SMF

Sam I would give it a good rinse with a scrub pad under hot tap water to remove any storage/shipping grunge, a light coating of oil and start cooking. It will quickly come up to temp and hold that temp very evenly which is one of the reasons CI works so well for sauteing, frying or baking.

When you finish cooking be aware the handles (being of the same medal) will be hot so take care. A former girlfriend wandered into my kitchen then grabbed a still hot pan by the handle and like Mark Twain's cat learned the lesson, so when I have company over I remove the pan to the oven to cool off.

That's a good price Sam.

Sam, here is a link from the Wok Shop about seasoning a wok. It's the same process for the skillet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNPe5-swL-k

Before they started to offer pre-seasoned skillets, Lodge's instructions for seasoning involved oiling the pan and baking it in the oven, similar to the instructions in the link above.

- Murray

I've seasoned, stripped, reseasoned, restripped, a few times on the same skillet using different techniques. The skillet is perfectly usable right now but there are some thick spots where the oil/Crisco has built up. Harmless and cosmetic. There are two universal truths to remember when seasoning. First, use a thin coat of oil/Crisco. More is not good. Consider wiping it down partway through the heating process. There's more oil/Crisco there than you realize. Second, use a high enough temperature. If your skillet comes out "sticky", it didn't get hot enough. Lodge's advice to bake it in a 350 degree oven is insufficient, in my experience. 400 degrees for 45 minutes (with the exhaust fan running) works better.

What is the appropriate response if a well-seasoned cast iron utensil gets run through the dishwasher? Anything other simply repeating the seasoning process?

brothers wrote:What is the appropriate response if a well-seasoned cast iron utensil gets run through the dishwasher? Anything other simply repeating the seasoning process?

Great bellowing and agitated finger-wagging.

Biggest worry would be if it sat in the dishwasher overnight. That means rust. Either way, you've got a big reseasoning project ahead.

I remembered this article about a famous collector of cast iron utensils, golfer Davis Love. He says vintage pans are better. He seasons low and slow.
http://gardenandgun.com/article/collect ... s-love-iii

kronos9 wrote:I've seasoned, stripped, reseasoned, restripped, a few times on the same skillet using different techniques. The skillet is perfectly usable right now but there are some thick spots where the oil/Crisco has built up. Harmless and cosmetic. There are two universal truths to remember when seasoning. First, use a thin coat of oil/Crisco. More is not good. Consider wiping it down partway through the heating process. There's more oil/Crisco there than you realize. Second, use a high enough temperature. If your skillet comes out "sticky", it didn't get hot enough. Lodge's advice to bake it in a 350 degree oven is insufficient, in my experience. 400 degrees for 45 minutes (with the exhaust fan running) works better.

Dittos. I use the range top, and I want to see smoke; not flames, just smoke. I also don't want to see carbon. Yes, exhaust fan running or do it outside. All it takes is a thorough wipe with a oiled paper towel done multiple times. Many thin coats and cycles of heat rather than one thick one. After that it's just using it to maintain it. maybe a bit of oil if something wet was cooked in it before storing it away; or one seasoning cycle before storage. One learns quickly enough when one is maintaining it and having food stick.

Appropriate response for the dishwasher? Good luck with that! Do you want a divorce (asking us?) ? You should know what works and what doesn't by now Gary.

Yes, yes, yes, I know about seasoning the pan, my Grandmother taught me, yet I prefer not to spend the time and energy having found that regular use achieves the same purpose.

As for the dishwasher one must carefully choose their battles. My deal is I take care of the kitchen and she handles the rest of the house.

A cast iron skillet? Of course you need one. Everyone does. My cast iron frying pan came as part of a Le Creuset set that was bought for us as a wedding present in 1980. It has a wooden handle, but this can be removed with a screwdriver. I don't use it for frying anymore but I do use it for two purposes. I confess I did try to burn off the thick PTFE coating with an oxy-acetylene torch bought from Home Hardware, but when it simply laughed at me I gave up. All those years of washing it carefully to avoid damaging the non-stick surface? Bugger it.

These days I use it for two things. With the wooden handle off it goes in the oven with cornbread batter and makes decent cornbread that way. (Blame Shelby Foote - four volumes of him and you will crave cornmeal and bacon. And you'll yell while eating it.) Handle on and smoking hot, it sits on the top of the stove and makes tortillas, and now and then some bannock bread. Nothing sticks to it, and if it does out comes the steel wool. No harm done. I'd consider it more fitted for its jobs if it had only the cast iron handle and no non-stick surface.

So, yes, Get a cast iron skillet. Don't waste money on ceramic lined cast iron pans like the rest of my Le Creuset set. You can cook just as well for a fifth of the price on Lagostina stainless steel. You'll still need the skillet though!

Chris

Now don't you go talkin bout Mr. Shelby.

The French reached extraordinarily high levels with carbon steel chef knives, copper, stainless and plain steel pots and pans, then went on to coat perfectly good cast iron ware with a useless ceramic shell displaying a degree of Gallic logic which exceeds my level of understanding.

Squire, my knowledge of the French leads me to believe that was a purely aesthetic endeavor. Plain cast iron just didn't look right next to those beautiful copper pots.

Jim I own some of those beautiful copper pots and they look right at home next to the cast iron but then I only know enough French to cuss out a Paris taxi driver.

Sam, here's an article from the 5th about cooking a ribeye with a cast iron pan.

http://magazine.foxnews.com/food-wellne ... p=HPBucket

Russ that's got to be the juiciest post yet.

Thanks for the video. Couldn't be any simpler, and looks delicious.

im probably doing it all wrong, but i put the steak into a 250F oven for about 10 minutes after the sear for a medium rare'ish finish. And on subject of steaks, if you guys havent had a flat iron, I highly recommend it,,,,,,tastiest cut of all!!

clive

I'm late to this, but just have to chime in

We have three cast iron skillets of varying sizes (all Lodge, I think) that see regular use - last time being Sunday to prepare some pork chops. We also have a pretty extensive selection of copper pots and pans, but the cast iron are the first choice for good ol' frying of bacon, scrambling of eggs etc., as well as occasional more sophisticated use. Cleaning after use is mostly just a hot rinse and a wipe.

Not sure if it was mentioned but some folks tell of a health benefit to using iron cookware, in terms of iron being absorbed into the food as it's cooked.

Two things to watch for, the first few uses, are the fact that the handle will heat up and take you by surprise, and that the weight of the skillet will also take you by surprise.

ichabod wrote:Not sure if it was mentioned but some folks tell of a health benefit to using iron cookware, in terms of iron being absorbed into the food as it's cooked.

You might also want to research Bantu beer before going too far down that road.

C.