/ck/ - Food & Cooking

This is the stainless after deglazing and wiping with a paper towel. The cast iron took a ton more work to clean.

Once again my assertion that all of the anti cast iron posts on /ck/ are because of people buying $20 Lodge skillets with shit seasoning, and expecting it to work as well as a skillet that costs like 8x the price. Yes, cast iron takes a bit of effort to get a good non-stick coating especiallyif you go with a cheap one like Lodge. Nothing wrong with that as long as you understand the seasoning is shit and needs to be completely removed, and reapplied. I have a couple old Lodge skillets from the 70's that are perfectly non-stick and can cook scrambled eggs no problem with zero residue left in the pan. Just wipe with a damp paper towel and it's good to go again.

>>19855339
Cast iron takes some time and skill to use I think. I've been getting better with cooking in mine, based on your picture op you might have the heat too high and not using enough oil/butter.

>>19855433
??? the seasoning on lodge is perfectly fine
its just people not knowing what heat to cook with

Ever notice how when people make posts about having a bad time with cast iron people come out of the woodwork to tell the poster that they are the problem.

>you just need to season it properly
>you have to use lower heat
>you have to use more oil
>you have to use higher heat
>you'll never get a good non-stick seasoning with that rough texture
>you just need to keep using it, and the seasoning will develop
>it's easy, i just [follow some twenty part seasoning and maintenance process]
>you need to get a vintage cast iron pan, the new stuff sucks

>>19855433
Lodge just werks

>>19855506
yes, it is the cooking board

>>19855339
Like I give a shit, I just use a teflon nonstick pan or whatever it is that I picked up from Walmart, like I always have done, no one cares what you use or can tell the difference and cooks the same.

>>19855455
What heat do you cook with, low and slow?

>>19855455
Modern Lodge's factory seasoning is rough making it more prone to sticking, and applied in a thick coat all at once which causes flaking.

>>19855546
medium low and preheat the skillet for 5-10 mins depending on size of skillet and quantity of eggs
>>19855559
they apply more than 1 coat in the factory

>>19855339
>pan sauce for my scrambled eggs
bruh, why are you making pan sauce for scrambleds?

>>19855339
skill issue

>>19855506
Don't buy a $20 peice of cookware and complain when it performs like a $20 peice of cookware.

>>19855576
Isn't stainless supposed to take more skill?

I cook my eggs in a ceramic non-stick pan and I don’t worry about this silly nonsense :)

>>19855600
>ceramic non-stick
No you don't. It's just a PTFE type chemical that was sprayed on aluminum.

>>19855339
I have both, also carbon steel
no stickage on any of the 3
get good

>>19855433
You dumb nigger. The whole point of a cast iron pan is that its cheaper and lasts forever.

>>19856134
Right....lasts forever. Because you plan to live forever?

cast iron is a meme and anyone with a brain has figured that out by now. hopefully zoomers don't fall for the meme anymore.

Imagine not making eggs in a non stick pan lmao

>>19855506
it's big iron

>>19856406
For you? On his hip? I'm getting my memes crossed

The key to cast iron is like a year of use and butter. If you do those two things you can even flip eggs without them sticking to the pan. I use an enameled cast iron pan, i know how that sounds, and it doesn't stick like your picrel.

>>19855339

Stainless steel is so much better that my cast iron pan started showing signs of rust, I haven't used it at all since buying a stainless steel one.

>>19856250
My grandsons will use my cast iron skillet while you won't leave any offsprings to treat you like you treat your cookware.

>>19855339
>>19855343

I've been told that this is how a steel pan should look like (even on the edges, but I haven't managed to get it there yet). Am I being memed??

>>19855572
>preheat the skillet
This is the big thing. Everyone slaps the heat on and expects it to be fine.

>>19857311
I assume the people who do this would toss ground beef into a frying pan and complain it takes like 15 minutes to undercook a patty that they didn’t even defrost

>>19856406
on his hip
>>19856434
21 would be the ranger with the big iron on his hip

>>19856250
Teflon lasts like 5 years tops.

>>19855339
imagine failing to use a literal hunk of iron correctly
>>19855433
dude, even a 10$ lodge pan works if you're not retarded, you can go buy one from walmart, rinse it off and use it that day with no issue.

>>19855339
How is this a case study? It's just you crying about being unable to use a cast iron because of your own stupidity, then praising stainless. I don't use cast iron btw, I'm a carbon steel fag because they aren't as bulky and do everything I want from a cast iron.

>>19855433
What is the point of making a cast-iron nonstick? Everyone writes walls of text about how cast iron is nonstick if ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ. Just fucking make eggs in regular pans and literally any other food on earth in the skillet

>>19855339
I was once told by a chef to keep a separate non-stick pan just for pancakes and eggs. Cook everything else in skillet/stainless whatever. It saves you a lot of hassle.

>>19855506
It's a skill issue, so those posts are correct. Also you

>type like a redditor

>>19855506
Ever notice how the OP never fucking listens and can't accept that they are the problem?
A cast iron pan is an inert hunk of metal. Invariably it has precisely zero mechanical moving parts. The only variable is the person using it. Not exactly a head scratcher to figure out where the problem lies...

>>19857532
Legit sensible advice.
I do use my range's griddle for pancakes though, which is essentially just a large rectangular cast iron. Nothing sticks to it and it makes for easy flipping

>>19855339
Yeah. People act like cast iron is "non-stick" but you still need to use a shitload of oil or it's going to stick.
Cast iron is just a meme. People just like it because you can get a cheap lodge cast iron pan and pretend you're part of the club. But if you want a good stainless steel pan, you need something like Calphalon or All-Clad

The ONLY reason to use cast iron is if you need the thermal capacity of a heavy pan. Everything else is just a cope.

>>19855591
not really. Stainless is easy to use as long as you're not paranoid about adding grease or oil.
One thing about it is that it really doesn't need a lot of heat. Unless I'm boiling water in it I never turn the burner heat up past halfway, even while frying.

>>19858137
>The ONLY reason to use
This is a pretty stupid way to approach life.

>>19855339
I don't understand what the problem is with cast iron, it's not hard.

Get a new cast iron pan
>wash with soap and water, rinse, place on stove and heat to dry, apply coat of oil with lint free rag, allow to cool, wipe out any excess oil, store

Cooking with cast iron
>Rinse out pan, place on stove and bring to temp, add fat, cook using non-metalic accessories so you don't scratch the pan, serve

Cleaning with cast iron
>pour out any excess oils or fats, bring pan up to temp, add water to create steam, use a brush or sponge to steam clean the pan and get rid of anything sticking, rinse out, place on stove and heat to dry, apply coat of oil with lint-free rag while hot, allow to cool, store

You don't have to have a perfectly seasoned pan to use them, and it's the repeated heat / oil cycles that slowly build up the seasoning people want.

>>19855506
>tell the poster that they are the problem.

Most of the time, they are.

>>19859265
This post is perfectly demonstrating why cast iron is a fiddly little shit compared to stainless.

Get a new stainless steel pan
>throw in dishwasher. DONE.

Cooking with stainless
>start cooking, add oil/butter if needed. Use whatever the fuck you want.
>got stuck bits? Deglaze with liquid. Maybe scrape a bit to ensure it all comes up.

Cleaning with stainless
>put in dishwasher
>comes out clean

SO FUCKING EASY. No fiddly process, stainless doesn't give a shit. Use metal, use wood, use plastic, whatever - pan don't care. Dishwasher, soap, doesn't care either way. Oh, and the handle isn't fucking 500 degrees like a cast iron handle and actually fits in the fucking hand. Fucking cast iron nub.

>>19855591
Stainless is the easiest of them all. NO RULES.

Non-stick? No metal tools, you scrape off the coatings.

Cast Iron? all these fucking rules to care for it and make it nonstick.

Stainless doesn't give a fuck. Use whatever, whenever, however. Dishwasher cleans it. Only problem is it MIGHT not work on induction - check pan card for support if you care about that shit. But you can totally get stainless that works on induction if that matters.

Food sticks to ALL surfaces. All pan types require basic cooking skills, otherwise you will burn shit. Burning shit isn't the pan's fault. It is the cooklet's fault.

>>19859463
>Stainless is the easiest of them all. NO RULES.
wrong you have to get it up to 400° before adding oil or whatever when frying things so they are less likely to stick.

>>19859445
>SO FUCKING EASY
I guess if you have the work ethic and attention span of a child, using and maintaining cast iron or carbon steel would seem "hard".

It's all good. Do what you think is best.

>>19855534
You're retarded and not only are you a shit cook: you're a leach on society. The only think more amazing than you're total lack of self awareness is your desire to say the most retarded things to people who just look at you like the retard you are.

I'm laughing at you forever endlessly.

>>19855339
>burnt bacon gets stuck on it and is impossible to clean.
So in other words, you're just retarded and unable to follow simple instructions.

>>19859265
>pour out any excess oils or fats, bring pan up to temp, add water to create steam, use a brush or sponge to steam clean the pan and get rid of anything sticking, rinse out, place on stove and heat to dry, apply coat of oil with lint-free rag while hot, allow to cool, store
how about I just put my stainless pan in the dishwasher, retard

just dont eat eggs, f*****

>>19859445
Cast Iron has advantages if you are willing to use it correctly.

>>19861387
Eggs are one of the healthiest foods you can eat.

>>19855339
Wypipo aintz Caesar daze foo. Day Caesar daze panz

Wait, people don't actually clean their cookware in the dishwasher do they?

>>19855506
Given that the vast majority of the anons on /ck/ can't cook, yes, (You) are the problem

>>19855343
why is the cooking surface convex? I hate that shit. I will stick with my cast iron.

You have fucked up horribly if bacon is sticking to cast iron, that should be impossible.

Cast iron is overrated and I use stainless myself but im guessing you never seasoned the pan then did something to strip off even the manufacturers fake seasoning and now the only way to save it would be stripping it and starting over.

>>19857291
yes, mines just lightly stained
every time you deglaze the ""seasoning"" as retards call it comes off, thats the whole point of a steel pan, you just deglaze after cooking and its done, no meme baking at 180c in the oven, burning oil or other shit
put oil in, cook food, deglaze, clean off any residue and youre done, the only downside is you cant let the pan sit after finishing or youll get rust, so its basically a lazy cunt test for whether you are able to clean after yourself

>>19857446
Do non-Americans really have to larp as Americans in order to pretend like they know what they're talking about and participate in a conversation? Don't you have any real food you can talk about from your country?

>>19855506
If everyone keeps giving the same handful of reasons for someone fucking up, it seems pretty logical to assume that maybe - just maybe - THOSE ARE THE COMMON REASONS PEOPLE ARE FUCKING UP.

>>19856286
This is just another reddit thing. They were obsessed with cooking eggs in cast iron without sticking a few years ago, and the latest meme is doing the same thing in stainless steel. It's just a retarded internet thing. Anyone with half a brain uses non-stick for eggs.

>>19863830
>cooking in stainless is just "the latest meme"
People have been doing this for years and years.

>>19863842
Yes, I'm sure there are retards who have been using stainless steal to cook eggs for "years and years". There's lots of retards out there, and there has been forever.

>>19863849
The young generation is always surprised that anyone could have been doing anything before they learned about it. Imagine my surprise when I was a highschooler, like you, learning that Led Zeppelin was actually old enough that my dad could have listened to it! Like you are now, I was in complete shock and denial.

I have found uneven heating to be a serious problem with my cast iron. I was able to make bacon and sunny side up eggs in it but had to constantly shuffle the bacon as some spots seemed to cook around twice as fast. It was a lodge. Way too much of a pain.

>>19863855
You know what else "the young generation" also always does? They pretend like they're old, and talk about how old they are, and think calling other people "young" make them seem older. It doesn't. Unless you're in your 70's (i.e. a literal boomer), you aren't cooking your eggs in SS. This is just the latest reddit thing. (And no, I have no idea if this even came from reddit, but it doesn't matter because I know it makes you mad either way.)

>>19855572
>preheat the skillet
Not understanding this is why people fail at cast iron.
The heat retention qualities are one of the main reasons I prefer cast iron.
Food doesn't stick either, including eggs, if it's pre heated

>>19863888
The correct way to cook bacon is to start with a cold skillet and cold food.

>>19855506
Hey I got it mostly right, let's see...
>you just need to season it properly
>you have to use lower heat
>>19855441
>you have to use more oil
>>19855441
>>19856452
>you have to use higher heat
>>19863888
>you'll never get a good non-stick seasoning with that rough texture
>>19855559
>you just need to keep using it, and the seasoning will develop
>>19856452
>it's easy, i just [follow some twenty part seasoning and maintenance process]
>>19859265
>you need to get a vintage cast iron pan, the new stuff sucks

Maybe cast iron just sucks to cook with.

>>19863922
Yep, and that's one of the (many) reasons this zoomer meme of "one pan for everything" is so stupid. OP presents this as a "case study", but doesn't actually post the food he cooked. I guarantee the bacon is burnt in spots yet not crispy, while the eggs are crispy and overcooked, because he has no clue what he's doing. You not knowing what a tool is meant to be used for doesn't make it a bad tool.

>>19863922
No the correct way to cook bacon is in the fucking oven.

>>19864052
You don't preheat the pan when you cook bacon in the oven you fucking retard.

i did a lot of looking before buying a new pan, hexclad, tfal non stick, i already have a cast iron. ended up going with just stainless steel and personally i love it. i dont have issues with food sticking so im not sure what that is, and if bits do get stuck to the pan its good as new with just some steel wool. takes like 30 seconds to clean

I don't fucking care at this point what you prefer. I want you faggots to explain to me what the fuck I'm doing wrong.

I HAD what seemed like a perfect seasoning on my cast iron, literally nothing stuck to it. I had completely buffed the fuck out of the oil until it was perfectly thin and done 5-6 rounds in the oven. But THEN I cook some meat at a slightly higher heat just to get a better sear, then I clean out the fond and whatever else is there with some warm water and salt. That should be completely fine from what I read. But anything I cook after that sticks, like the seasoning has just been instantly removed. Even if I should have cleaned it differently or whatever, how the fuck is the seasoning gone just like that? Is the strength of the seasoning somehow weakened? And you keep talking about how you're supposed to just keep using it. I did the exact same thing last time and the exact same thing happened. Nothing changed. It just keeps getting food stuck to it. Yes, I am mad and butthurt and seething.

>>19864337
i think stuff is going to stick to an extent no matter what. just let your eggs cook for a minute before trying to move them, and when youre done just clean out the stuck bits.
you said you had the perfect seasoning before so im sure you can get the pan back to that point

>>19864363
Right, I can reseason it again. But I'm not SUPPOSED to have to do that over and over. And it doesn't just stick a little bit, it gets stuck like a motherfucking bitch through the entire contact surface, and that after just a few days since it slipped off perfectly. It doesn't make any sense. I have to assume that cooking the neck chops in it that left the caramelized bits somehow completely rapes the seasoning until I strip it or season over again.

>>19864391
Wait I am retarded, it was lamb chops I cooked not pork. I don't think that should make any difference though.

>>19863888
>Not understanding this is why people fail at cast iron.
Hot pan, cold grease is the combination you want. For a 10" or so Lodge, preheat on medium/medium high for 3-5 minutes, then add your cold grease and cook your eggs after waiting about 10 seconds.

And for searing it's even easier - preheat 5-7 on medium high, add your grease, wait till just starting to smoke, add meat. I've pan-seared salmon this way and it's completely nonstick.

>>19864337
>then I clean out the fond and whatever else is there with some warm water and salt.
That doesn't seem ideal (keep pan rocket hot and deglaze, then towel off and reseason) but the seasoning shouldn't be that brittle. That's very weird.

>>19864337
>>19864391
Maybe you are cooking too hot a temperature.
I cook eggs in the cheapest pan I could find on amazon and never "season" it and scrub it with steel scrubber, never had any problem with it. But I dislike crispy eggs I cook them on low so they come out similar to poached eggs.
Seasoning is a meme in my experience. Treat cast iron like stainless steel: heat up the pan first, then add oil, then the food for the Liedenfrost effect or whatever. I don't understand and dont' want to at this point what some mythical perfect seasoning is supposed to accomplish. As long as the pan isn't rusting I don't give a second thought to the seasoning.
Actually with steaks and chicken thighs I don't even heat up the pan first, starting with a cold pan helps it end up crispier on the outside. Eventually the moisture and fat cooks out and if it was stuck it unsticks itself.
I mean honestly I don't know what some of you people are doing. My big pan is Walmart Mainstays brand, I turn the heat up and sear ground meat on it as hot as it can go without creating smoke and it's never hard to clean up afterward.

>>19864401
>I don't think that should make any difference though.
It shouldn't. I use my cast iron for searing salmon and chicken breasts, both with barely any oil, and we're talking smoking hot, 500 degree searing. I've never had a problem, if anything the pan gets slicker every time.
>preheat pan for about 5 minutes on medium high heat
>add your oil/butter whatever
>wait ten seconds or so, until your fat is just starting to smoke
>add whatever meat you want
>as soon as you take off your meat, take pan and deglaze with warm water
>towel off, then reheat and re-season

>>19864463
I cook at the 6 setting usually (1 to 9) on one of these gay modern cooktops with the touch-panel. I don't really use low temperature much at all because its slower and less effective than on a regular stovetop.
>>19864486
Thats pretty much exactly what I do. Except the seasoning part, so you do re-season it constantly?

>>19855339
i used cast iron and carbon steel pans all my life and i felt like the biggest fucking retard when i got gifted an all clad stainless pan and it was better at literally everything
the only stainless pan i had before age 25 was an emril legasse 8” so naturally i would always post about how much better carbon steel and cast iron was
MUH SEASONING
fuck that shit
stainless pans are better in every way and require zero maintenance or care whatsoever

>>19864773
this is pretty much what i found out too. i didnt buy an all clad brand but some kind of full steel clad multy ply pan. you can use and absue it and it just works great all the time for everything

>>19855339
Don't u ever get tired of making these threads?

>>19864822
I told in in the last thread, those weren't me!