Consistent with our ingredient credo, when it comes to kitchen equipment we have a penchant for the finer things and a love for the thrifty. In our homes we have some pretty upper-middle-top-of-the-line items, as well as some that we found in chain stores, some second-hand. With few exceptions we love our instruments as much as we love salt, booze, fennel and flames.
Due to some consistent requests from you readers out there, we’ve decided to start posting about our favorite and most used kitchen devices; our ‘batteries de cuisine.’ We hope you’ll get a kick out of our seeing our treasure; maybe we can help you build your own arsenal.
“Bessie” is Alex’s Cast Iron skillet. With a 12″ diameter and weighing in around 8 pounds, this pan is probably the most structurally sound thing he owns. Bought with gift certificate money at Crate and Barrel (thanks Dad) the Lodge (the best brand) skillet has been involved in many HK recipes, and was the cooking surface that recently aided in our ascent to the pantheon of Grilled Cheese glory. It is ideal for all manner of scrambles, hashes, sauteed greens and fried egg dishes, if one is so inclined.
The blessing of Cast Iron is a life that could span multiple generations. These things could outlive their owners (Alex hopes his will) if you treat them with love and care. But just because the thing weighs as much a human head doesn’t mean it’s invincible. Follow these tips and you’re pan will live to see you making your grandkids’ pancakes. If you’re into that…
The thing to remember about a cast iron is that for it to really rule you must have a good seasoning; a term reffering to the non-stick glory of a good cast iron surface. Here’s some tips:
1. Seasoning the Iron is pretty easy. Barely cover the bottom of the pan with grapeseed or canola oil and bake for half an hour in your oven at 350 degrees.
2. After 30 minutes, turn off the oven and let the pan cool off. Wipe out excess oil with a paper towel.
3. Don’t ever soak the pan if it’s dirty: gently clean it with hot water and minimal soap. The soap can flavor the pan, the soaking will kill the seasoning.
4. Use gentler scrubbies, never use steel wool; it’ll ruin your seasoning.
5. After cleaning, dry with a clean towel and rub in a little oil (we use olive oil) to keep your battle axe greased.
6. Avoid cooking super acidic things like tomatoes or things braised in wine or vinegar as these can also spoil your seasoning. (As noted below, DO cook with lots of oil each time, your seasoning will not on its own form a non-stick surface.)
Happy searing, toasting, frying and sautéing!
Also remember to cook with enough oil because even with a good season to it food will stick and you will have to scrape or soak to get the stuff off thus impacting yr season.
ok, so my cast iron (brought back to life after a minor rust problem) seems to experiencing a bit of flaking. It’s almost like the it’s over-seasoned and the seasoning is flaking off. Any thoughts? Do I scrub it clean and start anew? Just keep on truckin’