I have mentioned in a few of my posts that I like to use cast iron cookware. I have also heard from many of my readers that they would like to use cast iron, but it is so hard to season the pans properly so they will be good for cooking. When you get a new cast iron pan, it is a lot of work to season it so that you can cook with it. All of the manufacturers include instructions on how to season the pan.
My method is really simple. I preheat the oven to 375 degrees, coat the pan with vegetable shortening and bake it in the oven for an hour. I take the pan out and let it cool. When it is cool I wipe down the surface to remove any excess shortening. When the pan is completely cool. I will put it in a cool oven and heat it to 375 degrees again. When the pan is hot I take it out and coat it again with shortening and back it for another hour. I will repeat this process until I am happy with the amount of seasoning I have on the pan. This can take anywhere from 3 to 6 sessions depending on the pan. Now however, none of that work is needed. The Lodge Cast Iron Cookware Company does all the hard work. They sell seasoned cast iron cookware.
Lodge Cast Iron Cookware Company has a great website that has all of the products they carry listed. They have skillets, fryers, dutch ovens for both the stove and for the camp fire, grill pans, griddles, bakeware, and even a wok. All of these pans are high grade American made cast iron cookware.
The skillets are what I use the most and they have them ranging in size from 6 inches up to 17 inches. I mostly use my 12 inch skillet. I use if for making my cornbread, frying bacon, burgers, and back strap. The cast iron takes longer to heat up to cooking temperature than the aluminum coated ones and they are not as non-stick as the teflon coated ones, but you don’t have to worry about the coating of the pan coming off and contaminating your food like with the teflon coated ones either. Cast iron also heats more evenly so you can use the whole pan for cooking instead of one side or that small spot right in the middle.
The griddles are great for pancakes and fried eggs. The solid griddles will last for years. with multiple sizes and reversible griddles that have a grill side and a flat side these pans are great for all your cooking needs.
The grilling pans are great for that fresh off the BBQ look in the middle of a blizzard. it is also good for cutting the grease in meat by getting it up out of the grease.
The dutch oven is probably the most amazing pan of them all. you can fry a steak, boil eggs, make stew, bake a cake in a dutch oven. the dutch ovens come in sizes ranging from 2 quarts up to 9 quarts. The small ones are great for making a small pot of chili for dinner and the bigger one for making stew for the whole hunting party. There are books, web sites and even TV shows dedicated to dutch oven cooking and it is truly an art form; I am far from an artist when it comes to dutch ovens.
The web site also has a really good section on the use and care of their cast iron cookware.There are instructions for the use, cleaning, and re-seasoning of the cookware. there are also helpful tips to improve your cooking experience, such as, “do not cook extremely cold foods in the pan because it can cause sticking. let the food set out and warm up some before cooking.”
The best part of the web site has to be the recipe section. They have recipes for indoor and outdoor cooking that are great. The Buffalo chicken corn bread will be on my list to try soon. There are several breakfast, main course, and biscuit recipes for the indoor cooking. There are enough recipes to keep Dad busy in the kitchen for days.
The outdoor recipes are the ones that I really like. The dutch oven roast is one I have made while camping several times, and there is nothing better than dutch oven sour dough biscuits while out in the woods. Get Dad an outdoor dutch oven and a bag of charcoal briquettes and he will be out in the back yard cooking up a storm and making everyone happy with his perfect meals.
Clacked by Jeff Love
on Jun 19, 2009 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
I have some of my grandmother’s cast iron cookware that still works great, as well as some of the newer Emeril line of pre-seasoned cast iron and we love it all!
I TOTALLY agree with Jeff that seasoning is time consuming but using cast iron is best for cooking all sorts of food because it gives your food flavor and texture. My husband and I use our woks for cooking nearly everything and leave them out on our stoves at all times to make it convenient. Full disclosure, I teach wok cooking using a lightweight cast iron wok which I learned to do from my mother. Cast iron is usually associated with heavy (10 pounds) but mine is only 3 pounds so it’s not an obstacle for small people like myself to use it daily. Problem with woks from China, you have one added step of scrubbing out the factory oil to prevent rusting when transporting. Most retailers don’t offer woks/pans preseasoned and when home cooks do it themselves, often do it incorrectly and become frustrated and throw in the towel. This is why I offer mine ‘PRESEASONED’ so folks can focus on having fun cooking right away instead of chore of seasoning. Happy Father’s Day.
I loce cooking with cast iron!!!
My grandmother, who would be 125 years old if she were living, used cast iron pans and I can pretty much bet she did not know of a “seasoning method” for a new pan. I remember her food as fabulous. So I guess it really doesn’t matter about seasoning a pan.
Hot Mama, “seasoning” cast iron wok/pan is the most IMPORTANT step to seal your wok so it gives you that fabulous flavor! You may not realize she has done the seasoning.