So my wife is talking about buying a cast iron griddle to use on the stove. I am completely against this as cast iron is just such a shitty cookware to use in any situation.

I've tried explaining to her the following suck-points of cast iron.

-It doesn't heat evenly thus burning some shit and leaving other shit raw.
-You have to season it with oil just to keep the shit from rusting.
-If you season it too much, the oil goes rancid and then you've gotta clean and re-season.
-You can't scrub it like other cookware because it will scratch and rust.

Can you guys give me some other reasons as to why cast iron sucks so fucking hard? I don't want her to waste our money.

5/22/2011 4:01:52 PM

It makes good cornbread and pancakes

5/22/2011 4:03:24 PM

its heavy and ugly?

5/22/2011 4:03:24 PM

I disagree that cast iron is good for nothing, but what-evs.

What does she want to do with it?

5/22/2011 4:15:17 PM

Cast iron is awesome for cornbread.

5/22/2011 4:17:09 PM

cast iron skillets are actually fantastic.

5/22/2011 4:17:42 PM

Quote :

"-You have to season it with oil just to keep the shit from rusting. -If you season it too much, the oil goes rancid and then you've gotta clean and re-season. -You can't scrub it like other cookware because it will scratch and rust."

whaaat? I've never had the oil go rancid on mine. And once you have a nice patina, you don't have to continue to season it. The patina makes it so that you sometimes don't even have to scrub, you can just scrape the food bits off with a metal spatula. If need be, you can scrub it with the scrubby plastic side of a sponge. What do you use on your cook ware that could scratch cast iron? steel wool?

^ yeah I agree! I love my skillet. got it used at a yard sale so it came pre-seasoned don't know about a griddle though, I don't have one

5/22/2011 4:21:36 PM

Cast iron skillets make for tasty food. I think a griddle might be a bit cumbersome though.

5/22/2011 4:38:10 PM

My girlfriend bought me a Le Creuset cast iron frying pan and I use it for everything. Awesome cookware.

5/22/2011 4:48:25 PM

Pancakes
Corn bread
Fried chicken
Fried fish
Biscuits n gravy
Pan seared steaks

Just a few of the MANY delicious delights that I've enjoyed cooking or had from a cast iron skillet. Holds heat the best and was/is a kitchen staple for a damn good reason.

5/22/2011 4:59:55 PM

cast iron is awesome for making breakfast and cornbread because it gives everything a delicious breakfast and cornbread taste.mmmm

5/22/2011 5:01:10 PM

Cast iron is not as inconsistent as you seem to think, one of the reasons people get cast iron is because of it's heat diffusion and retention. If it's noticeably uneven you got a really shitty pan.

Cast iron may not seem all that practical in terms of straight-froward balls-out cooking, but if you love food and have an appreciation for food, then you should have at least some cast iron cookware. And it's not that hard to season and maintain. I forget to clean or maintain things all the time, but I've seasoned new cast iron cookware with ease in the past and I've maintained previously seasoned cookware that I've inherited from my grandmother. When you get some and you piece together how to best use cast iron, I think it's a valuable part of any kitchen.

But this doesn't matter, because your wife already has it in her mind, enough that you've come to us for backup. At this point, no amount of scolding from the internet is going to keep her from doing it.




EDIT: It's not that expensive either, where did that come up? Jesus, pick your arguments. Let her buy a mid-grade cast-iron skillet, let her season it, and save your card for when she cheats on you with the skillet merchant.

[Edited on May 22, 2011 at 5:06 PM. Reason : skillet merchants are tricky]

5/22/2011 5:05:26 PM

For noon games, my family cooks everything in a cast iron skillet on our grill...we have breakfast! Cook the bacon first and then cook the eggs and hashbrowns in the grease...YUM. Oh yeah, and pancakes in that bitch! The breakfast tailgates are the best of the season!

5/22/2011 5:06:28 PM

Cast iron cookware has advantages and disadvantages, just like any other cookware.

--It DOES heat pretty evenly, you just need to wait a few minutes to warm it up. Don't turn on the stove full-blast from nothing, as that might result in warping the skillet. Warm it up slowly.
--Seasoning with oil (and whatever you cook in it) does keep it from rusting, but it also keeps things from sticking. The more you cook in it, the slicker the surface gets. Eventually it will take on a 'glassy' appearance.
--The only way the oil on it goes rancid is if you use an oil prone to going rancid quickly, and then you don't use the skillet frequently.
--You CAN scrub it...just don't use things that are overly sharp or corrosive.
--Don't cook anything acidic in it unless you have a really good seasoning layer.


Cast iron is also fantastic for searing, or anything requiring decently high heat. It might take a little while to get there, but one of the good parts about cast iron is that it holds that heat very well. It also works great in the oven -- Alton Brown's 500-degree steak recipe is amazing.


Besides, cast iron is pretty cheap (~$20 for a 12" Lodge cast iron skillet, or ~$15 for the Lodge 10.5" griddle), compared to high-quality steel or copper cookware.


Make sure you buy AMERICAN cast iron -- Lodge, Griswold, or Wager will be your best choices. The stuff sold by 'cooking personalities' is all made in China, and is crap. The last thing you want is Chinese-made cast iron cookware.

Usually I recommend getting older (~1930s-1950s) Griswold or Wagner. They have much smoother surfaces than the more recent Lodge stuff. But if you are just looking at a griddle for pancakes and such, a recent Lodge griddle with some non-stick spray will do fantastic for that purpose.



While now defunct, this is a pretty good blog about cast iron:
http://blackirondude.blogspot.com/


Cleaning:
http://blackirondude.blogspot.com/2008/12/cleaning-your-cast-iron-cookware.html


Comparison of older cast iron to newer cast iron:
http://blackirondude.blogspot.com/2008/05/old-cast-iron-vs-new-cast-iron.html


Reconditioning, plus seasoning:
http://blackirondude.blogspot.com/2009/01/easy-cast-iron-skillet-reconditioning.html


Seasoning:
http://blackirondude.blogspot.com/2008/05/seasoning-cast-iron-cookware.html



Go find some at yard sales, the scrap metal yard, or in the back of your grandmother's kitchen cabinets that she forgot about 30 years ago.



Considering that I probably have 10 pieces of cast iron cookware, I might just be a little biased.

[Edited on May 22, 2011 at 5:13 PM. Reason : ]

5/22/2011 5:12:27 PM

^ I think some of the Lodge stuff is made in China now, too.

5/22/2011 5:16:45 PM

Quote :

"Cast iron is also fantastic for searing, or anything requiring decently high heat. It might take a little while to get there, but one of the good parts about cast iron is that it holds that heat very well. It also works great in the oven -- Alton Brown's 500-degree steak recipe is amazing. "

THIS

5/22/2011 5:19:36 PM

Quote :

"^ I think some of the Lodge stuff is made in China now, too."

I believe everything of theirs is made in the US except their enameled stuff. For that I would go with Le Creuset...if you have lots of money.

At least occamsrezer's wife isn't asking for a Mauviel skillet. $$$$$$$$$$

5/22/2011 5:28:23 PM

Ah (about Lodge)

I have an enameled Le Creuset dutch oven that's fantastic for stews, chili, roasts, etc.

I also have a Le Creuset cast iron wok that's enameled on the outside. Mostly I use it for small-batch frying (don't need as much oil).

5/22/2011 5:35:24 PM

made this today in my cast iron skillet ... I rest my case!!!

5/22/2011 6:08:41 PM

Yeah, I love cast iron.


Blueberry cobbler:




Crabcakes:




Melting chocolate for chocolate-covered strawberries:




Seared tuna (photo taken on a plate after cooking in a cast iron skillet):

5/22/2011 6:19:11 PM

Good job getting that tuna seared on all four sides.

How do you like your glass top stove?

5/22/2011 6:28:34 PM

^,^^om nom nom nom


Like others have said I was always told it actually heats more evenly than other metals and cleaning was always a breeze, my parents usually just wipe their stuff out with a paper towel

5/22/2011 6:30:09 PM

Quote :

"Let her buy a mid-grade cast-iron skillet, let her season it, and save your card for when she cheats on you with the skillet merchant."

That's what I said, minus the cheating part

I'm thinking I'm going to order a Lodge skillet and griddle from their factory in Tennessee.

5/22/2011 6:51:38 PM

cast iron is awesome. the 500 degree oven / stove top filet mignon is amazing.

5/22/2011 6:58:31 PM

Quote :

"Good job getting that tuna seared on all four sides. How do you like your glass top stove?"

Why thank you!

Unfortunately I'm still in an apartment, hence the glass top. I've heard people saying not to use cast iron on it, but it seems to work just fine.

My main issue with the glass top stoves is their 'energy-saving' modes of turning off the burner when they sense that the skillet/pan is 'hot enough'. So they'll turn off for a bit, then turn back on. Drives me nuts. If I want it on 7, leave it on 7. Not 7 off 7 off 7 off 7 off. But even with all that it seems to do a decent job.

In the future I'd like a gas stove, or perhaps an induction stove, which would work great with cast iron. It wouldn't work so well with copper cookware though, which I would also like a set of at some point.

Quote :

"I'm thinking I'm going to order a Lodge skillet and griddle from their factory in Tennessee."

The MSRP on their website is much higher than the prices you can see in person at Wal-Mart. Plus, buying the piece in person allows you to sort through and buy the best one out of the bunch (even factory seasoning, no nicks/scratches, no warping, things like that).


As a side note, I've seen the Lodge 15" skillet in the camping section of Wal-Mart before. That thing is a BEAST.

[Edited on May 22, 2011 at 7:45 PM. Reason : ]

5/22/2011 7:45:14 PM

I have a large cast iron skillet, a small cast iron skillet, a flat cast iron griddle and a cast iron Dutch oven. I use at least one of them everytime I cook.

5/22/2011 7:49:46 PM

I was going to post never use cast iron on a glass-top stove...but i see someone posted a picture of doing so...

i was told to NEVER use cast iron on a glasstop surface... Plus, my aunt ruined hers by doing this and had to have the whole top replaced..

so... has anyone else heard this or did my aunt just do something completely wrong?

5/22/2011 8:01:29 PM

I always heard not to and as clumsy as I am I know I would break the surface. But a guy at lowes said it was ok. I generally do not trust anything anyone at lowes says. Dude just wanted to sell a stove.

5/22/2011 8:05:01 PM

i use my cast iron on my glass top stove and it works just fine. I'm careful not to drag it around and bang it on the stove top.

5/22/2011 8:14:38 PM

i use my 12" Lodge on my glass-top stove every week

nothing makes better hash browns or blackened salmon

5/22/2011 8:44:11 PM

That's 234987234871 for, and 1 against. I think your wife is going to get one.

5/22/2011 8:52:45 PM

On a similar note, I have a set of copper-bottomed pans from my aunt ... is there a reason why I should hold on to these?

5/22/2011 9:47:01 PM

No one has mentioned the advantage of avoiding potentially toxic non-stick pans?

5/22/2011 9:47:42 PM

What's toxic about non-stick pans?

5/22/2011 9:50:35 PM

if you think cast iron is bad cookware, then you're a bad cook.


sorry

5/22/2011 10:17:19 PM

Concerning oil, what do you guys season/cook with?

5/22/2011 10:22:43 PM

Nonstick pans will emit fumes when heated, especially if they're left on the stove for too long. Ask any bird owner. More than one exotic bird has been accidentally killed because someone forgot to cut off the burner under a nonstick pan.

--

I love a cast iron pan for anything that needs to go from the oven to the stove or vice versa. I use mine for meat dishes all the time.

5/22/2011 10:25:40 PM

is this a troll thread? cast iron pans = win.

5/22/2011 10:53:27 PM

^agreed

5/22/2011 11:21:07 PM

yea when they get too hot, the nonstick pans can start breaking down and you won't even know it...so they release potentially toxic materials (carcinogens, yo)

basically (according to the research done about them) they are safe up to a certain temp. the problem is a lot of them heat up past this temp super duper fast so... yea. they say don't preheat empty pans, don't cook on super high heat, etc when you are using nonstick. i have also heard not to sear meats in a nonstick pan.

i have a nonstick skillet i still use though. also have a set of copper bottom pans...those are pretty much what i cook with on the reg. and i love the cast iron too. even have some glass cookware. i have a bunch of stuff...the majority of it is not non stick!

[Edited on May 23, 2011 at 12:23 AM. Reason : .]

5/23/2011 12:21:10 AM

Just saw this on slickdeals:

Lodge 5qt Dutch Oven with lid $23

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2949725

I also find that cast iron pans work much better than any cheap wok or other pans for stir-fry. It holds so much more heat so the meat doesn't cool the pan and lose the fast cooking.

5/23/2011 12:55:56 AM

I have a lot of cast iron, (two skillets, a griddle, a large camping dutch oven, a small dutch oven, a 3-in-1 combo, a cornbread pan, and a grill, plus two carbon steel woks) and like it a great deal. My wife strongly desired a particular calphalon nonstick pan for small omelets, which I dutifully acquired. Having played with the two side-by-side, I can see why some like the non-stick. This one certainly is spiffy. I still prefer the cast iron, for one primary reason.

I prefer metal spatulas.

I have a commercial-style spatula I like using, and it plays very well with my skillets. I am not sure I would survive scratching her skillet, and am very careful about what I touch it with. That said, it is dishwasher safe, and that is spiffy.

Refering to the OP's griddle question, I am less fond of my 2-burner griddle than of any of the other cast iron. Primarily, it is a pain to store. It is more even than most metals, but a large chunk of metal across two (relatively) small burners does produce uneven heat. Using the griddle requires knowledge of where it is hot. My mother-in-law (may she burn in hell) has an electric counter-top griddle, which I would recommend over a cast iron one for in-house use. I hate suggesting you not buy cast-iron, but a two-burner griddle for in-house use is the most temperamental piece of cast iron you could buy, and with rare use would prove challenging to master.

5/23/2011 12:58:37 AM

^ it's more about knowing how to use the hot and cool zones on the griddle. Most people don't really think about that.

5/23/2011 8:27:44 AM

im a lazy bachelor frog and my cast iron skillet lets me be even lazier, but less hungry

5/23/2011 8:54:12 AM

probably so she can hit you over the head with it when she things you're being an ass.



yeah breakfast items are awesome cooked in a cast iron skillet.

5/23/2011 9:08:02 AM

^^^ Exactly, But if the only cast iron the OP is going to own is a two-burner griddle which is used infrequently, then he's likely to be frustrated and continue to hate cast iron. He's better off with a counter-top electric griddle, and can graduate to a cast iron one after he's comfortable with easier to use cast iron cookware.

5/23/2011 9:49:22 AM

Quote :

"^^^ Exactly, But if the only cast iron the OP is going to own is a two-burner griddle which is used infrequently, then he's likely to be frustrated and continue to hate cast iron. He's better off with a counter-top electric griddle, and can graduate to a cast iron one after he's comfortable with easier to use cast iron cookware."

Agreed -- I think the smaller Lodge 10.5" griddle would be a great piece of starter cast iron.

As for cast iron on a glass stovetop: just grip the cookware firmly so you don't smack an edge against the glass. I imagine that might smash it due to the weight of the cast iron cookware. I've always lightly set my cast iron onto the stovetop lightly and as evenly as possible. No issues so far.

[Edited on May 23, 2011 at 10:00 AM. Reason : ]

5/23/2011 9:53:59 AM

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pan-seared-rib-eye-recipe/index.html

/thread.

5/23/2011 12:45:09 PM

it's a good steak... i've made it in my cast iron skillet... 9 times out of ten i'd rather grill a steak though.

5/23/2011 12:56:25 PM

God, could this thread have more presumptuous dicks in it?
I ask a valid question and all you guys do is attack my character.

5/23/2011 12:57:29 PM