Post by blackcrowheart on Dec 8, 2005 10:29:02 GMT -5
By MARK BITTMAN
As cookware becomes more expensive and the kinds available become more varied, it's increasingly clear to me that most "new" pots and pans are about
marketing. For most tasks, old-style cookware is best. So these days when I'm asked for a recommendation, I reply with an old-fashioned answer: cast iron.
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Fish fried with cayenne and paprika.
My personal return to cast iron began less than a year ago when I began to heed the warnings against preheating chemically treated pans and putting them
in hot ovens, which could create potentially harmful fumes. As most experienced cooks know, you can't brown food unless you preheat your skillet, and I frequently transfer food from stovetop to oven.
So cast iron is a logical choice, especially in skillets, unless you require gorgeous stainless to make a style point or you can afford copper - which is ideal for sautéing because its heat distribution is incomparable - and the time to care for it. The only disadvantages are that cast iron is heavy (look for skillets with handles on both sides) and it requires a bit of care to keep it seasoned and looking nice. But cast iron has so many benefits. Well seasoned, it is nearly as nonstick
as any manufactured nonstick surface and far more so than stainless, aluminum or even copper pans. Cast iron is practically free compared with other high-quality pots and pans ($20, say, for a skillet). In addition, it lasts nearly forever: the huge skillet I bought around 1970 for $10 is still going strong. Furthermore, it is an even distributor of heat, which you will instantly
appreciate if switching from stainless steel or aluminum. And you can move it from stovetop to oven without a thought.
Cast-iron pans are created by pouring molten iron into sand molds. After the metal solidifies, the sand crust is blasted off, and any rough edges are removed. This is pretty much the way cast iron has been made for centuries. A couple of variables might influence your buying decision: the purity of the cast iron and the issue of seasoning it. Lodge, the only domestic maker of cast-iron cookware, uses only "pig-iron ingot and scrap steel converted back into iron" to make its cookware, according to the company's chief executive, Bob Kellermann. Anonymously made imported cast-iron cookware, though often less expensive, offers no such guarantees. In my experience the cheapest cast-iron pans have far more "hot spots."
Indeed Cooked in a cast-iron pan, Brussels sprouts get brown and tender. But the biggest fear most people have about cast iron is the seasoning process. The metal is porous and rough, and until it gains a patina from use it is the opposite of nonstick. Lodge, in an attempt to make this a non-issue, has introduced a line of preseasoned cookware, which now makes up something like 80 percent of its sales. But I'd rather control the process: seasoning is simple, and maintaining it is even simpler. To season a new pan wash it well and dry it. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees while you warm the pan gently over low heat on top of the stove. Using a brush or a paper towel spread a tablespoon or so of a fresh neutral oil like corn or grape seed in the pan; the surface should be evenly
covered, with no excess. Put the pan in the oven, bake it for about an hour and let it cool in the oven. That's it.
It's helpful if the first few uses of the pan involve oil, like sautéing or deep-frying. If you care for the pan properly, it will darken with use and become increasingly smooth, beautiful and easy to cook in.
Once the pan is seasoned, routine washing can almost always be done with a scouring pad, not steel wool or anything else that will damage the seasoning
(although the worst that can happen is that the pan will have to be re-seasoned).
Despite many recommendations to the contrary, a little mild soap won't tear off the seasoning.
Cast iron can rust of course, but never if you dry it after washing and keep it out of rain and floods. If rust does appear, scour it off with steel wool
or sandpaper, and re-season.
Cast iron really struts its stuff when you want to get a pan good and hot
and keep it that way. For "grilling" a steak indoors, it can't be beat. Ridged
cast-iron "grill pans" are good for two reasons: They raise the meat slightly
above the surface, which promotes browning by preventing escaping liquids
from contacting the meat, and they leave grill marks, which are attractive if
nothing else.
Cast iron is as good at browning as any other cookware, and its mass lets it
hold a steady temperature so well that it is perfect for deep- or
shallow-frying.
But braising in cast iron, especially with acidic ingredients like tomato or
wine, may degrade the seasoning slightly. In extreme cases, you may have to
re-season the pan; more likely, you'll just have to treat it to a light
coating of oil and a few minutes of warming.
In any case, this isn't a bad routine. Every so often I wash my cast-iron
skillet and put it over low heat. When the water begins to evaporate I wipe it
dry and spread a little oil over its surface with a paper towel. I leave the
skillet over the heat a few more minutes and wipe it out again.
Yes, this is maintenance, and most cookware is maintenance-free. But it
seems a small price to pay for inexpensive, high-performing, safe, nonstick pans.
When it comes to cookware, new is not necessarily better.
Recipe: Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Garlic
Time: 45 Minutes
1 pint brussels sprouts (about a pound)
4 to 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, to coat bottom of pan
5 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar.
1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Trim bottom of brussels sprouts, and slice each
in half top to bottom. Heat oil in cast-iron pan over medium-high heat until
it shimmers; put sprouts cut side down in one layer in pan. Put in garlic,
and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Cook, undisturbed, until sprouts begin to brown on bottom, and transfer
to oven. Cook, shaking pan occasionally, until sprouts are quite brown and
tender, about ½ hour.
3. Taste, and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Stir in balsamic
vinegar, and serve hot or warm.
Yield: 4 servings.
December 7, 2005
Recipe: Seared Steak
Time: 20 minutes' cooking, 25 minutes' resting
2 steaks (sirloin strip, rib-eye or other), 8 to 10 ounces each and about 1
inch thick
Course salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
1. If time allows remove steaks from packaging, dry with paper towels, put
on a plate and refrigerate a day or two. If not, wrap in paper towels and set
on counter about 30 minutes. (If you're really in a hurry, just proceed.)
2. Heat oven to 500 degrees (550 if possible), and set a rack in the lowest
position, unless skillet can be placed directly on oven floor. Place a
cast-iron skillet large enough to hold steaks without crowding over high heat, and
heat until smoking. Sprinkle surface of pan with coarse salt, and put steaks
in. Smoke will billow up; wearing a thick oven mitt, immediately transfer
skillet to oven.
3. Roast steaks, turning once, about 4 minutes a side for medium rare, or
until browned and cooked to preferred doneness. Sprinkle with salt and pepper,
and let rest 3 to 5 minutes. Slice steaks or cut each into two pieces, and
serve.
Yield: 4 servings.
December 7, 2005
Recipe: Red-Fried Fish
Time: 40 minutes
Corn, grape seed or other neutral oil for deep-frying
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1 teaspoon mild paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup flour
1 egg
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 pound thin fillets of a white fish like flounder or fluke, in 4-inch
strips about 1 inch wide (almost like fish fingers)
1 lime, cut into wedges.
1. Put at least ½ inch oil in cast-iron skillet. Over medium-high heat,
bring oil to 350 degrees. (A drop of batter will sizzle energetically but not
violently at this temperature.)
2. Meanwhile combine ginger, cayenne, paprika, salt, pepper and flour in a
bowl. Beat egg with lime juice and about ¼ cup cold water; stir into mixture,
and stir in as much water as necessary to achieve consistency of pancake
batter. Stir in fish.
3. When oil is heated, gently slide a few pieces of fish into it; do not
crowd. Fry, turning once, until fish is crisp and golden brown all over, about 5
minutes. Repeat with rest of fish as necessary. Drain on paper towels, and
serve immediately with lime wedges.
Yield: 4 servings.
As cookware becomes more expensive and the kinds available become more varied, it's increasingly clear to me that most "new" pots and pans are about
marketing. For most tasks, old-style cookware is best. So these days when I'm asked for a recommendation, I reply with an old-fashioned answer: cast iron.
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Fish fried with cayenne and paprika.
My personal return to cast iron began less than a year ago when I began to heed the warnings against preheating chemically treated pans and putting them
in hot ovens, which could create potentially harmful fumes. As most experienced cooks know, you can't brown food unless you preheat your skillet, and I frequently transfer food from stovetop to oven.
So cast iron is a logical choice, especially in skillets, unless you require gorgeous stainless to make a style point or you can afford copper - which is ideal for sautéing because its heat distribution is incomparable - and the time to care for it. The only disadvantages are that cast iron is heavy (look for skillets with handles on both sides) and it requires a bit of care to keep it seasoned and looking nice. But cast iron has so many benefits. Well seasoned, it is nearly as nonstick
as any manufactured nonstick surface and far more so than stainless, aluminum or even copper pans. Cast iron is practically free compared with other high-quality pots and pans ($20, say, for a skillet). In addition, it lasts nearly forever: the huge skillet I bought around 1970 for $10 is still going strong. Furthermore, it is an even distributor of heat, which you will instantly
appreciate if switching from stainless steel or aluminum. And you can move it from stovetop to oven without a thought.
Cast-iron pans are created by pouring molten iron into sand molds. After the metal solidifies, the sand crust is blasted off, and any rough edges are removed. This is pretty much the way cast iron has been made for centuries. A couple of variables might influence your buying decision: the purity of the cast iron and the issue of seasoning it. Lodge, the only domestic maker of cast-iron cookware, uses only "pig-iron ingot and scrap steel converted back into iron" to make its cookware, according to the company's chief executive, Bob Kellermann. Anonymously made imported cast-iron cookware, though often less expensive, offers no such guarantees. In my experience the cheapest cast-iron pans have far more "hot spots."
Indeed Cooked in a cast-iron pan, Brussels sprouts get brown and tender. But the biggest fear most people have about cast iron is the seasoning process. The metal is porous and rough, and until it gains a patina from use it is the opposite of nonstick. Lodge, in an attempt to make this a non-issue, has introduced a line of preseasoned cookware, which now makes up something like 80 percent of its sales. But I'd rather control the process: seasoning is simple, and maintaining it is even simpler. To season a new pan wash it well and dry it. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees while you warm the pan gently over low heat on top of the stove. Using a brush or a paper towel spread a tablespoon or so of a fresh neutral oil like corn or grape seed in the pan; the surface should be evenly
covered, with no excess. Put the pan in the oven, bake it for about an hour and let it cool in the oven. That's it.
It's helpful if the first few uses of the pan involve oil, like sautéing or deep-frying. If you care for the pan properly, it will darken with use and become increasingly smooth, beautiful and easy to cook in.
Once the pan is seasoned, routine washing can almost always be done with a scouring pad, not steel wool or anything else that will damage the seasoning
(although the worst that can happen is that the pan will have to be re-seasoned).
Despite many recommendations to the contrary, a little mild soap won't tear off the seasoning.
Cast iron can rust of course, but never if you dry it after washing and keep it out of rain and floods. If rust does appear, scour it off with steel wool
or sandpaper, and re-season.
Cast iron really struts its stuff when you want to get a pan good and hot
and keep it that way. For "grilling" a steak indoors, it can't be beat. Ridged
cast-iron "grill pans" are good for two reasons: They raise the meat slightly
above the surface, which promotes browning by preventing escaping liquids
from contacting the meat, and they leave grill marks, which are attractive if
nothing else.
Cast iron is as good at browning as any other cookware, and its mass lets it
hold a steady temperature so well that it is perfect for deep- or
shallow-frying.
But braising in cast iron, especially with acidic ingredients like tomato or
wine, may degrade the seasoning slightly. In extreme cases, you may have to
re-season the pan; more likely, you'll just have to treat it to a light
coating of oil and a few minutes of warming.
In any case, this isn't a bad routine. Every so often I wash my cast-iron
skillet and put it over low heat. When the water begins to evaporate I wipe it
dry and spread a little oil over its surface with a paper towel. I leave the
skillet over the heat a few more minutes and wipe it out again.
Yes, this is maintenance, and most cookware is maintenance-free. But it
seems a small price to pay for inexpensive, high-performing, safe, nonstick pans.
When it comes to cookware, new is not necessarily better.
Recipe: Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Garlic
Time: 45 Minutes
1 pint brussels sprouts (about a pound)
4 to 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, to coat bottom of pan
5 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar.
1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Trim bottom of brussels sprouts, and slice each
in half top to bottom. Heat oil in cast-iron pan over medium-high heat until
it shimmers; put sprouts cut side down in one layer in pan. Put in garlic,
and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Cook, undisturbed, until sprouts begin to brown on bottom, and transfer
to oven. Cook, shaking pan occasionally, until sprouts are quite brown and
tender, about ½ hour.
3. Taste, and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Stir in balsamic
vinegar, and serve hot or warm.
Yield: 4 servings.
December 7, 2005
Recipe: Seared Steak
Time: 20 minutes' cooking, 25 minutes' resting
2 steaks (sirloin strip, rib-eye or other), 8 to 10 ounces each and about 1
inch thick
Course salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
1. If time allows remove steaks from packaging, dry with paper towels, put
on a plate and refrigerate a day or two. If not, wrap in paper towels and set
on counter about 30 minutes. (If you're really in a hurry, just proceed.)
2. Heat oven to 500 degrees (550 if possible), and set a rack in the lowest
position, unless skillet can be placed directly on oven floor. Place a
cast-iron skillet large enough to hold steaks without crowding over high heat, and
heat until smoking. Sprinkle surface of pan with coarse salt, and put steaks
in. Smoke will billow up; wearing a thick oven mitt, immediately transfer
skillet to oven.
3. Roast steaks, turning once, about 4 minutes a side for medium rare, or
until browned and cooked to preferred doneness. Sprinkle with salt and pepper,
and let rest 3 to 5 minutes. Slice steaks or cut each into two pieces, and
serve.
Yield: 4 servings.
December 7, 2005
Recipe: Red-Fried Fish
Time: 40 minutes
Corn, grape seed or other neutral oil for deep-frying
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1 teaspoon mild paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup flour
1 egg
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 pound thin fillets of a white fish like flounder or fluke, in 4-inch
strips about 1 inch wide (almost like fish fingers)
1 lime, cut into wedges.
1. Put at least ½ inch oil in cast-iron skillet. Over medium-high heat,
bring oil to 350 degrees. (A drop of batter will sizzle energetically but not
violently at this temperature.)
2. Meanwhile combine ginger, cayenne, paprika, salt, pepper and flour in a
bowl. Beat egg with lime juice and about ¼ cup cold water; stir into mixture,
and stir in as much water as necessary to achieve consistency of pancake
batter. Stir in fish.
3. When oil is heated, gently slide a few pieces of fish into it; do not
crowd. Fry, turning once, until fish is crisp and golden brown all over, about 5
minutes. Repeat with rest of fish as necessary. Drain on paper towels, and
serve immediately with lime wedges.
Yield: 4 servings.