Cast Iron Skillet 101, Care and Maintenance (Plus my Perfect Steaks!)

You Only Need Three Kitchen Tools

I love educating people on how they need only simple tools in their kitchen. In fact, you need just three tools to have a successful kitchen for cooking. Yes, JUST THREE TOOLS. What are they?

• cast iron skillet
• chef’s knife
• stove

Okay, you could add a crock pot in there too . . . but those three things are some of the most versatile kitchen tools on the planet.

And today I want to focus on the cast iron skillet. Did I mention it’s super versatile? It’s what I use for casseroles. I even cook eggs in it. It’s also what I use to make my perfect steaks. Say what? I’ll tell you more.

One of my favorite things to do in my cast iron skillet is make my perfect steaks. I’ll get around to doing a full recipe post for this one soon . . . but for now I’ll give you the scoop so you can try it yourself. It’s really dead easy. Here’s how it goes.

Presenting . . . George’s Perfect Cast Iron Skillet Steaks

What to do:

• Preheat your oven to 200-250 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Dry your steaks with a paper towel, salt them, and put them in the freezer. * 
  • * “Why the freezer? Aren’t we trying to cook these things?” Well, the freezer is the driest place in your house, and it allows you to get those steaks as dry as possible. Leave the steaks in there for 10-15 minutes, then pull them out, and pat them again.
• As soon as your steaks are in the freezer, put your cast-iron skillet on the stove and get it ready to go by preheating it on high. 
• Add some butter to the cast iron skillet, get it nice and hot, then sear each side of the steaks.
• Once you finish searing each side, take the steaks out and line the entire pan with herbs: rosemary, thyme, garlic. Put the steaks on top of those herbs, so they’re not actually touching the pan.
• Put that pan in a 200-250 degree oven until the steak cooks to desired temperature, normally 135 degrees. Pull it out, and it’s ready to go! It’s the best steak you will ever make, and it’s all done with one pan. Super simple to make and sooo good.

Cast Iron Care and Maintenance

My perfect steak recipe shows you how a cast iron skillet is just as happy in the oven as it is on the stove. Again, super versatile. But cast iron still scares some people off. Maybe the biggest reason people get scared of cast iron is the care and maintenance involved.

Here’s the thing though: it’s not that complicated. There’s just ONE thing you should never do. It’s the cardinal sin of cast iron care. What is that? It’s that you should NEVER EVER use soap on a cast iron skillet.

So what do you do if you can’t use soap? When you’re done cooking something with it, you clean it out immediately. Just grab a clean brush (no soap!), get all the residue out, then dry it and oil it to re-season it. And as you probably know, the re-seasoning is what makes cast iron so great and more effective over time. The more seasoning it gets, the better the pan performs.

I love cooking with my cast iron so much that I wanted to make it super easy for you to take advantage of the wonders of cast iron too. That’s why I created this handy infographic with everything you need to know about using and caring for your cast iron cookware. Download it, print it out, stick it on your fridge. I hope it’s useful!

What do you love to cook in your cast iron?