I'm a little ashamed to admit that, up until a few days ago, I had never cooked in a cast iron skillet (more specifically a vintage, cast iron Le Creuset that I picked up on eBay) and feel that as a complete foodie that's considered a punishable offence. The first thing I tried was the Alaskan sourdough pancake recipe that was posted around here a little while back and the result was a considerable improvement over the regular Teflon coated pans that I'm used to using - that extra heat retention really brings a lot to the cooking of a dish. Since then I've gone out and bought a new carbon steel wok in an effort to use more traditional cookware. Anyhow, my next cook in the skillet will probably be blackened catfish. Anyone got any favourites that just aren't the same without the use of cast iron?
Wanted - ideas for dishes to cook in a skillet
- Thread starter YetiDave
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I frequently do a Chicago style deep dish pizza in mine...
simon1
Self Ignored by Vista
Any type of fricassee, chicken fried steak, smothered steak, fried chicken, and...and...and...
BACON!!!
BACON!!!
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- #4
I forgot to mention that I had bacon with the pancakes
fried chicken... Now there's something that I really shouldn't eat but definitely want to..
I like to make cornbread in mine
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- #6
Unfortunately I can't really bake with this one - it's got a wooden section as part of a very long handle. I should be able to give pizza a whirl though if I grill (broil) it
Apple Upside Down Cake. I've had it made in a cake pan & cast iron... the cast iron is by far much better.
http://www.food.com/recipe/upside-down-apple-cake-in-cast-iron-skillet-my-recipe-419701
EDIT:
Posted this before reading your post saying that you can't bake with it...
http://www.food.com/recipe/upside-down-apple-cake-in-cast-iron-skillet-my-recipe-419701
EDIT:
Posted this before reading your post saying that you can't bake with it...
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- #8
I love apple!
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Can't bake in it? A cast iron skillet is the ONLY thing to bake cornbread in! Preheat oven while you mix the batter. Heat up a skillet smoking hot on the stove top. Melt some bacon grease in it and swirl it around to liberally coat the bottom and sides. Pour in the batter. Let it sizzle a little bit and then stick it in the oven. The sizzly stage keeps it from sticking. If you do it right you can flop the cooked cornbread right out of the skillet in one piece.
my Quick and Dirty Cajun style smothered steak. Slice a round steak or two into small strips. Coarsely chop an onion and a few stalks of celery. Melt a couple tablespoons of bacon grease in the skillet. When it just starts to smoke, add the meat. Stir often. When it is brown, sprinkle in about 1/4 cup flour along with some Lawry's. Stir stir stir. Keep scraping the stucky stuff from the bottom of the skillet. Add the vegetables. Keep stirring. When onions are translucent and are browning at the edges and celery is bright green, add a can of Ro-Tel tomatoes with chiles, liquid and all, and three big shakes of Lea & Perrins. Keep stirring. The liquid will help unstuck the stuff from the bottom of the skillet. Add more water as necessary. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes while the rice is cooking. Serve over rice. You can add cut okra or chopped up merliton or whatever, along with the onions and celery, if you want. Don't cook too long. You don't want the tomatoes to completely break down. You can use more tender cuts of beef if desired, and make slightly bigger strips.
Heat 2 tablespoons of bacon grease in a skillet. Drain a pint of shucked oysters. Chop up an onion and a bunch of green onions. With latex gloves on your hands, cut open 4 fresh jalapenos and remove seeds and core and chop finely. Add veggies to smoking bacon grease and cook until onion edges are brown. Add oysters and about 3 shakes of Lea & Perrins. Oysters will begin to give off more liquid, then the liquid will start to cook off. When half of the new liquid is gone, add a dozen beaten eggs. Stir occasionally. When eggs are nearly set, add some Velveeta. Remove from heat and cover and let the cheese melt. Serve with hot flour tortillas or biscuits.
Quesadillas. You need two skillets for this. The smaller one must have a nice clean bottom. Smear bacon grease in both hot skillets. Put a flour tortilla in each. Move them around a little so they don't stick. Flip them when they bubble up. Add cheese, sauteed jalapenos and onions, and meat: chicken or beef or whatever, to the one in the larger skillet. Cover with the other tortilla. Use the smaller skillet as a weight to press down the whole thing. That's kinda optional but I do it that way. A cast iron comal (round griddle type skillet with a slightly raised center, usually) works even better for the larger skillet. It's ready when the cheese is melted good. Now make a dozen more unless you have company, then keep making them until everybody finally quits eating and you can finally make some for yourself.
If you got fresh jalapenos, onions, green onions, celery, Lawry's, worcestershire, and bacon grease, you can cook anything in a cast iron skillet.
my Quick and Dirty Cajun style smothered steak. Slice a round steak or two into small strips. Coarsely chop an onion and a few stalks of celery. Melt a couple tablespoons of bacon grease in the skillet. When it just starts to smoke, add the meat. Stir often. When it is brown, sprinkle in about 1/4 cup flour along with some Lawry's. Stir stir stir. Keep scraping the stucky stuff from the bottom of the skillet. Add the vegetables. Keep stirring. When onions are translucent and are browning at the edges and celery is bright green, add a can of Ro-Tel tomatoes with chiles, liquid and all, and three big shakes of Lea & Perrins. Keep stirring. The liquid will help unstuck the stuff from the bottom of the skillet. Add more water as necessary. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes while the rice is cooking. Serve over rice. You can add cut okra or chopped up merliton or whatever, along with the onions and celery, if you want. Don't cook too long. You don't want the tomatoes to completely break down. You can use more tender cuts of beef if desired, and make slightly bigger strips.
Heat 2 tablespoons of bacon grease in a skillet. Drain a pint of shucked oysters. Chop up an onion and a bunch of green onions. With latex gloves on your hands, cut open 4 fresh jalapenos and remove seeds and core and chop finely. Add veggies to smoking bacon grease and cook until onion edges are brown. Add oysters and about 3 shakes of Lea & Perrins. Oysters will begin to give off more liquid, then the liquid will start to cook off. When half of the new liquid is gone, add a dozen beaten eggs. Stir occasionally. When eggs are nearly set, add some Velveeta. Remove from heat and cover and let the cheese melt. Serve with hot flour tortillas or biscuits.
Quesadillas. You need two skillets for this. The smaller one must have a nice clean bottom. Smear bacon grease in both hot skillets. Put a flour tortilla in each. Move them around a little so they don't stick. Flip them when they bubble up. Add cheese, sauteed jalapenos and onions, and meat: chicken or beef or whatever, to the one in the larger skillet. Cover with the other tortilla. Use the smaller skillet as a weight to press down the whole thing. That's kinda optional but I do it that way. A cast iron comal (round griddle type skillet with a slightly raised center, usually) works even better for the larger skillet. It's ready when the cheese is melted good. Now make a dozen more unless you have company, then keep making them until everybody finally quits eating and you can finally make some for yourself.
If you got fresh jalapenos, onions, green onions, celery, Lawry's, worcestershire, and bacon grease, you can cook anything in a cast iron skillet.
I do believe that bacon grease is a requirement for using cast iron. I actually told off my roommate because she threw out my bacon grease. For restitution, I made her buy me 2lbs of bacon so I could replenish my supply.
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- #11
Reserving bacon grease isn't something generally done over here, maybe I'll have to start...
I normally keep a small dish of it ( typically the amount you'd get from frying 1-2lbs of bacon). I use it for frying eggs, pancakes, greasing pans for cornbread, quickly stir-frying veggies... Basically, anything you can use butter or shortening for ( outside of a recipe ingredient ), you can use bacon grease for. I wouldn't use it on sweet items ( cakes & such ), but it'd work in a pinch.
Do you have the enameled cast iron pan?
These cook differently and are used for different types of food/heat than the raw/black cast iron pans.
Be careful to NOT scratch the enameling inside of the pan. These are rather fragile cooking tools. They chip easily and the interior scratches easily.
I have a complete set of robin egg blue (teal) pans that I have used for over 35 years.
They are great once you understand how to use them
These cook differently and are used for different types of food/heat than the raw/black cast iron pans.
Be careful to NOT scratch the enameling inside of the pan. These are rather fragile cooking tools. They chip easily and the interior scratches easily.
I have a complete set of robin egg blue (teal) pans that I have used for over 35 years.
They are great once you understand how to use them
Bacon and Eggs, and pancakes, and steak, and more bacon
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
No, no, no. You need more bacon than that.
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- #16
Nah, it's an old Le Creuset so it's not enamelled, the first job was seasoning it as it looks like it'd been given a good scrub with something abrasive - it wasn't completely black and the raw iron was showing
I think he meant "Bacon", "Bacon and eggs", "Bacon and pancakes", "Bacon and steak" and "more bacon"
Can I get a side of bacon with that please?
+1 you got it!
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