CH Runners
Not Running => Food => Topic started by: debbatx on December 27, 2012, 08:55:57 AM
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Okay, so for once people looked at the Christmas lists they requested of me and DH, and bought off of it. We now have 2 Lodge cast-iron skillets, and 2 Lodge Dutch ovens.
So. Do I *need* two Dutch ovens? If not, which one do I keep? I got a 5qt and a 6qt. Right now, it's just me, DH, and Reid, with a baby on the way. The 5qt is plain ol' cast iron, the 6qt is enameled cast iron, if that makes a difference in your advice.
Do I need two skillets? They're the same size - 12" around and 2" deep. Whatever we keep will replace our old nonstick skillet that's starting to show a lot of wear. I still have a small non-nonstick (so... sticky?).... uh.... sauté pan? I rarely use it, but it's there if I need it.
The skillets claim to be pre-seasoned. Is there anything I need to do before I use them? I know the tag that came with them says to just wash after use and then rub some oil in after drying. Anything else? If it involves a dremel, it ain't happening, just FYI.
Help! I really want to use and love these things - I'm super excited about them.
Also, any recipes would be great!
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I say keep the enamel cast iron dutch oven. I do not see a reason to have two of those, but skillets, something you use daily, you may want more than one. Our dutch oven was well over $200 and worth every penny. The enameled cast iron clean up super easy.
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See, and I was going to say two skillets the same size is not necessary - I find the 12" ones a little unwieldy, so I'd exchange one for a 10" so you have both sizes for use as needed.
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I vote for 1 dutch oven and I'd keep the enameled one.
I have a number of cast iron pans and find it handy to have several of them. But, I mostly use all of them when I'm making pancakes (I like to run all 4 burners at once). I will tell you that while I LOVE my cast iron... I wouldn't make it my only pan. They are just too heavy and unwieldy for me. They also take a long time to heat up/cool down-which is great for some things and not so much for others.
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I vote for 1 dutch oven and I'd keep the enameled one.
I have a number of cast iron pans and find it handy to have several of them. But, I mostly use all of them when I'm making pancakes (I like to run all 4 burners at once). I will tell you that while I LOVE my cast iron... I wouldn't make it my only pan. They are just too heavy and unwieldy for me. They also take a long time to heat up/cool down-which is great for some things and not so much for others.
I also find that cast iron doesnt work well for everything. Eggs for me always stick in the cast iron pan.
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So maybe I should swap out one of the skillets for another kind of pan? Hmmmm..... That's good to know about the heating part of it.
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I don't have a cast iron skillet, I'm always afraid I'll break my glass top stove...
I have some calphalon pans that I LOVE. They are non-stick, but they aren't teflon. Annodized, maybe? They are great pans.
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So, keep the enameled dutch oven. Keep one skillet. Maybe get a second skillet, but not cast-iron?
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Yeah, I love cast iron, but not for everything. The tomato thing is a good point - I forgot about that once when making short ribs, and I seared them in the cast iron, which it is great for - except that then the recipe calls for deglazing the pan with a bunch of stuff like chili sauce, vinegar, etc. My poor pan was not happy.
I do think having a non-stick around is useful for some things, like eggs - although I just get whatever looks good at Marshall's or TJ Maxx, because inevitably they don't last long before getting scratched. And 10" is my go-to size unless I'm doing something bigger than usual.
Courtney I have Calphalon too - I love the anodized aluminum but I know not everyone is a fan. It does take some getting used to for certain things.
I pretty much alternate between the Calphalon 10" skillet and a larger le Creuset piece (enameled cast iron) that I guess is a braiser, but is a great all-purpose pan for me for all kinds of things. And as needed (ie, for eggs!) I used the non-stick.
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Well, whatever I end up doing, it will be coming from Target. :)
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Well, whatever I end up doing, it will be coming from Target. :)
:D I love me some target!
The only thing I don't love about the annodized stuff (I don't know that it's aluminum for mine?) is that it shouldn't go in the dishwasher.
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Do you guys ever camp? If so I'd keep the cast iron dutch oven. I've never used a dutch oven inside, but looove it for outside cooking. I only have a tiny one that I use for cobbler, but I really want a bigger one for potatoes and such.
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Nah, we don't camp. :) That's good to know, though!
And everything we got came from Target, so that's where I'll be going for exchanges. I love that store. I don't mind that the pans can't go in the dishwasher - we usually wash them by hand anyway.
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I would exchange one cast iron skillet for a smaller one. I have an 8" one I use all the time. I need a 12" one because, well, I need it for stuff the other one is too small for. Until I had a cast iron skillet, I had no idea how much I would love it.
Keep the enamelled dutch oven. I can't think of a single instance in the last 5 years where I wished we had more than one dutch oven.
Regarding the seasoning: I would still oil the skillets before the first use... wash, dry, oil. And I'd use it almost exclusively to cook fatty foods for the first little while... which is an excellent excuse to have bacon.
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Heh, caribougrrl is wise. Bacon. Mmm.
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I would exchange one cast iron skillet for a smaller one. I have an 8" one I use all the time. I need a 12" one because, well, I need it for stuff the other one is too small for. Until I had a cast iron skillet, I had no idea how much I would love it.
Keep the enamelled dutch oven. I can't think of a single instance in the last 5 years where I wished we had more than one dutch oven.
Regarding the seasoning: I would still oil the skillets before the first use... wash, dry, oil. And I'd use it almost exclusively to cook fatty foods for the first little while... which is an excellent excuse to have bacon.
I have a smaller skillet, it's just not cast iron. I don't use it much, though. Right now, I'm thinking I'll take back one skillet and the non-enamelled dutch oven and get store credit and then hang onto that until I decide if I want another skillet or what.
And the instructions that came with the skillet did say to wash/dry/oil before first use, so I'd planned on that. And any excuse for bacon works for me!! :D I could also do chili baked potatoes - the ground beef is usually pretty fatty.
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I have a smaller skillet, it's just not cast iron. I don't use it much, though. Right now, I'm thinking I'll take back one skillet and the non-enamelled dutch oven and get store credit and then hang onto that until I decide if I want another skillet or what.
And the instructions that came with the skillet did say to wash/dry/oil before first use, so I'd planned on that. And any excuse for bacon works for me!! :D I could also do chili baked potatoes - the ground beef is usually pretty fatty.
Store credit at target is pretty awesome. :D
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Indeed it is!!
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I would exchange one cast iron skillet for a smaller one. I have an 8" one I use all the time. I need a 12" one because, well, I need it for stuff the other one is too small for. Until I had a cast iron skillet, I had no idea how much I would love it.
Keep the enamelled dutch oven. I can't think of a single instance in the last 5 years where I wished we had more than one dutch oven.
Regarding the seasoning: I would still oil the skillets before the first use... wash, dry, oil. And I'd use it almost exclusively to cook fatty foods for the first little while... which is an excellent excuse to have bacon.
big 1!
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Awesome - so now I have one skillet, one dutch oven, and a good amount of store credit at target. :D
Now to *use* them. :D
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Awesome - so now I have one skillet, one dutch oven, and a good amount of store credit at target. :D
Now to *use* them. :D
:D
i go there daily it seems :D I got a sled today for DD since it is going to snow again tomorrow and the last time i crammed her in the infant sled! LOL
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Wish us luck - we're making chili in the dutch oven tonight. :)
And I did a little extra seasoning on the skillet today - it's purty. :D
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Wish us luck - we're making chili in the dutch oven tonight. :)
And I did a little extra seasoning on the skillet today - it's purty. :D
Well?!
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The chili came out great! A little soupier than usual, but not too bad. I think DH freaked out a little because you're not supposed to use as high a heat as you normally do, so he simmered it a little too low. Cleanup was a breeze with just one pot and everything washed off super easy. LOVED that.
Seasoning on the skillet looks good. We'll know more on Wednesday when I do chili baked potatoes. :)
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This is one of my favorite things to make in a cast iron pan: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/good-eats/dutch-baby-recipe/index.html (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/good-eats/dutch-baby-recipe/index.html)
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:o
Must....try....
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If you do steaks, this gets as good of results as anything I've ever tried... and back in the day I tried them all. I still do bison a couple of times a year, in fact I'm doing some tonight. :D
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pan-seared-rib-eye-recipe/index.html (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pan-seared-rib-eye-recipe/index.html)
If you like eggs this is really good...
http://www.mediterrasian.com/delicious_recipes_chakchouka.htm (http://www.mediterrasian.com/delicious_recipes_chakchouka.htm)
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It's really good. We like it with powdered sugar and lemon squeezed over the top.
I also love to make corn bread in my cast iron pan- especially softer spoon bread/style.
It's also the absolute best for making pancakes.
Oh! And deep dish pizza.
Oh, I also like it for frying. You can definitely use a dutch oven for deep frying but it's also good in a skillet with 1-2 inches of fat.
I know... not the most healthy things. They're also really good for cooking steak, stew, pork chops and other meat where you want a nice char on the outside and they are great for braising.
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Thanks for the tips!! We usually do steaks on the Foreman, but that's good to know about the skillet. I would *never* have thought of pizza!
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Cornbread!
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Yeah, that's definitely on the list!
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I got a cast iron griddle for christmas (well actually a late wedding present) and was super upset to read on the instructions I cannot use it on my stupid flat topped stove. >:(
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You can't? That would suck.
Made chili baked potatoes last night. The skillet worked beautifully!!
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You can't? That would suck.
Made chili baked potatoes last night. The skillet worked beautifully!!
well it takes two burners and excludes glass and ceramic topped electric stoves. Of course it didn't say this on the outside of the package. I can can still use it on the BBQ but I wanted it for the stove. Grrr! >:( I HATE our stove!
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do you have a glass-topped stove? we had one in a rental I lived in a few years ago and I HATED that thing.
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do you have a glass-topped stove? we had one in a rental I lived in a few years ago and I HATED that thing.
Yes and I despise it.
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Oh, that sucks. :( I'm so glad we don't have a glass-topped stove.
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I have glass top and think it is ok
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do you have a glass-topped stove? we had one in a rental I lived in a few years ago and I HATED that thing.
Really? I'm in the market for a new stove and I was thinking this would be a good thing. What do you hate about it?
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Really? I'm in the market for a new stove and I was thinking this would be a good thing. What do you hate about it?
Everything. It stays hot for hours after you use it so you cannot set stuff from the oven on it. It scratches really easily (ours is all scratched up from the previous owners). Mine takes forever to heat up and cool down if you turn a burner down. I pretty much hate electric stoves... they suck to cook on. It is easy to wipe down though as long as you have waited the hours for it to cool down first.
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Everything. It stays hot for hours after you use it so you cannot set stuff from the oven on it. It scratches really easily (ours is all scratched up from the previous owners). Mine takes forever to heat up and cool down if you turn a burner down. I pretty much hate electric stoves... they suck to cook on. It is easy to wipe down though as long as you have waited the hours for it to cool down first.
really? ours heats up fast, boil water in minutes. it does stay hot for 10-15 minutes after use and ours is so easy to clean. electric is our only option here unless we wanted propane installed.
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I agree with everything MM wrote. And if g-d forbid I let milk spill over on it b/c the thing held heat for so long, by the time it cooled enough to clean the mess off it was horrid to clean.
I love my stove now: it's gas.
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Another glass top hater. You absolutely MUST clean it after every use- or it gets disgusting and is much more difficult to clean than other stoves.
The burners are all really different as well. I have one that will boil water on 2 and one that barely simmers set to high. It's maddening. Would never buy one on purpose.
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interesting. I have had no issues wtih my glass top stove for the 5.5 years we have lived here. it cleans easily and we are really lazy about cleaning it because we cook so much.
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interesting. I have had no issues wtih my glass top stove for the 5.5 years we have lived here. it cleans easily and we are really lazy about cleaning it because we cook so much.
Any bit if food on mine creates so much smoke but you can't clean it off because it is too hot. So I have to be super careful about spills.
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I'm glad you like the cast iron, debba! I learned to cook steaks on the stove when I was in France (the only method we had) and now we prefer them cooked in a cast iron skillet on the stove. We haven't put a steak on the grill in two years!
Thanks for the dutch baby recipe, RA! I love them, but have never made my own. A pancake house near us has them and I almost always order that when we go.
As for glass topped stoves - I would hate it if it were electric but the one I had in Paris was induction and it was really nice. Induction is similar to gas in the way you can control it. Electric is just too slow to respond, both ways.
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I'm glad you like the cast iron, debba! I learned to cook steaks on the stove when I was in France (the only method we had) and now we prefer them cooked in a cast iron skillet on the stove. We haven't put a steak on the grill in two years!
So what is the method for cooking steaks in cast iron?
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I had never heard of induction cooking before, but I did some googling, and now I'm fascinated.
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I had never heard of induction cooking before, but I did some googling, and now I'm fascinated.
looks awesome, huh?
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So what is the method for cooking steaks in cast iron?
I don't know what other people do. I sear the steak on both sides in the cast iron pan and then put the whole thing in the oven to get the insides to a proper state of rare but done. Not quite as good as careful grilling, but close.
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So what is the method for cooking steaks in cast iron?
Try this.... http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pan-seared-rib-eye-recipe/index.html (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pan-seared-rib-eye-recipe/index.html)
Incredible.
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So what is the method for cooking steaks in cast iron?
There must be butter involved. And then it's divine.
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There must be butter involved. And then it's divine.
A lot of people using the one I posted deglaze the pan with butter and redwine... has to be good, but butter won't work at the start... it isn't going to hold up at 500 degrees.
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So what is the method for cooking steaks in cast iron?
I set the meat out for about an hour before cooking so that it comes to room temperature. I brush the meat with olive oil and then season it with salt, pepper and whatever tickles you (I mostly prefer to just add garlic powder). Heat the pan for about 5 minutes before adding the meat, then sear the steaks in the pan. If the meat is about 1 inch thick, I cook it for 2-3 minutes per side and I get a wonderfully medium-rare but more on the rare side steak. I adjust cooking times for preferred doneness or thickness of the meat. It comes out great every time. I have hear of radial's method too, where you sear the meat and then pop it in the oven, but I haven't ever tried that. One thing we also learned in France is a preference for rarer cooked meat. I don't like mine bloody or raw on the inside. It has to be cooked but still pink almost to the edges.
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There must be butter involved. And then it's divine.
Yes! Adding butter makes it fabulous but also a lot more calorific! We don't use butter often, but occasionally I'll add butter. If you used slightly crushed peppercorns, it is also REALLY good!
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Try this.... http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pan-seared-rib-eye-recipe/index.html (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pan-seared-rib-eye-recipe/index.html)
Incredible.
I'm going to try this! It is very similar to my method but adds the oven part.
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I had never heard of induction cooking before, but I did some googling, and now I'm fascinated.
I really liked it - the stove stays cool except where the pan is, the response time is immediate like gas, but you can have a glass cooktop. It was wonderfully easy to keep clean and cook on. If I were replacing a cooktop now, I would seriously consider it over gas. My SoCal house doesn't need a new cooktop, but my mountain home wouldn't hurt from having a new one. The problem is we lose power a lot here, and having gas means we can still cook. So I'm really torn about a replacement cooktop for here.
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I set the meat out for about an hour before cooking so that it comes to room temperature. I brush the meat with olive oil and then season it with salt, pepper and whatever tickles you (I mostly prefer to just add garlic powder). Heat the pan for about 5 minutes before adding the meat, then sear the steaks in the pan. If the meat is about 1 inch thick, I cook it for 2-3 minutes per side and I get a wonderfully medium-rare but more on the rare side steak. I adjust cooking times for preferred doneness or thickness of the meat. It comes out great every time. I have hear of radial's method too, where you sear the meat and then pop it in the oven, but I haven't ever tried that. One thing we also learned in France is a preference for rarer cooked meat. I don't like mine bloody or raw on the inside. It has to be cooked but still pink almost to the edges.
When I ordered my steak rare in Paris, the waiter chuckled and asked, "American rare or French rare?" I went with French, and it was really rare. Exactly the way I like it. :yum:
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When I ordered my steak rare in Paris, the waiter chuckled and asked, "American rare or French rare?" I went with French, and it was really rare. Exactly the way I like it. :yum:
Yeah, we got that a lot. Bleu (cooked 1 min ea side) and saignant (cooked a little bit more than bleu) are a little too rare for me, so we always ordered a point. They would ask, "French a point, or American a point?" French is perfect, American is well done, even though the definition of a point is only a little more cooked than saignant.
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We're making beef and Guinness stew in the dutch oven tonight - smell delicious and appears to be cooking beautifully. Yay! :)
I'm definitely going to have to try steaks in the skillet at some point.
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Ummm, these recipes look great! I cook almost exclusively in my cast iron skilled (12") and love it. I have a smaller one but don't use it that often. For Christmas I got a cast-iron wok which is great. My DH ground the 12" down for me a bit and it's becoming as smooth as glass.
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The stew came out great! And the pot cleaned up really well, too, so yay! We're making a stir-fry kind of meal on Wednesday, so I'll get to use the skillet again then - I'm ridiculously excited about that thing.
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Ummm, these recipes look great! I cook almost exclusively in my cast iron skilled (12") and love it. I have a smaller one but don't use it that often. For Christmas I got a cast-iron wok which is great. My DH ground the 12" down for me a bit and it's becoming as smooth as glass.
Same here. I don't even put it away, it just sits on the stove waiting for the next assignment.
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Same here. I don't even put it away, it just sits on the stove waiting for the next assignment.
Me too. I love it.
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This is one of my favorite things to make in a cast iron pan: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/good-eats/dutch-baby-recipe/index.html (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/good-eats/dutch-baby-recipe/index.html)
Dutch baby?
At first, I thought you'd gotten the recipe from this site:
http://www.asylumnation.com/asylum/showthread.php?threadid=49925 (http://www.asylumnation.com/asylum/showthread.php?threadid=49925)