New Orleans Food Questions And Comments

Cast-Iron Cookware: How To

John asks:
I think I want a couple of pieces of cast iron cookware. I am considering a twelve-inch fry pan and a five-quart dutch oven with lid in the Lodge Logic line. Is this a good choice?

Tom sez:
Sounds good to me. Here are a few things to know about cast-iron cookware, the oldest kind of modern cookware in wide use.

First, it is the nature of cast iron to take a long time to heat up and cool down. This has its advantages, the most notable among them being for deep frying. The iron will hold the heat better than almost anything else. On the other hand, while sauteeing something, if you leave the food in the pan after you turn the heat off, it will keep on cooking as if the heat were still on for quite awhile. It's just something you need to remember.

Second, cast iron is brittle and heavy. It can break, and it can break things. It doesn't work well on electric stovetops, especially the kind with the glass-enclosed heat elements.

Third, cast iron can rust. You must season it first. Here's how. Scrub it very well with a gritty scouring powder (the best is Zud, but Comet or Ajax are okay). Use a plastic scrub pad--do not use steel wool, which will actually cause rust. Rinse the pan very well and dry it thoroughly. Coat it with a generous amount of Crisco (or vegetable oil), and put it into the oven at 250 degrees for about a half-hour. When it cools, coat it again with more oil and repeat the pricess. The first few times you use it, deep-fry something in it. Then it will have a very good coating that will become non-stick over time. Don't wash it with anything but plain water after that.

If it ever gets rusty, just repeat the process above. Happy cooking!

Burning Up A Skillet, And Re-Seasoning It

A radio listener asks:

I made some blackened fish in an old black iron skillet I inherited from my mother. The fish came out great, but now the coating on the pan is flaking off where the fish was. What happened? What can I do to solve this problem?

Tom sez:

When you use the standard blackening technique Paul Prudhomme popularized (and that is the best way), you heat the pan over your hottest fire until the inside smokes and then starts looking white. Not white-hot, but white with the ash from the oils that have seeped into the metal for long use. That is, unfortunately, what gives a well-seasoned black iron skillet its non-stick qualities. You've burned part of that off. If you blacken dishes frequently, you should keep one skillet just for that purpose.

You can return the one you just messed up to its former glory, however. First scrub it down to bare metal with a gritty cleanser (I like Zud, which is a little hard to find, but Dorignac's has it) and a plastic scrub pad (no steel wool!). Then rinse it very well and dry it thoroughly, preferably in a warm oven (about 250 degrees).

When dry, let it cool enough to handle safely, than coat the inside with a layer of oil (I like using Crisco for this). Put it back in the oven for a half hour. Repeat the process above once or twice more. Then deep-fry things in it a couple of times. Don't use soap when you wash it--just a little water, or just a wipe if that will do the job. After a few more uses, your non-stick coating will be back.

Revised 3/10/08


	Click here for an index to all questions, answers, and reports on New Orleans cooking, recipes, and restaurants. Click here to ask a question or give a report.