what ya got for cast iron

Alright ya'll...enough of this fajita skillet 'thang. Firstly, fajita's are beef skirt steak often marinaded in lime juice, cilantro and garlic, then grilled. The concept is a Tex-mex 'thang that became a regional south Texas favorite served with warm tortilla's. The whole skillet thing like you see in the faux paux Mexican joints is all smoke and mirrors and a marketing thing. None of my friends nor I ever witnessed those piping hot platters of smoldering sizzling meat on them. Never.

The round flat cast iron with a slight lip is known as a comal. Traditionally used to cook and heat tortilla's. South of the border corn tortilla's rule, whereas north it's flour. The comal itself lends itself to other things such as grilled cheese or grilled sammich's of any kind. Nowadays you can buy a real "pannini" grill" but why would anyone do so? Cast iron takes care of that. Why buy a grill grilltop attachment to do bacon or pancakes. Cast iron like a comal takes care of that too.

A dutch oven, a 10 or 12 inch skillet, and a comal can handle about 90% of all cooking needs. Add a few stainless pots and pans for sauces and pasta and you're done.

Rant completed.

Salute', TB.
 
texas blues said:
Alright ya'll...enough of this fajita skillet 'thang. Firstly, fajita's are beef skirt steak often marinaded in lime juice, cilantro and garlic, then grilled. The concept is a Tex-mex 'thang that became a regional south Texas favorite served with warm tortilla's. The whole skillet thing like you see in the faux paux Mexican joints is all smoke and mirrors and a marketing thing. None of my friends nor I ever witnessed those piping hot platters of smoldering sizzling meat on them. Never.

The round flat cast iron with a slight lip is known as a comal. Traditionally used to cook and heat tortilla's. South of the border corn tortilla's rule, whereas north it's flour. The comal itself lends itself to other things such as grilled cheese or grilled sammich's of any kind. Nowadays you can buy a real "pannini" grill" but why would anyone do so? Cast iron takes care of that. Why buy a grill grilltop attachment to do bacon or pancakes. Cast iron like a comal takes care of that too.

A dutch oven, a 10 or 12 inch skillet, and a comal can handle about 90% of all cooking needs. Add a few stainless pots and pans for sauces and pasta and you're done.

Rant completed.

Salute', TB.
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True Dat too.

Cast Iron works best on gas, but will work on any kind of heat source.

I fried chicken on my grill in my big cast iron last week.
 
texas blues said:
A dutch oven, a 10 or 12 inch skillet, and a comal can handle about 90% of all cooking needs. Add a few stainless pots and pans for sauces and pasta and you're done.

Salute', TB.
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preach it brother!
 
FiveStar said:
CH, acidic foods like tomatoes, lime juice, vinegar etc. can cause rapid oxidation (rust) on cast iron. Since it's a bare reactive metal, unless you've got a really good season on your CI, I've always heard not to add terribly acidic ingredients to the pan.
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does that just mean you need to clean & scrub it more often or harder.
then what do you consider a well seasoned CI ?
when it comes to a dutch oven that'd be used mostly for chili = high acidic foods, now what ? & new from the start.


texas blues said:
A dutch oven, a 10 or 12 inch skillet, and a comal can handle about 90% of all cooking needs. Add a few stainless pots and pans for sauces and pasta and you're done.
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dont forget about a wok ;)
 
The tomato rule is for idiots that don't season well. They don't know how to use cast iron and rust them out and take them back to the store. You will also get a metallic taste and gray food. Yuck! If it's seasoned well, as most people already know how to do here, you can cook nuclear waste and it won't hurt it! The seal repels the acid. I mean come on. People have been cooking jumbalaya, chili, and stew in them for how long? ;)
 
thehotpepper.com said:
The tomato rule is for idiots that don't season well. They don't know how to use cast iron and rust them out and take them back to the store. You will also get a metallic taste and gray food. Yuck! If it's seasoned well, as most people already know how to do here, you can cook nuclear waste and it won't hurt it! The seal repels the acid. I mean come on. People have been cooking jumbalaya, chili, and stew in them for how long? ;)
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+1 I never have a problem with acidic sauce's in cast iron, in fact I often saute' salmon with lemon juice often. Tomato sauce too. Here's some things I do with my cast iron.

Never dunk the CI in soapy water to soak...EVER! I keep a stiff bristled brush by the sink solely for cast iron. If I have stubborn sticky stuff on the CI (I rarely if ever do) I add water to just cover and bring it to a boil, then rinse under the sink with the brush.

Lightly coat with oil after every cleaning.

When you are about to use the cast iron, put the heat to it well before cooking. Never put cold food into a cold CI pan. That's when sticking can occur...even on a well seasoned pan.

Know when to lower the heat...that's why the stove top comes with knobs. Crank it up and then back it off.

Follow those simple rules and you will have a very well seasoned pan in no time that can do it all. I have a fishing guide buddy who had a huge (20") cast iron skillet he used for shorelunches and the bottom of that pan was smooth like a baby's butt and the carbon surface of it was shiny like a mirror. I was a work of frikkin' art ya'll!

Salute', TB.
 
I can't say I've ever had a problem with acidic stuff in my CI either. Once again, this is definitely where common sense and a bit of cooking prowess comes into play. Even still, I wouldn't cook a batch of tomato sauce up in my cast iron dutch. All that acid simmering all day couldn't be a good thing. However, my enameled dutch oven? Made some great chili, tomato sauce, salsa, chutney, you name it.

But as stated above, a well seasoned piece of cast iron can take acid. The one thing I've been having trouble with lately on all my CI, enameled or not, is cooking eggs. Flipping omlettes and over-easy eggs has been a real balancing act with CI and an electric stove. Too cool and the yolks cook on one side before I can flip. Too hot, and I've got a fried egg or one that's stuck like gum on the bottom of a desk that won't flip worth a damn.

Lately it's taken me ruining a couple of eggs before I can get the heat dialed in right. Tips?
 
Tips for eggs? Sure. Okay you didn't mention sunny side up, but for those, cover with a pan lid with a teaspoon of water next to the egg for steam. For omelets add a little water to the eggs. Not milk. Milk makes eggs heavy, water makes them fluffy (steam). Not too much though! For over easy, take a teaspoon of water and put it in the pan and then break the egg right over it. Again, steam. Try to find the perfect heat also.
 
Here's an example of what you can do with a cast iron comal....

IMG_1266.jpg


Cast iron popperfied!!

Salute', TB.
 
damn you TB, now I'm gonna have to get a CI comal for poppers. since I guess you really dont need the high sides for just poppers, & i guess I could try making some mexican chips or taco shells or ?
BTW they look good! I could go for some poppers right now.
 
Yesterday I bought a stainless sauce pan. I didn't tell mrs. blues the price. With that and what I have, I am all set. Even mrs. blues digs the comal. She loves a good quesadilla.

Salute', TB.
 
That is great TB. I Have to admit though, I need to bulk up before I can properly flip quesadillas in my big one.

That big iron takes 2 hands!;)
 
I have nothing, been looking for some good cheap stuff but the only ones I have found in my area are super expensive pieces.
 
millworkman said:
I have nothing, been looking for some good cheap stuff but the only ones I have found in my area are super expensive pieces.
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Wally world, Target, Costco are good places to start. Even Basspro carries Lodge stuff. For used, you might do the garage sale 'thang.

Salute', TB.
 
I know this isn't a comal and has limited use, but knowing how much I love poppers, my daughter bought this for me for Christmas last year. I'm tapping my toes waiting for the japs to get big enough to try out in this.
It does have one advantage over a comal in that it will sear all the sides of the japs without having to turn them on their sides.

John

http://www.spgproducts.com/products.html
 
millworkman said:
I have nothing, been looking for some good cheap stuff but the only ones I have found in my area are super expensive pieces.
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yep like TB said search several places, or even hit the yellow pages for other cookware stores. walmart usually has the basic size lodge CI & fair price IMO.

MichChef said:
I know this isn't a comal and has limited use, but knowing how much I love poppers, my daughter bought this for me for Christmas last year. I'm tapping my toes waiting for the japs to get big enough to try out in this.
It does have one advantage over a comal in that it will sear all the sides of the japs without having to turn them on their sides.

John

http://www.spgproducts.com/products.html
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interesting, & getting some CI for a christmas present is great.
when you get some ripe jalapenos dont forget the pics when you make the poppers!
 
I LOVE cast iron. I don't have a huge collection but what I have suits me well. Only thing I would like to get are a couple large dutch ovens. Here is my little collection. Couple of them need a good seasoning since they have not been used in quit awhile...

castiron-1.jpg
 
Great set Nubster! All I've got is a 10" skillet, 6" skillet with most of the bluing flaked off, and a 12" Lodge 6 qt. dutch camp oven. Had another 10" skillet but took that on a camping trip once and left it in a buddy's car... never saw it again. The skillets are probably 35+ year-olds, no idea the manuf.
 
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