The Cast Iron Skillet

Katie has noticed something about me: I am certainly passionate about certain things, and I get really excited about camping, traveling, and even cooking. But what she's noticed is that when I get excited about something, I want to get all the gear necessary to make this new hobby or adventure the best it can be.

Around our house, Katie does most of the cooking. And it's a good thing b/c she's really good at it and she really enjoys it. I'll cook once or twice a week, and the grilling season is always fun for me.

Well I just read an article in a favorite magazine of mine and they talk about how men need to take over (and ownership) of their kitchen. It's a place, like the garage, where manly things can happen. And think of all the tools that you'll need...

And the first tool they said was an essential was the cast iron skillet. Now my father-in-law has told me numerous times that his cast iron skillet is his favorite tool in the kitchen. He's seasoned it over the years, and food continues to get better and better.

After convincing Katie of the necessity of this tool, I went looking for the non-seasoned cast iron skillet from Lodge, widely recognized as the best in the business. Well thanks to the yuppies who want everything done for them, Lodge is discontinuing their non-seasoned line. So I snatched up an 8" skillet and a 3qt. chicken fryer. Since then, I've done some research and have found a 12" skillet that I'll be getting soon.

I'm so proud and excited about my new hobby. In a different magazine, Katie and I found an article about a man who makes the best fried chicken in his cast iron skillet. Too many things falling into place at just the right time...

So here's me opening my cast iron skillet and fryer - cookware that I'll have for the rest of my life: (skillet, and fryer)












So next I had to season it by putting a light coat of cooking oil over the entire piece, inside and out. Putting this in the oven at 350 for one hour seasons the cast iron so that it becomes the original non-stick skillet.

During the process, the original finish starts to get baked to it's final color - black. Here it looks more brown, but I repeated the process again today and now we're starting to get to the final product. But like I said, continued use means continued seasoning, which translates to better and better flavor. I'm very excited about this new hobby.