Cast Iron Skillets
Replies
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If you're still considering a cast iron skillet, go to the sporting goods department at Wal-Mart and get a cast iron skillet from the camping supplies. It's cast iron. It's not Lodge. It's reasonably priced.2
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TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »Can you use cooking spray on one? I don't really want to add a lot of butter or oil to food.
Sure. I spray some Pam olive oil in mine and fire it up.1 -
I am need of re-seasoning my cast iron skillets. I have had them since college, but as my children grew and learned how to cook, my cast iron skillets (the dutch oven was spared) had soapy water sitting in them... I have done light steel wool and rub of oil with oven baking that recall doing decades ago--but my food sticks and the rust on the bottom comes through--HELP.
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midlomel1971 wrote: »Nope, sorry....if I found someone washing my skillet with soap, I'd throw them out. We'll have to agree to disagree. If I cook something sticky in mine, I wash it with water, Kosher salt and elbow grease only. And some good heavy paper towels.
Do let me know when this happens. I will happily pay the cost of shipping to get perfectly good cast iron for the cost of shipping alone.
Signed,
A person whose cabinets are full of proof Lodge is not FOS when they post on their website you can use a bit of detergent as needed to clean their wares.
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grinning_chick wrote: »midlomel1971 wrote: »Nope, sorry....if I found someone washing my skillet with soap, I'd throw them out. We'll have to agree to disagree. If I cook something sticky in mine, I wash it with water, Kosher salt and elbow grease only. And some good heavy paper towels.
Do let me know when this happens. I will happily pay the cost of shipping to get perfectly good cast iron for the cost of shipping alone.
Signed,
A person whose cabinets are full of proof Lodge is not FOS when they post on their website you can use a bit of detergent as needed to clean their wares.
HUH?? @midlomel1971 isn't going to throw out the pan.... she's going to throw out the person.
Bottom line is yes, there are some circumstances where a little soap won't hurt the finish.
But here's the bottom line, and simple test.
Take the example above of fish.
If the finish on the pan isn't deep enough to resist the fish, it's not deep enough to resist the soap... so take some hot water, a little kosher salt, and a green pad... then use a paper towel and some light oil to give a quick reseason.
IF the finish on the pan is solid enough to resist the soap... it's solid enough to resist the fish...so take some hot water, a little kosher salt, and a green pad... then use a paper towel and some light oil to give a quick reseason.
Also, my observation is that most people can't tell the difference between using a little dish soap on a cloth and soaking a pan overnight in soapy dishwater.... that's where I get much of my cast iron... people who didn't understand how to tell the difference.
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grinning_chick wrote: »midlomel1971 wrote: »Nope, sorry....if I found someone washing my skillet with soap, I'd throw them out. We'll have to agree to disagree. If I cook something sticky in mine, I wash it with water, Kosher salt and elbow grease only. And some good heavy paper towels.
Do let me know when this happens. I will happily pay the cost of shipping to get perfectly good cast iron for the cost of shipping alone.
Signed,
A person whose cabinets are full of proof Lodge is not FOS when they post on their website you can use a bit of detergent as needed to clean their wares.
Agreed! I did a lot of research before buying my first Lodge skillet (and even afterwards!) and what I found is that one of the reasons people think you can't use soap is that soap used to contain lye in the "olden days". The lye was the problem - it would totally ruin the finish (in addition to being bad for you, I think). Modern-day dish soap (like Dawn), doesn't contain lye.
Yes, leaving your cast iron pan soaking in water (soapy or not!) is bad. Adding a little dish soap to your scrubbie to help get off anything that may have caked on there while cooking is NOT bad.4 -
ActuarialChef wrote: »grinning_chick wrote: »midlomel1971 wrote: »Nope, sorry....if I found someone washing my skillet with soap, I'd throw them out. We'll have to agree to disagree. If I cook something sticky in mine, I wash it with water, Kosher salt and elbow grease only. And some good heavy paper towels.
Do let me know when this happens. I will happily pay the cost of shipping to get perfectly good cast iron for the cost of shipping alone.
Signed,
A person whose cabinets are full of proof Lodge is not FOS when they post on their website you can use a bit of detergent as needed to clean their wares.
Agreed! I did a lot of research before buying my first Lodge skillet (and even afterwards!) and what I found is that one of the reasons people think you can't use soap is that soap used to contain lye in the "olden days". The lye was the problem - it would totally ruin the finish (in addition to being bad for you, I think). Modern-day dish soap (like Dawn), doesn't contain lye.
Yes, leaving your cast iron pan soaking in water (soapy or not!) is bad. Adding a little dish soap to your scrubbie to help get off anything that may have caked on there while cooking is NOT bad.
It's also NOT NECESSARY0 -
I love MFP. We can even take dish soap and make an argument out of it. I fall on the side of saying yes to soap.10
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ActuarialChef wrote: »grinning_chick wrote: »midlomel1971 wrote: »Nope, sorry....if I found someone washing my skillet with soap, I'd throw them out. We'll have to agree to disagree. If I cook something sticky in mine, I wash it with water, Kosher salt and elbow grease only. And some good heavy paper towels.
Do let me know when this happens. I will happily pay the cost of shipping to get perfectly good cast iron for the cost of shipping alone.
Signed,
A person whose cabinets are full of proof Lodge is not FOS when they post on their website you can use a bit of detergent as needed to clean their wares.
Agreed! I did a lot of research before buying my first Lodge skillet (and even afterwards!) and what I found is that one of the reasons people think you can't use soap is that soap used to contain lye in the "olden days". The lye was the problem - it would totally ruin the finish (in addition to being bad for you, I think). Modern-day dish soap (like Dawn), doesn't contain lye.
Yes, leaving your cast iron pan soaking in water (soapy or not!) is bad. Adding a little dish soap to your scrubbie to help get off anything that may have caked on there while cooking is NOT bad.
Sort of correct, but not exactly. Anything that is "soap" is made with fats and lye (sodium hydroxide) if it is in bar or flake form or caustic potash (potassium hydroxide) if it is in liquid form. If it is a mix of surfactants and other additives it is a detergent. Soap is the result of the chemical reaction between fatty acids and a base (known as saponification). Back in the day when people made their own soap, they usually cured it enough for all the lye or potash to be saponified, otherwise it would burn through skin so, no, soap did not contain lye. Commercial soaps were always cured long enough for all the lye to be removed. However, it WAS very alkaline unless they added pH adjusters which were not practical for the average housewife.
These days, it is very difficult to find a commercial soap. Look on the labels of your bars, most say things like "beauty bar" or "cleansing bar". These are not soap but detergent. Detergent is milder, cleanses better, and leaves much less residue (as well as cheaper to make).1 -
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cmriverside wrote: »
You're welcome. I make soap for the fun of it and also make shampoo, lotions, and potions so i can avoid the formaldehyde that is released by the preservatives used in commercial stuff. My Dad was also a re-enactor (Hunter/Trapper Rendezvous rather than any of the wars) so I did research for him. We learned how to cook and bake in a Dutch oven together and I am rather well known among my camping friends for my sourdough bread, cakes, quiche, etc baked over a fire (Dad passed away 20 years ago).2 -
cmriverside wrote: »
You're welcome. I make soap for the fun of it and also make shampoo, lotions, and potions so i can avoid the formaldehyde that is released by the preservatives used in commercial stuff. My Dad was also a re-enactor (Hunter/Trapper Rendezvous rather than any of the wars) so I did research for him. We learned how to cook and bake in a Dutch oven together and I am rather well known among my camping friends for my sourdough bread, cakes, quiche, etc baked over a fire (Dad passed away 20 years ago).
A few years ago I happened to stumble upon a small town festival in the Smokey Mountains and one of the things that was happening was a Dutch oven cook-off, outdoors, sans-electricity. We were able to taste a whole bunch of classic and not-so-classic meals/foods prepared in the Dutch ovens. Such a great day, I was also with my (now-deceased) parents so it was a lovely memory.
I would like to come camping with you, please.
Do you know how to make hair gel? (Kidding, I just can't find any I like, that work. I know I can Google it...)0 -
After I wash all the grease out and apply fresh grease, I let my skillet heat for a good 10 minutes before putting food in it. The preheat seems to help a lot.I am need of re-seasoning my cast iron skillets. I have had them since college, but as my children grew and learned how to cook, my cast iron skillets (the dutch oven was spared) had soapy water sitting in them... I have done light steel wool and rub of oil with oven baking that recall doing decades ago--but my food sticks and the rust on the bottom comes through--HELP.
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Stripping a skillet and re-seasoning is a pain. I have several in the garage that I have picked up over the years and really want to put them through an etank, but that takes time and resources to setup. Seasoning smokes up the house.
It's not difficult to strip them. Buy some lye and a rubbermaid tote, mix 50/50 with water. Let them soak and the lye won't damage the cast iron so feel free to leave them in for weeks if you like.
I typically use Crisco or bacon grease to season through 3-4 heat/cool times in the oven. Doesn't take too long especially if you're doing multiple pieces. If it starts smoking you've got the heat too high for the oil you're using.1 -
stanmann571 wrote: »jennybearlv wrote: »The other thing I love about my Lodge cast iron is that I can pour water or something else into the hot pan to deglaze it without running the risk of it warping from the sudden temp change. These things are pretty close to indestructible. The worst thing you can do to it is get a thick coating of meat bits and oils stuck to it. If you do, just use steel wool to clean it and then re-season it.
Yeah, pretty close to indestructible. I used a lodge pan to put out a grease fire and did manage to crack my pan. I used it on the grill for a few months and the crack seasoned itself shut. Better than new.
It's definitely possible to crack/shatter cast iron, but it's not easy... Unless you're trying... Cold/Ice water in a 500 degree pan... etc
I saw a pallet of cast iron skillets fall from a pretty good height once (they were being put into a rack in a warehouse). They shattered just like glass.0 -
The coating/ seasoning of a cast iron pan is simply carbon from burning oil/ fat. I will put the pan on high heat for 10 minutes then drop a dollop of butter and wipe it with a paper towel until the butter has burnt in... then take it off the burner to cool. There is zero reason to use soap given the high temp will kill any and all bacteria... if something does get stuck... I will use a single blade razor to scrape it off... carbon... is one of the hardest elements... no damage... just important to season it periodically to maintain the carbon coat1
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I have one of the chain mail scrubbers for my cast iron pans, and really like them.
There are a lot of glowing reviews on Amazon and elsewhere for these things but I just don't see the need for them.
First, they will NOT take off any baked-on grease; like the thick layer I've got on my grill pan. At best, they will take off fresh food residue still sticking to the pan but if your pan is properly seasoned it shouldn't stick in the 1st place. Second, if you scrub too hard you will damage the seasoning and maybe even the pan surface.
It's simpler and safer to just use hot water and a stiff scrub brush. The hot water should dissolve any excess grease and the brush will take care of the residue. Boiling water in the pan/pot will generally loosen any really stubborn spots.
Of course, it would be advisable to re-season the pan/pot periodically to restore the oil coating and to prevent rusting. Generally is the only time that use of soapy water to clean a cast iron pan/pot is suggested.
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RavenLibra wrote: »The coating/ seasoning of a cast iron pan is simply carbon from burning oil/ fat. I will put the pan on high heat for 10 minutes then drop a dollop of butter and wipe it with a paper towel until the butter has burnt in... then take it off the burner to cool.
this, except 'olive oil' in my case.
i have a couple little six-inch skillets i bought at some yard sale 25 years ago. and a big one that goes back five or ten years before that. rust happens, occasionally, but it just means i was sloppy and the pan needs to be cleaned and then seasoned again.
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I used to make a great flaxseed hair gel; if you're really interested I can dig up the recipe when I get home this evening.cmriverside wrote: »Do you know how to make hair gel? (Kidding, I just can't find any I like, that work. I know I can Google it...)0 -
cmriverside wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »
You're welcome. I make soap for the fun of it and also make shampoo, lotions, and potions so i can avoid the formaldehyde that is released by the preservatives used in commercial stuff. My Dad was also a re-enactor (Hunter/Trapper Rendezvous rather than any of the wars) so I did research for him. We learned how to cook and bake in a Dutch oven together and I am rather well known among my camping friends for my sourdough bread, cakes, quiche, etc baked over a fire (Dad passed away 20 years ago).
A few years ago I happened to stumble upon a small town festival in the Smokey Mountains and one of the things that was happening was a Dutch oven cook-off, outdoors, sans-electricity. We were able to taste a whole bunch of classic and not-so-classic meals/foods prepared in the Dutch ovens. Such a great day, I was also with my (now-deceased) parents so it was a lovely memory.
I would like to come camping with you, please.
Do you know how to make hair gel? (Kidding, I just can't find any I like, that work. I know I can Google it...)
No hair gel but I do make a really good detangling spray.1
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