Makin' Bacon!

[Truckman]

Did you already forget the conversation at the dinner table when we discussed my need to clean and re-season my favorite gumbo pot?

I may have been momentarily distracted by something shiny, and missed an important lesson...I'll try to pay better attention next time even though my concentration sometimes wanders in other directions......

But I will read up on your links and try to improve my ejoomication......Ben

[Truckman]

But I will read up on your links and try to improve my ejoomication...

I already note a discrepancy here...

How To Season Your Cast-Iron Skillet:
Scrub skillet well in hot soapy water.
Dry thoroughly.
Spread a thin layer of melted shortening or vegetable oil over the skillet.
Place it upside down on a middle oven rack at 375°. (Place foil on a lower rack to catch drips.)
Bake 1 hour; let cool in the oven.

This seems to go against Dave's advice against using soap......Ben

[Dave Grubb]

For anyone following this and considering the use of iron skillets, save yourself some time and find used ones that have been properly cared for. Flea markets are prime sources.

I have two "sets", one at home and the other at the cottage. I admit to being highly partial toward them.

One suggestion: many of the newer skillets have a textured inner surface, it almost appears to be "as cast" in sand molds. It seems that might be a negative---mine are ground smooth as a baby's bottom

One other positive---cast iron distributes the heat over the entire surface of the pan very efficiently--thus reducing the chance of hot spots.

I have a gas stove at home and a conventional electric stove at the cottage.

[Dave Grubb]

I already note a discrepancy here...This seems to go against Dave's advice against using soap......Ben

That would be fine, for a new unseasoned skillet, but none of mine have ever seen soap since they came to live with me.

I'd also suggest that one seasoning event is not going to get the job done.

Here is a good primer.

[Truckman]

Here is a good primer.

Given all that, I'll agree with this:

It’s almost enough to scare a cook off from cast iron completely!

It'll probably take more incentive than I have right now to go that far......Ben

[Truckman]

For anyone following this and considering the use of iron skillets, save yourself some time and find used ones that have been properly cared for.

There's a thought...I remember some being in my Mom's kitchen...I saw to it that her house was titled in my nephew's name as part of settling her estate...He's a better cook than I ever thought of being, but maybe he can be talked out of a skillet that I can try......Ben

[Dave Grubb]

You will be well rewarded

[Independent Voter]

I use my CI on a glass stovetop all the time. Just don't slide or slam and there is no worry.

[Truckman]

I use my CI on a glass stovetop all the time. Just don't slide or slam and there is no worry.

I sent a text to my nephew...If he can part with one for his poor, disadvantaged uncle, I'll try it out......Ben

[wacojoe]

Once you get your cast iron skillet and get it seasoned up properly, give my recipe for Southern cornbread a go. It has been cultivated, massaged and tested for decades by my betters before passing down to me. Tastes will differ and some even put sugar in theirs. Some prefer yellow cornmeal or stone ground, which yield a grittier mouth feel. I prefer white cornmeal, which gives a smoother piece perfect for slathering a generous portion of dried beans or black-eyed peas over it.

My wall of cast iron skillets photo is attached.

Corn Bread

No, no, no. You never put sugar in corn bread and you always bake it in an iron skillet. White corn meal is much better too.

My corn bread recipe —

1 1/2 cup white corn meal (must be fine grind WHITE corn meal - Aunt Jemima is perfect)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 extra-large eggs
1 3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 t. baking soda
1T. baking powder
1t. salt
2 T. bacon fat

Mix the dry ingredients throughly, then mix the wet ingredients in stirring as little as possible, but lightly adding the hot bacon fat from a heated 10” cast iron skillet at the end. Pour the mix in the skillet which has been rewarmed to hot (mixture should sizzle when poured in) and bake ~25 minutes in a 450 degree oven checking for light brown color. Remove upside down onto a plate with paper towels and slice in two to let steam escape.

[Truckman]

So my nephew just dropped off one of Mom's that's already seasoned and ready to cook with...In fact it was probably one of her mother's skillets...Tomorrow is bacon day for me (it was sausage this morning) so I'll try it out and report......Ben

[Independent Voter]

Just remember, it will get hotter and hold heat longer than your poison pan. Be careful of your temp control for the first couple of uses.

[Truckman]

Be careful of your temp control for the first couple of uses.

I ordinarily use medium electric heat on my thick-sliced HEB bacon...Does that sound right?......Ben

[FredK]

Best way I found for large batches was a sheet pan and the oven. Cooked to many that way in the army.

As for today, I use SS pans and got rid of cast iron long, long ago.

[wacojoe]

A cast iron skillet is great used to keep your blackened Redfish from curling up while sautéing it, if you heat one up and put the bottom on top of the fish while sautéing. Do it outside on the grill unless you have a really good hood and outside evacuating fan system.