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Cast iron leet

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Re: Cast iron leet

#291

Post by dlevine »

qbasic_forever wrote: post #191

One thing I've recently discovered with my cast iron pan (now 20 years old!) is cooking pan pizza at home with it. I follow the America's Test Kitchen recipe here and it comes out unbelievably good, just like Pizza Hut from the 80s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-srfPL5CWZs It's super trendy to obsess over getting the hottest pizza oven--something that gets up to 800 degrees, etc--so you can get super authentic res…

I recently bought a cast iron pizza pan (https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/lodge-bakeware-pizz...) after my pizza stone broke. I had a lot of trouble transferring the dough to the stone without messing it up, but it's easy with the cast iron. You can take the pan out of the oven when it is hot, which makes it much easier than using the stone.

I preheat the pan in the oven, pull it out, transfer the dough to the stone, and put on the toppings. The pan stays hot, so the dough starts cooking while I prepare the pie. Then after cooking for 6 minutes in the oven, I can take the pizza out of the oven again, put on the cheese, and cook for a few more minutes to melt.

The cast iron is also super easy to clean, unlike the stone, which was pretty much impossible to get fully clean. After it cools, I rinse it off and coat with a thin layer of oil. Then it's ready for the next use.

Re: Cast iron leet

#292

Post by amelius »

greenSunglass wrote: post #283

I have one from le creuset for my steaks, but every single time I use it, I find it dangerous: - it's really heavy, you really need two hands to take them sometimes if the food is heavy - the handle is so small, and that plastic to protect the handle from the heat does not feel safe - Keep the heat too long, sometimes I forget it is hot and burned myself Non-sticky pan are quite light. I need to change mine soon (bec…

Also look out for lead and cadmium in Le Creuset pans.

https://tamararubin.com/2022/04/le-creuset-overview/

Re: Cast iron leet

#293

Post by 8bitchemistry »

jstx1 wrote: post #31

In general I find that cast iron is very overrated. > Here's a list of myths about cast iron skillets: (...) You can't cook with acidic foods (e.g. tomatoes) because it'll destroy the seasoning You might not destroy the seasoning but you will get metallic tastes in your food. I don't get why anyone would pick cast iron over stainless steel for an acidic sauce that needs to be cooked for a longer period of time. Also…

> Stainless steel has better heat retention and distribution

I could be wrong, but I thought that cast iron has higher thermal conductivity (53 w/mK - watts per meter-Kelvin) then stainless steel (14 w/mK). Both are relatively poor thermal conductors compared to aluminum, however (>200 w/mK).

Re: Cast iron leet

#294

Post by orangepurple »

nsxwolf wrote: post #273
jstx1 wrote: post #31

In general I find that cast iron is very overrated. > Here's a list of myths about cast iron skillets: (...) You can't cook with acidic foods (e.g. tomatoes) because it'll destroy the seasoning You might not destroy the seasoning but you will get metallic tastes in your food. I don't get why anyone would pick cast iron over stainless steel for an acidic sauce that needs to be cooked for a longer period of time. Also…

When my cast iron gets rusty I just keep cooking with it. The rust goes away. I assume into my food where it becomes an essential nutrient. I don’t get the big deal about seasoning. I always cook with some sort of fat, so nothing sticks usually.

I badly screwed up my cast iron pan by frying shredded meat with lots of blood (Korean BBQ).

However, I converted all non-metal stuff to pure carbon ash by heating the pan to 750 F with my 25 year old electric range. At this heat it was very uncomfortable to keep a flat palm hovering one foot over the pan for any period of time. But it cleared up very nicely after some smoke that I extracted with a dedicated kitchen fan. The ash was scraped off like dust. I wouldn't do this without an exhaust under any circumstances though.

Re: Cast iron leet

#295

Post by wmock »

I really want to love my cast iron, but I just have such a hard time cleaning it - or rather, maybe I'm not supposed to clean it? I'm just so confused with what to do after cooking with it for a meal.

Re: Cast iron leet

#296

Post by MarquesMa »

I mainly use three different pans: 1) A carbon steel wok 2) A cast iron skillet 3) A dutch oven.

The wok is very versatile. I use it for most things by default.

The skillet is great for pan frying.

The dutch oven is great for braising without me stirring it too often.

Cast iron is situational because it has large heat opacity: you can think of it as a pizza stone for pan frying.

The advantage is you can compensate by long preheating if your stove is inferior.

The disadvantage is it's slow to respond: When you turn to high it delays a while, when you want to lower the temperature you still need to wait.

Re: Cast iron leet

#297

Post by orangepurple »

shadycuz wrote: post #133
brudgers wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What works for me. I don't use cast iron for boiling, simmering, and otherwise cooking liquids. It's a frying pan for frying. I use stainless steel sauce pans, pots, etc. for liquids. I clean the cast iron while it is hot. A lot of food comes off without water, only a little water is required to remove the rest, and the cast iron is mostly self drying. Since I usually use electric burners, I can stick it back on its…

When I have really stubborn stuck items to my cast iron. I boil salt in it.

Any food on a cast iron pan is converted to carbon ash by holding the pan at 750F for a few tens of minutes if you have a functional exhaust fan. This is useful for the most extremely stuck stuff like large amounts of meat mixed with blood. No amount of scraping would get that off. However the ash came off effortlessly. The electric range was old and worn out but got the job done easily.

Re: Cast iron leet

#298

Post by wyclif »

jstx1 wrote: post #31

In general I find that cast iron is very overrated. > Here's a list of myths about cast iron skillets: (...) You can't cook with acidic foods (e.g. tomatoes) because it'll destroy the seasoning You might not destroy the seasoning but you will get metallic tastes in your food. I don't get why anyone would pick cast iron over stainless steel for an acidic sauce that needs to be cooked for a longer period of time. Also…

you need to dry it perfectly every time or it rusts very easily

If you dry it with a kitchen towel (you don't even have to do it carefully) and then hang it up overhead instead of placing it flat in a cabinet or on the stovetop, it will never rust.

Re: Cast iron leet

#299

Post by davidn20 »

wmock wrote: post #295

I really want to love my cast iron, but I just have such a hard time cleaning it - or rather, maybe I'm not supposed to clean it? I'm just so confused with what to do after cooking with it for a meal.

For me, when you are using a cast iron, you have to adjust your idea of clean. I think of it like a grill. You're not going to spotlessly clean your grill every time you use it. There are always going to be some carbon on there that wipes off.

Honestly, the reason why I love my cast iron is because of how lazy and rough I can be with it. I rarely clean my cast iron unless I leave oil in there for weeks or there is a ton of residue from sauce or something. I use scrap out the bottom with a metal spatula and call it a day.

Re: Cast iron leet

#300

Post by wyclif »

jefftk wrote: post #217
ronyeh wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Each tool has its own strengths and weaknesses. I have tried them all, including pans with aluminum cores but steel outer layers. Cast iron is great for searing or for fried eggs or buttery scrambles. I love my car on steel Matfer fry pan and try to use it as often as possible. But for acidic or long simmering brown sauces that'll stick and tear off my seasoning, I'll probably teach for stainless steel. Afterward I'l…

> I've seen Chef Jacques Pépin beat an omelette in a Teflon pan with a metal utensil, so who am I to judge? Lots of people do it who should know better. That's going to damage the coating, shortening the lifespan of the pan, and putting little bits of Teflon into your food.

Keep in mind, too, that demonstrating a recipe on TV isn't the same as cooking at home. He might just be doing that because it's what they gave him on set. Or maybe he can afford to go through pans at a pace that a normal person at home wouldn't be able to do.
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