topic Cast Iron Cooking Help, please! in Kitchen

Cast Iron Cooking Help, please!

Lisa now in AZ — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 17:44:33 GMT

I just got a small Lodge grill pan yesterday and my first experience was less than perfect - I looked online and it said to use high heat, so i did and I lightly greased it and put my burger on. It sizzled right away, which I took as a good sign - then the house filled with smoke and the burger was REALLY burned/dark after about 2 minutes, so I turned it over and cooked the other side - smoke still filling the house. Of course, when that side was done, I took it off the pan and the inside was still raw. So, I ended up finishing it in my Philips Air Fryer. It tasted great, but how do i cook it on the pan so it doesn't burn - more oil? And then the pan had some gray parts on it after i washed it, so i guess I need to reseason it (it came preseasoned, but maybe not completely?).

Anyway, any help you good cooks could give me would be appreciated.

TIA - have a good day!

Re: Cast Iron Cooking Help, please!

Vamp — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 17:54:07 GMT

I've never used a pre-seasoned cast iron pan, so I can't comment on that, but seasoning it is pretty simple. Just coat it with cooking oil and bake at 350* for one hour. Cast iron pans get better with age!

Cast iron takes longer to heat up than a regular frying pan, so make sure you heat it up for several minutes before adding any food to it. I would use the high heat only to sear the burger, then turn down the heat so it doesn't burn.

Re: Cast Iron Cooking Help, please!

JeanLouiseFinch — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 17:54:15 GMT

First of all, you need to season your pan before you start using it. Secondly, I don't know where you read "high heat", but on the Lodge website, it says a cast iron pan rarely has to go above medium heat. In the event that you need a higher temperature to seer your meat, turn the heat down immediately after you put the meat in the pan.

Re: Cast Iron Cooking Help, please!

HonnyBrown — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 18:00:29 GMT

I agree with Vamp and JLF.

First, you have to season your pan. I seasoned my Lodge skillet by cooking bacon in it a few times and wiping it clean. That worked like a charm.

My current cast iron is Le Creuset. I heat that up on medium until the pan gets hot. Then I turn it down to low and start cooking.

Re: Cast Iron Cooking Help, please!

justathought — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 18:05:24 GMT

To clean a cast iron pan use coarse salt-never use soap, the salt helps to keep it seasoned. Just wipe it out with paper towels.

Re: Cast Iron Cooking Help, please!

Lisa now in AZ — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 18:06:04 GMT

Thanks so much - I did a google search and a Bobby Flay recipe came up and it said to cook the burger at high. I will definitely season it and then cook it lower next time. Thanks so much for your help. I knew I came to the right place.

Re: Cast Iron Cooking Help, please!

jaxs mom — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 18:07:48 GMT

Don't use high heat. You don't need to. Burned outside and raw inside is the perfect example of using too high a temp. Sorry you found inaccurate information and ended up with a mess your first time. Just use medium heat and make sure your pan is preheated before adding food. It will naturally season as you cook in it. If you want to grill veggies or other low fat foods then a little fat on a napkin brushed on the raised grill area will help until the pan is fully seasoned.

You don't want to coat a grill pan with oil and bake in the oven. All that will happen is the oil will congeal in the grooves and form a sticky mess. If you want to do a baked seasoning layer in a grill pan, then use a very thin layer of preferably solid fat and then turn the pan upside down so any excess can drip off. It's easiest to do this on your bbq, just put the pan on once your done cooking your next meal. But really, it's easier to just cook in it.

And you want to preheat the pan at the heat level you want to you cook at. Not higher and then turn it down. Cast iron retains heat more than other metals. That heat on high turn down thing works best on responsive metals like copper, aluminum and clad stainess. Not cast iron.

Re: Cast Iron Cooking Help, please!

jaxs mom — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 18:09:15 GMT

On 11/19/2014 Lisa in VA said:
Thanks so much - I did a google search and a Bobby Flay recipe came up and it said to cook the burger at high. I will definitely season it and then cook it lower next time. Thanks so much for your help. I knew I came to the right place.

Honestly at our house we call him Boy burns food.

Re: Cast Iron Cooking Help, please!

Vamp — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 18:26:28 GMT

On 11/19/2014 jaxs mom said:
On 11/19/2014 Lisa in VA said:
Thanks so much - I did a google search and a Bobby Flay recipe came up and it said to cook the burger at high. I will definitely season it and then cook it lower next time. Thanks so much for your help. I knew I came to the right place.

Honestly at our house we call him Boy burns food.

Re: Cast Iron Cooking Help, please!

chickenbutt — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 18:39:00 GMT

ITA with Jaxsmom - no need for high heat. You should heat the pan up before putting the food in, but high heat is just not necessary. I'd go somewhere between medium and medium high. Do everything she said and you will have success.

Lodge pans are pre-seasoned, so there is no need to season it right away unless you want to, but I don't use oil either. It just makes the pan tacky. I've used Crisco on mine with much better success - WHEN there is a need to season the pan.

Re: Cast Iron Cooking Help, please!

olewoman — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 18:40:19 GMT

im an ole woman from the mountains i have a large collection from my grandmother down to me so for.I pour a lot of oil in my pans.just let them sit for week until pan soaks in all the oil.when they need seasoned again i do the same thing over again.you can take the most rusted cast iron pan found at garage sales for almost nothing bring home get some kind of dish pan or something sit pan or pot in pan buy cheapest kind of cooking you can find cover the pan in oil put away for few weeks it will be just like knew.i have let them sit covered in oil in my basement for weeks the longer the better.

Re: Cast Iron Cooking Help, please!

chickenbutt — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 18:42:32 GMT

I just wanted to add - I know that you see people on tv talking about high heat all the time and I just don't get it. I've been cooking since before most of them were born and there really is never a need for high heat. They could take the 'high' off of my stove and I wouldn't miss it.

Well, one thing - I live at 5,000 feet above sea level so it practically takes an act of Congress (and we know that's not going to happen - ha!) to get water to boil. So I would put a very large pot on the stove to boil water and put it up pretty high.

Other than that, you can sauté or sear or anything without ever using high heat. It's all in the type of pan you choose for any given task and heating up the pan before putting the food in it.

Re: Cast Iron Cooking Help, please!

Biftu — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 18:55:18 GMT

I've had my Lodge cast iron skillet for over a year and things still stick. I know Lodge says the pans are pre-seasoned, but surely not enough. I do season mine with Crisco and it helps. How long does it really take to get cast iron truly seasoned?

Re: Cast Iron Cooking Help, please!

jaxs mom — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 18:59:24 GMT

On 11/19/2014 chickenbutt said:
I just wanted to add - I know that you see people on tv talking about high heat all the time and I just don't get it. I've been cooking since before most of them were born and there really is never a need for high heat. They could take the 'high' off of my stove and I wouldn't miss it.

Well, one thing - I live at 5,000 feet above sea level so it practically takes an act of Congress (and we know that's not going to happen - ha!) to get water to boil. So I would put a very large pot on the stove to boil water and put it up pretty high.

Other than that, you can sauté or sear or anything without ever using high heat. It's all in the type of pan you choose for any given task and heating up the pan before putting the food in it.

LOL at the act of congress. I'm not at quite as high of elevation but I hear you on boiling water, it's one of the few things I use high heat for.

I think professional chefs often say use high heat because they are cooking in more responsive metal pans like aluminum. When the pan will cool down in less than a minute you can get away with that. But cast iron is not responsive in that way it holds it's heat for a long time. Which has it's own benefits of certain cooking tasks but isn't best suited for others.

Re: Cast Iron Cooking Help, please!

jaxs mom — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 19:03:17 GMT

On 11/19/2014 MFitz said: I've had my Lodge cast iron skillet for over a year and things still stick. I know Lodge says the pans are pre-seasoned, but surely not enough. I do season mine with Crisco and it helps. How long does it really take to get cast iron truly seasoned?

It depends on what you're cooking in it. Fatty foods will season the pan faster. Also the more you use it, the faster it seasons. As far as sticking, there is one other thing, food will stick if it's not cooked enough to release, especially proteins or foods with high natural sugars. Don't try and move the food. Let it sit there and cook until it naturally releases from the pan.

Re: Cast Iron Cooking Help, please!

peaceful1968 — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 19:23:15 GMT

I was so excited about buying my Lodge Cast Iron pan, but had issues like yourself with burning and high heat.

Here is a really good article that helped me out!

www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/the-truth-about-cast-iron.html

Hope this helps!!

Re: Cast Iron Cooking Help, please!

Lisa now in AZ — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 20:56:56 GMT

Thanks for the article, peaceful - it did give me some better ideas on how to treat it. It looks like the flat pan would be easier to reseason than the one with the ridges,but I think I have a good idea how to move forward. Thanks again to all of you who helped. And LOL about Bobby Flay = Boy burns food!