What Can I Cook In A Cast Iron Skillet

The Best Things to Cook in Your Cast-Iron Skillet

Winner winner, skillet dinner.

There's a reason that cast-iron pans are a sought-after purchase — or find at garage sales and thrift shops — and why chefs and home cooks take slap-up care to maintain their pans' condition: A cast-iron pan is your kitchen'due south ultimate workhorse. From achieving the perfect sear on steaks to evenly baking a batch of fluffy cornbread, your bandage-iron skillet can brand just near annihilation. Cast-iron pans are heavy-duty, too. Literally. Their heft and sturdy finish mean that they won't chip or scratch or wearable out like other cookware.

What's then extra special about bandage-iron pans is that they but get meliorate with time every bit they get more seasoned. In this case, seasoning has nil to do with flavor. Instead, it refers to the oil that gets baked into the pan over time. This keeps your pan rust-gratis and creates a natural not-stick finish.

You tin can purchase your pan pre-seasoned to give yourself a head start (foods may still stick to your pan a trivial initially). The more frequently you melt with your cast-fe pan, the quicker you'll build upwardly its seasoning and the more easily foods will release from the pan.

If you buy your pan un-seasoned, you'll take to take an actress step to season it before use. Scrub and wash the pan in hot, soapy water, then, using a paper towel, wipe it with neutral oil (like corn, vegetable or canola) and bake information technology in a hot oven, around 30 minutes at 450 degrees or an hour at 375 degrees (repeat a couple of times).

Maintenance is key: clean the pan while information technology's withal hot if you can (a petty lather and warm h2o should do it, but try non to scrub abroad any of the seasoning layer), rut it on the stove just earlier it starts to smoke, and wipe the pan with a paper towel and a pocket-size amount of oil. Permit it cool completely before storing.

We love our cast-fe skillets equally our kitchen workhorse, and have a whole guide to 10 great things to make in your own cast-iron skillet. Simply hither's a breakdown of what information technology can do, and what to try.

Because cast atomic number 26 is such a dense metal, information technology may have a little bit longer to heat, merely it boasts a superior power to maintain its temperature in one case it'southward hot. That consistent heat makes cast-iron pans ideal for searing proteins and achieving that coveted outer "chaff" in dishes like Katie Lee'south Bandage-Fe Skillet Porterhouse Steak. It also helps with even browning in dishes like Bandage-Fe Skillet Provencal Pork Chops and Potatoes (pictured upward top). Bonus: Your bandage-fe pan goes easily from the stove summit to the oven to assistance finish cooking proteins later y'all get the perfect sear or initial browning.

Cast-iron pans make weeknight cooking a snap when used in brilliant, hearty one-pan recipes such as Cornbread Topped Cast-Fe Skillet Chili (pictured), Skillet Bibimbap Pizza or Cast-Iron Skillet Quick Cassoulet. Winner, winner, skillet dinner.

A consistently hot pan makes cast-iron pans platonic for frying proteins, likewise. Be sure to use a large deep-dish skillet, and always lay protein in away from you to avert splatters. Since cast-iron pans are notorious for hot spots, rotate the pan every bit it heats to ensure even heat distribution. Try frying up a batch of classic Fried Craven or Ree Drummond'southward Southern-inspired Pan Fried Pork Chops.

Cast iron is likewise excellent for caramelizing ingredients, especially when concentrating the sugars in produce as with these Cast-Iron Carrots with Curry (pictured) or Damaris Phillips' Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.

Speaking of cake, a well-seasoned pan is ideal for baking, as well, since it has congenital upwardly a finish that helps release baked goods easily. Your bandage iron skillet can evenly bake a pan of Alex Guarnaschelli's Cornbread that'southward well-baked outside and fluffy inside and volition nicely crisp upwardly the crust in this Skillet Deep-Dish Pizza.

Is there anything information technology can't do? Lodge, 1 of the oldest makers of cast-atomic number 26 pans, recommends that yous avoid cooking highly acidic foods like beans, tomatoes and citrus juices in them because they can potentially strip your pan'due south seasoning and cause it to become discolored. They're non completely off-limits, though: just wait until your cast-atomic number 26 pan is highly seasoned to melt things similar tomato sauce or deglaze a pan with wine for pan sauce.