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[Sou Da]

so how do I cook these livers do I just season them and put them in the pan or do I go through the whole milk and flour method?

 

[Yaboosh]

I'm about to sear the hell out of a couple NY Strip steaks soon. Thank you based Publix sales.

Prime sirloins from Costco for $7.99 a pound is the best.

 

[ThisGuy]

Cook some bacon, then use that motha fuck'n grease to fry the eggs baby!

Also pan fried chicken, let it soak in some butter milk first. Bread it too. Of course.

Thank me later.

 

[marrec]

Why would anyone use such a thing on castiron...

Because it works as a gentle abrasive. Other people use salt + oil and a paper towel but that is time intensive, wasteful, and it doesn't give as good a result.

It may look like really big steel wool but it's not at all, it's very gentle.

 

[USC-fan]

Cook Bacon daily....

 

[injurai]

Because it works as a gentle abrasive. Other people use salt + oil and a paper towel but that is time intensive, wasteful, and it doesn't give as good a result.

It may look like really big steel wool but it's not at all, it's very gentle.

Oh I see, It looks like it would do some serious damage to the pan. Guess I'll have to give it a chance now.

 

[BlueSilver]

So, how was it? Did you cook with it?

 

[Sou Da]

You're probably long done with this, but I usually just use salt and pepper and then pan fry. Make sure you cook them until they're no longer red, but still pink inside; raw liver is unpleasantly slimy while overcooked is leathery. Liver tends to have a strong flavor, so I'd eat it with good mustard or some other seasoning. The onions might take care of that, though.

So, how was it? Did you cook with it?

I pretty much did it icarus's way and it was pretty good, the onions were the highlight imo.

I'm probably going to try some round eye steak with the pan tonight too.

 

[OneEightZero]

I have my grandmother's cast iron skillet. It's truly one of my most prized possessions.

 

[iamaustrian]

no need to clean it (ever).
I just burn it out after cooking and rub out the ash with a sheet of newspaper. very much like I handle my grills and smoker.
they never see any water or even a cleaner.

you can adjust some cheap cooking oil to the pan after burning it out.
apparently it prevents it from rusting. I have never done that and my pans are still fine.

 

[Man God]

Tomatoes. Avoid curry too. Both of these contain high amounts of acid that will stain/harm the seasoning. So unless you want everything to taste like curry or tomatoes I'd avoid those.

Also your tomatoes and curry will taste like cast iron.

 

[Booshka]

Love my Cast Iron pan, it does just about everything I need. Great for camping and outdoors cooking in general as well.

I don't clean it as often as some people do, burning through salt, oil and paper towels. Keeps more of the flavor anyway.

 

[OneEightZero]

Cooking with diced tomatoes, not a problem because the acid is absorbed by other foods. I tried making baked beans in mine and it took forever to clean it.

Buy a small tub of lard to keep it seasoned. The older it gets, the less seasoning you have to do. I also save my bacon grease for cooking.

I buy those stainless steel scrub balls from the dollar store to remove stuck on food. Rub it in a circular motion to loosen the food and not damage the pan. Dish soap can be used and not damage it, just make sure to rinse and dry immediately. For light daily cleaning, use kosher salt as an abbrasive. I also use it on my non stick very lighty because I don't use sponges with a scrubby side.

I cook on mine all the time. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and deserts. I have a large 3qt pot with a lid that doubles as a skillet. A double sided griddle pan. 3 round 6" skillets and a mini 3" skillet. I usually keep my griddle pan in the oven. Even if I'm not using it, it helps keep the oven at tempature like bread stones do. I also use mine all the time on the charcoal grill.

Eggs, pancakes, french toast, tortillas, bacon, sausage, grilled cheese, any kind of meat, sauted onions, mushrooms, and peppers, cookies, cake, brownies.

I do clean mine more than most, but I have a Hindu friend and I don't want to cross contaminate his food. And he's over once a week at least.

Never trust Lodge's preseasoned label. To get it good and seasoned, buy a pound of bacon and cook one or two slices in it daily for at least a week. I can fry a perfect egg and slide it right off without any trouble. That's a seasoned pan.

Good point and a excellent barometer for testing your seasoning. If the egg sticks during frying, your seasoning isn't up to snuff.

 

[TheRagnCajun]

Cooking acidic foods will cause iron to leech into the food. This may affect the taste, but it will add a meaningfull amount of iron to your food, that your body can absorb. I suggest you try it and decide for yourself. I've had no problem with curries and tomato sauces.

 

[vainglorious]

Chef in training at culinary school here. Congrats on your new cook ware! Cast iron is amazing and once you start using it regularly you'll be hooked, trust me. My Le Creuset collection are my most treasured cookware pieces. I find myself ignoring my Mauviel pieces to cook with cast iron instead honestly.

You don't need fancy tools or gimmicks for cleaning iron. Ignore that stuff, seriously. All you need is kosher salt and a little bit of olive oil. If you have tough food spots use lemon juice. A bottle of reconstituted lemon juice will go a long way when you have cast iron. Scouring pads like a brillo pad will damage the seasoning of your cast iron, nylon pads are fine if used gently. If your cast iron is enameled I might avoid even using nylon until you're comfortable with maintenance. Also if your cast iron is enameled do not use scouring pads with metal in them PERIOD.

If you'd rather just wash your cast iron, that's cool too. Just use a gentle soap and warm water. After washing immediately put your cast iron back on the stove with the flame on. Heating the pan up will remove moisture from the pan and prevent it from rusting. While it's heating adding more oil to the pan will keep your cast iron seasoned.

Cast iron can be temperamental but it's worth the extra effort. Good luck.

 

[nullref]

It's the truth though.

You never 'wash' cast iron in the conventional sense. Rinse it out, dump some coarse salt like kosher salt in it, wipe it dry with a paper towel and you are done.

Touching a well seasoned cast iron pan with any form of soap ruins them. Soaps dissolve oils, and the whole thing that makes cast iron work is the polymerized coating of oil.

This is way overstated, actually. The polymerized oils that form the seasoning of a cast iron pan are actually pretty tough, and aren't going to be affected by a little dish soap and a gentle scrubbing. Just don't let it soak – you want to minimize the amount of time the pan spends wet in general, and dry it well after washing – and don't put it in the dishwasher (as that is much more abrasive).

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/the-truth-about-cast-iron.html

 

[Lonewolf_92]

That's gross.


Rinse it? You mean rinse and scrub, right?

No scrub, you season the pan and rise it well and pat dry. You scrub and you're going to remove the layer of seasoning and might even scratch the surface. You think never washing it is gross? Imagine the shit that will grow in there if you scratch it. You do the same with a good wok. Chief Chujo's link is a good one on how to do it.