How To Cook With Cast Iron
How To Cook With Cast Iron
This guide will make cooking with cast iron a breeze!
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Content
0.345 -> - [Narrator] We use cast
iron skillets all the time
1.834 -> in the Tasty Kitchen for a
million different reasons.
4.792 -> They're virtually indestructible,
they last forever,
7.796 -> and unlike a lot of things
you're gonna have in the kitchen,
9.932 -> they actually tend to get better with age.
12.072 -> People are often a little
bit intimidated by cast iron,
14.958 -> thinking it's, you know,
very hard to deal with
17.468 -> or hard to clean.
19.043 -> It's actually really easy,
20.643 -> you just have to know
what you're looking for.
23.712 -> So, seasoning is a process
you want to go through
25.51 -> even if it's new or you
have an old cast iron that
28.261 -> was passed down to you.
29.55 -> Often when you have a new
cast iron and there's been
32.283 -> any water that's left on,
33.918 -> they're really susceptible to rust.
35.781 -> We're gonna help you figure
out how to prevent that from
37.913 -> happening and how to clean that off.
39.759 -> So we're gonna start by
getting some steel wool.
42.566 -> Whether it's knew or has
a bunch or rust on it,
44.451 -> we're just gonna scrub
it down with steel wool
46.257 -> with a mild dish soap and
just get it down to its
48.665 -> kind of base layer.
50.067 -> The way that cast irons are made,
51.304 -> it's all kinda one piece
and you can't just season
54.475 -> the part that you cook with.
55.537 -> You want to season the entire thing.
57.35 -> While we're here we're just
gonna keep scrubbing along
59.261 -> all of the sides, on the
back of it, turn it over,
62.618 -> get the handle.
63.794 -> Once you're happy that all the
rust and or gunk off there,
66.354 -> you can go give it a
rinse under hot water.
68.581 -> And either use one of those
non-abrasive scouring pads
71.323 -> or the tough side of a sponge.
73.495 -> Just do another quick go around,
75.175 -> making sure you got every nook and cranny.
77.308 -> A good rule to remember whenever
you're dealing with cast
79.701 -> iron is water will make it rust.
82.429 -> We always want to get it as
dry as possible before we store
84.984 -> or move onto the next step.
86.667 -> So because of that, we're
gonna dry it off with a towel
88.932 -> and then you're gonna
put it onto your stove
90.428 -> and turn it on.
91.294 -> And let all of that excess
water, any extra moisture,
94.334 -> boil off.
95.332 -> Once you're happy your
skillet is bone dry,
97.188 -> we're gonna take it off the
heat and start our seasoning
99.252 -> process with a thin layer of oil.
101.413 -> The new standard is that
flax seed oil is the best oil
103.854 -> for the job.
105.102 -> It actually drys the hardest
and creates the best non-stick,
108.857 -> longest lasting seasoning.
110.918 -> The only downfall is
it is pretty expensive
113.27 -> and if you don't want
to spend that much money
114.661 -> or frankly, you just don't
have it in your pantry,
116.832 -> canola oil will work just fine.
118.525 -> A little background on your skillet.
119.897 -> The surface is actually porous,
121.364 -> which just means there's kind
of small holes or pores even
124.263 -> that we kinda want to
fill up to make a nice,
126.165 -> smooth cooking surface.
127.445 -> So once we have this thin layer
of oil all over the skillet,
130.162 -> we're actually gonna do our
best to wipe it all off.
132.511 -> There's enough oil that has
soaked into those open pores.
135.21 -> So take the clean side of your paper towel
137.007 -> and rub off as much of the oil as you can.
139.585 -> One of the biggest problems
people have is they don't
141.421 -> wipe off enough oil and they
have too thick of a layer,
144.523 -> and then it comes out of
the oven very sticky still
147.726 -> and not giving them the
result that they want.
149.678 -> So you're gonna put your
cast iron in your oven
151.801 -> on the highest temperature it can go,
153.401 -> between 450 and 500 degrees.
155.863 -> So this process is gonna
take about an hour.
157.844 -> The reason we need our oven
so high is that we actually
160.046 -> want to take the oil past its
smoking point so that the oil
163.36 -> actually starts to breakdown
and bond with the cast iron.
166.593 -> So if you've ever taken our
your skillet and it's still
168.393 -> kind of brown and sticky,
170.034 -> it's probably because your
oven wasn't hot enough.
171.944 -> So after an hour, you can turn
off your oven and let it cool
174.261 -> in there.
175.175 -> The result is a hard glassy
layer that we're looking for
178.807 -> that helps make our cast iron non-stick.
181.68 -> So, intro to cooking with cast iron.
184.277 -> You actually really do
have to pre-heat it.
186.215 -> It doesn't necessarily heat evenly,
188.19 -> but it keeps the heat really well.
189.838 -> So just take your time, heat
it on a low to medium heat.
192.414 -> This may take five to ten minutes.
194.371 -> Because cast iron is such
a great conductor of heat,
196.95 -> if you actually just
carefully hover your hand over
199.282 -> the bottom of the skillet,
200.716 -> you can feel when the pan's ready to go.
202.406 -> A lot of people are confused.
203.809 -> You know, they did all the seasoning
205.146 -> and their food is sticking to the pan.
207.166 -> Usually that's because
they're putting cold food
209.187 -> in a cold cast iron pan.
211.35 -> One reason to get a cast iron
skillet really is to sear
214.601 -> things like meat.
215.715 -> So another things that people
are maybe confused about
217.836 -> when they're cooking with a
cast iron is they tend to wanna
220.398 -> just move the food around a lot.
222.349 -> And actually what we're
trying to do here is build up
224.556 -> a nice caramelized crust.
226.356 -> So when you put any meat
in your hot skillet,
228.29 -> just leave it.
229.325 -> Let it cook.
230.209 -> When you see the kinda brown
crust forming on the outside,
233.979 -> that's when you know it's ready to flip.
235.689 -> So if you're trying to lift
up your steak and it just will
238.174 -> not give, it's probably
just not ready yet.
240.728 -> The meat will self release
when the crust has formed.
243.829 -> Why we love using cast
iron skillet for Tasty too
246.484 -> is because you can start
something on the stove
248.599 -> and finish it in the oven.
249.846 -> So you oven here that you
can't cook acidic foods
251.984 -> in a cast iron skillets.
253.573 -> However, if you have a good
layer of seasoning on there,
255.937 -> that's totally fine.
257.271 -> You don't want to do a ton of, you know,
259.422 -> a big tomato sauce or a
bunch of wine or vinegar,
262.773 -> but a little bit's not really
gonna kill your seasoning.
265.19 -> Don't be afraid to roast
things like tomatoes
266.704 -> in your cast iron skillet.
268.151 -> The great thing about being
able to cook with something
270.343 -> on the stove top and finish it in the oven
272.692 -> is you just have a lot more control.
274.512 -> You can get a nice layer of
caramelization from a high heat
278.534 -> on the stove and then finish
something cooking in the oven
281.435 -> on a much gentler, radiant heat.
284.228 -> So when you're cleaning your cast iron,
285.646 -> you want to hit a sweet spot.
286.761 -> If it's cooled down too much,
288.04 -> the food will adhere and
really stick to the pan.
291.212 -> And if it's too hot and you
put it under cold water,
293.228 -> you can risk it cracking.
294.667 -> So you want to wash the pan
pretty soon after you use it.
298.472 -> The most gentle way to clean
your skillet is with hot water
300.805 -> and salt and a non-metal scouring pad
303.486 -> or the rough side of your sponge.
304.897 -> The salt works as an abrasive
and helps to scrub off
307.041 -> any food that's on there without damaging
308.973 -> the seasoning at all.
310.463 -> Once you're happy that your pan is clean,
312.747 -> give it another towel dry and
then let it completely dry off
316.269 -> either on the stove or in a
warm oven just to make sure
318.975 -> there's no lingering moisture.
320.533 -> And that's gonna protect it
from rusting in the future.
322.835 -> So last thing, we're gonna
put a protective layer of oil
324.859 -> on the skillet before we store it.
326.639 -> Carefully with a paper towel,
327.743 -> rub that all along the inside.
329.81 -> Turn up the heat until the oil is smoking,
332.119 -> then turn it off and let
it cool on the stove.
334.37 -> The reason why we want to
take up to the smoking point
336.559 -> is so that the oil doesn't turn rancid.
338.636 -> Cast iron skillets may
seem like a lot of work
340.877 -> but just follow these simple
rules of seasoning and cleaning
344.016 -> and these pans will last you a lifetime.
346.478 -> It's like loving a good woman.
347.855 -> The more you give, the more you get back.
351.093 -> (laughing)
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLGSLCaksdY