Cast Iron Skillet Puns

Early this past week, I posted here asking if those of you who use cast iron a lot agreed with my wife that I should strip and reseason my 13-year old pan which sees nearly-daily use. I decided to not be stubborn about it, and did so over the course of the week. Used the Easy Off method of removing the seasoning, which took several days to complete and I would avoid in the future if I’m able, then two days of oven seasoning with simple vegetable oil. Pan looks gorgeous now. You and my wife were right.

Before

After

Wondering if anyone would help me get started. I know I have received a ton of good advice, but struggling to know exactly where to start. A couple people helped me, but getting tired of me asking questions and that is ok, I understand. I mentioned I already had to throw away two steaks because I messed up. I am just trying to eat a little healthier and not eat out twice a day any more. Plus, I like Steak, just buying it from the restaurant never fills me up.

Just want to get tips and help with the process. I have a Cast Iron Skillet coming from Amazon (Lodge L8SK3 10-1/4-Inch Pre-Seasoned Skillet https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006JSUA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_FQ1QH0VVSDPR8BMRJCSJ)

It would mean a lot if someone can help me get started. One person told me to season it, I put it in the dishwasher and then people told me not to put the cast iron in the dishwasher. I don’t know. Let me know if you want to help me out please and thank you.

I avoid a lot of recipes that call for prepping/cooking meat in a skillet because every time I've tried it, my apartment instantly hot boxes itself. I've tried starting with all windows and the door to my deck open and the stove fan on but they're too far away from the kitchen. Cooking meat is stressful enough without having to grab a ladder and a towel to fan smoke away from the smoke alarm while the meat is cooking.

Is there a preferred oil to minimize smoke and/or certain temperature that could either minimize cooking time or minimize temperature without screwing up meat too much (I know "meat" is generic, I guess I'll suggest searing a chuck roast)?

I am on my own and getting me a Cast Iron Skillet. I did some searching and found this one not only to be a great price, but amazing reviews (hopefully reviews are based on the product itself and not VALUE based on cost)

Lodge L8SK3 10-1/4-Inch Pre-Seasoned Skillet https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006JSUA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_EFTCJ5Y0F02Q10JWMBEZ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Off work for the next week and gonna try my hand at cooking my first steak. I know I have to “season” the pan, which is basically washing with soap and water, rinsing it really good, putting vegetable oil or shortening, and letting it sit in over at 350 for a couple hours and repeating that step once or twice. If someone has exact instructions, please share .

After I do that, gonna get a ribeye with some marble fat in the middle (I think I am right there) and then was going to google “searing”. I have the basic concept down, but when looking online for specifics, it can be hard to decide which method to use. Figured Reddit would be the best place than I could ask questions. Looking to do this in a few days.

I also don’t have any cooking supplies really, so I plan on buying a couple steak knives and if there is any other necessity, please let me know. I hope to have the “knowledge” (not experience) of an expert by the time all is said and done. I want this to be a weekly routine for me on my weekends off so I don’t go out to eat so much.

TIA

-Tony

I marinated 4 chicken thighs for 8 hours then put it on a cast iron skillet at what I believed was medium heat (my electric stove top goes from 0-6, I put it at 3). Well the outside of the thighs was totally black and the inside was raw I couldn’t get it to reach 165F. Any tips? Im using a cast iron skillet.

Edit: I’m trying to recreate this recipe https://youtu.be/7umUJ0lAVbQ. I don’t understand how he only cook the thighs for 8 minutes and they’re cooked through.

My options are the oven broiler, an electric skillet that gets to 400F, or a variety of frying pans.

What is the best method here? I've tried broiling them and it turned out ok, but I've never tried the skillet or a pan. Are either worth trying, or is it best to stick with the broiler?

It's just a regular cast iron skillet like... When you think of a cast iron skillet, that's what I have.

I've watched a few different tutorials on YouTube and have tried seasoning it a few times but it never comes out right.

When the people on YouTube are done with theirs it's always all black and glossy and pretty and smooth looking. And when you see it it's like whoa, that's a really fucking good looking skillet.. for as good as a skillet can look anyway, I guess.

So I've got the basics.... Hit it with a scouring pad and water and scrape all the shit off of it until you get down to the level surface of the metal of it or whatever.

Then get it really dry really quickly and hit it with some oil or something so it doesn't start immediately rusting up because that happens super quickly.

And then throw it in a super hot oven for a long time and let the oil cook into a shell that coats the pan. Seems pretty simple.

I've tried vegetable oil and coconut oil and even Bacon fat after those seems like they sorta sucked. They might not suck, it's probably human error on my end but the process seems so simple I couldn't really figure out what I was doing wrong so I figured it might be the type of oil/fat or something.

I tried getting it all nice and oily and glassy looking all over the entire thing and throwing it in the oven at 500°f for like 2 hours.

It kind of felt tacky and it obviously bubbled up a little bit like where the oil started to boil or something which completely fucks with having a smooth pan so I was like okay.. maybe I should use less oil.

Tried it again using a little less oil after I steel wooled it down, when it was done some spots looks like they were supposed to and then some spots didn't.

When some of it cooks on like it should and other spots don't, those little good spots flake off really quickly and I don't want that on my food.

So I thought maybe I should scrub it all off again and then re oil it and put it in there upside down instead..idk ..and try it again and see if that works.

The inner sorta raised rim of it... Like the edge of the pan came out looking pretty good actually, it's all smooth and uniform and it's fun to like rub your finger over it you know .. how the entire pan should be pretty much... but the bottom or cooking surface part still totally sucks!!!

I don't understand what I'm doing wrong .. I cannot get this thing evenly glossed over and seasoned!!! What the heck???

Any recommendations for cast iron skillets? Ive heard that if kept well they are better than non-stick. Keen to hear your thoughts

My dead-pan humor gets em every time!

Yesterday, I shared a post wherein I told you all about my hassle with my cast iron. Any time I've cooked with it, my tiny house fills with smoke and it's an all around bad time.

So many people gave excellent advice. The main learnings I came away with were also follows:

• "Medium is your new high" from u/tstandiford (and general calls for heat management from many others).
• Time & patience is needed. As many shared, a non-stick aluminium heats wicked fast but can lose that heat. It's the opposite for cast iron - with most suggesting preheat for 5-10 mins on low, heat the fat for a couple of mins and then put in the food.
• That my cast iron skillet (pics in the thread linked about) was enamel coated (thanks to u/TableAvailible for pointing this out and sharing an excellent example post - here)
• I needed to clean the thing properly.
• ... and many other smaller tidbits besides.

So last night I went back to the skillet. I took a nylon scrubber to it along with some soap and went to town to clean the surface right up. As I've learned, it's enamel so the coats of oil I put on (assuming it was bare cast iron) were part of the problem.

I had some marinated chicken to cook for my wife's lunches for the week. Following the advices here, I preheated the pan for maybe 5-6 mins on 2 (out of 6 on my electric stove). Then I applied some vegetable oil, again letting it heat and then went in with the chicken. And no smoke! I cooked two batches of marinated chicken and not a single round of smoke. Yipee!

I then turned my attention to dinner. Following the advices here again, pre-heat the pan on low, add the fat, pre-heat the fat, add the food. And look - a nice steak, cooked in cast iron without plumes of smoke!

What a revelation!

Now, my steak technique needs some work (I ended up going a hair past medium - booo!) and visually, it looks like I had too much oil in my pan. But that's not a cast iron problem. I would take more time next time round to get a lot of heat into the pan. I don't think I let it preheat long enough so getting the sear on the exterior took longer which contributed to the overcooking.

But now I feel a helluva lot more confident to go out and try new

What are some unique things I can cook (or bake!) in cast iron skillets that dont cook as well in stainless, etc skillets?

As a preface I'm completely new to cooking and cast iron. I got a new cast iron skillet today that came beautifully pre-seasoned. But after following a tutorial and screwing up, I left it on the stove too long and the new seasoning I applied got burnt.

I'm a total Newbie here. Can I still cook on this surface or should I try to remove the burnt layer? If I have to remove the layer, how would I go about doing so?

Any feedback would be helpful, thank you!

https://preview.redd.it/snyw5gq3l4b81.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=10aa42706212b9a8987fe1e33d2126633924f972

Edit. I meant a ribbed griddle. Flat top is great. Can’t find an time I’d rather use the ribbed instead of the flat.

wish this was a joke but it annoyingly isn’t. i initially thought it was left over cooking oil or grease or something but the smell proved otherwise. anyway my husband is an amazing passionate home chef and really loved that cast iron skillet, i want to surprise him with a new one but i’m extremely kitchen illiterate and want to make sure i’m getting him a quality replacement. does anyone have any specific brand recommendations for this?

edit: if i have to acknowledge that a vintage skillet might also at one time have had pee in it then i may as well try to clean our own skillet before replacing it lol. thank you guys for the help!

I was wondering if I could get some tips on seasoning my cast iron skillet.

After cooking, I let it cool then I clean it by scrubbing with a little soap then rinsing with water. Next, I towel dry and then put it back on the stove until I see a little smoke near the middle. Finally, I turn off the burner and lube the entire skillet with a little olive oil.

Here is the part where I’ve seen people split 50/50: Some people finalize the process by lubricating with a little olive oil then putting it away.

Others lube, put it back on the burner, then lube again.

Which one is better?

"Yes, dear, I am a monster but the skillet in the washer was just bait."

I just bought an 8 inch with a lid. It came with a handle cover for both the skillet as well as the lid. It’s pre-seasoned & I haven’t used it yet. Idk what I should cook first. I’m leaning towards eggs. It’s late here but I love breakfast for dinner. Any tricks I should know about cooking eggs or anything else in my first cast iron!? TIA

As I outline in my post in r/cooking, I'm having some trouble with my cast iron skillet. They directed me your way for help.

The skillet was part of a gift set I received maybe ~5 years ago. The brand name is Miji and I've never heard of it before or since. Here is the lid of the accompanying Dutch oven with the logo. Due to my issues with it, I use it sparingly - less than a dozen times a year I would estimate.

The skillet itself is coated as you can see here and here.

The surface of the skillet is here, with a side profile here and here so that you can see the seasoning / surface for reference.

Our rental has an electric stove. r/cooking did suggest not cranking it to the max, but going more medium heat most of the time.

A couple of weekends ago I cooked some marinated chicken. Taking the skillet, I heated some vegetable oil (not until smoking or anything) and then placed in the chicken. It cooked on one side fine, then the second side and then on third side (they were skewered) smoke began building up. I tried to move the chicken around to minimise it but it filled our tiny, tiny kitchen. The fan was on, the window open, the front door open. I gave up and moved to a non-stick pan.

I also cooked steak not so long ago. Same process again - vegetable oil until shimmering this time (not smoking) and away I go. It seemed like the excess oil was smoking up or something. It was hard to tell. Again, I abandoned ship and moved over to a non-stick.

When I'm done cooking, I drain off the excess fat to a jar to cool and eventually throw away. I clean out the skillet with a sponge and might need a scrubber to get off pieces of meat that might have gotten stuck. I then hand dry it. I then place it back on the cooling hob it just came off and lightly oil. All the preceding I've picked up from various YouTube videos.

So I'm at a loss. I'll try turning down the heat but after that I don't know is it the stove, the seaosning or my cooking method. Or is it just a less than good quality skillet to begin with?

Some in r/cooking have suggested stripping and starting again. From some YouTube and reading, it sounds like I take soap and a wire scrubber to it and get it down to the raw cast

I’ve made a lot of salsas over the last year or two, but I always use the broiler or boil my ingredients because I’m worried about the acidity stripping the seasoning in my cast iron skillet. I know it’s common to char the veggies in a skillet, so I’m wondering if people are doing this without damaging their cast iron, or if I need to use a different frying pan? Thanks in advance!

So like the title says. I live in Hawaii and was notified that the water we have been using, for who knows how long, has been contaminated with petroleum products. Do anyone know should I strip them and then re-season or are they fine.