Does anyone cook with black cast iron skillets?

If yes, why, if no, why? I have an on and off interest in one, and a little research told me I should buy vintage...not the Lodge pre-seasoned. Research said pan should not have wobbles, be very smooth inside. Comments?

If yes, why, if no, why? I have an on and off interest in one, and a little research told me I should buy vintage...not the Lodge pre-seasoned. Research said pan should not have wobbles, be very smooth inside. Comments?

I love my cast iron skillets and dutch oven. Once seasoned well they are hard to beat for almost everything. And that's not much of an exaggeration!

They heat incredibly evenly and retain a constant temperature well. When adding new ingredients to the pan there is no rapid cooling because of their heat sink properties. The sides radiate heat as well so it's not concentrated on the bottom. Stove top to oven with no worries. Can't beat them for searing and braising.

If you can find quality vintage for a reasonable price do not hesitate. They pretty much last forever with regular use. Vintage pieces tend to have smoother surfaces from the casting molds than new. Although there is nothing wrong or particularly inferior about the Lodge brand and it is made in the good old US of A.

And they are not nearly as hard to care for as some would have you believe.

cast iron is great but carbon steel is another good option. almost as non-sticky good when seasoned, cheaper, lighter and depending on the model and heat source the handle might not get so hot as to burn my hand when i absent-mindedly grab it.

[Robin Garr]

I use black cast-iron skillets often, Karen, but not exclusively. I have one that my Mom gave me when I left home to go out and be a grownup, and I'm still using it. It's nicely seasoned, but I don't baby it, and while it's not as nonstick as new Teflon, I can cook most anything in it without fear of sticking. Mary has a newer one (several years old) and takes even less care of it, and it, too, can scramble an egg without sticking. I also have a tiny one, also from my mom (maybe 5 inches diameter at a guess. I never use it for anything but pre-cooking garlic in oil and similar uses, and it probably IS as smooth as teflon. It's too little to be of much use, though.

Anyway, short answer, I think black iron makes amazingly good skillets, with extra credit for holding heat and distributing it evenly. I'll never give 'em up, and my 1974-vintage skillet has probably outlived 20 nonsticks, maybe more.

I do have a stainless saucier (Calphalon) that I got as swag when Calphalon took out ads with WLP.com for a while, and it's a fine saucier indeed, but stainless is a different kind of nonstick. It's nonstick as long as you use plenty of butter or oil in it. And for its purpose - making sauces with a whisk - it can't be beat.

I have a Lodge pre-seasoned one that I use mostly for steaks. Works great and pretty easy to care for.

Our cast iron predates the Lodge monopoly. We have a square one that we use at least five times a week. With a small round wire rack it is our only broiler. We broil Italian sausages, kielbasa, pork and lamb chops, and much else. Without the rack we "restaurant cook" our steaks, by browning them on both sides on the stove and then finishing them in a 400 degree oven.

We have a most unique fried egg cooker. It is the top to a cast iron chicken cooker. With the low sides, it is much like a griddle, making it easy to get under the eggs. This morning we first sautéed up some ham slices followed by the eggs. Wonderful.

I go with carbon steel. Much lighter, same care, same even heat and sear capacity. The only drawback to both options is that I never use them to cook with acidic ingredients or wine....only when I'm anemic

I go with carbon steel.

Does it go into the oven?

I use a cast iron skillet for making Cajun blackened dishes. Also a large cast iron cooking pot for jambalayas, gumbos, and beans.

-Paul W.

Yes Carl. The carbon steel takes the oven.

The first time I went mushroom hunting, the only thing I came home with was a cast iron skillet someone had left at a campsite in the forest. It was filled with water, debris and growing stuff. I brought it home, cleaned it up and scrubbed off all the rust with a brush attachment on my thingy-tool. I seasoned it, and put it in the oven for a couple hours. It is the best working pan in my arsenal. I love to fry chicken and fish in it. Nothing sticks to it because it is so well used and seasoned. And it heats beautifully. I love it!

I forgot to say why I use cast iron pots out of choice for the Cajun and Creole cooking I do.

Of course there's tradition.

But I think there's a reason for the tradition. I'll invoke my background in Chemistry here. Physical Chemistry has a concept called "specific heat". This is the amount of energy you have to put into a substance in order to raise its temperature by one degree. For various physiochemical reasons, water has the highest specific heat of any common substance--you have to input one calorie of energy to raise the temperature of one gram (one millilitre) of water by one degree Celsius. This is many times the amount of energy it takes to heat a gram of iron by one degree. Which is in turn several times the amount of energy to heat the same mass of aluminium or copper.

So it takes more heat to warm up cast iron than copper or aluminium. But by the same token cast iron also holds heat better than the more conductive metals. Cast iron IMO works really well for braises, stews, dals, chili, gumbos, jambalayas, and Cajun blackened dishes.

Cast iron does require seasoning to develop a non-rust, non-stick surface. But once you've established the seasoned surface, scrubbing clean with just hot water and a plastic scrub pad maintains it more or less indefinitely. I find that gumbos or broths can tend to remove the seasoning, but it's easily restored by heating the pan to smoking, swabbing it with peanut oil, heating to smoking, swabbing out excess oil, then shutting off the heat and letting the pot cool down.

-Paul W.

Something I've always been curious about with cast iron (and maybe, Paul, you have an answer). Once seasoned, I've always heard that using detergent for cleaning them should be avoided. Is this true, and if so, why?

Something I've always been curious about with cast iron (and maybe, Paul, you have an answer). Once seasoned, I've always heard that using detergent for cleaning them should be avoided. Is this true, and if so, why?

Mike, the reason you don't use either detergent or soap to clean cast iron is very simple. The seasoning on the cooking surface of the pan/pot is nothing more than carbonized cooking oil. Detergent or soap will eat away at the seasoning and render the pot/pan unseasoned and therefore it will stick.

Robin, the little skillet you spoke of is likely 6.5 inches in diameter and make an excellent skillet for frying a single egg. It also is excellent for making cornbread for one or two people. There are probably a thousand and one uses for it, but those two will give you lots of gustatory pleasure over the years.

Karen, I have maybe 30 or 40 cast iron skillets, several that are more than 100 years old, and mos of the others are 50-75 years old There is no doubt that the old vintage skillets are much better than current production skillets. Current skillets are made from melted down scrap iron and the old ones were produced from ore. They were hand made in sand molds that were also handmade.this makes them lighter and smoother. If you would like to find one look at Ebay and or Shop Goodwill. Of the 30 -40 I own they run form the #3 which is 6.5 inches diameter to a #14 which is 15 1/4 inches diameter. (that one weighs a ton, but it has it's uses). Contact me via the forum PM or email if you would like more information, such as how to clean a gunked up or rusted skillet or other cast iron cookware. I will also give you detailed instructions on seasoning either. Cast iron is not just a vessel for cooking, it is a fun addition to your life.

Mike, the reason you don't use either detergent or soap to clean cast iron is very simple. The seasoning on the cooking surface of the pan/pot is nothing more than carbonized cooking oil. Detergent or soap will eat away at the seasoning and render the pot/pan unseasoned and therefore it will stick.

Yeah, that's what I've heard. I don't quite understand how that's supposed to work. Those polymerized oils are pretty tough - I don't see how a detergent would break them down.

Yeah, that's what I've heard. I don't quite understand how that's supposed to work. Those polymerized oils are pretty tough - I don't see how a detergent would break them down.

Mike, I participate on a forum dedicated to cast iron cookware (mostly cookware, but other items CI as well). I am not expert as quite a few there, and I am sure someone there could explain it to where I could understand the whys and wherefores. I'll post a link to the portion of the forum that is open to the public. Also, one of the guys there has published a "how to" about seasoning that I think is the best instructions out there. I can ask him if he would allow me to post those instructions here or send them to anyone wishing a copy. If you or anyone else would like me to get the expert word on how the polymerized oils and why detergent etc destroys it I can do that too. Also, it is not fully understood by many that cast iron is very fragile and can break if dropped. There are instructions on the forum for packing CI for shipping, and I know I can send those instructions to anyone wanting them. EBAY sellers do NOT understand the fragility of Ci at all. Below is the link.

http://www.griswoldandwagner.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl

[David M. Bueker]

All of our cast iron dates to my wife's great grandmother. If asked to give up the cast iron I would probably stop cooking. We have everything from a small skillet that we use for eggs and making roux, to a 12x12 square bludgeon that is one of my most used pans. Then there is the 12" round griddle that doubles as my small pizza pan. Finally (in the regular rotation) is the dutch oven that is used for all braises. It weighs about 20 pounds empty.

[Jenise]

All of our cast iron dates to my wife's great grandmother. If asked to give up the cast iron I would probably stop cooking. We have everything from a small skillet that we use for eggs and making roux, to a 12x12 square bludgeon that is one of my most used pans. Then there is the 12" round griddle that doubles as my small pizza pan. Finally (in the regular rotation) is the dutch oven that is used for all braises. It weighs about 20 pounds empty.

Did your mom ever fry bologna in one? Apparently, that's what led to Davis Love III's collection!

http://gardenandgun.com/article/collection-davis-love-iii

[David M. Bueker]

Nope. My mom does not even own one. Cast iron is isolated to my wife's side.

Wow, so many interesting comments and stories. Thank you! I do not recall any cast iron black skillets in my family. My maternal grandparents, mother, uncle, came from Portugal, my other grandparents from Denmark...never saw one of those in their homes., or even my aunts home. She was the gourmet cook in the family, and way ahead of her time.

Bob: should I decide on purchasing one, I will take you up on your offer. Thanks for the suggestion and information.