Cast iron cookware is arguably the best type of cookware but your success with it depends on how you prepare and maintain it. Here’s everything you need to know about exactly that.
First Things First
If you already have your cast iron cookware and don’t intend to buy more, great. However, if you are in the market for something new, let me give you a word of caution right away:
There are a lot of brands available online and many do not live up to the promises of cast iron that you’ve likely heard. If at all possible, only buy reputable brands that are not made in China.
My first suggestion is Lodge, which is probably most used and well-known cast iron brand in the United States. Its cookware is made right here in the U.S. and while somewhat more expensive than Chinese knock-offs, these pots and pans will truly last a lifetime and are free of any chemicals that many cheap brands contain.
My second suggestion is Victoria, a Colombian brand that offers a wide range of cast iron products and I have yet to find one I don’t like. Victoria is well known in the Southwest for their cast iron tortilla presses.
Restoring Cast Iron
If your cast iron pot or pan is old, rusty or grimy, don’t throw it away! To restore it to perfect working condition (given that there are no major damages) you first need to clean off all the rust and grime. Use a wire brush to scrub all of it away. Some people even use wire brushes attached to drills, which makes things a bit easier – just don’t overdo it. You want the crud gone and a nice surface, inside and out, that is free of rust, dust, and anything not part of the cookware.
After this, you should complete the next step, cleaning, but for a restoration, do these steps more vigorously and more thoroughly than for daily cleaning.
Cleaning Cast Iron
Depending on how dirty the pan is, I recommend three different ways to clean.
First, if the pan has large junks of food stuck to it, add some water and heat it up on the stove, to let the food residue soften. Then scrape it off with a kitchen spatula or turner and rinse.
For smaller, stuck residue use a chain-mail mesh. This cleaning tool is something I can’t recommend enough, it is perfect for scraping cast iron clean without damaging it. If you decide to buy one of these, I recommend “The Ringer“. Do not buy cheap Chinese knockoffs, as they will scratch the pan and fall apart quickly.
Finally, for daily cleaning use salt, a tiny bit of water and a paper towel. The salt works as an abrasive to clean all the finer bits.
Depending on soil level, you may want to repeat the steps a few times. Especially when restoring a pan, use The Ringer and salt a few times before moving on to seasoning.
Seasoning Cast Iron
Cast iron cookware needs to be seasoned periodically to retain its non-stick performance and keep it performing well. Here’s how to do the periodic seasoning:
First clean the pan thoroughly and pat it dry with a lint-free kitchen towel. Now use oil with a high smoke point and high linoleic acid content and wipe the whole surface, inside and out, with the oil.
Side note: Linoleic acid is not what you want in excess in your cooking oil but it is needed for seasoning a cast iron pan well. I recommend peanut oil or linseed for this task.
Do not use so much oil that it drips; apply a thin layer only and wipe away all excess. You do not want droplets to form. If they do, you have way too much oil on the pan. A fresh paper towel run over the surface should not get soaked. This is so crucial, that I must stress it again – the whole surface should receive some oil but then basically wiped nearly dry.
Now heat the cookware in the oven at at least 400 F for at least half an hour. This “burns in” the oil to create the typical cast iron surface.
After it cools down, you may want to oil it again and heat it again, depending on how much restoration the surface needs. If you are performing a complete restoration, as mentioned earlier, you should repeat this step at least three to five times.
For day-to-day cleaning and seasoning, all you need to do is clean the pan with a bit of salt and warm water and then apply a very thin layer of peanut oil before you put the pan away. There’s no reason to heat it again.
Cooking with Cast Iron
Now that you have your cast iron cookware ready, you should use it correctly, which is easier than you think. Just remember three rules and you will be fine:
- Always preheat. Cast iron takes quite a while to reach the right temperature. Make sure you preheat it properly before adding food.
- Use oil. Although a properly seasoned cast iron pan is basically non-stick, you still need to use some oil. Depending on the temperature you’re cooking at, I suggest olive oil for low-heat cooking, ghee for high-heat (such as searing steaks), and beef tallow for deep frying. These fats are much healthier than any seed oils or vegetable oils.
- Clean and dry after cooking. Don’t leave cast iron cookware wet; it will rust if you do. This is why you should dry it and apply another very thin layer of peanut oil after daily use. It keeps the seasoning intact and prevents rust.
My Suggestions for Cast Iron Cookware
10 to 12 inch pan
This will be your main frying pan. 10-12 inches is a typical standard size that is versatile for almost every cooking. It also works well to bake pies in it!
I suggest the Lodge 12 Inch Cast Iron Skillet with Red Silicone Hot Handle Holder.
8 inch pan
Another pan to have should be an 8-inch pan. This one heats up faster and is perfect for small things like eggs, hash browns or a side of sauteed vegetable.
I suggest the Lodge Wildlife Series – 8 Inch Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet
If you don’t have any cast iron skillet yet, you may as well be interested in the Lodge 3 piece set of Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillets – Set Includes 8 Inch Skillet, 10.25 Inch Skillet, and 12 inch Skillet
5 quart cast iron Dutch oven (pot with lid)
This is your go-to for stews, roasts, and even baking bread. Very useful for a variety of cooking tasks and it can double as yet another frying pan if you need more pans at once (so can the lid, by the way, if you buy one with a flat top lid).
I highly recommend the Lodge 5 Quart Cast Iron Double Dutch Oven. It is pre-seasoned and the lid converts to a 10.25″ skillet.
Pizza pan
If you like to make make pizza from scratch, a cast iron pizza pan is the way to go. It is more durable than a pizza stone and keeps heat very well. Baking a pizza in 3 minutes in a 500 degree oven is what you can do with this pan!
Secondarily you can use this pan also as a griddle on the stove, for example to cook tortillas.
The by far best option, in my opinion, is the Victoria 15-Inch Cast Iron Comal Pizza Pan with 2 Side Handles
Tortilla press
Don’t even think about plastic tortilla presses. They do not work and they break easily. If you really want to make your own tortillas (and you should) then a cast iron tortilla press is what you need.
I suggest the Victoria 8-Inch Cast Iron Tortilla Press, Commercial-Grade Cast Iron Tortilla Maker & Roti Press
