The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Cooking & Recipes => Topic started by: Timothy on September 11, 2011, 04:33:27 PM
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1st off, I can cook! Been doing it nearly all my life...
I put my home fried potato's up against the best diner food you've ever had!
Tonight, I'm sated by the simplest form of dinner! Just finished an "on the fly" tasty treat!
Marinade a pound or less of sirloin tips or tri-tips in a good marinade! I make a damn good one but I found a Texas marinade from Stubbs that is fine and tasty if you care for a bit of heat with your meat!
Take a one pound tater in a hot cast iron skillet, a couple tablespoons of canola oil an a pat of butter. Season with salt and pepper and saute/fry for 8-10 minutes. Add about a half of sweet Vadalia onion and season again with fresh garlic, salt and a liberal amount of smoked paprika! Don't skimo on cheap paprika, it's worth it to buy the better stuff.
Let the taters come to fork tender and set aside. Bring the skillet up to smoking and add the beef and saute until your desired level of doneness and enjoy!
One pan, one process and one level of satisfaction!
ps invest in a good Lodge skillet, you will not be disappointed!
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Sounds good and I'll second the Lodge skillet. After several years of seasonig buildup mine's almost non-stick.
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One pan, one process and one level of satisfaction!
ps invest in a good Lodge skillet, you will not be disappointed!
So you are saying I need to replace my Griswold with a Lodge??
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So you are saying I need to replace my Griswold with a Lodge??
Nope! ;)
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So you are saying I need to replace my Griswold with a Lodge??
YES!!! And then send that nasty old POS Griswold to me, I know how to "dispose " of them properly!!!! ;D
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Cast iron over the years has become my "go-to" cookware for a number of reasons.
First, my Mom used an old Griswold dutch over for most everything from popcorn to chili and stews.
Second, she bought my wife and I a LeCrueset deep skillet in 1984, the year we got married and I've supplemented that with a huge Lecrueset omelet pan for about five bucks at a flea market, my Lodge 12" skillet and another Lodge griddle skillet. I'm looking at a dutch oven too. For the price of the Lodge stuff, pre-seasoned, you can't go wrong.
With those four pieces, I can make darn near anything and they'll outlive me, I have no doubt. I'm always looking for more stuff as New England is rife with flea markets and yard sales. Having access to a sand blaster doesn't hurt either. I can take a hundred year old skillet and make it look brandy new and re-season it overnight.
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Don't use any kind of soap on your cast iron when you wash it or food will stick. My ex ran one of my skillets through the dishwasher and I had to keep reseasoning it. >:( There was a big spot on it that took a few years to get good and black again.
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do you know why grandmas cast iron skillet cooks food great? some of her cooking is still in it.
<<<<<<< loves cast iron.
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Don't use any kind of soap on your cast iron when you wash it or food will stick. My ex ran one of my skillets through the dishwasher and I had to keep reseasoning it. >:( There was a big spot on it that took a few years to get good and black again.
To clean mine, I always scrub it with course salt and a little water while it's a still-warm (not hot) skillet. It loosens anything that might stick, but doesn't affect the skillet's seasoning. Then a good rinse to get ALL the salt off, and I put it back on a low burner for a couple of minutes to dry completely. A quick swish with a paper towel and a bit of lard, and it goes back in the cupboard until next time.
You could actually use "soap" once in awhile, but detergent is a strict no-no. Soap won't cut the grease like detergent does. It's better not to use either.
FWIW
Crusader
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Love cast iron cookware too.
Did yas know how it get totally "seasoned"?
The way I heard it is that as it heats up, the metal expands and the microscopic imperfections open up and are filled while cooking. Then they close up when it cools, semi-permanently trapping the particles. As it is used and raised to a high temperature the particles are carbonized in there and any gaps filled in while it is hot and expanded.
Sounds plausible.
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I never thought about how it works when you season it but that sounds plausible to me. I just know that it's almost non-stick and I rarely have to scrub it. When I do I use a scotch-brite type of scrubber, rinse with hot water, and dry with a paper towel. I used to put it on a burner for a few minutes to dry but I found it wasn't neccesary. Now after talking about it I want to fry something. Maybe some grilled cheese to use up some bread I have.
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Don't forget to season your cast iron grill grates on your outdoor grills as well. If they're not the enameled type, they need to be washed and dried and seasoned just like any cast iron cookware. I forget this step on my Weber grill and had to clean them again and re-season. Luckily, it's cast iron and it's recovered nicely!