re: Best skillets in lieu of Teflon

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Maybe I need a good video to watch.

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I do exactly as mdominique does. Lightly wash with a sponge, soap and warm water. Then wipe dry and place the pot/pan on the stove to heat up a bit. Once heated I toss in just enough oil to be able to lightly coat the inside and use a paper towel folded over several times to spread it.

After it is spread, I continue wiping the inside until ALL excess oil is removed and all that is left is a slight sheen to the metal. That way no oil left will turn rancid or get that sticky feeling.

I like to use ceramic coated aluminum ones for things like eggs, that are light and stick easily.

Be light when you clean them (no scrubbing)and they do a pretty good job of being stick resistant.

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Is it simply cast iron?

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It is what I use for 95% of cooking tasks. The rest are a stainless or Magnolite pot for Soup/Stocks and one 6" Ceramic(ish) chef skillet I use for fried/scrambled eggs only.

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We've got a few cast iron, but frankly can be a PITA to cook with and clean afterwards.
Perhaps I need a good education on how to handle iron skillets.
I only wipe them down and just rinse them out after use, keep a sheen of olive oil on them, but they're still sticky and not easy to use as Teflon is.

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You can use a little soap put it is not necessary.
after cleaning, spray a very lite coating of PAM or equivalent and wipe DRY with a paper towel.

For seasoning cast iron I use Crisco shortening. It is very forgiving and does a great job is you do your part. And cheap. I tried other fats but have come back to Crisco. No need for anything else.


ETA: Being from Alabama look at thrift stores/flea markets and garage sales for "Birmingham Stove and Range" Cast iron. It is unmarked but easy to recognize. Google it. Has not been made for about 35 years but it is everywhere used. Good stuff and usually very cheap.

Or if you want new just buy Lodge. Great stuff still made in the USA.

Don't worry about smoothness of the cooking surface. It is a non issue.

I have a big lodge cast iron I constantly cook in. Non stick is pretty solid. It’ll never be as slick as Teflon or carbon, but I have omelette pan for that. Really only time I use it.

I subscribe to the no soap theory. Hot water, lodge cast iron scrubber, dry it good with paper towel, warm on stove, rub lightly with safflower oil while warm, wipe any excess oil, turn off stove, let it cool gradually.

Thing is my most prized possession I think

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Should be noted my hot water is very fricking hot. Gets to 140 in the summer. Really knocks off the residual stuff you don’t want on there. I wear the thick old school rubber kitchen gloves

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Lightly wash with a sponge, soap and warm water. Then wipe dry and place the pot/pan on the stove to heat up a bit. Once heated I toss in just enough oil to be able to lightly coat the inside and use a paper towel folded over several times to spread it.

After it is spread, I continue wiping the inside until ALL excess oil is removed and all that is left is a slight sheen to the metal. That way no oil left will turn rancid or get that sticky feeling.

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Ditto.

Most of the time I don't even need to use soap.

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ETA: Being from Alabama look at thrift stores/flea markets and garage sales for "Birmingham Stove and Range" Cast iron. It is unmarked but easy to recognize. Google it. Has not been made for about 35 years but it is everywhere used. Good stuff and usually very cheap.

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BSR stuff is very good. It's lighter that Lodge and less expensive than the collectibles, Wagner and Griswold. It's also made in the US, unlike most of the of the new stuff, which is typically made in China, except for some of the expensive European cast iron.

I've built up a small collection from garage sales and heirloom items and use it often. I clean it using the cowboy method, though I know others use soap and, if seasoned properly, mild soap doesn't seem to hurt it.

The cowboy method is to heat the skillet until it starts smoking. Meanwhile, fill the sink with water that is as hot as you can get it. Plunge the skillet into the hot sink water and scrape off any big pieces with a metal spatchula. I then put it back on the stove over low heat to dry, add a think coat of oil all over, and bake it in the oven for about 20 minutes before turning the oven off.

That's probably overkill, but all of my pieces were stripped and re-seasoned, and I can see a difference in the ones I have had longer over the more recent purchases.