Best skillet?
- Thread starter HighStickHarry_
- Start date
This is what I'm using now but some of these copper ones look pretty neat on the infomercial.
So do the ginsu knives but I'm not posting about them.
I use a copper bottom steel skillet, a heavy duty Calphon skillet, and a cast iron skillet. Really depends on what you are doing. If I am doing something quick like saute veggies and want an easy clean up then I use the Calphon. If I am making a risotto or a sauce that I need to make sure I have even and consistent heat then I use the copper bottom steel skillet. If I am cooking a steak (inside because it is winter and I don't want to fire up the grill) i use the cast iron. If you are looking for a goo multi-purpose skillet then I would go with Calphon. It is pricey but worth it and it will last.
You'd probably bring more to the board if you did
That would be the scram slam from Denny's!
I'll see your Denny's and raise you CrappleBee's 'Sizzling Entries'
Seriously though, the Sundowner at EggBert's in B'ville was a staple growing up.
Calaphon only these days. The cast iron is a pain in the *** to maintain and I'm incredibly lazy.
You're supposed to leave the skillet dirty, it ads flavor to the next items cooked.
Agreed, but entertaining those interested in ginsu's and skillets is not my thing. My target audience is more the bling jeans and Yeti cap crowd.
I have a cast iron skillet that has been in my family for four generations. 1/2 of what I cook is prepared in it.
My advice with cast iron? Never buy anything new, go to garage sales, estate sales and flea markets and find something at least 30 yrs old. Never wash with soap, but take a good steel wool (soapless) scrub to it to clean any obvious baked/caked on food particles.
Season it with flaxseed oil - the process for doing this is from Cooks Illustrated and their test kitchen showed that there was a significant improvement using flax oil, than bacon grease or other old stand-byes. It's an oven method and it's going to take a few cycles, heating and cooling down the pan reapplying the oil between sets. I followed this about 2 yrs ago, with my old inherited cast iron pans and it's close to non-stick now.
After that initial seasoning, never use any soaps/detergents or strong cleaning pads on it (I use a bamboo scrubber designed for use to clean woks without removing their non-stick patina. After any contact with water or cleaning dry it off on the stove top with heat, perhaps touching up any bare spots with flaxseed oil or bacon grease.
Season it with flaxseed oil - the process for doing this is from Cooks Illustrated and their test kitchen showed that there was a significant improvement using flax oil, than bacon grease or other old stand-byes. It's an oven method and it's going to take a few cycles, heating and cooling down the pan reapplying the oil between sets. I followed this about 2 yrs ago, with my old inherited cast iron pans and it's close to non-stick now.
After that initial seasoning, never use any soaps/detergents or strong cleaning pads on it (I use a bamboo scrubber designed for use to clean woks without removing their non-stick patina. After any contact with water or cleaning dry it off on the stove top with heat, perhaps touching up any bare spots with flaxseed oil or bacon grease.
It's not too hard to find quality cast iron that people have given up on, and then refurbish them to better than new. It can be done with Easy Off, vinegar, and a little effort---as long as the pan is not cracked or heavily pitted. I've salvaged a few with this method.
I don't like cast iron for sauteeing. The skillet sides are too angular, and the weight is not conducive to the movement that goes along with sauteeing. I use a 9" ScanPan for most sauteeing.
Cookware essentials:
- Non-stick 9" sautee pan
- large stainless pot for cooking pasta, etc
- stainless 4 quart pot
- small and medium caste iron skillets
- Crueset dutch oven