Who here cooks with cast iron

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
We cook a lot with cast iron. The wife wanted a bigger dutch oven so i get her 10qt/14in for Christmas that thing is huge! Looking forward to some dump cake!
Yep
I have a few 16" that I cook cobbler in. They are biggen
 
Last edited:

kilerhamilton

Old Mossy Horns
Easy. Cook a pound of bacon in it. Take bacon out and leave grease. Set pan aside and let the grease congeal. Wipe around with a paper towel. Wipe out with paper towel and cook on.
Never use soap. Always scrape clean. Fine oil and salt to scrub if you need to.
I prefer steak and back strap off a cast iron. Salt pepper and butter.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Homebrewale

Old Mossy Horns
How do you keep food tastes and smells separate? Day 1 cook a steak, Day 2 cook a cookie in the same pan. Cookie taste like steak?

I had a friend in college that was from eastern KY. Nothing but cornbread was cooked in the cornbread pan. If you tried to use it for something else, it was fightin' time.
 

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
If you heat the pan and use plenty of grease I dont see how it could affect the flavor.
Key is to heat the pan.
It should always be hot when you add what you plan to cook.
Cake or some bread may be the only time you don't have it hot but I do pre heat it some even making cobbler.
 

Merlin

Six Pointer
Love my cast iron! Flax seed oil gives a good smooth finish. Some say that it peels but I haven't had that happen. Another tip from Kent Rollins - using a lint free cloth does much better than a paper towel.
 

NCST8GUY

Frozen H20 Guy
Im sorry to ask this, but how does one know it has been "seasoned"?

I use one often on my ceramic grill and clean and re oil like many have mentioned, but I have no idea if my cast iron is "seasoned" or not.
 

Soilman

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I love cooking with cast iron, but my wife won't have anything to do with them. It took me 15 years just to get her to switch from that cheap "caphalon" crap to good stainless steel. So, my cast iron is relegated to being stacked together in a tight space in a lower cabinet. Hard to get to, and I have to often pull out most of it to get the piece I want.
Most folks don't understand how to care for or clean cast iron. It's actually pretty easy, once you get it seasoned properly.
 

lasttombstone

Kinder, Gentler LTS
Im sorry to ask this, but how does one know it has been "seasoned"?

I use one often on my ceramic grill and clean and re oil like many have mentioned, but I have no idea if my cast iron is "seasoned" or not.

I'd say that it has a even, smooth, black look to it. Short answer.
 

bigten

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Im sorry to ask this, but how does one know it has been "seasoned"?

I use one often on my ceramic grill and clean and re oil like many have mentioned, but I have no idea if my cast iron is "seasoned" or not.

Dark, smoothe, shiny finish. If your cast iron has any tendency to form surface rust, it is not seasoned properly or fully.
 

thandy

Ten Pointer
Key is to heat the pan.
It should always be hot when you add what you plan to cook.
Cake or some bread may be the only time you don't have it hot but I do pre heat it some even making cobbler.

Heck when you cook a cake of cornbread it hardly touches this pan before its formed a crust. Preheat the pan with the grease then add the cornbread mix... that hot bubbling grease smells great when you first add the cornbread!
 

poppop

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
My better half and I primarily cook with cast iron.
I’ve got one skillet that I can not get to season properly at all.

It’s an older Lodge. It seasons in some places but in others it just won’t season. Every time I attempt to season it, I’m left with about half the cooking surface that is seasoned and half that isn’t.

Anyone got any tips or tricks?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sounds like you have some places in your cast iron that were heated super hot like in a fire and it developed what we call fire scales. These places will never season right. I have a couple thousand pieces of cast iron (yes a couple thousand) and I know a lot about it. In a nutshell, after using your cast iron, and if you can just wipe it out, heat it back up until it starts to smoke a little, spray it with Pam, or its generic equivalent , turn the burner off, wait about a minute and wipe it good with paper towels. Let it cool on the burner and then store it in your oven. If you cooked something that sticks like chicken and it needs cleaning, boil a small amount of water in it, loosen it with a wooden or plastic spoon, wipe it under very hot water, then follow the same process on the burner I must described. Do this every time and you will have a flawless cooking surface.
 

poppop

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I've read some of the other replies. I know camp fires have been used for years to clean cast iron, and if its a piece of cast iron from a yard sale, what the heck, go ahead and do it. But it its your Mommas or Grandma's or a family heirlooms please don't ruin it in a fire. Let someone who knows what they are doing restore it. I buy and sell cast iron, but hadn't sold any in a while. I have to get in the mood to sale. I sitting on a bunch of dutch ovens, skillets, stew pots. If you will send me a picture of your skillet especially the areas where it won't season I will try to see it I can tell you what the problem is. send me a private message and I will give you my email.
 

23mako

Ten Pointer
Fried up some shrimp tonight I caught last fall in the cast net. Love my little lodge skillet.
 

Attachments

  • 20190104_181743.jpg
    20190104_181743.jpg
    118.5 KB · Views: 19
  • 20190104_182520.jpg
    20190104_182520.jpg
    85.1 KB · Views: 19

Dinny

Button Buck
Thanks for the replies! I picked up a small Lodge last night so now we have two of them.

Thanks, Dinny
 

turkeyfoot

Old Mossy Horns
Im sorry to ask this, but how does one know it has been "seasoned"?

I use one often on my ceramic grill and clean and re oil like many have mentioned, but I have no idea if my cast iron is "seasoned" or not.
This is what seasoned should look like and what cornbread coming out nice crispy edge I just had bowl buttermilk and bread
 

Attachments

  • 0104192038.jpg
    0104192038.jpg
    156.8 KB · Views: 27
  • 0104192038a.jpg
    0104192038a.jpg
    167 KB · Views: 27

SCnative

Spike
I have better luck with old (1920’s-50’s) slick ones. I found a few in Galax a while back that had been reconditioned and I honestly can’t mess them up. They’ve been great. I like them better than my newer lodge pans with the rough texture. I just keep them rubbed down with veg oil when they’re not used.
 

Rescue44

Old Mossy Horns
This little skillet belonged to my mother's mother's mother. My great grandmother. Think I got that right. It was in my parent's attic til this past weekend. Been 50 to 55 years since it's been used. Used hot water and a brush to get the debris off. A few rusty places. What do you recomend I do to remove the rusty areas? Great grandmother cooked cornbread with this skillet. You can tell from the stuff that is buildup that it was well used. Mom said she cooked cornbread pretty much every day. Picture 4 is before rinsing and brushing it.
 

Attachments

  • 20190107_205833.jpg
    20190107_205833.jpg
    130.5 KB · Views: 14
  • 20190107_205757.jpg
    20190107_205757.jpg
    92 KB · Views: 14
  • 20190107_205738.jpg
    20190107_205738.jpg
    173.9 KB · Views: 14
  • 20190107_205012.jpg
    20190107_205012.jpg
    147.6 KB · Views: 14

turkeyfoot

Old Mossy Horns
lucky man,,,,,,,,,

where i come from, we are lucky to know our mother,,,much less trace back to our mother's mother's mother!!

cool cast iron as well
Hey don't pick on hilbillys. And thanks for the chuckle. could worse if you headed over state line into west Va?
 
Top