Ode to the Cast Iron Skillet

Having moved a few years back I had to "re-kitchen". This was because I got rid of nearly everything I owned and bought anew as I was moving across the country. No real loss in most cases and actually I think it might be something worth doing a little more often because I rethought a lot of things I owned. One of the items I got---having been convinced by Alton Brown that it was a good idea---is a Lodge cast iron skillet. It came pre-conditioned and cost about $20 at some foo-foo cooking store in the Lower East Side, which I lugged back home on the train, feeling secure in the notion that if I needed to hit someone, it would f---ing well HURT... assuming I could swing the thing at all. It weighs a ton.

It is pure magic. The giant mass of the pan means it heats very evenly (if slowly), it happily goes into the oven with no trouble, and the conditioned surface is very nice indeed. While it is the original non-stick surface, I do find that a little oil (or non-stick spray) helps a lot. The slightly rough surface on the bottom of the pan is great for leaving plenty of fond for sauce construction but that does mean things do stick. It's a small price to pay, though.

Here are some favorite things to cook with it:

Pan-Seared Ribeye Steak. Let a 12 oz ribeye come to room temperature, salt and pepper both sides thoroughly, then spray with non-stick spray. The salt and non-stick spray help make a great crust on the outside of the meat. Heat your pan on high until it starts to smoke. Then put the steak in the pan for a minute on each side, minimizing how much you move the meat around. Reduce heat and cook to desired doneness (about five to seven minutes for medium rare). I usually put a bit of rosemary, sage and a little bit of Worcestershire sauce on top during the final cooking stage, but you can top the steak with mushrooms, onions, etc., or just skip that entirely. I had some shallot and parsley salad dressing a friend made that worked really well. (Mayo and horseradish is, of course, a classic, but that's probably best applied after the fact.) Letting this sit on top during the lower heat cooking integrates the flavors nicely. Of course you should let it rest before serving. This can be adapted to other meats relatively easily. I've done lamb chops in it, for instance, using the same basic method, and it works on tuna or portabella mushrooms cut into thick strips, too. Speaking of mushrooms....

Sauteed Mushrooms. Heat the pan to medium high. Slice a half pound of white mushrooms (or whatever). Melt some butter (possibly adding a little olive oil to improve the smoke point). Add the mushrooms, with salt, pepper and dried tarragon. Be sure not to crowd the pan and keep them moving. Slowly push to the side of the pan and add more 'shrooms as ones in the middle get browned. You should remove any that are getting at all soft. This should leave a nice mushroom fond in the bottom of the pan, which you could deglaze to make a nice mushroom sauce if you were so inclined, using, say, a half cup of beef stock, a half cup of wine (or whatever acid you like) and some herbs. In fact that would go pretty well with the aforementioned steak.

Bacon and Eggs. Yep, your coronary arteries are screaming already, but darnit, bacon and eggs is a breakfast classic for a reason. Put the bacon in a cold pan set on medium heat, peppering thoroughly and taking care not to crowd the pan. (You will find bacon easier to cook if you cut it into smaller strips.) Go until the bacon hits the desired level of doneness (I like mine pretty crispy). Remove to a draining rack. In the same pan, crack your eggs (three or four fit reasonably well, depending on how many you're serving) and cook sunny side up until the white has set. You will need to be careful when you remove the eggs. Use a good spatula, perhaps lubed with no-stick spray, and go slowly so you don't pop them. If you're feeling extra decadent (bad heart! bad heart!), put some nice crusty bread in the bacon grease. Just make sure you do some extra laps after eating this.

Kitchen Hacking With Your Cast Iron: If you even out an oven, just throw it in even if you're not cooking in it. The mass will act as a heat reservoir, which will damp out any oscillations in your oven temperature. Use it as a roasting pan for a small dinner, say chicken and vegetables. Brown the chicken in the pan, then toss in onion, carrot, a parsnip, a celery stick, some herbs, a few potatoes, whatever, some herbs and maybe a little chicken broth if necessary. Put in the oven and cook until the chicken is done and then deglaze afterwards to get a nice jus.

What You Should NOT Cook In It: Anything fairly acidic that stays in the pan for a while is bad as it will oxidize the iron. Tomatoes are notorious offenders. You can make sauce using wine or vinegar OK but don't cook any tomato dishes that take a while, at least assuming you (a) don't want to ruin the pan's conditioning and (b) don't like the taste of rust.

Cleaning It: This is where cast iron seems to be a pain. There's all sorts of lore about this suggesting you'll ruin the pain if you ever use soap. In my experience this seems to be false. I use mild dish soap (plain old Dawn) and just get the pan reasonably clean using a scrubby sponge. (Never use steel wool or any abrasive!) If there's anything left, I dry the pan, throw some salt in the pan and scrub using a paper towel. It's really not that important to get it pristine clean because most times you use it, you're going to heat that sucker up and 400 degree heat will kill any bacteria quite handily. I've even forgotten the pan in the sink for a while with no ill effects.

Note: Thanks to Stuart for adding me to his most excellent blog.