Cooking With Cast Iron! Wow!

[Georgetoon]

From time to time, we talk about food and cooking up here.  I thought I'd share my latest culinary "discovery."

I was interested in cooking a bit more healthy for myself and, over the years, have heard of the benefits of cooking with cast iron. I did some research and discovered that Walmart sells Lodge cast iron skillets and dutch ovens at incredibly low prices.  They're made in Tennessee.

I purchased this 12 inch skillet for less than 20 bucks!

Even though it's seasoned at the factory, at the urging of my brother,

I seasoned it once more.

This guy's video shows you a couple of seasoning methods. (Embedding disabled, limit reached)

Sunday morning,  I fired it up. I cooked some fresh potatoes, eggs, and BACON!  Wow!  Nothing stuck to the surface and clean up was a snap! (Don't use soap. Simply rinse and scrub off in hot water.) BETTER than Teflon!  And the food tasted great!  Plus, you get iron in your diet.

That evening, I made chicken and rice in the oven with the same skillet. Again, the non-stick quality was amazing!

I'm sold!:)  I'm buying a 10-inch skillet and a dutch oven.  I'm not cooking with anything but cast iron!  And, with proper care, it'll last for years and years.  You can hand it down to your grand-kids!:)

[Rudge]

I have several and have been using them all for years. They keep getting better with time.

I have a tiny 6 inch one that I use for making cornbread.

Awesome. You will enjoy them for the rest of your life.

[joechimp]

I had a set of old and I mean old cast iron pans. I bought them at a yard sale long long ago. Of course I brought them home for my EX, when she wasn't my EX.  
You can guess, she got the pans.  
C'est La Vie.



Anyway, the set was incredible. It had from the tiniest pan that might hold one egg. That is a maybe , it was so small. To the old west pans they carried on the Wagon Trains and trail herds. It was so big it was hard to lift for the average person. It was the biggest pan I ever saw in my life. That and every size pan in between. It was amazing. Must of been from that old time period. I remember looking up the company at the library. Yes this was before home computers and discovered they were made for years and years.

Sort of like this but I had more.


Here is what the size of the trail pan looked like. Hard to tell in relation to that table but it is huge. Even bigger than the one shown.


Wish I still had them. THe EX, Not so much.


PS: I remember that I only paid 10 Bucks for all of them. 

[BubbaBlues]

You'd be lucky to even find a single skillet for ten buck now.

[joechimp]

You'd be lucky to even find a single skillet for ten buck now.

That is for sure. I have never seen another one at a flea market or yard sale. Even there it would be more for one. To buy a new one is out of my price range.

[Linux-Blue]

I bought one at Target a while back, and they're very nice. Heavy, but very nice.

[Georgetoon]

Well, I stopped at Walmart and bought a 10-1/4-inch skillet and a 5 quart dutch oven.  I seasoned them both last night.  Not a moment to soon as we got hit with a big snowstorm overnight.

With a few tips form Rudge, I used the 12-inch skillet to warm leftover chili.  I made chili in a slow cooker on Saturday.  I'm trying to avoid using the Microwave so much.  The cast iron allows me to slow down a bit, warm or prepare meals and just enjoy the process. 

Tonight, I'm collecting all the Teflon and putting it in storage.  Making room for the good stuff.

[Old-Polack]

Well, I stopped at Walmart and bought a 10-1/4-inch skillet and a 5 quart dutch oven.  I seasoned them both last night.  Not a moment to soon as we got hit with a big snowstorm overnight.

With a few tips form Rudge, I used the 12-inch skillet to warm leftover chili.  I made chili in a slow cooker on Saturday.  I'm trying to avoid using the Microwave so much.  The cast iron allows me to slow down a bit, warm or prepare meals and just enjoy the process.  

Tonight, I'm collecting all the Teflon and putting it in storage.  Making room for the good stuff.

How quickly they convert, once they've actually tried iron cookware.

Did you see this thread?

http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,111369.0.html

I use that little rocket with all my cast iron cookware, and the combo is slick as can be. I haven't cooked on the stove since I got it. High tech and old tech, a perfect marriage.

[YouCanToo]

Even bread tastes better baked in cast iron bread pans.  I bought 8 cast iron bread pans. Even though they are 4 times more expensive than the normal pans (tin pans). They tend to bake a lot more even. I really like using them in the wood fired oven. It will be a cold cold day before I give up my cast iron and go back to using that other cookware.  While I was in a thrift store I came across this little cast iron gem



Do you know what it is for  

[joechimp]

I believe it to be a garlic roaster.

[YouCanToo]

I believe it to be a garlic roaster.

Yea............ You be right!!!!!

[Rudge]

I was going to guess "A Brazen Bull" but I guess if it's for garlic, it would be a bit small for that. LOL  

[YouCanToo]

I was going to guess "A Brazen Bull" but I guess if it's for garlic, it would be a bit small for that. LOL  

Ya think so

[joechimp]

I believe it to be a garlic roaster.

Yea............ You be right!!!!!

Well, I think I saw it on a cooking show once, so I am not so smart.   

[Georgetoon]

Looks like something to bake a cake.  Angel food cake?