Finally got a cast iron skillet. Anyone have recipe or tips to share?

[lynn]

What is your favorite thing to make with in it?  

[WildflowerMom]

Ds uses it for everything, honestly.  He really likes cast iron.   Burgers are really good on it, you can get a good sear. 

[catz]

Ours just lives on our stove and has been for I don't know how many years.  We use it for everything too, almost daily!  Keep it oiled, just keeps getting better! 🙂

[fairfarmhand]

I cook everything in it but it does amazing things with biscuits when you bake with it.

Cornbread is wonderful too. (Preheat the pan with a couple tablespoons of oil in it before you add the cornmeal batter.)

[marbel]

We have two; the smaller one pretty much sits on the stove all the time; it's mostly used for morning eggs.   Then there's a bigger one; I don't use it much, but my husband and son do.  Roast chicken, cornbread, shepherd's pie are the 3 main things that come to mind.  

 

[Annie G]

1 minute ago, fairfarmhand said:

I cook everything in it but it does amazing things with biscuits when you bake with it.

Cornbread is wonderful too. (Preheat the pan with a couple tablespoons of oil in it before you add the cornmeal batter.)

Johnny cakes on the stovetop are also delicious- cornbread batter, added to a hot, lightly oiled cast iron skillet. About the size of pancakes. Oh my- crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. And if there are just a few eating it, it’s very fast to make enough. 

[fairfarmhand]

Just now, marbel said:

We have two; the smaller one pretty much sits on the stove all the time; it's mostly used for morning eggs.   Then there's a bigger one; I don't use it much, but my husband and son do.  Roast chicken, cornbread, shepherd's pie are the 3 main things that come to mind.  

 

WE use my grandmothers cast iron pan for eggs, but I advise people to not use theirs for eggs till they've used it for a month or two with some greasy cooking. The eggs work better in a well seasoned pan. Otherwise you may have a mess on your hands.

[marbel]

6 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

WE use my grandmothers cast iron pan for eggs, but I advise people to not use theirs for eggs till they've used it for a month or two with some greasy cooking. The eggs work better in a well seasoned pan. Otherwise you may have a mess on your hands.

I agree. This pan has been around for years. 

I actually have a love/hate relationship with  cast iron. A long time ago (when my kids were little) I bought a cute cast-iron mold for baking corn bread in the shape of ears of corn.  I did not know to grease and pre-heat the pan before putting the batter in. What a mess I had at the end.  (Now that I think about it, I wonder why my husband didn't speak up but maybe he wasn't around when it was happening and he thought it best not to say anything after the fact.) It was so disappointing. I got rid of it, but then came to understand how cast iron works best. But too late for those cornbread molds!  

Edited March 31, 2021 by marbel

[Lady Florida.]

I use mine for pretty much everything except tomato based dishes. Tomatoes (acid) can mess with the seasoning. It's not a big deal to re-season it but I'd rather not have to. I find that now that we have a gas stove I like cooking with cast iron even better than I did before when my stove was electric. 

[Kassia]

32 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

WE use my grandmothers cast iron pan for eggs, but I advise people to not use theirs for eggs till they've used it for a month or two with some greasy cooking. The eggs work better in a well seasoned pan. Otherwise you may have a mess on your hands.

I learned this the hard way - eggs were the first thing I cooked in ours.  

DH uses ours all the time for grilled cheese sandwiches.

[Pippen]

These pork chops: https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-cook-perfect-pork-chops-in-the-oven-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-194257

I add fresh herbs to the brine. 

[prairiewindmomma]

We only ever use cast iron as a skillet.  I do cook tomato based stuff like shakshuka in it, but it's got a good base layer of seasoning in it...and if I'm making shakshuka, I cook the meat in the base of it first.

My best tip is to treat your skillet very well.  It will work faithfully for you for decades if you care for it.  If you must rinse and scrub, use only water.  Always re-oil it. 

My favorite way to build up seasoning again is to make fatty dishes in it---chocolate chip cookies, sausage, grilled cheese, etc.

[mmasc]

I don’t especially love my cast iron skillet, but I do like it for two things. 
 

1) cornbread (made like @fairfarmhand said

2) sliced up onions and bell peppers. With a little oil, they brown and sear up so yummy! Just like fajitas where it’s kind of browned and charred. Mmmm

[Spy Car]

Sand the inside until it is nice and smooth. Clean thoroughly w/o water.

Apply micro-thin coats of grapeseed oil or flaxseed oil and heat pan to smoke point (far preferably, outdoors). Cool. Repeat. Build seasoning using very thin layers of oil.

Those oils will polymerize into a very nice finish.

Do this and you will have a pan you will treasure (except for the weight perhaps?).

Getting a great cast iron pan is all in the prep.

Bill

 

 

[73349]

https://www.plantoeat.com/recipes/15535091

You saute the mushrooms on the stovetop first and then use the oven, so cast iron is perfect to use only one pan.

[Spryte]

Dutch babies. Yum!

[bibiche]

Ours get used mostly for pizza, flatbreads, and tortillas.

[Lecka]

I just do regular cooking, and don’t make cornbread, but I love cornbread made in a skillet.  Yum, so good.  IF you like that kind of thing 😉

I do not like to have tomatoes in cast iron.  My mom’s are so well-seasoned she can make tomato-based things, she just doesn’t let them sit a long time after they are cooked.

I have horrible luck cooking eggs in cast iron. I just do.

I like to scour with salt if needed.  
 

 

Edited April 1, 2021 by Lecka

[Lecka]

I am going to add about eggs, the pan can hold in heat and cause the eggs to get tough, unless you quit cooking them earlier bc you are adjusting for that.  
 

I only have that happen with eggs, off the top of my head.  
 

For things that might dry out I do turn off a little sooner — but that is so forgiving compared to eggs Ime.  

[AbcdeDooDah]

I have at least 8 cast iron pieces. I use them for almost everything. I have a huge 15-in Lodge skillet that I cook one pan meals in all the way down to a butter melter. Last year, my son found a Vollrath griddle in a thrift store for $8 and it’s a favorite.

I do have some problems with crusty flaking on the outside of a couple of my pans. Not sure what it is, maybe some one here will know how to fix it.

[teachermom2834]

I have never been able to love my cast iron as much as I really think I should. I have tried. 
 

I do love it for cornbread. I preheat the pan with a bit of butter and a bit of shortening and pour the batter in when the pan is hot. Makes yummy cornbread even with a little box of Jiffy mix. 
 

My son’s girlfriend came over and wanted to make a cast iron chocolate chip cookie. I had never tried that but it came out great. I am one that likes the chewy crusty edges of things and the cast iron does that really well. 
 

We use it for other things if it is the right size pan for what we need but I can’t say as I love it as others do but we do use it a lot and it performs just fine. I use it the most. Dh and kids will usually reach for the old nonstick.