I just bought my first.....

[justinenycole26]

cast iron skillet!!!!!
I am happier than a pig in #@*&! I have wanted one for the longest time but they are kinda expensive. Well, my co-worker saw a sale on the MSN home page and was showing me the site. I saw the skillet right away and thought it was a misprint or something. It was $11.99 and I got 4% thru ebates! Yee Haw!

[maysie]

Congrats!!!! Cast iron is all I normally cook with...I LOVE it..

[tsquared]

i know a guy who came home drunker than a skunk one night and his wife was ticked he was that way so when he walked in she beaned him on the head with her cast iron skillet.....

[justinenycole26]

Grandma threw a skillet full of peas on my Grandpa when he came home drunk once. But that's not what I bought the skillet for! LOL

[justinenycole26]

Originally posted by Ravenlost
still have the skillet, dumped that hubby. LOL...


Good idea! Skillets don't talk back.

This is the one I got:

http://www.chefscatalog.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=cprod2332548&parentId=cat000219&masterId=cat000217&grandMasterId=cat000000&cmCat=&index=0&showCrumb=true

I want a plain flat one too, but this is a start. I'm gonna keep checking the Goodwill thrift shop, they are bound to gete some eventually.

[Shancopp]

How do you season it? How often? THanks, I've rubbed my down w/grease, but not sure if that is all I have to do.

[janelle]

How do you clean one. I've always scrubbed them then let them air dry but they get rusty. It takes the seasoning off as well but I don't want onion taste on my pancakes. :rolleyes:

[Shancopp]

I've heard you put them on the stove...low heat to dry to
prevent rust...just not too sure about how often and proper way
to season.

[justinenycole26]

The surfaces of a new cast-iron pan are porous and have microscopic jagged peaks. You seaason a pan by rubbing it with oil, heating it for 30 to 60 minutes in a 300-degree oven, and then letting it cool to room temperature.

The oil fills the cavities and becomes entrenched in them, as well as rounding off the peaks. Be seasoning a new pan, the cooking surface develops a nonstick quality because the formerly jagged and pitted surface becomes smooth. Also, because the pores are permeated with oil, water cannot seep in and create rust that would give food an off-flavor.

IMPORTANT: Unless you use your cast-iron pans daily, they should be washed briefly with a little soapy water and then rinsed and thoroughly dried in order to rid them of excess surface oil. If you do not do this, the surplus oil will become rancid within a couple of days.

[Shancopp]

Thanks!!

[Kyla Kym]

If you buy a used one, we throw them in a huge fire. That burns off all the black crud on them. It brings them back to like new quality. But won't harm the skillet. We always do that because you don't know what people have been doing with them. They might have been using them to feed their dogs in for all we know. Several people in my family collect them including my hubby. He has several pieces from the late 1800's. He also has a fancy looking old time wood cook stove. :)

Be careful with your cast iron. It will crack sometimes if dropped.

How I clean them once I get a good seasoning on them is to put water in them without soap and let it come to a boil on top of the stove. Then I reseason it.

I've bought a few pieces off of ebay. The shipping wasn't as bad as you would think. :)

[justinenycole26]

You mean a real outside kinda fire??? Hmmmm, never thought of that. I don't know if I am allowed to play with fire so maybe I better stick to finding good online deals.

[Kyla Kym]

Yes they build a good size fire outside and just throw the skillets on top of the fire. It burns off all that black looking junk that builds up over time. It also will sterilize it. They really do look great after you do that. Our friend traded us something for his great grandmothers skillet this summer and after we got it out of the fire, it was so pretty. And it had more of a slick finish to the cooking part of it than any of the other ones we have.

Do you or a friend have a fire place? I'm not sure if that would get hot enough, but I don't see why not. I never have did it myself..it's always the men that do it. :)

[mugwump]

Love my cast iron skillets ... I have one that my mom gave me which is for meats only ... seasoned well with over 60 years of onions and garlic and meat ... nothing better for roasts.

The other was given to me for a shower gift (along with instructions on when to use) ... LOL ... my maid of honour had a great sense of humour! This one is used for pancakes, eggs, etc.

Love them both, but now I want one with the ridges on the bottom that give steaks that "grilled" look ... waiting for a sale.