An Ode to Cast Iron

One of the joys of learning more about cooking and cooking tools and techniques is when you find a simple, effective, inexpensive tool or method that is infinitely versatile. My good buddy Alton Brown is the scourge of uni-tasking kitchen tools everywhere, and I can't think of a product that would make his (or my) heart sing more than the cast iron skillet. There was a time, yes, when it scared me. How could this big black charred thing help but make all of my food stick? How the heck do you clean it? It doesn't have a fancy brand name or cost a lot - how can THAT be good?

But my friends, the humble cast iron skillet, available for under $20 (often under $10) at any decent hardware or discount store can bake, saute, fry, go on the grill or the open flame and gives a flavor and crisp to any dish that you can't get anywhere else. And it turns out cleaning it is a snap too.

I love the cast iron skillet so much that I've added a new tag for it on the blog, and plan to feature it more often. A few dishes not tagged as such can also be made easily in a cast iron skillet, like my mac & cheese, or especially brownies. Brownies are awesome in a cast iron skillet - when you make them simply put the pan with about a Tbs of butter in it in the oven while you pre-heat. When ready to bake, pour in the batter and cook as usual, but watch the time - it may go faster than you think. The hot butter in the hot pan gives you a lacy edge to the brownies (or the cornbread!) that is just out of this world.

Tonight the star in the skillet was corn bread. I've featured this recipe once before, but in my ode to the cast iron skillet I wanted to feature it again. And back then I had no pictures and it was buried in a post with a bunch of other things. This one deserves it's own post. It is moist, savory and sweet, and a hit every time I've made it.

The recipe is straight out of Cook's Illustrated - the only modifications I made are to the method of prepping the pan and the vessel in which you cook it. I'm sort of shocked that this classic recipe wasn't made in cast iron skillet in CI since they are all about authentic methods. And there is nothing like the crisp lacy edges from cooking in the skillet - and it looks fantastic on your table too.

All Purpose Corn Bread
Cook's Illustrated

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal (this dish was tested using Quaker yellow cornmeal)

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon table salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed (Note: I used mine still frozen and it was fine)

1 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Note: To make this in a cast iron skillet, place approx 1 Tbs of butter in the skillet and place it in the oven while preheating. Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl until combined; set aside.

2. In food processor or blender, process sugar, thawed corn kernels, and buttermilk until combined, about 5 seconds. Add eggs and process until well combined (corn lumps will remain), about 5 seconds longer.

3. Using rubber spatula, make well in center of dry ingredients; pour wet ingredients into well. Begin folding dry ingredients into wet, giving mixture only a few turns to barely combine; add melted butter and continue folding until dry ingredients are just moistened.

4. Pour batter into prepared baking dish; smooth surface with rubber spatula. Note: If using cast iron skillet, remove from oven and turn pan to coat all surfaces with the melted butter. Pour the batter into the hot pan. Bake until deep golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes (Mine was done in 22 minutes in the cast iron skillet). Cool on wire rack in the pan for 10 minutes; invert cornbread onto wire rack, then turn right side up and continue to cool.

A note from me on cleaning cast iron:

I use a hard rubber scraper (one that came with my pizza stone actually) to scrape of as much debris as possible while running the pan under hot water. The key is, you don't want to leave the pan wet for too long, and you don't want to soak it. So run it under hot water and scrape out all you can. Then, I give it a quick swipe with a slightly soapy sponge. A little soap won't take off all your seasoning, but it does help get it a little cleaner. Then rinse in hot water again. I like to dry mine on heat - if your oven is still warm from cooking dinner, stick it in there to dry. Or stick it on the burner on high for just 1-2 minutes. Let it cool completely before putting it way.