A cast iron skillet may not be the one only skillet you need in your kitchen, but I’ll make a case for a 12 “cast iron skillet that is the most useful cookware you can have.
Once you get over the common stereotype that a cast iron skillet is only for cooking over a campfire, you realize what an incredibly versatile tool it is.
The obvious use for a cast skillet is for frying things. A cast iron skillet does an excellent job of preparing steaks, pork chops, fried chicken, and anything else that you would use a stainless steel or aluminum skillet for. A properly seasoned cast iron skillet can also cook eggs and other sticky dishes that you might think you need a nonstick skillet for.
This brings up the fact that cooking with nonstick pans can have health risks, and your nonstick cookware will need to be replaced every few years. In comparison, a cast iron skillet does not introduce toxic chemicals into your food and can last for many generations.
A cast iron skillet has many other uses besides frying if you exercise a little culinary creativity.
You can bake with it in the oven or on a barbecue. (I made cake on a barbecue. It was entertaining and amazing.)
Here are the sizes of some common baking dishes:
* 9 “round cake plate – 63 inches square
* 8 x 8 Cake Pan – 64 Sq Ft. inches
* 9 x 13 Cake Pan – 117 Sq Ft. inches
12 “Lodge Cast Iron Skillet – 113 Sq.
As you can see, one 12 “pan can be substituted for one 9×13 cake pan, two 8×8 cake pans, or two 9” round cake plates. This means that you can prepare baked cakes, pastries, and stews in your skillet.
A cast iron skillet can also be used for most things that you would use a baking stone for. The main purpose of a baking stone is to equalize the hot spots and temperature fluctuations in your oven. A cast iron skillet has similar enough heat retention and heat mass that you can substitute a baking stone in many recipes. In other words, pizza, cookies, and bread can be cooked in a cast iron skillet.
Due to its excellent heat retention, a cast iron skillet is a good option for deep frying. You can make fish and chips, latkes, donuts, corn dogs, and more in your skillet.
A large skillet makes a great roasting pan. The chicken, ham, and ribs come out very well.
A cast iron skillet can also be used for soups and stews. A 12 “Lodge skillet has a 3.9-quart capacity, so it can make pretty much anything you’d use a 4-quart pot for. For example, my wife makes French onion soup in ours. Caramelizes the onions in the pot. stove, add the rest of the ingredients to make the soup and simmer it, then put the bread and cheese on top and put everything in the oven to finish.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Baked mac and cheese, pancakes, tortillas, calamari, pannini, pies, cobblers, bread, pizza, steaks, cookies, cornbread, soups, casseroles, cookies, roasts, stir fries, burgers and more – all from the same skillet !
Some people may consider a 12 “skillet too big to be their main pot. It is rarely an” too big “problem. There are few situations where a pot that is small can perform a better task than one that is large. However, a pot that is too small for the dish you are preparing is completely useless. There is very little you can do with an 8 “or 10” pan that you cannot do with a 12 “, but there are many dishes you can do. prepare in a 12 “skillet that will not fit into an 8” or 10 “.
I have nothing against smaller pans, but after much experimentation I have decided that if I could have just one, it would have to be 12 “.
Cast iron cookware is inexpensive, environmentally friendly, incredibly versatile, and will last almost forever. Most importantly, it is excellent food.
Whether you’re just dating for the first time or a seasoned cook looking to rediscover a better way to cook, get yourself a cast iron skillet and find out why it may be the only skillet you really need.