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Cast iron frypans


ComputerGuy

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Popcorn topic completely off course, so starting a cast iron thread here. Quote from raftrbr: "Glad you still have your seasoned skillets.  I know they are great for cooking.  I have a set of Griswold skillets but like other older people I've gone to lighter cookware.  Big Mistake!"

Cast iron skillets were of their time. Their resurgence is a sentimentality thing. So many companies now selling "hand crafted and forged" frypans, as if the original way was any different. And some are absolutely insanely expensive. I was happy to give up cooking on those sticky, hard to clean, super-heavy, over-smoky, ridiculous frypans, with unnecessary maintenance requirements. I keep one only now, for steaks and other items that require super-hot surfaces, or finishing in the oven. Sure, I've made fried eggs in them, but why bother going to all that trouble when a non-stick, heavy duty, aluminized for TFal pan does the job in seconds with no cleanup? Professional chefs in busy kitchens don't use cast iron any more than I do.

There, I've said it. Feel free to hit me with a frypan.

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I lugged one around from house to house for decades.  But finally left it behind when I realized I wasn't using it as much....just too damn heavy to fool with as I aged.  And yes, better pans/surfaces are available these days....and they are much lighter!

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I found this interesting quote on a page raving about Griswold's $2,800 skillet. That's dollars, not pesos.

"Somewhere down the road, the idea that cast iron is at all durable was latched on to, proliferated and is now too big to effectively shoot down. Cast-iron skillets are absolutely, unequivocably not durable. They can chip, crack, shatter and warp from drops, overheating, cooling too fast and a number of other things you wouldn’t think are issues. That makes this skillet — which, again, is just under 100 years old and extremely rare — something of a miracle. The fact it has no chips, cracks, dings or visible signs of warping is sort of astonishing. That said, request more and detailed images of the cooking surface before buying just to be safe."

They stopped making cast iron in 1939.

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You can't beat them for cornbread.

I still have one Griswold used solely for that purpose. I melt butter in it in the oven while I'm stirring the ingredients- no sugar, because I make cornbread, not johnny cake- and when I pour my batter into the hot pan I can hear it sizzle making a crisp corny crust.

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The other reason to use cast iron skillets is their ability to add iron to your food.  Years ago the U of Guad Medical school sent out students to rural groups who were suffering from poor health. They found these people cooking on the lids of oil barrels and gave them cast iron pans, problem addressed....Your non-stick finish pan may be more convenient,but you're also getting a dose of the "teflon" finish in your food.

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57 minutes ago, chapalence said:

You can't beat them for cornbread.

I still have one Griswold used solely for that purpose. I melt butter in it in the oven while I'm stirring the ingredients- no sugar, because I make cornbread, not johnny cake- and when I pour my batter into the hot pan I can hear it sizzle making a crisp corny crust.

I do the same thing--with exactly the same results--in either a Tramontina heavy gauge non-stick pan OR in a Chantal cast-iron enameled pan.  I don't melt butter in it, though: I use freshly rendered pork lard that I get from a butcher or at WalMart.  I do love that sizzle, chapalence, and the beautiful crisp corn crust that's the result of pouring the thick corn batter into an almost smoking-hot pan.

This is the lard (manteca) I buy at Walmart.  It's excellent, soft and porky.  I "decant" it into a plastic container and it lasts about 5-6 months in my refrigerator--unless I use it up sooner than that.


 

image.png

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Love it.

But cafemediterraneo, at this stage in my life, between cell phone emissions, dirty rain, meat nitrates, exhaust fumes, Off spray for mosquitoes, and corn syrup in every food item, I'm not worried about a non-stick stomach at all.

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A well seasoned cast iron pan is not difficult to clean. The results are like no other in terms of browned steaks, perfect pancakes, and absolutely crisp delicious bacon.

The key is proper seasoning, I use grapeseed oil which has been found to be the best and has virtually no smoking issues.

The Truth About Cast Iron Pans: 7 Myths That Need To Go Away

https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/the-truth-about-cast-iron.html

 

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A seasoned skillet does not stick.  The problem is most people don't properly season a skillet and than wash it to clean it and there goes the seasoning.  Taiwan has flooded the market with skillets and these cheapies have given a real skillet a bad name.  Besides Griswold, Wagner also makes a good skillet and these are the two most sought after skillets in the USA.  Some people collect skillets and a rare one like from Alabama Iron works can bring a little bit of cash.  Skillets aren't as popular as they use to be and you can buy a Griswold for $20 to $50 but a good seasoned skillet is hard to come by.

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I respect you and your opinion, but seasoned skillets stick as much as they want. I take great care seasoning cookware that needs it. Started years ago with cast iron frypans and spun steel woks, clay bakeware, you name it. There is simply no point in trying to fry an egg in a cast-iron skillet, unless you are into self-flagellation.

Plus this: By the 1940s, the Griswold Manufacturing Company had hit hard times. The quality of the cast iron they produced had diminished greatly. At the same time, the company faced new competition from manufacturers making cookware out of more modern materials such as aluminum. The Griswold family kept control of the Erie plant until 1946, when they sold it to an investment group which in turn sold it to the Wagner Manufacturing company. In 1957, the original Erie plant was finally closed.

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My cast iron fry pan is 80+ years old. It is seasoned primarily with bacon.I just run it under the hot water tap and wipe it gently with a scrubby let dry and put away for next time.When I do shrimp in butter,garlic, salt and pepper it leaves a film of butter. I don't let the maid near it because one of them used Dawn on it and I had to redo it and get rid of the rust she caused. I has no brand and I got it at a farm auction already nicely broken in.

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A well seasoned cast iron pan is a thing of beauty. I wouldn't cook eggs in cast iron, because why. They pick up the seasoning and have an irony flavor. But as a substitute for grilling indoors, at high heat, it's hard to beat. Food doesn't stick.

I've had the ones I brought here for 30 years. Before that they were the only 2 things that survived a fire that burned down a house. I got it them at a yard sale from a teary woman who almost decided not to part with them because they were her grandma's (she of the burned out house). I promised to take care of them. So they are cherished Wagner's and damn near indestructible, since I have no plans to actually nuke them. Now that I think of it, this story is a good as the pans.

And as for cleaning, whisk with water while they're hot (mine have never warped) and dry on low flame. Dot with oil and wipe with paper towel. Can't imagine anything being easier. That's a non-stick clean up in my book.

Of course, I defend with my last breath CG's right to despise cast iron and the horse it rode in on.

 

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Our cast iron fry pan, gem pan, and dutch oven, were my grandmother's (1886-1984), and we use them regularly. Yes, they are indestructible and get used regularly.  The modern pans just can't match them, no matter how well clad, how fine the metals, or how fancy or expensive. They, and my 1950s carbon steel knives have seen a lot of kitchens and even a schooner's galley.

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On 8/8/2019 at 9:27 PM, ComputerGuy said:

There is simply no point in trying to fry an egg in a cast-iron skillet, unless you are into self-flagellation.

When on hunting trips in Northeast Oregon the 8 of us had nothing but a cast iron skillet to cook on. The way you fry eggs on cast iron is first you cook a pound or two of bacon. Then...you can fry as many eggs as you want and with all that bacon grease left in the pan a fried egg never tasted so good. "Greasy eggs" we called 'em and I can still taste how good they were. Another memory of those trips was appointing one person to be the cook. Anyone who complained in the slightest about any meal instantly became the cook. You never heard so many "forced" compliments to the cook, LOL.

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How to clean a cast iron skillet.  Many people say to put it in a red hot fire or in ashes as fire is going out.  This is a good way to warp your skillet and I suspect this is why many of the good old skillets are warped.  The easy way is to get a plastic tub and pour red devil lye in it.  Put your old rusty, greased grungy  skillets in it for two days.  The rust and grunge will just peel off with a sponge.  If the skillet is really bad you put back in for another day.  Remember to wear rubber gloves as the lye will get you.  After cleaning wash the skillet two or three times with hot soapy water to remove the lye.  Dry the skillet and lightly oil it all over and place up side down inside oven for about two hours.  Next use the skillet and wipe out the grease after cooking and lightly re-oil the skillet and wipe with a paper towel.  After 3 or 4 cookings it should be seasoned.  Thereafter only wipe out the skillet after use.  If you have to clean use hot water and kosher salt.  Immediately redry and oil again.  The lye will not affect you.  Remember we use lye to make hominy and only rinse the lye out of the hominy.

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3 hours ago, pappysmarket said:

When on hunting trips in Northeast Oregon the 8 of us had nothing but a cast iron skillet to cook on. The way you fry eggs on cast iron is first you cook a pound or two of bacon. Then...you can fry as many eggs as you want and with all that bacon grease left in the pan a fried egg never tasted so good. "Greasy eggs" we called 'em and I can still taste how good they were. Another memory of those trips was appointing one person to be the cook. Anyone who complained in the slightest about any meal instantly became the cook. You never heard so many "forced" compliments to the cook, LOL.

So true. Do fry our eggs in our cast iron after the bacon. The bacon here is sometimes lacking in fat so i melt a bit of Mazamitla butter before frying the eggs.

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Both of my grandmothers saved all bacon grease for frying.  Breakfast eggs were not only fried in bacon grease, after the bacon was cooked and removed, but more bacon grease was added. As the eggs fried, she would spoon hot grease over the tops to cook them too.  Add buttered toast with marmalade,  and coffee, and that is still a classic breakfast. Salt and pepper to taste!

Nobody seeps late when that is cooking.....

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1 minute ago, rafterbr said:

I asked my doctor here in the states if eggs would hurt me.  She said definitely not as long as you don't fry them in bacon grease!

...What do they know.

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2 minutes ago, RVGRINGO said:

Both of my grandmothers saved all bacon grease for frying.  Breakfast eggs were not only fried in bacon grease, after the bacon was cooked and removed, but more bacon grease was added. As the eggs fried, she would spoon hot grease over the tops to cook them too.  Add buttered toast with marmalade,  and coffee, and that is still a classic breakfast. Salt and pepper to taste!

Nobody seeps late when that is cooking.....

Thanks, I had forgotten spooning the grease on top so you never had to flip the egg.

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1 hour ago, rafterbr said:

 Put your old rusty, greased grungy  skillets in it for two days.  The rust and grunge will just peel off with a sponge.  If the skillet is really bad you put back in for another day.  

If you abuse the skillet in this fashion, then you should not use one...Good equipment deserves proper treatment...This is from someone who wrapped their toys in cloth to take care of them...NO comments please...🙄

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After half a dozen cardiac 'events and interventions', it has taken 20 years for the medical professionals to finally get my typical BP down to 100/65 and my pulse rate to 70 or less.  Now, if I could only get new lungs, I would feel like 37 again, instead of being a tired old 1937 issue.

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