Iron Side- The Beauty of Cooking With a Cast Iron Skillet

Many years ago a kitchen wasn’t a kitchen without a cast iron skillet. Then, suddenly, these wonderful tools were replaced by aluminum, and other more modern cooking solutions.

I love cast iron skillets. And cast iron pots. And cast iron Dutch ovens. They are cheap ($30 a pot), easy to use and the results you get on the stove and in the oven is incomparable to any other pot. Plus, they will survive after you- that’s how durable it is, and I know a few people who have their grandmother’s skillet and they claim that the best results are achieved in grandma’s pot.

So why is it not as popular as it should be? I think that people today don’t have the patience that cast iron requires: It needs seasoning. You can’t just throw it into the dishwasher. But in fact it’s really easy to prepare a cast iron skillet for a long relationship and maintain it.
When you first get the skillet, pot, griddle you will need to season it. Seasoning means that you have to smear it with oil and put it in a 350F oven for one hour. After that first time, you are good to go.
Iron and water do not go together well, so when you want to clean the skillet after you used it, you can rinse it quickly with soap and water and immediately dry it and coat it with a bit of oil.
The traditional way is to throw into the skillet kosher salt and let it absorb the oil, wipe it and then coat it with oil. You have to smear a very small amount of oil every time after you use the skillet.
If you didn’t dry the skillet well and it developed rust, scrub it with steel wool and re season again.
It will be good as new.
Here are a few facts:
Although everything from Dutch ovens to cactus-shaped cornbread pans comes in cast iron, nothing is more versatile than a basic skillet. Either a 10- or 12-inch will do.
There's only one thing you shouldn't attempt in cast-iron cookware: boiling water, which will cause the pan to rust.
Cast iron takes longer to warm than other surfaces but retains heat remarkably well and diffuses it evenly.
Cast iron remains hot long after you remove it from the stove. As a reminder to be careful, drape a thick towel or a mitt over the handle.
Cooking in cast iron increases the iron content in food. The longer the food is in contact with the skillet, the more it absorbs.
Since you can bake, deep fry, sauté in a cast iron skillet I am giving you only 2 of my favorite  recipes to enjoy and will give more in future posts:

 Pan seared rib eye steak:

1 boneless rib eye, 1½ inch thick. Room temperature- Take it out about an hour before you want to cook but no more than 2 hours!
 Kosher Salt, black pepper
Canola oil to coat
Place the skillet (10-12 inches) in the oven. Heat the oven to 500F. When it reached temperature,
remove and place on the stove on high heat. Lightly coat the steak with oil on both sides and season generously with salt and black pepper. Immediately place the steak on the hot dry pan. Cook 30 seconds without moving. After 30 seconds turn to other side and cook again without moving 30 seconds.
Place the skillet immediately into the oven for 2 minutes. Then flip and bake for another 2 minutes.
(This time is for medium rare. If you want medium- give 3 minutes on each side.).
Remove the steak from the pan, cover loosely with foil, and let rest for 2 minutes.

Cast iron skillet corn bread

1 1/4 cups coarsely cornmeal                    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup whole milk                                     3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup buttermilk                                             1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten                                   1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted                 2 teaspoons baking powder

 Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and place a 9-inch cast iron skillet inside to heat while you make the batter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk in the milk, buttermilk and eggs.  Whisk in almost all of the melted butter, reserving about 1 tablespoon for the skillet later on.
Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Coat the bottom and sides of the hot skillet with the remaining butter. Pour the batter into the skillet and place it in the center of the oven. Bake until the center is firm and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes and serve.