31 Easy Iron Skillet Recipes - Sparkling Boy Ideas (2024)

FAQs

What should you cook first in a cast iron skillet? ›

We recommend starting with vegetables as they are more forgiving than most proteins - they taste delicious and won't stick to your pan! Keep in mind that using a little bit of oil is necessary to help to keep food from sticking.

Cast iron works best for browning, sautéing, baking, and frying but should be avoiding when boiling and simmering. Meats, vegetables, and baked goods work really well in cast iron but acidic foods like tomatoes should be limited.

When cooking in cast iron, you should add a little oil to the pan before adding your food. This helps ensure the food doesn't stick, and it helps build layers of seasoning. You can generally use whatever oil you prefer, as long as the cooking temperature is below the smoke point of the oil.

All cooking oils and fats can be used for seasoning cast iron, but based on availability, affordability, effectiveness, and having a high smoke point, Lodge recommends vegetable oil, melted shortening, or canola oil, like our Seasoning Spray.

Since olive oil is such a pantry staple, many people naturally wonder if they can use olive oil to season cast iron. You can use olive oil to season cast iron, but you need to choose a high quality extra virgin olive oil, which should have a smoke point close to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

The method to cooking with cast iron on the stovetop is HEAT, do not add the cooking oil until the pan feels hot, because the oil will be the benchmark of the pan's readiness. If the butter sizzles, pan's ready. Oil slides across the pan with easy, pan's ready. Oil is a tool you can use in cast iron skillet cooking!

Is There Anything You Shouldn't Cook in Your Cast-Iron Skillet? Experts Weigh In. While there's nothing that's technically off limits, the pros say you should be careful with acidic foods, like tomato or wine sauce, which can corrode the seasoning if left in the pan for too long.

Mini fry pans are perfect for making small dishes that need to be contained. The perfect thing to make in a mini fry pan? A perfectly round, fried egg. Keep the egg whites nice and thick while cooking your fried egg to perfection in a tiny fry pan.

Prior to cooking, add about a teaspoon of oil to your skillet and heat it gradually on the stovetop or in the oven to help reduce sticking. After cooking, allow the cookware to cool, then use a pan scraper to remove stuck-on food, scrub with a nylon brush or nonscratch pad, hand dry, and add a generous layer of oil.

Not only can you cook eggs many ways in cast iron, you should: the material's superior heat retention and (especially in baking) heat distribution means better eggs—softer scrambles, crispier fried edges, and fluffier frittatas and stratas—no matter how you cook them.

Why can't you wash cast iron with soap? ›

No, most soaps today aren't powerful enough to remove baked-on seasoning, but a little time travel explains where this urban legend comes from. Decades ago, soaps were made with lye and vinegar, and they were too harsh for use on cast iron pans. They would indeed strip away oil and could remove seasoning.

What Is Difference Between Cast Iron and Iron? Cast Iron cookware is made by pouring melted iron into moulds to bring the desired shape. Iron cookware is made by pressing iron sheets into desired shapes and sizes. Cast iron products are thick and heavy compared to normal iron.

A thick-cut steak such as a ribeye or New York strip is best for cooking in a cast iron skillet because it can withstand the high heat of the skillet and develop a gorgeous crust, while remaining juicy and tender in the middle. Avoid lean cuts like flank steak or skirt steak, as they are prone to drying out.

The type of iron that comes from cast iron cooking is nonheme iron and is safe to consume. It is the same type of iron as found in plant sources such as beans, spinach and tofu. Children one to three years old only need 7mg iron daily, so if it's best not to cook every meal for children this age in cast iron cookware.

Cast iron pans are popular, especially for searing, and are generally safe to use. But they can leach iron, which is a strong pro-oxidant. Those genetically at risk for iron overload should learn more about cast iron safety. For well over a thousand years, cast iron has been used as a reliable cooking surface.

For the sake of your pan and palate, you should avoid acidic foods like tomatoes (will leach iron taste) or delicate foods like whitefish. But it's still possible to cook (almost?) any food.