Cast iron

[Anonymous No.15326812]

Is cast iron worth it /ck?

[Sage No.15326819]

>>15326812
If you have to “cast” you can’t afford it

[Anonymous No.15326821]

>>15326819
But I have all my spell slots unused.

[Anonymous No.15326825]

>>15326812
cheap pans are worth it
expensive ones are worth it if you really like cast iron

[Anonymous No.15326828]

>>15326825
This. Either get a lodge like everybody else or thrift/ebay one that's a century old with a glass-smooth cooking surface.

[Anonymous No.15326911]

As long as you have the space for the pan, prepare the types of dishes that would benefit from utilizing it and are willing to learn how to use and maintain it, then yes.

[Anonymous No.15326936]

>>15326812
Using it for steak instead of a normal pan is absolutely a game changer. That alone justifies the purchase for me. Also makes grilled cheese sandwiches a million times better.

[Anonymous No.15326966]

>>15326812
you need one. You can easily get things seared on the stove then just throw the pan in the oven to finish roasts and things

u can get a fine one at walmart for $20-30. I've had mine for 5 years so far and isn't any worse for wear.

[Anonymous No.15326967]

>>15326812
Sure, but unlike a regular pan it's not great for red sauces and requires additional care to prevent rusting and preserve thr seasoning. A 20 dollar Lodge cast iron frypan will last a lifetime if properly maintained and cared for.

Personally, I just like stainless more for the versatility, though it did cost quite a bit more. Buy once, cry once.

[Anonymous No.15327023]

>>15326812
I mean it's worth it if you're not overpaying and your pan has a flat surface instead of concave where all the oils fall to the side.
If you do't have a stainless steel pan, get that instead.

[Anonymous No.15327027]

>>15326812
it does make a better tasting beef, but the upkeep is a pain in the ass.

[Anonymous No.15327366]

I have a lodge and have been fighting it for the last 7 months. The factory seasoning was terrible and would flake off. I did follow all their instructions for first time use. Still was Shit.

I got salt and scrubbed it all off and slowly made my own with layers of vegetable oil in the oven for HOURS. I was super gentle with it. Let the pan heat up and the pores expand. Add something easy like onions.... not bad. Tried an egg. everything stuck. I tried adding another layer of seasoning after cleaning with salt. Nope. The surface of the pan is just naturally rough and pocked with pores that grab food. Even after scraping and seasoning at least 10 times now.

I’ve watched just about every fucking video on YouTube and tried it all. Still can’t even cook an egg without getting pissed off. I think I’m gonna need to get sandpaper to get the glass smooth surface because whatever lodge sells is fucking shit.

Meanwhile, the 200 year old cast iron my mom has is smoother than the screen of my phone and fried eggs slide around all day.

[Anonymous No.15327371]

>>15326812
Is it worth what?

[Anonymous No.15327373]

>>15327027
>upkeep
>cast iron
Fuck off, retard.

[Anonymous No.15327385]

>>15327371
Paying money for a pan

[Anonymous No.15328097]

>>15326812
Yea I like it for searing and putting into oven
Don't like getting that burnt oil shit on my nice stainless steel pans

[Anonymous No.15328104]

>>15327027
>use daily for years
>still haven't resurfaced it
>still nonstick
What upkeep?

[Anonymous No.15328110]

>>15327373
He wants so desperately to be right. He wants so desperately to win. The “irony” ;) is the more he fight it. The more he responds. The less anything intelligent he has to say.

[Anonymous No.15328111]

>>15327366
You dumb nignog use a real nonstick pan if you care about it being actually nonstick
You're using the wrong tool for the job

[Anonymous No.15328129]

Yeah, eventually you WILL run out of good boy points.

[Anonymous No.15328146]

>>15326936
Agree. Great post.

[Anonymous No.15328154]

>>15326812
Considering it will outlive any other pan you buy and probably outlive you yes. The only drawback is that it's a giant slab of iron and it weighs accordingly.

[Anonymous No.15328278]

>>15326812
I’ve got a fifty year old ridged cast iron pan for doing steak. It’s the best way I’ve ever found.

[Anonymous No.15328282]

>>15326828
Only thing I don’t like about Lodge is the short fuck handle. I get trying to cut down on weight but I’d buy another couple from them if they came out with longer handled models.

[Anonymous No.15328392]

>>15326828
Lodge is shit. Step your cast iron game up

[Anonymous No.15328417]

>>15327366
Stop screwing around with the finish and just cook on it. After about a year you can cook eggs no problem. I use a scouring pad to clean it, pat dry and then add a bit of vegetable oil and toss in the oven on low heat for a few minutes after every use. Sure meat bits and stuff are going to stick I just don’t obsess over it.

[Anonymous No.15328422]

>>15328104
Cast iron are not non-stick

[Anonymous No.15329583]

>>15327366
Spend some time working the surface of the pan with steel wool or sandpaper and you'll have that same smooth finish. It'll be a quick job if you have a power drill. I don't heat the oil in my pans to just barely smoking since I don't want to deal with the smell or smoke alarms and they work perfectly fine.

[Anonymous No.15329592]

>>15328422
my eggs say different.

[Anonymous No.15329599]

>>15327373
stainless steel upkeep:
>don't dent it

cast iron upkeep:
>don't get water on it
>don't cook certain foods in it
>don't wash it, instead scrub it out with coarse salts
>the rancid fat buildup adds flavour

[Anonymous No.15329879]

>>15326812
I paid the cast iron jew, now I wish I had paid the carbon steel jew instead. Lighter, heats up faster, yet you still have the same issues relating to rust, seasoning.

[Anonymous No.15329900]

>>15327366
1. U r gay
2. Every time u soap it u wash off the oil
3. Season it w neutral oil
4. Use oil or butter when cooking
5. Idiot

[Anonymous No.15330040]

I like cast iron and think it is easy to get a non stick seasoning. Butter is great.

[Anonymous No.15330113]

>>15329599
It does take more work to get a good seasoning on a cast iron pan, mayby 100 uses or so. After that it is very low maintenance, slick as glass inside. I never put tomato, wine or other acids in my cast iron, primarily because I have an enameled braiser which is literally made for that kind of cooking, but a short time of acid isn't going to do real damage to a well-seasoned cast iron.

[Anonymous No.15330121]

Been using a lodge for three years now and the it works well but what oil should I be using before I store it away? After I’m done cooking, I scrape it with a wooden spatula and a little hot water if I need to and then I let it heat up and add extra virgin oil. I take off excess and store it away. Is EVOO a bad oil to use for this? I cook with butter and avocado oil if it matters

[Anonymous No.15330205]

>>15330121
Evoo is great for this. Its what I use or butter

[Anonymous No.15330213]

>>15330121
It's what I use and it works for me. How's it going for you?

[Anonymous No.15330231]

>>15330213
It’s going pretty well. It just occurred to
me the other day that I never really looked up what a good oil to use for this purpose is. I knew it was good to do this after using the pan, just not what oil to use. I guess I’ll keep doing what I’m doing then

[Anonymous No.15330370]

>>15330231
It's more than what most people say they do on this board.

[Anonymous No.15330613]

>>15326812
>iron worth
Cheap at thrift stores. I use the "self cleaning" feature on the oven to burn the pans down for re-seasoning. They work for nearly every pan purpose. I use stainless steel for boiling and lower temp foods.
Non-stick "cookware" are disposable products.

[Anonymous No.15330675]

>cast iron! CAST IRON! CAST IRRROOON!!!!!

[Anonymous No.15330682]

I posted this in another thread, but I didn't cook till I got an iron skillet. Teflon just isn't the same.

[Anonymous No.15330792]

>got two nice Lodge skillets for Christmas
>fell for the preseasoning meme
>first thing i cooked on it was steak
>no fucking idea how to clean that grease stain off so i can properly season it
It's not permanently fucked up right?

[Anonymous No.15330804]

>>15330792
Hot water hot pan dry with paper towel.

[Anonymous No.15330805]

>>15330804
>hot water hot pan
huh? so I should reheat the pan?

[Anonymous No.15330808]

>>15330805
>reheat pan.

Yes. Then the water will bring off grime as it hits hot pan. Not red hot of course

[Anonymous No.15330811]

>>15330808
That's a brilliant idea, thank you anon

[None !!6bl6T+UOOId No.15330812]

>>15330792
Same here dam things are hard to clean.

[Anonymous No.15330853]

>>15330811
My pleasure

[Anonymous No.15330929]

>>15330812
Not if you know what you're doing they aren't.

[Anonymous No.15330963]

>>15328422
>>15329599
>all these cast iron fuds
my cast iron is non stick and all I use is olive oil & butter dont be such fucking faggots.

[Anonymous No.15331005]

>>15330963
>butter olive oil

This is all I use too and keeping it seasoned is so easy. I don't get buying expensive oils I wouldn't eat. Who eats flack seed or Grape seed? Fry in peanut or lard duh. Those season great too.

[Anonymous No.15331006]

>>15326812
Absolutely, I have two lodge pans and I never looked back at all the stainless garbage out there that is leeching toxic crap into your food.
Properly caring for your cast iron cookware and seeing eggs slide off that petina better than any non stick crap on the market is rewarding.

[Anonymous No.15331023]

>>15330792
You can't fuck up cast iron my dude.
Clean it down to metal, heat the oven to 450, oil the pan with a good neutral high heat oil and in the oven for an hour to re-season.
I like Avocado and Sunflower oil. But some avocado oil has a really strong taste.
Sunflower oil is among the most neutral tasting oils.

[Anonymous No.15331042]

>>15331006
You have to get the good kind of steel and make sure it’s not made in china.

I forget the number but it should say it on the back.

[Anonymous No.15331047]

>>15331042
As far as I know all the raw lodge cast iron is made in the USA, and the enameled stuff is made in china.
My pans are stamped with usa right on the bottom.
I do have an enameled lodge dutch oven which is made in china, but honestly it's totally fine. I didn't want to pay 700 bucks for an equivalent La Crueset.

[Anonymous No.15331109]

>>15331047
I was talking about the stainless steel. But I guess you don’t have to worry about that if you’re just using something like lodge.

[Anonymous No.15331133]

>>15331109
The only stainless steel cookware I have is All Clad D5. It's quality but I don't care for cooking in stainless pans and use my Lodge pans for any pan related use.

[Anonymous No.15331224]

Chefanon. We use french black steel pans in the kitchen. Same benefits, but a touch lighter and cheaper. You get get em at restaurant supply joints for like 24 bucks.

To season you make a paste of neutral oil and salt and hold it on high heat or in a ripping hot oven; the salt keeps the oil from igniting while it carbonizes to the surface.

[Anonymous No.15331265]

Once i started cooking with cast iron i found meat a lot faster and easier to cook to perfection.

[Anonymous No.15331273]

>>15329583
Just use an orbital sander lol

[Anonymous No.15331480]

>>15326812
I personally use this and it works great. probably gonna get a actual pan that like 20 dollars and see how sanding it down and reseasoning it will affect cooking. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008GKDQ/?coliid=I2IA7XE6KMH386&colid=1OM5E5UM2BAX0&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

[Anonymous No.15331523]

>>15327366
Goddamn you're retarded.

First, get a stainless steel spatula. When stuff sticks, you scrape it off.

Second, just cook on it. the more you use it, the better it gets. To clean, no soap. Just scrape off gunk, use scrub sponge to get the rest, dry.

Third, stop being so careful. It will last forever. It's better not to get "pre-seasoned" because who knows what the fuck that is.

[Anonymous No.15331534]

>>15329599
This is all bullshit. Not sure why people say this stuff. Cast iron is nearly indestructible. Just cook on it. Get a stainless steel spatula to scrape it clean. Stop being retarded.

[Anonymous No.15331545]

>>15330792
>>15330812
To clean, just get a stainless steel spatula and scrape the shit out of it. It's indestructible.

[Anonymous No.15332090]

Preseasoning is just so it doesn't rust between when it's made and when you buy it. Scrub it off with some salt or steel wool and do it right.

[Anonymous No.15332170]

I literally got one two days ago. It's a bit of a hassle but I like that it can do everything. So far I've only made chebureki and pork chops, but both turned out really good. I did a reverse sear on the chops and it really locked in the flavour.

I've seasoned the pan twice, each time after scrubbing with a cheesecloth+kosher salt. I seem some splotching but that might be because I didn't wipe it down enough before putting it in the oven to harden the oil.

Anyway OP, you should get one the food turns out pretty good with minimal effort and it's fun.

[Anonymous No.15332572]

>>15327366
DESU my experience was similar. Even though I used a stainless spatula, food was still trapped in the bumpy surface. Sanding down the surface was one of the best decisions - much easier to keep it clean, and food rarely sticks. See eggs sliding around on bacon grease.

If you do sand it, expect a lot of black dust everywhere, and wear a mask if you don't want to pick black boogers out of your nose for the next 3 days. Also I found that all the multiple-layer seasonings, reddit-tier esoteric oils, special scrubbers are all unnecessary. I seasoned it twice in the oven after sanding, and after that I just cooked in it, I mostly use refined avocado oil, sometimes canola, and a dexter pancake turner. Just take it easy and give it time.

Cleanup is simply rinse with water, scrub with a blue scouring pad if something did stick, occasionally I use soap if I feel like it, then pop it on a burner for a minute to dry. Sometimes I wipe it down with some oil, but most of the time I don't.

[Anonymous No.15333852]

You CAN NOT beat a good cast iron pan, the one in this picture is old as fuck, it was my grandpas. I used a cup brush to clean it up gave it 1 thin coating of lard and baked for a couple hours. It's perfect, I'll admit it's hard to get a cast iron as trouble free as these older ones but damn I love mine. When melted sharp cheddar cheese just peels away, the pan is guud. cast iron pan is not for pussy

[Anonymous No.15334412]

>>15328417
> What upkeep?

[Anonymous No.15334414]

>>15328282
it's to fit better in ovens innit

[Anonymous No.15334422]

>>15326812
I'd put it in the same level of utility as a wok. If you make a lot of dishes that use it, it's definately worth the investment. Just remember to clean it or you're going to be scrubbing for the rest of your adult life.