Cast Iron Woes

[fourbygrace]

I bought 2 "pre-seasoned" Lodge skillets for Christmas. I have been very careful with them and not used soap. We have cooked bacon, sausage and other greasy foods. I use them several times a week. They clean up pretty easily. I dry them carefully, heat them briefly and lightly coat them with oil after each use. Eggs and hash browns still stick terribly, even with liberal amounts of butter and low-heat. What am I doing wrong??

Dh had an explosion this morning after our eggs stuck and said he will not make breakfast again until we have non-stick (as in teflon-style) pans. He is the primary breakfast cook. He is SO mad that I threw out his teflon pan as he is a master at cooking eggs and he said the cast iron is "ruining" the eggs. He wants an omelet. He likes to flip them in the air, but cannot do that with the cast-iron skillet.

I am ready to order some non-stick skillets because I think the toxic atmosphere in our home each day is probably worse than the teflon?? My kids are wondering why mommy and daddy are arguing about pots and pans. :( (maybe this should be in the marriage forum. :shifty)

Are there some non-stick that are not as bad as others? My dad had Alzheimer's and I try to be careful about aluminum, but I have also read that Alz. may be a result of high stress and the cast iron is causing serious stress in our marriage.


Sort of a vent, but I would like to know why they are still sticking?? or if I should just buy him a new pan?

Mary

[Mother of Sons]

I am SO glad you posted this! I was at walmart this afternoon ready to buy a new nonstick pan. I loved my old non stick but had to replace it and decided to go with all cast iron. I HATE THEM. Everything sticks in them unless I practically deep fry it all (which I refuse to do) I can't cook eggs or even chicken! It's so bad that I avoid cooking and if I have to cook, I make things I can put in the oven just so I don't have to use these pans! I am finding them impossible to clean too.

Anyways, no advice here, just commiseration. When my husband gets paid, I'm buying a new nonstick.

[crunchymum]

:think i'm not sure... i have a cast iron griddle type thing, and it actually works really well. :shrug honestly, my regular (stainless steel or whatever) pans work really well if i use the spray oil. i worry about teflon because it always flakes off IME... but the spray oil is awesome. maybe try that with the cast iron? it's worth a shot anyways...

[4MKfam]

Cast iron pans work best when you cook greasy things in them every once in a while, like hamburger, bacon (*gasp*), ...that kind of stuff. The one cast iron pan that I have that works best is the one I brown hamburger in. My little omelette-size pan still sticks every once in a while --I think it's because it needs either to be re-seasoned, or because it's just not used for greasy food enough :shrug. Could you try re-seasoning it? ...:shifty or making some bacon to go with the eggs?

[allisonintx]

For me, no matter how perfectly seasoned my skillet is, the eggs stick unless you use lots of butter first to cook them in. Same with potatoes.

Just get him his special 'egg skillet' and don't use it for anything else. You can't 'air flip' an omlette with a cast iron skillet

[Zooey]

I am SO glad you posted this! I was at walmart this afternoon ready to buy a new nonstick pan. I loved my old non stick but had to replace it and decided to go with all cast iron. I HATE THEM. Everything sticks in them unless I practically deep fry it all (which I refuse to do) I can't cook eggs or even chicken! It's so bad that I avoid cooking and if I have to cook, I make things I can put in the oven just so I don't have to use these pans! I am finding them impossible to clean too.

Anyways, no advice here, just commiseration. When my husband gets paid, I'm buying a new nonstick.

:yes2 I totally agree. I let myslef be talked into cast iron :blush...more than once....The :jawdrop number of cast iron pots & pans I have donated to various and sundry charities.....And they can't keep them in stock; people love them.

[Marrae]

I find that eggs stick even with butter but not with olive oil. :shrug

[tempus vernum]

:jawdrop Since getting a nice cast iron skillet, my dh (a great breakfast cook) has been in fry heaven - he made omlettes and was so so wowed.

That said we use a pat of coconut oil or shortening (non hydrogenated organic ;) ) EACH time we make anything in the cast iron skillet.

What's wonderful is that even *I* am able to make eggs my dd likes :woohoo. Recently, dd turned up her nose at my eggs cuz I was struggling with them in our stainless steel.

[mom2threegirls]

I switched to all cast iron about a year ago and LOVE them. I DO have problems with scrambled eggs, but I just use lots of olive oil or butter and it's not bad at all. What I cook most is fried eggs and I have one pan that is ONLY used for that. It's amazing! I use a tiny bit of smart balance (healthy butter spread you can cook with) in the pan and the eggs NEVER stick at all. I've never had even close to that experience with fried eggs using "nonstick" pans. Same goes for my griddle- it's used mainly for grilled sandwiches, french toast, pancakes, and quesadillas and they never stick with just a little EVO or smart balance :shrug. The seasoning builds up when you just cook somewhat greasy things and it gets better and better. Now when my parents come over and wash my cast iron egg pan or griddle (even just with water) then stuff sticks to them like crazy until I make a handful of things on them and the seasoning layer builds up more. My nonstick pots and pans that I use for anything and everything that need to get scrubbed out and rinsed after use get stuff sticking to them :shrug. I use the lodge preseasoned pans. I really think the key is having just a few pans that you use all the time so the seasoning builds up and have *specific* pans for stuff that sticks. When I take my egg pan and saute some veggies in it, rinse it out, and try to make a fried egg some of the seasoning is lost and it's not nearly as "nonstick" anymore.

And I totally agree that it's better to just get some nonstick pans if this continues to be such a problem- it's *definitely* not worth it.

[Iarwain]

Butter sticks. I almost never use butter in my iron skillets - only for hash browns. Go with olive oil or coconut oil. Those do the best IME. Make sure the pan and oil is heated up before putting the eggs in. If you put them in too soon they stick. You could also try stainless. I'm not crazy about stainless skillets but they stick less than new cast iron. They stick more than well-seasoned cast iron however. Cast iron is one of those things that gets better with age. I have the set of iron skillets that my mom got for a wedding present and I wouldn't trade them for anything! They rock. :rockon

[fourbygrace]

Thanks for all the advice. :yes


Just get him his special 'egg skillet' and don't use it for anything else. You can't 'air flip' an omelet with a cast iron skillet



IAnd I totally agree that it's better to just get some nonstick pans if this continues to be such a problem- it's *definitely* not worth it.


I think I have made a decision. I am going to buy him ONE small omelet pan so he can "air flip" his omelets. This will make him much happier, and give me time to figure out the cast iron.

I am NOT getting rid of my cast iron. :) I am determined to make them work. I am going to try eggs (on a day when he goes to work early ) with coconut oil to see if that helps the sticking.


I use the lodge preseasoned pans. I really think the key is having just a few pans that you use all the time so the seasoning builds up and have *specific* pans for stuff that sticks. When I take my egg pan and saute some veggies in it, rinse it out, and try to make a fried egg some of the seasoning is lost and it's not nearly as "nonstick" anymore.

Interesting. I wonder why that is? :scratch

Blessings,
Mary

[jtidwell]

Our cast iron makes eggs stick, too. Except for one pan that was seasoned magically well... until I somehow ruined the seasoning. I'll never know what was different about that one. :shrug So now we have a single Teflon pan that we use only for low-heat egg cookery.

That said, here's how we season cast iron:

(1) Clean it spectacularly well. Take the old seasoning off! For instance, put it upside-down in sizzling hot coals the next time you fire up a charcoal grill, and let the old seasoning burn off.

(2) After letting it cool, generously coat the pan with shortening. (Shortening has a ridiculously high smoke point.)

(3) Turn the pan upside-down in the oven, put a drip pan under it to catch the shortening, and "bake" on high heat for a while.

[Mother of Sons]

I don't know why it isn't working for me. I DO use coconut oil. The other day I cooked hamburger which is really fatty and it still stuck to the bottom of the pan. :shrug The lodge preseasoned pans are supposed to be equivalent to doing the oven method 20 times yet they still stick like mad for me. I do have one that I got at a thrift store that I somewhat like. It has a flat bottom rather than the gritty type bottom. I was able to cook a few decent pancakes in it. I don't like having to cook with so much oil though. I just don't like things tasting that greasy.

[crunchymum]

i think i got my griddle from the great outdoors or something.... it wasn't preseasoned, and after the first pancake or two, i don't have to use oil on it. :scratch i can't remember how i seasoned it, though... i think just with veg oil in the oven once or twice. that stinks that yours aren't working, MOS.... :/

[Iarwain]

Posting again to say -

Try using a thin metal spatula. I have a terrible time with plastic spatulas on my cast iron (and everything else). They push the food rather than slip under it. A thin flexible metal spatula will slide under things much better AND the textured bottom pans will wear down to smooth over time.

My skillets are washed with soap every time I use them. I don't have sticking problems - but again I'm the one using skillets older than I am. I grew up with them.

[jghomeschooler]

bacon grease will really help season the pans ( :shifty can't believe I'm saying that LOL)
when I was seasoning mine, I found butter to be great for seasoning my pancake pan too, that pan is the most seasoned- nice and shiny black LOL.
Another thing that would help would be after you've washed the pans and dried them well, rub a thin bit of oil all over the inside and put it in a warm oven or put it on over low heat for a few minutes, that will help set the seasoning and will ensure that it is thoroughly dried out. HTH

[jghomeschooler]

http://www.melindalee.com/Cast-Iron.html
This link has some interesting, specific directions on how to "properly" season a cast iron pan. HTH

[doubleblessings]

Make sure the pan and oil is heated up before putting the eggs in.

In my experience this is KEY. But what I find best is to heat up the pan BEFORE you put the oil in (and I don't have to use a lot - I spray canola oil with my mister). MY DH quotes one of the guys who does Chinese cooking on TV all the time. "Hot pan - cold oil - food no stick."

[crunchymum]

Make sure the pan and oil is heated up before putting the eggs in.

In my experience this is KEY. But what I find best is to heat up the pan BEFORE you put the oil in (and I don't have to use a lot - I spray canola oil with my mister). MY DH quotes one of the guys who does Chinese cooking on TV all the time. "Hot pan - cold oil - food no stick."



:yes i always wait until the pan heats up, too, and it makes a difference for me.

[fourbygrace]

Make sure the pan and oil is heated up before putting the eggs in.

In my experience this is KEY. But what I find best is to heat up the pan BEFORE you put the oil in (and I don't have to use a lot - I spray canola oil with my mister). MY DH quotes one of the guys who does Chinese cooking on TV all the time. "Hot pan - cold oil - food no stick."


Thanks for this tip!! I am going to try this.

I did buy a small non-stick omelet pan for Dh for Father's Day, but am still working on my cast iron. :yes