How to Use a Cast Iron Skillet (6 Methods) | Bon Appétit
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- Опубліковано 15 лип 2024
- Join Bon Appétit Associate Food Editor Kendra Vaculin as she explores 6 different ways to use a cast iron skillet from the home kitchen. From searing vegetables to shallow-frying a breaded chicken cutlet, Kendra shows you a variety of ways to cook with this multi-purpose pan.
00:00 Intro
00:30 Searing
02:35 Baking
04:17 Sear-to-oven
06:30 Crushing
07:36 Shallow-frying
10:00 Panini press
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How to Use a Cast Iron Skillet (6 Methods) | Bon Appétit - Навчання та стиль
I love my cast iron pens for searing my sous-vide meats.
Just got a carbon steel wok today to which many of the same principles about seasoning apply, so I'm looking forward to this addition. I burned it in and seasoned it today and the first result was excellent.
If anyone had told me in my 20's that I'd enjoy cooking as much as I do now, I would have called them crazy, but like with every hobby: Owning the right tools plays a big role in it too.
..and it seems women like men who know how to cook also. ;)
nice pens, do they write upside down like NASA's?
Always a pleasure to watch someone who is articulate, knowledgeable and can convey information in a fun yet educational way. Thank you.
Yes, very much a pleasure! I'm new to the 'cast iron' thing so I'm still learning & this gave me tips & ideas I hadn't thought of but will definitely try.
Wonderful video!!!
great video !!!
Great explanation. You teach well, not to mention the food 😉
Kendra is great. Kendra plus a cast iron is burning hot 🔥
I think im in love
Great content! I would say for that last section, instead of using the pan as a press, cook in the pan & get an actual press like you'd use for bacon, I picked up a round 'Lodge' one at Walmart for just under 15 dollars.
This was a great video thank you so much. Also you are super pretty! :)
This was SUPER helpful. Im new to cast iron but my cooking is 1000 times better for it.
Cast iron doesn’t distribute heat super evenly it just retains heat very well. That’s one thing she said that was false
@@TheHuggybear516 interesting and yes I have noticed this and every cast iron seems to be different so I already have my faves!
wow that's dope dude
I am in love with this woman …
Yummy recipes!
When I use a cast iron as a "panini press", I heat the cast iron pan, also. Then, you just put the hot pan on top of the sandwich and you don't have to flip it!
Waiting to see if someone else did this!
I love homemade biscuits in them
I would really love a BA rundown on cast iron - cleaning, do + dont's, what not to use in it, storage, etc!
Brad Leone did one I'm sure
@@timra22 Yes, he did. It's even showing up in the recommended videos at the end of this video for me.
@@timra22 Yeah, he did one about seasoning a pan, but not the rest.
I would love info on cleaning and caring for a cast iron !!!!
That’s the good thing about cast iron…. You don’t clean it
Brad has already done a video on this; it’s somewhere on this channel.
Cast iron conducts heat terribly. It retains heat - which is why it works so good for most of the applications shown here.
For searing try avacado oil. The smoke point is about 480 degrees to 520 degrees F depending on the type. All I know is that it works great and the taste is amazing.
I've had pretty great success with sesame oil.
Some point has nothing to do with the quality of the oil tho. Ragusea has a great vid about this topic.
Avocado oil is a neutral oil it shouldn’t taste like anything
Use lard, dripping or tallow, or butter/ghee.
Do you recommend pre-heating skillets in the oven? Especially when roasting chicken (spatchcock style)
if you're spatchcocking a chicken definitely pre heat the cast iron pan in the oven, if you preheat the oven to 500 just put the cast iron in when you start it and by the time it's preheated it'll be hot enough, throw the chicken skin side down in it, then back in the oven for 30 minutes at 500 and you'll have perfect crispy skin and tender meat. You can also use another skillet or other type of heavy implement resting on top to flatten the chicken out and press more surface area against the skillet.
‘smoosh’ 😊
Cast iron pans can also be used to keep your husband in line. Be careful though, cast iron may crack when it comes in contact with a hard surface. LOL
.
A fundamental error about how cast iron works: the material does NOT conduct heat efficiently, but stores and retains a lot of it. This is why it needs time for heating up and also why you have a good browning.
It's actually both. Metals conduct heat faster than air. The main reason that metals are good conductors is that the velocity of electrons in a metal is much bigger than the velocity of air molecules. As compared to something like stainless steel: Stainless steel exhibits a low thermal conductivity of 15 W/(mK), The thermal conductivity of cast iron is approximately 40 W/(m.K). That's more watts transferred in cast iron than stainless steel, so it's a pretty great conductor of heat.
If you want to talk about how quickly the pan can adapt to temperature changes as a function of mass, that's largely entirely different concept than thermal conductivity.
*flys away*
OMG yes! cast iron pans get hot spots, you preheat it so it evens out. god it's one of my pet peeves when people especially people who claim to be knowledgeable
She explains how long it takes to heat up 0:55
@@Teekles Poor is relative to the other metals used in high quality cookware, i.e. aluminum and copper.
@@jc3drums916 Yes, this is true.
ok so it's been a while since I watched a BA video since all of the change but why has one of the changes been BA no longer using a tripod for their cameras! Seriously it feels like I'm on a boat with the constant swaying and rocking of the camera
Bon Appetit videos have never used a tripod.
Why is she not doing more videos? This was great!
Thank god they went with a giant honk of meat. No video on cast iron skillets is complete without a giant honk of meat.
;)
I know BA caught flack last year for being white centric or racially insensitive or whatever, and I'm glad to see the gear change, sincerely, but let's not let natural talent like this go to waste when there's an essentially unlimited audience.
Everybody loves confident, well presented ladies. White, black, red, green, and everything in between.
😑😝🤣🤣🤣❤️
What did she dip the chicken cutlet in? Looks good!
Seasoned flour+beaten eggs+seasoned panko crumbs
Oh cast iron oh cast iron, I love you so much.
You forgot to mention it’s a great self defense weapon if you’re being robbed.
Every video on UA-cam gets this wrong. Cast iron is great because it conducts heat really POORLY. That's why we use aluminum in clad pans. Steel conducts heat worse than aluminum. So the thin layers of steel are used for the cooking surface properties, but the layers of aluminum are used to spread heat quickly. Poor conduction means the heat spreads evenly because hot spots can't form as quickly. You can't have a pan with good heat retention (which you also say happens) and also have good heat conduction. The heat would disappate quickly.
This is correct. Cast Iron is a very poor conductor of heat, which means it heats up very slowly, but by definition, it also cools down slowly.
@Mr. Popo make your own UA-cam video and dazzle us with your wealth of knowledge on the conductive properties of cast iron. I would bet all the money in the world she’s a much better cook than you and she did it all while using the wrong language to discuss the properties of cast iron cookware.
Well or poorly are relative terms. One could argue that the way cast iron conducts heat is inefficient, although it is well suited for cooking.
So if you’re cooking with cast iron, it conducts heat really well.
@@dylanking2013 what I said has nothing to do with my cooking ability. But I bet I know a lot more about material science as a chem major and physics minor. You're an idiot without a clue of context. Anybody who has Google can easily look up a metals heat conductance
@@xacket1 yes, iron conducts heat better than wood, but if we're talking about stuff that's actual cookware, then it is RELATIVELY poor at conducting heat
Great for patching jeans. Cut a patch using glue gun put glue all over patch put on hole and press down with a heated cast iron pan. Patch will never come off.
what stove and oven is that?
The big question still looms......will they ever revert back to filming in the test kitchen, the main element that made Bon Appetit so great in the first place.
With all due respect, Bon Appetit was great a long, long time ago, when they were simply a beautiful print magazine with solid recipes & cooking tips that had something for cooks at all levels. The whole "BA Test Kitchen" personalities thing was great - loved it - but its a very, very recent creature of the social media age. Which is fine! But BA had a presence & beloved role it played in all of our lives a long time before the "youtuber-personality-driven-media-vehicle" came into being. Does this make me sound like a super-crotchety "you kids get off my lawn" or "get a hair-cut!" kind of old person? I'm really sorry if it does. Not intended. Just...feel like I needed to step in and defend BA for being great in eras before internet-insanity re-jiggered the algorithm of what "success" has to look like. Carry on. x.
how long did the chicken cook? Just until both sides are super crispy?
I thought I was watching Tasty channel and I thought to myself "man they've stepped up their game." Until I saw the ending. No wonder why the content was good😅
right?? why didn't anyone tell me they're back!!
great video! can you do a vid on best methods to clean and preserve your cast iron!
Nice
I am dreaming. ❤❤❤
Comment recap: Kendra 😍. Cast iron - not a good heat conductor, good heat retainer 👍🏻.
What size pan (iron) is she using?
Get yourself someone the same way Kendra looks at her shallow-fried chicken cutlet after she cut into it
I wonder can you vocal fry with a cast iron skillet? It definitely sounds like it.😊
11:33 Don't lie! The bottom of that sammi was burnt AF !!!
As an avid cast iron user, daily, and for many years, I do agree with a few things in this video. However, I have some critiques on the "Searing" in cast iron. -1- You don't need to heat up your cast iron pan for a "significant amount of time." Often, you will find, that the pan heats up just as fast as any other pan for your purposes. Heating up too slow for you? Turn the heat up. Cast Iron is very receptive to the heat level you apply, and also retains heat well. So, as your pan is heating up on a HIGH heat to your desired temperature, and you begin to reach said temperature, lower the heat down to what you actually wish to maintain the heat at. You aren't hurting the iron by doing this. -2- Watching for your pan to be hot enough based on the oil's shimmer or level of viscosity? I disagree. My oil shimmers and runs easy when I'm making eggs, and that's definitely not at sear-level temperature heat, and is a poor indication of what heat you need for searing. Well below sear-level temp, in fact. If that's the only thing we're looking at, we're in trouble. If you're searing, then a light smoke (emphasis on light) that is coming off the pan is a good indication of the temperature because oil smokes at a certain temperature, and a well-kept cast iron even without oil will begin to smoke when it's really hot which is what you need when searing. -3- Vegetable oil does have a high smoke point (around 460 F) but is also extremely unhealthy for you in comparison to other options. So unhealthy that if a recipe ever called for purely vegetable oil with no substitute, I would opt to not make nor eat said recipe. I'm surprised a channel titled "Bon Appetit" with 6m+ subscribers would ever recommend vegetable oil, but I digress. Avocado oil is leaps and bounds a healthier option that also has a high smoke point while remaining neutral in flavor. There are other options available that are also healthier than vegetable oil, albeit not as healthy as Avocado oil. Olive oil is considered a low-smoke point oil even though it is healthy like Avocado oil, and so should not be used with high heat cooking in a cast iron for searing, but works perfect for any low-medium cooking in a cast iron. I often use olive oil when I am making eggs in the cast iron, and no, eggs never stick when I do it! That's a different topic, but one thing I can say is take care of your cast iron and it will take care of you: season it well, and preserve that seasoning, cook to cook. I foresee some comments regarding when oil is smoking that means its producing free radicals and producing acrolein and will ruin the taste of your dish and is unhealthy for you. First, you should be listening to your senses and perhaps a timer you set when your pan is ready, not the smoke alarm, so please use common sense. Second, as I stated before, I cook in cast iron, not sometimes, all the time. The only time I don't use cast iron is when I am making a soup stock, and even then, I could make that in a cast iron if I really wanted to, but I don't own a cast iron pot large enough. I have made dishes exclusively in cast iron for years (as long as I've been able to cook as a kid) and have used this technique to sear many things and especially to make steaks that trump steakhouse restaurant quality. It works. When you are searing, you want that pan HOT. Not kind of hot, not just about hot, you need it HOT if you want to develop a good sear especially on steaks. I'm talking 500 F hot, and that is about where a lot of high-smoke-point oils will show the smoke you're seeing. Whether you want to use my methods above or not is entirely up to you. If you're more scientific, buy an Infrared Thermometer gun and take the guesswork out of waiting to see a light smoke coming off the cast iron pan. Either way, buy a cast iron and get cooking!
@calebboatsman7856 you are very knowledgeable it seems on cast iron cookware. What was surprising to me was your claim that avocado has a neutral taste pallet. It actually does have a taste pallet and why cook to cook seasoning with it shouldn't be done if your goal is zero taste pallet for the cookware. Especially if your cook to cook seasoning isn't a complete polymerization process where the oil molecules aren't 100% carbonized to the pan. Also if your pan is preheated "dry" to 500°F and your seeing any smoke it's because there is some un-polymerized oil molecules still on the cookware "still wet" molecularly even though it doesn't show on a paper towel. Alas when you pull the baked seasoning processed cookware out of the 500°F oven it's not smoking but 100% polymerized because you gave it enough time to complete like 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Now refined Canola oil has a smoke point of 460°F to 500°F based on it's refinement, and with a ZERO taste pallet. Which is why it's my choice to use as a seasoning oil. Along long with it's stronger polymerized bond it makes with the cookware, ergo won't flake off like Flaxseed oil can because its weaker bond produced over the fact that molecule bonds so easily break between the Hydrogen Oxygen anything else and the Carbon. Just getting Jiggy on the chemistry side of things and I know if I said this in a crowd of Cast iron afficienados a bunch would lose their minds over the Flaxseed oil statement. 🤯
I love Kendra😍
The only problem with my cast-iron pan is that the handle is one with the pan, no coating. So it can burn you if you don't use a towel! It's the only pan I use when searing meat. That reminds me, I need to order a mortar and pestle... I should have used my cast iron but I just used a chef's knife to crush coriander seeds the other day. I'm gonna make a panini for dinner now! Nice video thanks!
They do not "conduct more heat", they retain more heat because of their density, meaning that when food touches the pan there is more heat for it to absorb. The food doesn't "cool" the pan off as much.
So many people keep perpetuating that lie or misconception. Cast iron is actually terrible at heat conduction. Way worse than copper or aluminum. You'd get faster cooking in either of those materials with a stove that was hot enough to keep the temperature up. Cast iron is just more foolproof.
It also doesn't heat evenly compared to a lot of other forms of cookware.
Multiple things wrong in just the intro of this video.
love her
One correction: cast iron does NOT heat evenly. Cast iron is not a good conductor of heat compared to, for example, a stainless steel pan with a layer of copper in the base. It does retain heat much better, though.
you should try pre-heating your skillet in the oven. For about 20min, great method for steak and poultry
@@passiveagressive4983 User name checks out lol.
you have to be careful while baking because the cast iron hold heat and you can burn your bottoms. When you have nice looking Bake but when you take it out it is rather burnt.
when you shallow fried the chicken, what was those three bowls? Flour, eggs and then flour again?
Flour, eggs, breadcrumbs
Panko breadcrumbs to be specific.
🥰🥰yummy🥰🥰
Can you talk about what ‘seasoning’ a skillet means?
Seasoning a skillet/cast iron means to coat it in a VERY thin coat of oil and heat the skillet till the oil is past smoking. This converts the oil into a polymer which, over time, will make your skillet more and more nonstick. This process also prevents rust as raw cast iron or cast iron with little seasoning is prone to rust if stored with moisture present. Never throw your cast iron products into the dish washer as the heat and chemicals will strip all your seasonings and rust like crazy.
What size pan is she using?
I am also question the same thing
Do you use the same cast iron pan for sweet and savory food?
I use the same pans for everything! Doesn't matter what I cook. Have a great one!!!
Can you use a cast iron skillet on a glass top stove?
Yup, I use my somewhat heavy 12 inch cast iron skillet on my electric glass top stove regularly. I just try to be careful when lifting it so that it doesn't accidentally fall out my hands and hit the stovetop.
@@janiceandthomas
Thank you.
My experience that the issues with cast iron on a glass top is not just dropping it. There seems to be some rough spots that scratch the glass….does anyone have a solution for that? (Interesting that my le Creuset pots are fine on the glass but my Lodge cast iron fry pans are rough on the bottom).
Does the cooking time change in the cast iron vs a regular stone, metal, or glass pan?
No, it just take longer to get hot because how big and thick cast iron is but when it get hot, its just like the other pan
😍😍😍😍
Try a pinch grip with youre knive.
I definitely learned some thing here. I definitely like the idea of a sandwich weight.
Slice the fat on the pork chop every few inches so it stays flat. If not the meat constricts and the fat band pulls up, making it not flat and not able to get a good crust.
9:43 "nice-st" new catch phrase?
not really
This girl is delightful.
vw gti guy here
I think she's a grown woman
"... they conduct heat really evenly" 🙃
English must be her 2nd language 😂
@@OldManJenkins69 what’s wrong with that sentence
@@Chaoticsful It's wrong because cast iron does not conduct heat well or evenly. This fact is the very reason why cast iron pans must be pre-heated before you put food in. And what's wrong about your sentence is that it's a question but you did not end it with a question mark.
Nice job Kendra! 💕
No me gustaría ver a mi esposa enojada con ese sartén en la mano, les juro que saldría corriendo y no paro hasta llegar con mi mamá!.😬
😍
"Now I'm going to season these vegetables." *Puts just olive oil on them* 😵💫
because if you don't physically see her putting salt and pepper on you wont understand what she means?
@@sidviscus it was straight olive oil in the pan too
It could be salted water but it looks like olive oil... Still... Hard to see so I would not conclude so quickly and judge...
Enjoyed watching this video!
Very well done 👏
I like Kendra ! She is fun
Those are dinner rolls not biscuits but still look mouth watering lol. Great video thanks!
I love this! I love her!
Been needing this
Tremenda milanga
Butter=better
She’s incredible; I love her. I would die for her. 😍
Don't be creepy.
Bro chill out it’s a cooking channel 🤣
Ayo??
I get it. But how will you feel when she serves you fried carrots and an onion for dinner?
@@ericcartman898 But I love her.
What's daunting to me about cast iron is I don't know how to take care of it
Just make sure to oil it after washing it so it doesn't rust. It's easy, really.
Wash it, best not to use soap. Hard bits best to use a scraper made for the task. Towel dry it a bit and put back on the stove on low till it's really dry. pour a bit of veg oil in and with a very folded up paper towel so you don't burn yourself spread it all over the pan. Don't let it pool up, get off all excess. It's not as bad as it sounds, and after a while you'll probably love it.
Hate hate hate how internet cooks refer to anything they’re cooking as “Bad Boys”.
Can't stand it, how on earth did this term enter the culture, yuck.
LMAO conduct heat.
I wouldnt use my pan to crush anything, the bottom is always filthy in my case
Haha yeah, i throw a piece of aluminum foil on the bottom and then smash away
I would just like to add that searing a steak or pork chop is it not just for aesthetics, or for someone who like the taste of it, but also to seal in the juices!
It doesn't actually do that. Kenji Lopez Alt did a side-by-side and there was no significant difference between searing first or cooking first. Sear is about flavor first and aesthetic second.
@@GPoh_99
Even if that’s true, the taste is better, because you sealed in the juices by searing it…
@@jamesholbrook6734 The taste is better because of Maillard. There is mechanistically no reason why a seared surface would be better at holding juices (it often is more cracked and craggly than an unseared surface and you can literally see the juice pool on top of the first side after flipping). Both Kenji and Harold McGee have posited this. I know chefs have been repeating this lie over and over, but there really isn't any evidence for it.
@@GPoh_99
It sounds to me like you don’t know how to sear a steak. You have to let the pan get hot first.
@@jamesholbrook6734 It seems to me that you'd rather divert the subject rather than engage in meaningful conversation. Goodbye
This woman knows what she's talking about with cast iron because I know what I'm talking about with cast iron I only cook with cast iron nothing else.
"oils heated past their smoke point will break down and make food taste and smell burnt"
*Proceedes to burn the oil*
Don't be dumb.
You heat the plain oil to the starting edge of the smoke point, and then it drops down when you put in the meat. Good cooking is all about heat control.
@@kindablue1959 makes sense with meat but not with carrots
Ask me how I know you haven't cooked a day in your life
@@JD-wz9il I guess you've never eaten BBQ, or toast. Most people like a bit of char and smoke on their food - both meat and veggies. There's a fine line between controlled caramelization, smoky and charred versus burnt and overly bitter. That line is a personal preference.
Seems like most cast iron skillet’s don’t have the lid?
lids are overrated
Got cast iron couple years ago. Now wondering if way use without all oil & fat. If so please do video. Dont like eating all fried food anymore
You could try braising with it. Works great for braising. Also I sometimes toast my bread in the cast iron without oil. It does get smoky fast so just keep an eye on it.
Not only was this an entertaining and informative video, and you are lovely and fun to watch. Can't wait to see your next one!
Her: you see this metal pot, you can use it to hit people... also step on it and hammer a nail with it
Me: Is that really using it
Her: also press your bread with it
Me: ...
They do not conduct heat well. They conduct heat poorly. They retain heat well because they are thick and heavy.
If you want quick and even heat control go with copper or aluminum, preferably between layers of stainless for easy cleaning and care.
Cast iron pan vs carbon steel pan
Who do you got?
Cast iron all day... I got a carbon steel, I hardly use it.
Cast iron here!
Kendra says "...there are some pans that you can't transfer to the oven beyond a certain degree..."
It's a crying shame that our schools no longer teach our children the English language. Is she talking about angle, step in a process, social rank, or temperature?
Cast iron skillet is almost the most used tool in my kitchen right behind the coffee maker. Air fryer comes in third.
Metal spoon oof
It’s a total myth that. You can use anything on a skillet
is there a way to cook meat with it without drenching it in oil so the whole house smells like oil?
Grill, bake, or broil it
Cassette stove on the balcony, patio, etc. does the trick.
Iron is the best
Actually knowing about the stuff you're talking about matters.
Copper conducts heat like a champ. Cast iron does not and that is why it takes a long time to heat up and also why it retains energy really well. Please correct this and resubmit.
Yeah I think she clearly misspoke at the beginning. But she explains how long they take to heat up 0:55
Make sure you tuck your shirt in the middle before you do this.
If the pan has a wodden handle, you cannot use the pan in the owen. Some pans (at least in my country)mhas wodden handles on them.
at 400 or less degrees you can use wooden handle. 400+ and you will char the wood over time
I've never done it, but have heard you can wrap a wet towel around the wooden handle.
She said it conducts heat very well and then said it takes longer to heat up than a regular pan edit: and y’all just let that slide???
Yes. It does conduct heat pretty well. It also has a lot of mass to heat up, so it takes a while.
@@sdfopsdmsdofjmp7863 Cast iron RETAINS heat really well, it does NOT conduct heat well. Aluminum conducts heat extremely well but doesn’t retain heat well. See the difference?
@@tpn1110 Eh. Cast iron conducts reasonably well, and more than enough for any cooking application. Yes, aluminium is much better, but that doesn't make cast iron bad.