I just reheated a leftover wagyu cowboy ribeye (grade 5 marbling I was told LOL). Just rubbed the leftover grease into the pan and put it in the oven for 15 mins. Looks awesome now!
Be sure to keep an eye out for ones that were painted. I was given a really nice looking Griswold which looked like it would have a great season to it with a light cleaning. It ended up being an old paint job on it. I never got that one right. I think I gave it away when I graduated college.
Search for the flax seed oil conditioning drill referenced in the first post. Best explanation I have found on conditioning cast iron pans. I stopped using olive oil as it gets fans if too easily and doesn't take enough heat. I will use canola oil for a quick re oil after cleaning by that is about it. And for eggs I just pull out a good commercial non stck omelette pan. Use the right tool for the job.
I can tell between seasoned and painted. Whomever painted a CI skillet should be strung up by their toenails and forced to listen to Afternoon Delight on a constant loop.
If you get one that is in really bad shape you can give it an electrolysis bath to strip it back to new. If it is just greasy and nasty from abuse then throw it in the oven and set the oven to self clean. Make sure the hood is on, some windows are open, and you might want to go outside for a while.
Bought a new 12 inch skillet yesterday. It had a pretty rough bottom on it. Well, about 3 min with my angle grinder and a fine grit flap wheel and I now have this. Seasoned with lard and then cooked a steak. Best steak I have had in a long time.
Coat it inside and around the outside edges with Crisco, heat the oven to the highest setting that's NOT the clean feature (~500), place the skillet upside-down on the top rack with a cookie sheet on the rack below it, bake for ~1hr then shut the oven off but leve the skillet inside while the oven cools. A few hours later you should be good to go. This process can be repeated as necessary but you don't want the skillet to be sticky. If it is, you used too much Crisco.
The more you use the CI the better it gets. My grandmother made bread in hers darn near every day. Cornbread seems to be the best for keeping it oiled.
My question is what heat are you guys cooking at? Like med-high, med, med-low, etc. I just got 2 new pans and want to make sure I am using the right temperature on the stove top as my old rib pan I had been using for chicken and steak always got so smoky. Guessing I was using too high heat? The new ones came pre-seasoned, but I had to reseason my old one a few times when I didn't know how to clean it correctly. Anyways, what's everyone cooking temp wise.
Kind of depends on what you're cooking and your stove. But for something like crisping / browning chicken or chops I'm cooking right at the oil's smoke point which is different for different oils. Once the meat is added it's going to cool down just a bit. FWIW, that's right at Med High on my stove for regular canola oil. I cook bacon more at a point between Med and Med High. There is no real "right" answer
Most breads are going to be 350-375. If you are frying, 375 - 425. Any higher than that and you'll scorch the meat, especially lean chicken or turkey.
You don't need a non-stick pan for a damn thing. Well-seasoned cast iron or steel works just fine if done correctly. I threw all of ours out. I have a number 9 Griswold griddle on the way. Stoked. (Avoiding any long-delay asynchronous johnny b bullshit)
This right here. I leave a skillet on the stovetop at all times. I reheat things in it instead of the microwave if possible, crack off some quick burgers, eggs, etc. Just clean it with water or use salt and oil. Wipe with a rag instead of paper towels. Wipe a light coat of oil back on it and you're done. Most of the time, just some hot water swished around is enough to clean it off.
My cast iron pan was made this century and was cheap. The surface finish new was rough as hell. Id bet the manufacturer pulled it out of the sand casting and shipped it. No amount of seasoning is going to fill that in. Ive tried. Not all cast iron is created equal. If I cared about how much food stuck, Id take a grinder to it with some 120 grit then re-season. But I don't as good non-stick pans are cheap and last a while.
