Cast Iron fry pans

PJ, try increasing the heat a bit more. If the food is bonding to the metal, I'm wondering if that means that the oil coat hasn't sufficiently hardened. I went as high as 400 degrees on my cast iron, particularly on the later heating cycles.

Best advice is to get the pan properly hot before doing anything. IMO, an egg isn't the best test for something like this because they're naturally sticky and burn at high temp. Start with stuff that can cop the high heat you need to seal food and prevent sticking. Something with a little bit of fat like bacon, lamb chop, piece of chook, etc is ideal.

I've found Nick's comments about time and additional use to be true. It starts off as passable and then grows over time. Start with the meat and build from there, I reckon.
 
Bacon is supposed to be good to 'cook it in'. Lots of fat and high heat, and afterwards you get crispy bacon. Hard to say no...
 
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That's true enough, but I think it's mostly something that's carried over from the days when people used to season with lard. Pigs ate natural then, which meant that their fat had a higher percentage of those holy ALA's that I've been banging on about in oils. Way less ALAs these days, but oil and fatty goodness is still pretty good for the skillet. Some easy stuff you can do to advance the cause is saute/stir fry your vegies in there, fry some potatoes, make a toasted sanga. American-style grilled cheese usually comes out pretty well with a bit of butter in the pan.
 
Triple Bogey today. 1.Turned my last years tax info into my preparer to met the April deadline. 2. -8 this morning with snow- great start to spring. 3. The Cast Iron divided corn bread skillet that I just bought on eBay came today. The Postal Service managed to break the handle right off of it!!!
Great start to the week!
 
Was it a wooden handle? Pretty damn hard to bust up iron I would've thought, a challenge even for the post.

Also, do you have a good recipe for corn bread you might be inclined to share? I'm making chili this week.
 
Corn bread? What next, collard greens, a mess of grits and fried chicken? What is this the gun-running preacher man cooking channel?
 
Ain't called soul food for nothin'. All that sounds like a pretty killer feast to me. :D
 
Well, I got me a Du Buyer. That's Du Boo yay to all you uncultured philistines who've never even been to France, unlike my linguistic self. Or for all those Yank reviewers, a De Buyer, as in 'De buyer waited de seller to give him a discount…'

I got a 28cm and it's pretty hefty, bargain at just over $40 delivered. The lips are quite wide, so cooking wise, it's not really any bigger than my Ray's cast iron. But if i'd gone the 'same' size, it'd be smaller, so not as useful for salmon fillets and a pack of snags etc.

I followed the Professor from the Vollrath Uni, a few posts back. But only did two oil rubs and heats. I'm not that anal. Result? Well fuck knows what PJ fucked up following the same method, but mine is as non stick as the cast. The sides can catch a little egg (my preferred test subject), but otherwise a perfect omelette. Being steel, this pan feel slick and smooth with the golden brown seasoning on it. My cast is pitted and rough, but still works great, so it shows the finish isn't that important with metals that take seasoning.

What I like about both is they get real hot. Can't do that with Teflon, and it won't get that hot anyway. This means my steaks seal fast and quick and get a nice crust, but still medium in the middle.
 
Drubbing said:
..........I followed the Professor from the Vollrath Uni, a few posts back. But only did two oil rubs and heats. I'm not that anal. Result? Well fuck knows what PJ fucked up following the same method, but mine is as non stick as the cast..........
Click to expand...

Yeah all right... I'll get there....one day.
 
Watched the video on the 11X treatment. I don't know.
I was administratively responsible for a Hospital like kitchen for a number of years and I'm not sure that the 11x and cleanup procedures that he was recommending would work in a high volume kitchen.
Making a few eggs or chops yes, when we talk 100's I'm not sure(;-(
 
Drubbing said:
Well, I got me a Du Buyer. That's Du Boo yay to all you uncultured philistines who've never even been to France, unlike my linguistic self. Or for all those Yank reviewers, a De Buyer, as in 'De buyer waited de seller to give him a discount…'

I got a 28cm and it's pretty hefty, bargain at just over $40 delivered. The lips are quite wide, so cooking wise, it's not really any bigger than my Ray's cast iron. But if i'd gone the 'same' size, it'd be smaller, so not as useful for salmon fillets and a pack of snags etc.

I followed the Professor from the Vollrath Uni, a few posts back. But only did two oil rubs and heats. I'm not that anal. Result? Well fuck knows what PJ fucked up following the same method, but mine is as non stick as the cast. The sides can catch a little egg (my preferred test subject), but otherwise a perfect omelette. Being steel, this pan feel slick and smooth with the golden brown seasoning on it. My cast is pitted and rough, but still works great, so it shows the finish isn't that important with metals that take seasoning.

What I like about both is they get real hot. Can't do that with Teflon, and it won't get that hot anyway. This means my steaks seal fast and quick and get a nice crust, but still medium in the middle.
Click to expand...

Mind sharing where you got that one from?

Edit:

This the one I am looking at, anywhere cheaper to buy it?

http://www.grandcucina.com/frypan-round-3-0mm-carbone-plus-280x45mm
 
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Johnus said:
Watched the video on the 11X treatment. I don't know.
I was administratively responsible for a Hospital like kitchen for a number of years and I'm not sure that the 11x and cleanup procedures that he was recommending would work in a high volume kitchen.
Making a few eggs or chops yes, when we talk 100's I'm not sure(;-(
Click to expand...

Pretty sure he was making that vid with the average punter in mind though. They're popular pans in commercial kitchens, I'd bet most chefs would season once or twice. Hi volume use would take care of the rest.
 
Drubbing's reply... He must have had dishwashers with a different mind set than the ones we had working.
I also can see paying someone by the hour to do that 11 times!! (;-).
It's like Honing and Stropping a straight razor. Doing it yourself is one thing, having to pay to have someone else do it... You can see why BIC is such a hit!
 
Inspired by the memory of this thread I decided I'd grab my De Buyer and have a fry up for breakfast ...

Tasted as good as it looks -

​

After action shot of the pan -


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Just a quick spray of canola oil then the bacon went in then the eggs. Nothing sticking there boys!

All in your honour @Pjotr :)
 
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Both pan and brekkie looking pretty good there mate.
 
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