Ok, so for some reason I’ve been having this almost primordial, iron-age craving to cook in a cast iron skillet. I’m not sure from whence this feeling derives.
I started researching and decided I wanted to jump right in with a pre-seasoned variety. I decided to go with the Lodge brand, which speaks of itself as “America’s Cast Iron.” That sounds strong, eh? I did some more research and learned that this skillet was sold by various vendors, including hardware stores. I really was excited about buying a cast iron pan at a hardware store. I felt like that would add this extra sort of ‘Iron Age’ dynamic to the experience. So, yesterday, I went to Ace Hardware after work and purchased it.
I followed my trip to the hardware store with a trip to the grocery store, to buy crackers. The bag felt heavy as I carried it around with me. I think it just added to the experience.
Today I used the pan for the first time, after following the cleaning instructions on the Lodge website. I made salmon with a miso sauce. It came out great. The sauce was made with red miso, sucanat, soy sauce, Asian cooking oil (pre-flavored), and scallions.
After searing the salmon for a few minutes, I flipped it and popped the entire pan into the oven to finish the process. There was something almost decadent about using the same pan for the stovetop and oven. I had never done this before. My stainless steel pans with non-stainless steel handles have not allowed this.
Here are some of the benefits of cast-iron, from what I’ve heard:
1. Even cooking.
2. Some iron goes into your food, good if you may need some more iron in your diet.
3. Can be nearly non-stick.
It’s important to follow the special care instructions, though – it needs to be treated differently than other types of cookware.
Have you used cast iron?
Crisp and Verdant 