I'm scared of my cast iron skillet.

[Teasel]

I've got a lodge 12 inch cast iron skillet and am kinda scared of it. Cast iron skillets are not common here (UK) and I've never seen one used, only one YouTube/ pioneer woman.

When I got mine, I seasoned it several times. And have used it twice.

Both times the pan was no where near hot enough and only the middle spot if the pan actually got at all hot.

I tried moving it round a bit as it was heating so more of the pan would heat up but it didn't seem to make any difference.

I don't know if the rings are larger on US hobs? The largest ring on mine is maybe 5 inches.

Wondered how you use yours? How do you get all of the pan hot, not just the middle?

How do you clean it?

Any other tips?

Thanks.

 

[FauxLiz]

I love my casr iron skillets. I grew up cooking with them and find they work better on a gas stove than an electric. Not sure why you are having difficulties getting it to hear across the entire width of the bottom with an electric range it could ben issue with the coils. When you turn on the burner do the coils get “red” all the way to the outer edges?

As for cleaning you can get special scrapers from lodge but really the only rule is similar to stoneware in that you don’t use dish soap on them. One way that can be used which is an old restaurant trick is a combination of ice, salt (kosher or pickling salt if you have them as they are coarser) and some lemon juice. Use these to scrape/clean the surface

 

[Teasel]

Thanks for replying @FauxLiz i have a gas stove, not electric. How many minutes do you preheat your pan for?

 

[FauxLiz]

a general rule that I follow is the skillet is hot and ready when a drop of water “dances” in the skillet.

 

[Teasel]

Thanks. Roughly how long does that take?

 

[FauxLiz]

depending on how high you have the flame is it can take a few minutes. I promise it is worth it. the great thing about cast iron is it is versatile you can bake in the oven with it, start food on the stove and finish it in the oven, I won't make fried chicken in anything else. I have multiple sizes of cast iron skillets, I have a cast iron wok that I adore, and a cast iron dutch oven that is great for stews, baking loaves of bread. I was fortunate that I grew up cooking with cast iron, didn't inherit any as I am the fourth daughter but I have passed my love of cast iron on to my son and he has a collection in his college apartment that his roommate and friends enjoy the benefits of his talents.

 

[Teasel]

I want yo learn how to use it :) I was wondering if I should get a smaller one, but maybe I'll try again.

Was wondering too if I ought to heat it in the oven but that slightly seems like too much hassle

 

[Wendell_R]

I cook at least half of our dinners with my cast iron skillet. I've had the same one since 1985!

Because they are heavy, they take longer to heat than other pans. It can help to use high heat to get it hot, then turn down the heat. The iron doesn't conduct as well as aluminum. On some burners I've had no problems, but other burners the skillet runs warm in the middle. Sometimes I need to move the food around so everything cooks evenly.

I break a lot of rules about cleaning my skillet! I find that every time I cook with some oil in the pan, the seasoning grows a bit. As long as the rate of taking off the seasoning is slower than the rate of re-seasoning, everything is fine. I clean by hand with warm, soapy water and a scrub brush. After rinsing, I warm the pan so the water evaporates.

For meat, I put just a little oil in the pan, spread it around, and wait until it just starts to smoke. Then toss in the meat and brown, often turning down the heat around then. You can get a nice brown with iron skillets!

I find cast iron to be easier to cook high-temperature things in than stainless steel. It lasts way longer than non-stick. You can cook eggs, but need a fair amount of oil/butter.

 

[Teasel]

Thanks @Wendell_R I like the sound of cooking meat it in a lot. Also the hash browns I want to make tomorrow. I have a pan I like very much for cooking eggs already, so am happy to stick with that for eggs.

Do you wait for the pan to cool before washing it? Till it's stone cold? How do you stop food drying on it if so?

With my other pans, often I pour out any grease, and wipe them with kitchen paper before they cool so that washing up will be easy.

 

[Wendell_R]

Do you wait for the pan to cool before washing it? Till it's stone cold? How do you stop food drying on it if so?

When it's cooled a bit, but still hot, I splash a little water in it to loosen up the food. I use the spatula to scrape up the food and toss that out with the water. (Actually, if I've cooked meat, our doggie gets the rinse water with all its browned-meat flavor.) I'm aware that putting water in a hot skillet is one of those no-no's that I do anyway! I just make sure the pan is partly cool.

After dinner, I put a cup or two of suds into the pan and heat it up on the burner if necessary, and scrub with my brush when it's hot.

With my other pans, often I pour out any grease, and wipe them with kitchen paper before they cool so that washing up will be easy.

Sounds like a good idea!

Meat is easy to do in cast iron and a good place to start. Hash browns work once you figure out how much oil you need. Also, the pan has to be hot enough so the potatoes don't stick.

Have fun!

 

[Teasel]

Thanks :D

 

[Friday]

a general rule that I follow is the skillet is hot and ready when a drop of water “dances” in the skillet.

@Teasel Yep. Or smoking hot. Which isn’t that hot if you’ve been seasoning with olive oil, as it has a low smoke point. It’s only a few degrees hotter than dancing hot.

My stove at work... that’s 2-3 minutes
My stove at home... 4-5 minutes
My parents stove... 8-10 minutes <<< Their BTU is weak. You don’t wanna know how freaking long it takes to make coffee on their stove. For. Freaking. Ever. I can add boiling water from the kettle into my pot, drop in the ground basket thing, screw on the top, then go take a leisurely shower & get dressed... come back down & its only JUST finishing up. It’s not a huge mokapot, either. Just 6 cups. The times I need coffee and have already taken a shower that day? Have a lot of “Is life REALLY worth living? I mean, really?” staring it down, willing it to brew faster.

For screaming hot (to sear meat, etc.), because I’m mostly using olive oil, I throw the fan on high, and open the windows, and nip the smoke alarm in a drawer. Because it takes about twice as long to reach screaming hot as it takes to reach smoking hot. (Screaming hot, like bubble & squeak actually “squeaks” the food actually “screams” when it hits the surface of the pan... like a balloon you’re making scream/squeal by pinching the end almost completely closed, as the steam is attempting to escape so fast in the initial few seconds it sounds like air screaming out of a balloon, rather than hissing out).

Kind of like waiting for water to boil... I keep myself distracted doing other things whilst it heats up // turn on the flame 5-10 minutes before I’m going to be done prepping.

***

For cleanup... I have a box of rock salt (kosher salt if I’m outta coarse el cheapo salt) I just pour about half a cup into & a dedicated brush. Food gets plated, salt pours in, give it a few circular scrubs, add water from the kettle, a quick scrub again, and pour into sink. Maybe swirl it out one more time with kettle water. Replace on stove to let it cool down while I eat. Go wash my face and arms, take the plated food to the table. Wipe down with a splash of oil & a paper towel after I’m done eating. If it’s cooled too much I just turn the flame on for 30 seconds or a minute or three to gloss it. As long as it’s still warm the oil will penetrate the pores just fine. But I often get distracted and by the time I get back the metal is able to be touched with a bare hand. Easy fix. Flame on. Swipe with oil. Flame off.