 years old) and am expecting my second child in the beginning of June. Your stories remind me so much of my little one and it is fun to remember all the good memories!
ReplyDeleteI too love cast iron. I have two pans and use them almost 100% of the time for cooking. After my Dad passed away I took his smaller pan from his kitchen (he found it at a garage sale) and the larger pan was a gift from family a few years later. I so LOVE these pans! They do get better with age!
How often do you have to season them would you say?
ReplyDeleteIf you find one at a yard sale or thrift store and it seems nasty and rusty, I have a "refurbishing" post here: http://beingfrugalbychoice.blogspot.com/2012/01/rescuing-kitchen-workhorse-aka-how-to.html
ReplyDeleteI was wondering the same thing as Melissa. I mean, a two hour oven electric bill for everytime I want to use the cast iron is a little much.
ReplyDeleteLOVE cast iron! I didn't realize you had to season them, though--I thought they just seasoned themselves from the oil of cooking. I'll have to try that now--cause I haven't done anything like fried eggs either, cause it still sticks a bit. :)
ReplyDeleteI love my cast iron! We have 4 cast iron pans and they are about the only thing we use. As long as you don't wash them with soap, you will not have to season them very often--if at all.
ReplyDeletealright, alright. enough already. I was just thinking that i should write about using cast iron... you beat me to it... just like EVERYTHING else, including the mile long pile of wood chips... Cast iron is practically all we use for cooking and we love it that way!!! i found a cast iron casserole dish at the flea market and almost died. i've dug up 2 cast iron tea kettles from the yard here on the farm that we're renting and there are wood stoves galore in the old house. what's cuter than cast iron on a wood stove? nothin i tell ya, except maybe Georgia (your girl) and Elijah (my little guy). :)
ReplyDeleteI bought a couple of large cast iron skillets at a garage sale last summer for .25 each!! They were solid rust! I tried every method I could find, including the one Sarah C blogged about. Just when I thought there was no hope, I ran across a page that suggested soaking them overnight, or even up to a week in white vinegar. It worked like a charm! The vinegar actually bubbles as it pulls the rust off! I do occasionally "tidy them up" with the salt and oil method, but initially, the vinegar was the only thing that got them in usable condition!
ReplyDeleteFellow cast iron lover here! All my pans are either cast iron or stainless steel. I find that I don't have t formally season them very often at all - in fact, I don't remember the last time I seasoned them. Usually, after rinsing them out, I put them on the stove to dry, and wipe a little oil inside. Works like a charm!
ReplyDeleteI love cast iron too! In fact, I did my own post on it yesterday completely not seeing that you had done one. Now I feel like I'm copying you, but, honest, I'm not! Though you do have some very imitation-worthy traits, I must say.
ReplyDeleteLove my cast iron. I have 4 - one giant one one tiny one and 2 mid-sized ones. I use them all the time except when making tomato based sauces - the tomato takes the "nonstick" finish off and I have to reseason. I always spread a little oil in them when I am done using them and leave them in my oven.
ReplyDeleteI have cast iron that belonged to my great grandmother, and her mother before her. I have one pot that is so old, it has a patch in it from sometime past. Other stuff, like a 36 stick bread pan, I picked up years ago at a flea market, for $1. I was told it was pre-Civil War.
ReplyDeleteI do use soap and water on mine if it needs it. I dry it on the stovetop on medium/high heat, then rub some oil into it with a paper towel. My one exception is my corn bread skillet, it is only used for one thing, and I can't remember the last time I used any soap on it.