Cast Iron

Easy to make and perfect for cast iron. I tend to coat the pans between pancakes with a tiny bit of canola oil using a brush.

Wife was craving comfort food so I made us some goulash in the Lecruset last night.

Two 8" skillets, heat up the bottom, flip bottom to top and it makes a great tiny oven. In my case, cheese bagels. Nice and crispy on the outside, soft in the middle.

For your enjoyment, can be served directly from the cast iron as well. These are 8" pans. Next time I might roll the crust out a bit thinner and make a lattice on top.

https://www.thedailymeal.com/1353224/best-oil-seasoning-cast-iron-skillet/

Repeatedly oiling and heating a cast-iron skillet gives it a nonstick surface due to a chemical process called polymerization. In the context of seasoning a cast-iron skillet, polymerization occurs when the oil is exposed to high temperatures, subsequently breaks down, and forms a bond with the metal. This process is more successful if the oil you use is high in unsaturated fat. There are many vegetable oils that are rich in both mono and polyunsaturated fats, but avocado oil outperforms others due to its higher smoke point.

The smoke point of refined or regular avocado oil falls between 500 and 520 degrees Fahrenheit. By contrast, grapeseed oil, a more commonly recommended seasoning oil, is 420 degrees Fahrenheit. That's high, but it's still significantly lower than the smoke point of unrefined or extra virgin avocado oil, which is 482 degrees. 

A higher smoke point causes polymerization to occur at a much slower rate, which is precisely what yields a more solid nonstick coating. As a result, your cast iron will stay seasoned for far longer.

I have always used peanut or vegetable oil on my cast iron.

Didn't know what it was walking out of the store. Just bought it because I was curious about what was written on the back and it was $6. Turns out it is a Wagner made skillet for a company that existed around 1907-1920s.

[Image description: a cast iron skillet filled with fries topped with pork sausage, fried shallots, Anaheim peppers, tomatoes, cheese and green onions.]

I always use my 10“ and 12“ skillets simultaneously to get them all nice and crispy

Not exactly traditional shakshouka, as I added potatoes and some leftover steak, but still delicious. And yes, I'm frequently mean to my cast iron and cook tomatoes in it.

[Image description: three eggs poached in a tomato-based sauce with chunks of veggies in a cast iron pan.]

Anyone else notice that their seasoning does better (aka increases more) when baking or roasting as opposed to frying? I guess it’s why we season in the oven generally but I feel like I hear people saying “just cook with it” but never differentiating between in the oven and on the stove.

Yesterday I made a post about how my brother kinda destroyed our mini cast iron skillet. It's looking amazing after 2 rounds of seasoning! Thanks to the community for a warm welcome. I can't wait to try something out in it other than eggs; any suggestions for such a tiny little guy?

Made the switch from reddit and I feel this was the most appropriate place to upload my first image to Lemmy.

The only thing that bothers me a little is the acidity of the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce it attacks the seasoning every time I make this. But it’s totally worth it I just have to reseason the skillet afterwards because it gets sticky the next time I use it and the seasoning looks pale.

What is your experience with this recipe and acidity?

Ate it with tons of maple syrup (man this is fucking expensive here in Germany...). Pan is a petromax FP25.

Inspired by a comment on another thread with @justhach, I'd enjoy hearing about your cast iron journey.

How did you get started?
Where are you right now?
What are some of your favorite pieces, or most often used pieces?
What are your go to recipes?

And let's be sure this doesn't turn into a competition. I've been collecting and restoring for a decent amount time, but I'm just as interested in hearing from someone who's just starting out as I am from an avid collector...everyone's welcome! I'll post my own in the comments.

Here's a nice and easy cast iron recipe (especially nice when fresh peaches are in season).

Peach Cobbler:

• 1 Cup Flour
• 1 Cup White Granulated Sugar
• 3 tsp Baking Powder
• pinch of Salt
• 1/4 Cup of Butter
• About 6 Peaches

1. Preheat Oven to 375°F

2. Slice peaches into 12 equal segments, remove skin, place in a bowl. If you like, spinkle some sugar & cinnamon to your liking (I think they're fine on their own).

3. In another bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add milk and whisk until smooth.

4. In a 10"-12" Cast Iron pan, melt 1/4 Cup of Butter on low heat.

5. Once butter is melted, pour batter into pan, then pour fruit on top. Spread fruit around, but don't mix in with the batter too much.

6. Bake in oven at 375°F for 30-45 minutes until golden brown on top.

7. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Bottom view

Top-side view

Still trying to work out if I should bother a longer seasoning cycle to disappear those "milky spots" on the inner edge of the pan. But doesn't effect my cooking right now so I'm not worried about it.

Apologies for the poor picture