How To Cook With Cast Iron

- We use

cast

iron

skillets all the time at Tasty Kitchen for a million different reasons. They're virtually indestructible, last forever, and unlike many things you'll have in your kitchen, they actually tend to get better with time. People are often a little intimidated by

cast

iron

, thinking that it is very difficult to handle or clean. It's actually very easy, you just have to know what you're looking for. So, seasoning is a process you want to go through even if it's new or you have an old cast iron that you passed down. Often when you have new cast iron and water remains, they are very susceptible to rust.

We'll help you figure out how to prevent that from happening and how to clean it. So we'll start by getting some steel wool. Whether it's dirty or has a ton of rust on it, we're just going to scrub it down with steel wool with a mild dish soap and bring it up to its kind of base coat. The way cast iron is made is as if it were one piece and you can't just season the part you

cook

it with. You want to spice everything up. While we're here, we'll keep rubbing all the sides, on the back, we'll turn it over and grab the handle.

Once you are satisfied that all the rust or dirt is gone, you can rinse it with hot water. And use one of those non-abrasive scrubbers or the hard side of a sponge. Just do another quick lap, making sure you have all the corners. A good rule to remember when dealing with cast iron is that water will rust it. We always want to dry it as much as possible before putting it away or moving on to the next step. So we're going to dry it with a towel and then you're going to put it on the stove and turn it on.

And let all that excess water, any excess moisture, evaporate. Once you are satisfied that your pan is completely dry, we will remove it from the heat and begin our seasoning process with a thin layer of oil. The new standard is that flax seed oil is the best oil for this job. In fact, it dries the strongest and creates the best, longest-lasting non-stick seasoning. The only downside is that it is quite expensive and if you don't want to spend that much money or, frankly, just don't have it in your pantry, canola oil will work just fine. A little history about your frying pan.

The surface is actually porous, meaning there are little holes or pores that we want to fill to create a nice, smooth

cook

ing surface. So once we have this thin layer of oil all over the pan, we will do our best to clean it completely. There is enough oil that has penetrated those open pores. So take the clean side of your paper towel and rub in as much of the oil as you can. One of the biggest problems people have is that they don't wipe off enough oil and they have too thick a coating, and then it comes out of the oven very sticky and doesn't give them the result they want.

So you're going to put the cast iron in the oven at the highest temperature possible, between 450 and 500 degrees. So this process will take about an hour. The reason we need our oven so high is that we actually want to get the oil past its smoke point so that the oil starts to break down and stick to the cast iron. So if you've ever picked up your pan and it's still a little brown and sticky, it's probably because your oven wasn't hot enough. Then, after an hour, you can turn off the oven and let it cool there.

The result is a hard vitreous layer that we are looking for and that helps make our cast iron non-stick. So, introduction to cooking with cast iron. In fact, it is necessary to preheat it. It doesn't necessarily heat evenly, but it holds heat very well. So take your time and heat it on medium or low heat. This may take five to ten minutes. Because cast iron is a great conductor of heat, if you simply run your hand carefully over the bottom of the pan, you will be able to feel when the pan is ready to go. Many people are confused.

You know, they season everything and the food sticks to the pan. Usually that's because they put cold food in a cold cast iron skillet. One reason to get a cast iron skillet is to sear things like meat. Another thing that can confuse people when cooking with cast iron is that they tend to want to move the food around a lot. And really what we're trying to do here is form a nice caramelized crust. So when you put meat in your hot pan, leave it alone. Let it cook. When you see a sort of brown crust forming on the outside, that's when you'll know it's ready to flip.

So if you're trying to lift the steak and it just won't give, it's probably not done yet. The meat will release on its own when the crust has formed. The reason we also love using a cast iron skillet for Tasty is because you can start something on the stove and finish it in the oven. So you can't cook acidic foods in cast iron pans here. However, if you have a good coating of seasoning, it's fine. You don't want to make a lot of, you know, a big tomato sauce or a lot of wine or vinegar, but a little bit won't kill your seasoning.

Don't be afraid to roast things like tomatoes in your cast iron skillet. The best thing about being able to cook something on the stove and finish it in the oven is that you have a lot more control. You can get a nice layer of caramelization over high heat on the stove and then finish cooking something in the oven with much gentler radiant heat. So when you clean your cast iron, you want to hit a sweet spot. If it cools too much, the food will stick and stick to the pan a lot. And if it's too hot and you run it under cold water, you risk cracking it.

Therefore, you should wash the pan soon after using it. The gentlest way to clean the pan is with hot water, salt, and a non-metal scouring pad or the rough side of the sponge. The salt works as an abrasive and helps remove any food that is there without damaging the seasoning at all. Once you're satisfied your pan is clean, dry it with another towel and then let it dry completely on the stove or in a warm oven just to make sure there's no lingering moisture left. And that will protect it from rust in the future. The last thing we are going to do is put a protective layer of oil on the pan before storing it.

Carefully using a paper towel, rub it all over the inside. Turn up the heat until the oil smokes, then turn it off and let it cool on the stove. The reason we want to bring it to the point of smoking is so the oil doesn't go rancid. Cast iron skillets may seem like a lot of work, but simply follow these simple rules for seasoning and cleaning and these skillets will last you a lifetime. It's like loving a good woman. The more you give, the more you receive in return. (laugh)