Are cast iron skillets worth it?

[XANA]

They're good for making rare steaks because they can make a nice crust, but I'm drawing a blank on what else cast iron skillets can do that other frying pans can't. I guess they heat more evenly, but so can good-quality frying pans. They're good bludgeoning weapons in a pinch, though.

Cast iron pans seem like a hassle in general, since you have to constantly coddle them (drying them on the burner or in the oven because air drying will just encourage rust, and constantly needing to season them after use).

 

[The Mass Shooter Ron Soye]

Got one, donated it a year later. Too heavy, I felt discouraged just grabbing it.

There's another reason to use cast iron. Beef up those wimpy arms!

 

[DankSmoker]

There's another reason to use cast iron. Beef up those wimpy arms!

Gotta get them gains if you're going to cook a whole pan of bacon.

 

[River possum]

It's

You can't buy a good cast iron pan anymore. The best ones were made before any of us were born. You can find them at yard sales and flea markets. My best advice is to go to walmart and look at a lodge cast iron pan. That is what you don't want. A good pan is smooth. At least the metal is. Your rummage sale cast iron pan might have cracks and imperfections in the seasoning, but it will have a smooth finish compared to a lodge pan. After you buy your garage sale pan burn it. build a fire in your wood heater or fire pit or whatever using only wood then throw your pan in and cover it in more wood. The next day take it out and scrub it with soap and steel wool and then dry it in an oven. Your next step is to coat it in lard (not fucking vegetable oil or whatever. fucking lard) and broil it upside down in the oven for five or six hours. That should give you a good base seasoning. You don't wash a cast iron pan. You wipe it out. If you fry chicken in it you pour out the grease and wipe it out. If you cook a steak in it you pour out the butter and wipe it out. The next time you cook in it you will be heating it to 400 degrees. It doesn't have to be that clean. Anytime you cook in it you use grease. Treat it right and it will be twice as non stick as a Teflon or ceramic pan and 1000 times a slick as @River possum's puss.

So true

 

[VargReallyDidNothingWrong]

Got one, donated it a year later. Too heavy, I felt discouraged just grabbing it.

lmao weak bitch, no wonder your name is "shameful existence"

Cast iron is great. I am looking for a cast iron pan to buy right now because i'm tired of cooking on the shit-ass teflon garbage pan i have at the apartment i'm living at right now.

 

[Cougar Pump]

Cast iron, enamel, or stainless all the way, although stainless and enamel are a bunch harder to clean if you're dry frying stuff on it. But still, buy em once, inherit them, or find them second hand, and they'll last several lifetimes. My in-laws have an old pan in their back garden that's bright orange with rust, I reckon I can get it back to usable next time I visit.

I'm convinced commercial non-stick materials are harmful in the long run, and no matter how careful you are there'll be scrapes and flaking bits that make their way into your food over time. Having to re-buy cookware every couple of years is a fucking scam and absolutely planned obsolescence. Fuck that.

Maintaining cast iron pans is super easy, there's just a few do-nots you have to adhere strictly to. Do not clean with any kind of detergent (stick to water, as hot as you like). Do not scrub with something harder than the pan (e.g. steel wool). Do not put it away wet.

 

[JamusActimus]

I got one I use nearly daily.

It's great for hight heat cooking and has great heat retention.
I like that I can start from the stove and end in the oven.

It's slow to heat up, heavy and needs special care.

For seasonning and cleaning, just don't be autistic about it.

Season it once then use the daam thing.
To clean it, just hot water, soap and a brush is enough. Dry it well and you're done.

 

[JamusActimus]

People love cast iron so much because it's one of the rare product you buy that gets better with time and usage.

 

[Poppavalyim Andropoff]

Cast iron pans seem like a hassle in general,

Get enamelled ones then

since you have to constantly coddle them (drying them on the burner or in the oven because air drying will just encourage rust,

Meh they don't rust that much unless you live somewhere really humid I guess.

and constantly needing to season them after use).

after you cook & clean it just give it a quick wipe over with oil on a paper towel.Just the cooking surface really. The more you use it and burn it eventually it'll just turn black.

 

[Iron Jaguar]

I have multiple cast iron cookwares.
I use two cast iron loaf pans for making bread, cakes and, especially, for Yorkshire puddings. - You can not only get the pans super hot but they stay hot while you're pouring the batter into them, which is a crucial part of getting puddings to rise and be crispy.
I also have one of these:


A massive skillet, it is the best thing I've ever owned for roasting vegetables. Always roast them separately from your meat, niggers, or they'll be soggy.

 

[CHARizard]

You should use one. I use mine for virtually everything. 3 pans you should have in your kitchen.

Cast Iron

Stainless Steel

Non stick teflon

All are good or better at certain things. My least used is the non stick, usually only do that when I make eggs, also this will depend on if you care about eating teflon flakes. Just remember to never use hard utensils on it. Dont spend high on the non stick because youll replace it when its coating wears off. Stainless steel for anything acidic like tomato, cast iron for all other use. Buy a high quality stainless steel that you can move with one hand, I like All Clad.

Cast iron pans seem like a hassle in general, since you have to constantly coddle them (drying them on the burner or in the oven because air drying will just encourage rust, and constantly needing to season them after use).

This is really not as big of a deal as it sounds. Rinse it in the sink to get all the food particles out, and then I just toss mine from the sink directly onto my gas stove on high heat. It takes a few minutes for the water to evaporate, take it off and then just a dollop of oil with a paper towel to coat. Youll be fine I am extremely lazy with my dishes and never had an issue keeping mine in decent shape.

 

[Hamstirer]

Th

You can't buy a good cast iron pan anymore. The best ones were made before any of us were born. You can find them at yard sales and flea markets. My best advice is to go to walmart and look at a lodge cast iron pan. That is what you don't want. A good pan is smooth. At least the metal is. Your rummage sale cast iron pan might have cracks and imperfections in the seasoning, but it will have a smooth finish compared to a lodge pan. After you buy your garage sale pan burn it. build a fire in your wood heater or fire pit or whatever using only wood then throw your pan in and cover it in more wood. The next day take it out and scrub it with soap and steel wool and then dry it in an oven. Your next step is to coat it in lard (not fucking vegetable oil or whatever. fucking lard) and broil it upside down in the oven for five or six hours. That should give you a good base seasoning. You don't wash a cast iron pan. You wipe it out. If you fry chicken in it you pour out the grease and wipe it out. If you cook a steak in it you pour out the butter and wipe it out. The next time you cook in it you will be heating it to 400 degrees. It doesn't have to be that clean. Anytime you cook in it you use grease. Treat it right and it will be twice as non stick as a Teflon or ceramic pan and 1000 times a slick as @River possum's puss.

The lodge ones will work fine, you just gotta strip it and reseason a few times. I took a orbital sander to mine and knocked down the really rough spots on mine but left it a little rough to help with the seasoning. It looks and works great now after a few years.

 

[Blobby's Murder Knife]

Cast iron dutch ovens make some of the best breads. I love mine for making them in it.

 

[Hamstirer]

Cast iron dutch ovens make some of the best breads. I love mine for making them in it.

Would you mind sharing a recipe? I can cook anything but I manage to fuck up baking 8/10 times no matter how well I follow recipe. That shit is witchcraft but I like trying.

 

[Catler]

Cast iron is a pain in the ass. Too heavy, you have to baby it, can't put it in the dishwasher, have to season it, etc.

The only reason to have cast iron is for bragging rights. Teflon is a gift from god himself.

 

[Hamstirer]

Cast iron is a pain in the ass. Too heavy, you have to baby it, can't put it in the dishwasher, have to season it, etc.

The only reason to have cast iron is for bragging rights. Teflon is a gift from god himself.

You've spent way to much time on r/cast iron. You absolutely do not have to baby the massive chunk of steel and you really don't have to try on the seasoning unless you want to. Just cook fatty foods in it for month or two and it'll build a decent seasoning that will just get better with use.. lots of people way you can't use soap but that is mostly untrue and came about from the old time soaps that were lye based and would fuck them up. I wipe mine out when I cook something messy with a wet wash cloth and dawn with no problems.
Honestly the more you try to baby them the more they seem like delicate little faggots, use them hard and rough and they turn into men.

 

[Iron Jaguar]

Too heavy,

Bunch of limp-wristed faggots around here.

 

[BIG BILL HELL'S]

Bunch of limp-wristed faggots around here.

Cast iron will make you a God damned culinary tyrannosaurus!

 

[Absolutego]

I've got an amazing tool for all the people who think cast iron cookware is "too heavy"

Spoiler

You can probably find one at your local dollar store and as an added bonus it'll tone your forearms, and women go apeshit over toned forearms for some reason.

 

[Manul Otocolobus]

I boil water in it and use a brass-bristled brush to scrape off any food that's stuck to the bottom, I wipe it dry with a paper towel, and it then goes back on the stove top (on or off the heat, doesn't matter) ready to be used again.

This is very important and something I can't emphasize enough. If you have to scrape your cast iron, use either copper wool (can be kinda hard to come by these days) or brass. It is soft enough not to hurt the pan, but strong enough to get ultra tough crap off. Always make sure to match your cleaning metal to the metal you are cleaning if you don't want to destroy it.

Also, how has no one mentioned cast iron skillet corn bread yet as one of the reasons besides steak!?

I inherited my grandmother's cast iron skillet. She cooked with it for more than 80 years. It was used on a pre-gas stove. I cherish it. It is easily one of my favorite things.

 

[prodigylogic]

I have two 12 in. cast irons--one for desserts, and one for more hearty meals. I think they're easier to clean than my copper pans, and I don't have to throw them out if they get all scratched up like with shitty Teflon plans. The breakdown of the pros for me are:

• It is durable--almost impossible to ruin. My first one came from someone's dishwasher with a layer of rust. They thought leaving it in would take the rust off. After a night in a vinegar bath, some steel wool, and a layer of seasoning, it was ready to use for cooking again.
• It is oven safe. For things like Sheppard's pie, thick cuts of meat, or any dish that requires mixed heat, you can save a dish by putting the skillet right into the oven.
• It is food safe. It will not be carcinogenic when scratched. Almost a little bit extra than food safe since if it does scratch, it's added iron to your diet.
• It is easy to clean. For me, unless I cook something that turned out nasty, I can clean it with a little water and a smallish pour of salt. I dry it on the stovetop, hit it with some oil and a paper towel, and then leave it there until I need it again.