http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x66495Oh my.
This is sort of like when Ms. Ed, the unappellated eohippus, got afraid of cabbage.
Sort of.
shireen (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-02-09 11:12 AM
Original message
i'm afraid of my iron cast skillet ... and my wok
It's awfully heavy, but that's a different story.
I need to stop using non-stick pans. If it can kill birds, who knows what else it can do.
It's a pre-seasoned Lodge that i bought a couple of years ago. Used it a few times.
My problem is cleaning. Some websites say it should never be cleaned with soap, just scrubbed under hot water, dried and re-oiled. Others say it's OK to use soap as long as you dry it off and re-apply the oil film. But I can't bring myself to clean without soap, it just doesn't seem, well, "clean."
Can a cast iron skillet be bought pre-seasoned, or is that a sales gimmick?
So how do i use it properly, cleaning and cooking?
Is it normal for food to get stuck to a properly-seasoned cast iron skillet? I'm wondering if i could use it for making pancakes and omelette's.
And then there's the steel wok. Sigh! I bought it many years ago, but never got around to following the seasoning instructions. Finally, a couple of months ago, I pulled it out, scrubbed out some of the rust stains, and followed the instructions for seasoning it. Yikes! Off went the fire alarms in my apartment! Is there a way to season a wok without generating so much smoke? Or should i just open all the windows, warn the neighbors, and do it amidst the piercing alarms?
Arkansas Granny (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-02-09 11:40 AM
Response to Original message
1. I can't help you much with the wok, but I've used cast iron skillets since I was young.
As far as the pre-seasoned cast iron, I have found it best to treat it all the same and season it myself regardless what it says on the label. I just wash it well (to remove any waxy coating it may have been treated with), heat it on the stove and rub the inside with a little solid, vegetable shortening, continue heating until it just starts to smoke, turn it off and let cool. I will repeat that several times with a new piece and also with my older pieces if they start to look a little dry.
I know that many people consider it a no-no to use soap in cast iron cookware and would never do it. Most of the time I clean mine with hot water only, however, I'll wash mine with soap whenever I feel like they need it. After rinsing, I put the piece back on the stove and let it heat until it is completely dry, wipe it with a little vegetable shortening and then let it cool. My cast iron has a lovely patina and doesn't stick. Well seasoned cast iron should be pretty much non-stick.
I dunno. franksolich has a lot of cast iron cookware; in addition to glass and stainless steel, that's the cookware franksolich uses. No aluminum, no tin, no Teflon.
When franksolich needs clean cast-ironery, he just dumps it into the kitchen sink with all the other dirty dishes being cleaned, and it all comes out okay.
As for a "wok," franksolich just uses one of the stainless steel pots.
You know, multiple uses for one item, not one item for each single use.
The warped primitive:
Warpy (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-02-09 12:08 PM
Response to Original message
2. The reason to use soap is to loosen grease
It does nothing to sterilize a pan. Heat does that.
Removing that film of grease on a cast iron pan is the last thing you want to do.
STOP USING SOAP NOW.
If you have anything stuck to the pan, use Kosher salt to dry scrub the pan, then rinse it under water. Dry the pan over heat. Brush a little oil into it once the water is gone.
The best way to season a steel wok is to oil it and throw it into a 250 degree oven for a couple of hours. The lower heat will dessicate and harden the film of oil but not make it smoke. Once it's seasoned, treat it like the cast iron: wipe it out with paper towels, rinse sauce out if necessary, and dry it over heat, adding a new film of in the hot pan once it's dry.
You do need to use oil to reduce sticking in both pans. That doesn't mean nothing will ever get stuck. Chicken especially likes to weld itself to the sides of a wok. However, you will reduce sticking greatly by taking care of it properly and that means scrubbing with salt, rinsing with water, drying over heat, and re oiling.
mtnester (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-02-09 12:22 PM
Response to Original message
3. A little salt is all I use.
My pans usually sit with a slight bit of grease in the bottom. I KEEP back grease in the fridge for those times I fry chicken and clean out.
That said, the most cleaning I usually do is a wipe out of the contents with paper towels. My pans are so seasoned that nothing sticks to the bottom, or if it gets a bit crusty a good metal; spatula removes it easily.
Otherwise, my pans stay inside the oven (gas oven) and the pilot of the oven keeps a perfect temp for storage for them. No biggie leaving them in when backing a casserole unless it has a layer pf fat in it, if so, I take them out.
I have skillets that are generations old, both Griswold and Wagner. I would pay top dollar for good, old cast iron and watch for it everywhere. I actually have dedicated pans, and will eventually replace all my cookware with cast iron. (Doing so slowly and carefully)
What the Hell is "back grease"?
wakemeupwhenitsover (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-02-09 12:26 PM
Response to Original message
4. Here's a tip for cooking in a cast iron pan:
Let the pan heat up for a few minutes before you add oil or butter or whatever it is you're going to use. Something about the molecules or something have to expand a bit. Then add the butter or oil, wait until it heats up then add the food. Your food shouldn't stick.
