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View Poll Results: Do you prefer bare or enameled cast iron cookware?
Bare all the way baby! 30 76.92%
I prefer to cover up with enamel. 4 10.26%
I don't do iron. 5 12.82%
Voters: 39. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 11-01-2009, 03:05 PM   #21
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Though we have 'non-stick' pans, we almost always use the good old cast iron behemoths.....and they're the only ones that I myself will use! Everything seems to cook better and taste better using the CI, and clean up is a cinch! And I agree 100% with RonBoyd on the "Southern Fried Chicken"....'non'stick' can't hold a candle to CI when it come to that!!!

I don't think we have any cast iron pans, pots, or dutch ovens that are less than 50 years old, and most are much older than that...passed down through the generations. That'll never happen with the 'coated' cr*pwear.
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Old 11-01-2009, 03:20 PM   #22
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I always use non stick pans. We eat very healthy. Little to no fat added to meals is better for us. Now when we want southern friend chicken. We bring out the cast iron. Just healthy lifestyle choice. If I had my way it would be fat and bacon to the end. However I enjoy my standing in life and wish to drag it on for a few more years.
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Old 11-01-2009, 04:02 PM   #23
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What type of flipping utensils/spoons/stirrers are best for the cast iron? I'm thinking of switching from stainless to cast iron and maybe resurrect my 1980's commercial grade utensils.
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Old 11-01-2009, 04:15 PM   #24
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What type of flipping utensils/spoons/stirrers are best for the cast iron? I'm thinking of switching from stainless to cast iron and maybe resurrect my 1980's commercial grade utensils.
Pretty much whatever you want to use.....ya ain't gonna hurt it!
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Old 11-01-2009, 04:19 PM   #25
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What type of flipping utensils/spoons/stirrers are best for the cast iron? I'm thinking of switching from stainless to cast iron and maybe resurrect my 1980's commercial grade utensils.
I am partial to wood for stirring and that type of exercise. Mine are so old I can't recommend further than don't buy the cheap stuff in the "Kitchen" aisle in Wal Mart, Safeway, etc.

Let me google that for you

Flipping... Hmmm what ever gets into my hand when I need it.

I have come around to the Silicone spatulas... they don't seem to melt into the food like the rubber ones did.

Let me google that for you
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Old 11-01-2009, 04:35 PM   #26
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Yeah, I was just wondering if metal utensils might ruin the non-stick patina.
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Old 11-01-2009, 04:38 PM   #27
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Yeah, I was just wondering if metal utensils might ruin the non-stick patina.
No. (IMHO)
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Old 11-01-2009, 04:46 PM   #28
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Yeah, I was just wondering if metal utensils might ruin the non-stick patina.
Depends how much you dig into the pan.
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Old 11-01-2009, 06:10 PM   #29
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Depends how much you dig into the pan.
Yeah, if your "1980's commercial grade utensils" include an axe/adze/hatchet, you may need to upgrade.
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Old 11-01-2009, 06:46 PM   #30
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Yeah, if your "1980's commercial grade utensils" include an axe/adze/hatchet, you may need to upgrade.
Be sure to stay tuned for Extreme Utensils, right after Hotrodded Toasters...
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Old 11-01-2009, 06:49 PM   #31
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Hey Im just saying! Dont want anyone to get any extra iron in their diet.
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Old 11-01-2009, 06:59 PM   #32
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Be sure to stay tuned for Extreme Utensils, right after Hotrodded Toasters...

The utensils I got were from an uncle who lived in Quebec and they are 100% metal and I dare say the flipper thing could be used in Formula One racing in place of the jack. Very nice quality, marked "Apres les Walmart" .

They are housed in wooden briefcase-like boxes with handles and appear to me to be a chef's personal tools. No idea where he bought them but all the markings are in French.

I don't use them on my current stainless DeMeyere stuff but if I get cast iron, I intend to break them out.
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Old 11-01-2009, 07:01 PM   #33
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I always use non stick pans. We eat very healthy. Little to no fat added to meals is better for us. Now when we want southern friend chicken. We bring out the cast iron. Just healthy lifestyle choice. If I had my way it would be fat and bacon to the end. However I enjoy my standing in life and wish to drag it on for a few more years.
Me too. I usually bake steam or braise rather than frying. Is keeping the non-stick finish on cast iron dependent on frequent frying?
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Old 11-01-2009, 07:07 PM   #34
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I use a cast iron skillet for corn bread, though it does require some re-seasoning afterward. Also use a cast iron griddle for searing, mostly fish.

I fry eggs in a teflon skillet. But a bacon-fat seasoned skillet is the ultimate egg frying platform. Not to mentioned fried chicken. Neither of which is on the menu much these days...
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Old 11-01-2009, 07:25 PM   #35
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I use a cast iron skillet for corn bread, though it does require some re-seasoning afterward. Also use a cast iron griddle for searing, mostly fish.

I fry eggs in a teflon skillet. But a bacon-fat seasoned skillet is the ultimate egg frying platform. Not to mentioned fried chicken. Neither of which is on the menu much these days...
I like about 1/4" of bacon fat in the skillet and the bacon brown and making some foam and bout that time drop an egg on the skillet from about 2 inches and let the yellow just slightly burst and watch the egg sizzle and bubble and form that little crispy ring around the edge. All the while washing the hot fat over the top and getting a perfect sunny side up.
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Old 11-01-2009, 07:29 PM   #36
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I like about 1/4" of bacon fat in the skillet and the bacon brown and making some foam and bout that time drop an egg on the skillet from about 2 inches and let the yellow just slightly burst and watch the egg sizzle and bubble and form that little crispy ring around the edge. All the while washing the hot fat over the top and getting a perfect sunny side up.
Clogs my arteries just to think about it! Bet it's good, though.
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Old 11-01-2009, 07:33 PM   #37
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I like about 1/4" of bacon fat in the skillet and the bacon brown and making some foam and bout that time drop an egg on the skillet from about 2 inches and let the yellow just slightly burst and watch the egg sizzle and bubble and form that little crispy ring around the edge. All the while washing the hot fat over the top and getting a perfect sunny side up.
I'll bring the toast!
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Old 11-01-2009, 07:34 PM   #38
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Me too. I usually bake steam or braise rather than frying. Is keeping the non-stick finish on cast iron dependent on frequent frying?
Its not so much as non stick. Its cast iron holds heat so much better than anything else. So you can fry foods that much better. Ive never cooked anything in cast iron that did not have fat added to it.

Now, Im sure we have some folks here who have more experience than me in using cast iron. Might correct me.

Oh and the bacon thing above...:Groan:
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Old 11-01-2009, 07:47 PM   #39
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Clogs my arteries just to think about it! Bet it's good, though.
I have to admit, that is all imagery and is from an old John Wayne movie. Can't remember which one. So, I'll munch on these genetically preselected and approved hydroponic alfalfa sprouts and dream.
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Old 11-01-2009, 07:56 PM   #40
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I find that enameled cast iron requires very little oil, just enough to evenly coat the bottom of the pan to avoid sticking, usually 1 tablespoon or less depending on the pan size. I made a pot roast tonight in one of my enameled cast iron dutch oven and used less than 1 tablespoon of oil to brown the meat and onions. That's about 1/6 tbsp of oil per serving. It seems very reasonable.
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