How to cook with cast-iron pans – Old fashion way to cook fat-free
You can use a cast-iron skillet for just about any cooking task:
Bake a cake, sear a filet, roast or fry a chicken, fry potatoes, stir-fry vegetables, etc. One skillet is all you need, but because cast-iron cooking is lot of fun and makes the food you cook taste great. You will probably want more than one cast-iron pan.
Important tips to remember:
Always preheat your cast-iron pan before adding the food you want to cook.
With a cast iron pan, you can begin your recipe on the stove top, and then move it to the oven to finish.
Do not use a cast-iron pan in your microwave. If you do, you will ruin your pan and also your microwave oven. The fireworks display that will result will not be worth the cleanup and replacement cost.
The first most common mistake of why people do not like cast iron is that they say everything sticks. If food sticks to your cast-iron pan, your pan is NOT seasoned right and you need to re-season it. Cast iron is a natural non-stick surface and if your pan is seasoned correctly it WILL NOT stick!
Check out my web page on restoring and seasoning Cast-Iron Pots and Pans.
Remember – Every time you cook in your cast-iron pan, you are actually seasoning it again by filling in the microscopic pores and valleys that are part of the cast-iron surface. The more you cook, the smoother the surface becomes!
Cast Iron Dutch Ovens
Before anyone ever thought of a crock pot, there was the cast-iron Dutch oven. Dutch ovens have been used for hundreds of years. Nothing will hold a good, even temperature better than the heavy metal of this monster pot, and it can go from stove top to oven to campfire without missing a beat.
Check out this very interesting and informative article on Dutch Oven Camp Cooking.
Iron Griddles
Want to make the greatest pancakes you’ve ever eaten? Want your French toast to have that crispy edge so prized at breakfast time? You need to get a cast-iron griddle pan and get it good and hot on the stove top.
They work fine on electric or gas ranges, or over a campfire if you are so inclined.
Recipes Using Cast-Iron Skillets, Pans, and Dutch Ovens:
Desserts:
4th of July Bursting Blueberry Pie
Dutch Oven Baked Caramel Apples
Honeycomb Toffee – Sponge Candy
Soups, Stews and Gumbo:
Beef Stew with Parsley Dumplings
Bell Pepper Soup with Sour Cream and Dill
Seafood Gumbo – New Orleans Style
Cottage Vegetable Soup and Golden Cornbread
Chili:
Not so Homemade Chili and Cornbread;
Arnold’s “Old Leatherthroat” Chili Con Carne
Tolbert’s Original Bowl of Red
Beef and Wild Game:
Breakfast or Brunch:
Dutch Oven Scrambled Eggs & Biscuits
German Pancakes – Dutch Baby Pancakes
Yam Hash Browns with Baked Eggs
Lamb:
Seared Lamb Chops with Cracked Pepper and Rosemary
Main Dishes:
Pork:
Sandwiches:
Grilled Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese Sandwich
Fish & Seafood:
Salmon:
Roast Salmon Steaks with Pinot Noir Syrup
Tuna:
Pan-Seared Moroccan-Style Tuna
Pan-Seared Orange Tuna with White Beans
Pan-Seared Tuna with Lime Pepper Crust
Pecan Crusted Fish
(Pescados Cortezudos de la Pacana)
Seared Ahi Tuna with Lavender-Pepper Crust
Seared Tuna with Gingered Plum Ragout
Poultry:
Roasted Whole Chicken and Vegetables
Boneless Chicken Breast with Crushed Peanut Crust
Outdoor Turkey Pit Cooking Recipe – Turkey In the Hole
This style of pit cooking is also know as “Bean Hold Cooking.” If you have the time and place to cook your holiday turkey in an outdoor pit, wouldn’t this make a great Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey dinner. A pit barbecue is an exercise in turning a hole in the ground into an oven with hot coals provide the heat.
2 Responses to “Cast Iron Skillet Recipes”
Cletus Falasco
Very well written post. It will be helpful to anybody who employess it, including me. Keep up the good work – for sure i will check out more posts.
charlie
i learned a lot today. i didn’t know that i could without oil. thank you