Yes, I do it every time.

I use it, clean using water and chainmail to get all the crap off, on stove high heat to dry, wipe with thin layer of canola oil, back on stove to high for ~10 minutes, let cool upside down.

 

is there an echo in here

 

is there an echo in here...here...here...here...

 

Use. Scrub. 'Clean' with oil. Paper towel excess oil away. Done.

 

Ok I have been doing all of that except for heating it after I oil it. I will add that to my process.

 

Heating it after each use / is more for getting rid of water not for continually "seasoning" the pan.

 

Ok. I have been heating it to get rid of all the water. I just have been heating it after I wipe it down with a light coat of bacon grease.

 

Also when I must not have enough seasoning yet cause I still get a little stick when I use it to make toasted cheese.

 

LIke this right?

 

I'd still eat those burned little buggers right there.

 

Actually the burned one was in a non stick pan. The lighter one was in the cast iron. I burnt the other one as I was too focused on making the one in the cast iron pan. Wanted them to be done close to the same time so they would still be hot. And of course I ate the somewhat burnt one it still had excellent bacon inside that could not be wasted.

 

I hate seasoning cast iron. That's why I'm a big fan of Staub.

 

I just looked up the Staub line.

For that price, they better come with a little sous chef that cleans and conditions them for you whenever you need.

 

Personally I take great pride in the fact that my cast irons show they are used and seasoned well. The same with my pizza stone.

 

Shit that stuff is expensive

 

Staub and Le Cruset are really expensive for a lodge pan with some paint baked on it.

I'll spend some time and effort (and learn at the same time) to save me $300 on a pan.

FWIW, we bought a martha stewart enameled cast iron dutch oven last weekend. Paid $60 for it on sale at Macy's, seriously couldn't tell the difference between it and the $500 Le Cruset one.

I plan on making some barbacoa in it this weekend.

 

I need to start cooking some things in my 8in cast iron pan so it gets seasoned and then I can make some corn bread in it.

 

I think it's worth the price. Besides, I normally get it heavily discounted. I live very close to their US HQ, and they have a big warehouse sale every year around December. I used to have regular cast iron, but it was too much hassle for me.

I have 2 skillets, a grill pan, and 1 cocotte, all from Staub. Just made some steak and salmon the other day that was delicious. Will probably make something with the cocotte today.

Not a fan of Le Creuset, which is more expensive than Staub, but still needs seasoning. Also, I bought a Le Creuset tea kettle once (not cast iron), and it started rusting within a few months of use.

 

Made cornbread in my CI skillet last weekend. Delicious, and a nice crust on the outside of the bread from the pan.

 

Eggs and Bacon with Italian Pane.

 

So tried two new things this weekend in cast iron. Neither were a great success so maybe some of you can share your recipes or suggestions for cooking both. I tried burgers and steak. The steak came out much better than the burgers.

Burgers I read online saying medium-high heat let the pan heat up first and then do 3minutes a side for 1/2 burgers. I ended up having to do about 5min a side to get them to not be extremely red inside. They did have a nice crispy crust though.

The steak I heated the caste iron in the oven on broil for 20min. Put it on the stove over high heat. Placed the just under 1in thick Strip Steak coated in light olive oil, salt, and pepper for 30seconds a side. Then moved the pan back to the over for 2min a side under the broiler. The meat was a bit tough to me but definitely close to a medium rare so might have just been the pieace of meat.

I have another one to try tonight that I am going to make to put over salad.

Bother the burgers and steak was planned for the grill but rain caused me to give this a shot.

 

Re: Steak

I just burned this bad boy up last week.



What I usually do is the following:
- Wife has been picking up these pretty healthy sized t-bones, about an inch thick.
- I'll give them a nice marinade, (it varies a little bit each time but the basics: vodka, soy sauce, worcestershire, hoisin, garlic powder) on both sides and then let it sit on the counter for a few hours, uncovered.
- Preheat oven to 250°F. Just regular "on", not convection, not broil, just "bake".
- Cast iron pan on the outdoor stove on medium which'll get to hot AF in just a couple minutes.
- Steak goes in. One side, then the other, then the edges. Goal is to get them all browned and looking good, not to add a real significant amount of heat to the slab. Probably about 30 seconds a side and just a couple second press on each edge (using tongs).
- Steak back on to a plate and we go back into the kitchen (the pan cools slightly during this process, which is okay).
- In the kitchen, the steak gets an oven safe thermometer inserted into the larger strip side, staying in the median of the thickness and away from the bone. I've been using an old and nasty looking analog one and verify the temperature calibration very infrequently, but it seems to work so I fairly trust the temp it reads.
- Steak w/ thermometer goes back into the slightly cooled cast iron, which goes into the preheated 250°F oven.
- Internal temperature usually registers off scale low, maybe 90°F at this point. I'll let it cook until the thermometer starts to show some motion, maybe around 115-120°F. Takes somewhere between 5 to 10 minutes or so. But this is not an unattended oven situation. I'm watching it like salivating dog.
- Once it hits about 120°, there's a quick hustle to open the oven, flip the steak real quick and get things closed back up.
- No time to slack here or else you'll end up with a boot. This usually takes about 5 minutes, but once the temp starts to swing, it goes. Into the home stretch, keep watching the thermometer until it just starts to touch 130°F and then it's go time.
- Steak out of the oven and on to a room temperature plate to rest. Cover with foil.
- Ideally, I'd let it sit for about 5 minutes, but it's usually closer to 10-15 minutes before everyone is corralled to the dinner table.
- Cut that's sucker and it's a near perfect Medium-Rare. The Strip was a hair on the Medium side of Medium-Rare and the Fillet was perfect temp, perfect color gradients, and perfect tenderness. Like cut with a fork tender.

I couldn't get any "done" picture of this one because it didn't last long enough.

I cook outside because I hate the grease in the air smell that comes with cooking in our kitchen. But you can get the same results indoors. I think you're on the right path, get the pan hot as possible to brown, but then try cooking it I the oven on lower temperature with more indirect heat, taking a note from BBQ; try doing it low and slow. Cook by internal temp and not sight, feel, or time.

 

I cook steak exclusively on my CI pan.

Here are pics from last week, I'll write up my process later when I'm bored during work meetings.

 

Wow, I have never had any burger not be fantastic when cooked in the ci pan.

 

Shit I forgot to post the process, anyway super easy:

1.) Let steak reach room temp by taking out of fridge ~30mins before cooking.
2.) While it's warming up, preheat oven to 425 and preheat pan to really fvcking hot
3.) Generously salt and pepper each side of steak, let stand ~10-15min
4.) For a 1-1.5" thick steak (anything thinner and it's deli meat), toss it on the really fvcking hot pan (I use a grill pan, you'll see why on the next line).
5.) Right after you toss the steak in the pan, toss some butter in there while it sears. With the grill pan, tilt it back and forth to allow the butter to run underneath the steak and add flavor.
6.) Start the clock for 3min and cook. If you want the cool cross hatch pattern, rotate the steak 45 deg half way through.
7.) Flip the steak after 3 min and toss another wad of butter in there, tilt it back and forth to spread.
8.) Immediately put it in the oven for 5 minutes.
9.) Take out and put on tin foil stand to allow the juices to drain away to not let steak get soggy for 10 minutes.

This process will get you just barely medium 1.5" thick ribeye or NYS steak (which is how I like mine) so alter the cook times accordingly for steak type, thickness, and how you like it done.

 

All good except for a slight correction to number 9
Tenting and letting the meat rest is supposed to allow the juices to soak back INTO the meat rather than just drain out when you first cut it.

 

Yes! Corn bread or hoecakes are great on CI skillets.

 

So should I just be letting them sit on a plate? Every time I do that, it ruins the sear on the bottom.

 

I never think about the sear on the bottom, i worry more about the juiciness of the steak it would make sense that the crust on the bottom would not be as 'crusty' () because the juices are soaking back into the steak.

Whatever works for you though! my suggestion was more "Let it sit for a bit before serving right away because if you serve it and start cutting into it immediately, all the juices will run all over your place and you're left with a dry steak"

 

Oh I absolutely agree with that, I never cut into it right away. That's a rookie move.

 

I let the steak sit for ten minutes on a plate. Then I cut the steak for us (usually just the wife and I) on a cutting board. Meanwhile I'll put some extra salt, pepper, and ground corriander in the juice remaining on the plate. Mix it up. Then pour that over the cut steak pieces. Voila! I found that extra little bit of salt at the very end really makes a difference.

As for cast irons... anyone ever considered a cast iron pizza stone? I've been tempted lately while seeking the perfect crust at home.

 

I never worry about the bottom sear, I let out rest on a plate or cutting board.

Just before serving, I give the top a little drizzle of good evoo. It's a winner, try it next time!

 

Made burgers on the CIP yesterday because it was raining out and dear god were they awesome. No pics because I ate it too fast.

 

nom nom nom...

 

A good balsamic works wonders too

 

Ordered a Lodge 12" skillet to supplement the 10 and 8 inch I have from Target yesterday. I've been looking for a slightly larger skillet because the 10 was just a tad too small.. Had it on my Amazon list for a while and it was hovering around 26-30 bucks.. Saw on slickdeals yesterday that Target had it for 17 bucks! http://www.target.com/p/lodge-cast-i...t_adv_xasd0002


Ordered it yesterday (free shipping with REDcard) and it arrived minutes ago.. Holy crap, that was fast.. Time to cook some bacon and season that bad boy

 

Oh wow good deal. I need to order one of those. Only $17 for a larger pan. Definitely in need of that. My 10in is just so small for making bacon.

Tried swordfish in my cast iron since it decided to rain Monday night here and ruined my grilling plan.

3 minute sear on medium-high heat. Flip it over for 1 min then move to the oven at 400 for 7 more min.

 

^I was hoping to see you post that on here after seeing the CI skillet on fb

Good stuff man!

 

Ya'll are real life friends? Cute!

What's all over the spuds? Salt?

 

he salt crusted them before baking in the oven.