'Tis the Season(ing)
One thing leads to another. We used to have a vacation home, but we sold it. We had cartons of kitchen and other stuff in our basement. We started cleaning out our kitchen cupboards to make them more efficient and able to take in the vacation home things. Emptying out a cupboard, I found a (second) grillpan that was in poor condition. So...
I decided to clean and season all our cast iron cookware. Our medium frypan is Old Reliable and is in perfectly good season shape, but we also have a large frypan, two grillpans (including the found one), two small frypans, a small cornstick pan, and a medium lid. Out came the roll of paper towels, a bottle of canola oil, a carton of kosher salt, and a new scrubby sponge.
I used the scrubby sponge to scrub clean everything except the just fine medium frypan and its lid. I used kosher salt and hot water, then dried each thoroughly with paper towels. I used paper towels to rub a thin layer of canola oil on all the newly cleaned cast iron, then put them into a cold oven face-down.
The oven was turned to 400 degrees F. When it reached temperature, I set the timer for an hour. After the hour, I turned the oven off and let the cast iron sit in the oven until cool.
I'll store as much as I can of the cast iro in the bottom oven. Later on, I'll season the medium lid, but I didn't have space in the oven to do so.
We probably have more cast iron cookware than we'll ever use, but you never know. My Old Reliable medium frypan is the one we use most; and we've taken it (and our rice cooker) on vacation when we have rented or borrowed units with kitchens. That pan is slick as anything. We have a lid for it. I haven't seasoned the lid yet, but I haven't really ever found a need for it.
I bought the two small frypans with a thought to use them as individual cook 'n' serve plates. We also have two grillpans (I don't know why or how we ended up with two) to cook things indoors in the winter, or when we just don't want to fire up the Weber.
Finally, we have a honking big skillet with a long handle on one end and a short grip on the other. That's nostalgic for me. We bought it new, but it reminds me of camp when I was a kid. I had a counselor (named Dov Kentov) with huge muscles, who lashed a huge stick to the handle of a large cast iron pan. He cooked us eggs in it, holding the pan over a campfire. Dov was one tough guy. I don't expect to cook that way, but I may use it to make paella or somesuch for friends, probably on the Weber.
I decided to clean and season all our cast iron cookware. Our medium frypan is Old Reliable and is in perfectly good season shape, but we also have a large frypan, two grillpans (including the found one), two small frypans, a small cornstick pan, and a medium lid. Out came the roll of paper towels, a bottle of canola oil, a carton of kosher salt, and a new scrubby sponge.
I used the scrubby sponge to scrub clean everything except the just fine medium frypan and its lid. I used kosher salt and hot water, then dried each thoroughly with paper towels. I used paper towels to rub a thin layer of canola oil on all the newly cleaned cast iron, then put them into a cold oven face-down.
The oven was turned to 400 degrees F. When it reached temperature, I set the timer for an hour. After the hour, I turned the oven off and let the cast iron sit in the oven until cool.
I'll store as much as I can of the cast iro in the bottom oven. Later on, I'll season the medium lid, but I didn't have space in the oven to do so.
We probably have more cast iron cookware than we'll ever use, but you never know. My Old Reliable medium frypan is the one we use most; and we've taken it (and our rice cooker) on vacation when we have rented or borrowed units with kitchens. That pan is slick as anything. We have a lid for it. I haven't seasoned the lid yet, but I haven't really ever found a need for it.
I bought the two small frypans with a thought to use them as individual cook 'n' serve plates. We also have two grillpans (I don't know why or how we ended up with two) to cook things indoors in the winter, or when we just don't want to fire up the Weber.
Finally, we have a honking big skillet with a long handle on one end and a short grip on the other. That's nostalgic for me. We bought it new, but it reminds me of camp when I was a kid. I had a counselor (named Dov Kentov) with huge muscles, who lashed a huge stick to the handle of a large cast iron pan. He cooked us eggs in it, holding the pan over a campfire. Dov was one tough guy. I don't expect to cook that way, but I may use it to make paella or somesuch for friends, probably on the Weber.
posted by Great Stone Face | 2:05 PM
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