so you got you some cast iron you did
and you don't know what to do with it or
how to take care of it well in this
video I got you covered from A to Z and
everywhere in between how to cook in it
how to clean how to re season it you're
gonna enjoy them all I needed this help
you're gonna need it to stick around
[Music]
hey thank y'all for stopping by my name
is Kent Rollins and we welcome you to
another edition of cowboy cooking and
what did I use in my cowboy cooking more
than anything else that is cast-iron
good all American made in the USA
cast-iron we have put you together a
QuickStart guide on everything you need
to know about this cast iron from
cooking to cleaning to reese's n' into
everyday use in maintenance we have got
you covered now we make a lot of
references to a lot of different videos
and tips and stuff but it'll all be
listed below down here in this little
description so let's get in the house
and see what we can do
go over the light source you got and if
it is gas or electric still the same
method is going to apply let's turn this
on to about a medium heat place that
skillet on there and we're going to let
it get hot how do you know it's hot
touch it with your finger just barely
then you can turn that down to regulate
that temperature it's saving your money
in the long run because good cast iron
holds heat and distribute its evenly you
don't have to just crank it up there on
high and leave it you're gonna end up
burning something up you take whatever
you're frying and there put it in a hot
surface it's less apt to stick than it
would if you just chuck it in there
right when you start and let it go
before you put your food in there to fry
it whatever you're doing to it in that
skillet make sure your skillet is hot
can I do this on a glass cooktop that is
electric yeah you can you can't slam it
around there and everything else now a
lot of the old stuff is gonna have a
heat ray and that heat ring is going to
give you a little buffer on some of
these glass top stuff and it won't work
on an induction oven because it is not
sitting directly covering the eye
while counting utensils is best to use
in cast iron whether it be a Dutch oven
or a skillet now a lot of people tell me
I seen you using metal well folks I do
be using me a metal spatula on occasion
now I'll flip an egg with it turn a
pancake over dip something out with it
but you won't see me scraping a skillet
or a Dutch oven for cleaning purposes on
there because when it's metal against
metal you're gonna lose some of your
seasoning by scraping on it they make
these here rubber spatulas and I'm sure
Shann might even have your link on
Amazon where you can find them now my
most preferred thing probably that I
like to cook with is a utensil when I'm
cooking it's cast-iron it's just a
wooden spatula of some kind it can be
one of these a homemade but that way
folks if you're digging in there to turn
something over or you're stirring you're
not disrupting any of your seasoning by
using wood what can I cook in this
cast-iron and what can I not cook in
there the only thing that I don't do in
cast-iron skillet or a Dutch oven is
bowl water based substances now I'm
talking purely water based like bowling
beans or something like that when it
gets to a high temperature and it just
continually bolts it is loosening your
seasoning and a lot of times you'll get
a black film that's on top of them beans
or the water it's because you bowled in
that cast iron that was seasoning and
it's turning some of it loose can you
cook acidic foods in there cobblers
barbecue bass tomato-based yes you can
is it hard on cast iron yes it is to
some extent but if it's seasoned well
when you start and you clean it well and
you re seasoned you can hurt a thing
when you're heating it or you're cooling
it do it gradual and I'm not gonna set
it over in a sink of cold water when I
get through with it just by the same
purpose too if I'm cooking something
really hot in a Dutch oven I'm not gonna
set it in a snowbank you gotta be
careful not to shock cast iron from one
extreme to the other hot or cold can I
get this question a lot is about searing
a piece of meat now there's me there is
two ways that you can do this put that
skillet over on that burner gradually
warm it up and then crank it to high and
when it reaches the smoke point when you
see that skillet begin to smoke that
thing is hot enough to sear but the way
I like the most
it is I love to put it in that oven
preheated at 450 degrees let her sit in
there for about 30 minutes
drag that skillet out put it on that
burner high heat that thing will sear
something a whole lot quicker but when
you're cooking in cast iron it's more
about the maintenance and the care of it
and we're going to talk about that in a
minute but remember when you take care
of a piece of cast iron and you cook
with it you're getting the benefits that
you'll never get from any other kind of
skillet you're not getting the flavor
and you're not getting a utensil that's
going to last forever and ever
warm water and a sponge is really all
you're gonna need soap you say I never
soap now sure back way back yonder when
soap was made out of line and granny
made it out there in a big pot and
stirred it with the stick that stuff it
take the hair off a frog's button a hair
off your head - sure
dishwashing soaps we have today are much
more milder than that do I use soap
no not ever so maybe you fried something
in there or something stuck in there and
you got a little residue in there what's
going to happen I'm gonna take this
little wooden spatula here that I made
out of Mesquite and I'm gonna scrape
that oven or skillet to where it is good
and clean now this being wood I'm not
gonna get rid of none of my seasoning
because it's not metal against metal get
that all over to one side take a paper
towel wipe it out really well discard it
warm water and sponge again
say you've cleaned this and it's
happened to me with warm water and a
sponge after you get all your residue
out of there but I see a little
something in there that don't look right
it's a little black speck or it's
something that stuck a little harder
than what that sponge and that warm
water wouldn't take off so what we're
gonna do of course sea salt put it some
in right there on that spot you can do
it with a piece of leather two or three
paper towels folded up just give it a
good scratching right throw in that
little spot I'm not telling you to go
all around it just on that spot you see
take it back over there rinse it out
with good warm water you are good to go
another method for cleaning cast iron
probably my most favorite and the one I
use most of the time to clean cast iron
when I have fried something in it and it
may be stuck just a little or got a
little leftover residue in there wipe
all that excess grease out of there you
can then make sure you have some hot
water whether you've had it on the stove
or you're running it out of the sink
place the skillet in there pour the hot
water over it what happens steam and
steam cleans in a hurry folks it is
probably the fastest way to clean a
piece of cast iron you've got to make
sure your skillet is hot and your water
is hot because we're not going to shock
this like I told you remember from one
extreme to the other and let me give you
another little tip get you one of their
mer sponges or something got a handle on
it that way it sort of keeps you away
from it as you're running but folks it
takes very little effort whatsoever
cleaning it every trip I use it every
time every day I never let it say it I
clean it as soon as I get through with
it it just makes it easier but also
always check that outside of that
skillet and make sure like if you crack
the egg on there some of that rundown
all you got to do little hot water
bristle brush cleaning it right off but
if you got you some of that residue
that's already built up on there
we've got a little link up there above
and down below on maintenance for
cleaning cast iron
seasoning I'm not talking salt and
pepper
no I'm talking about building up a layer
of a good old that is a non-stick
surface we just cook something in there
we cleaned it whether it was with hot
water and a sponge or we did the steam
method put it back over here on a burner
over medium heat take you a good rag
wipe any excess moisture out of there
that you see and then we gotta let that
thing heat up now how do I know it's hot
enough to season touch the top side of
the skillet wall because I gotta let it
heat plumb through we want this hot but
not smoking hot because if you try to
season cast iron and you're smoking it
out of there you're losing all your
seasoning turn it off so now we're gonna
add the old how much it don't take much
folks a lot of people want to put way
too much in there and have some old
sticky gummy mess and then what are we
gonna do
take a good lint-free rag I like to use
a bandanna wipe it around there good
sides bottom everywhere wipe all that
excess off that you can get after a few
minutes we're gonna come back and we're
going to take that rag and we're gonna
wipe it one more time to make sure that
we didn't miss any excess oil that
didn't get absorbed the first trip so I
come back in here to the kitchen maybe
3045 minutes later and I'm fixing to put
that skillet up but I noticed that there
is a little sticky residue in there
maybe I didn't get it wiped out good
what we got to do turn that burner back
on get it hot wipe that excess out of
there make sure you get it on what kind
of oil do I like to use well I have
three that I really love that is
grapeseed oil olive oil and I have
started really liking me some avocado
now you can use about any basic ol that
you want if it's working for you but not
pins old trough Artic or phillips 66 or
mobile or any of that stuff you might
put in your pickup now I know a lot of
you always be asking me this question
well my mother used to be used just
bacon fat that she had cooked in and
just wiped that down my mother did too
and she used that skillet every day if
you ever don't use that skillet very
often and you put a lid on there you're
gonna get something that begins to smell
rancid you always tell us don't use a
paper towel now some of y'all might not
have heard that yet and y'all be
thinking to yourself why can't we use a
paper towel well paper towels full of
lint
when you're wiping something down you're
transferring lent to your cast iron I
prefer a bandanna and old t-shirts work
will they do now I'll use them two or
three days in a row then what do I do
I'll get me some hot water in the sink
and I'll take this wrestle and I use
simple green and I wet her down floor in
there but I always let them soak then
I'll take them out ring all the water
out of them good and the only thing that
I'm gonna put in the washing machine
is just these rags so make sure that you
store them somewhere to where they're
all combined they're all the same thing
not in there with your wife's favorite
cook
wait a minute you in the back y'all turn
your phone's off and pay attention
because what I'm fitting to tell you now
is probably one of the most important
things you're gonna hear come out of my
mouth you're going to reese's in' every
time you use that skillet if I used it
three times today I'm gonna re season it
three times I like a slick glossy black
finish and that's how you get it by
reese's me every trip you use that
skillet you heard me talk about Reese's
in the inside of this skillet let's talk
about Reese seasoning the outside of
that skillet if you're cooking mainly
indoors with this you're not going to
quite get a biggest buildup as you would
if you were cooking outside over a wood
fire there's more soot there's more
smoke and you're gonna have to clean and
seasoned more often I'll do this about
maybe once a week in the house if I'm
outside I try to do it about every trip
I'm cooking with one of them and it's
just a light coat oil but I using that
good ole over here that cost more money
I'll get me a cheap vegetable and just
wipe around the outside even the bottom
because it's got to be hot remember same
principle applies from inside to outside
when you cook something that's got a lid
on it you gonna get condensation what
will that make if you don't clean it it
will eventually make rust so make sure
you it is wiped off it is heated season
the inside with the same thing you do in
the bottom of that skillet and then make
sure this is good and dry on the outside
season it with a vegetable or something
like that it will last you forever
deep-frying something it folks it does a
great wonders because you've got a depth
of all in there that's at a constant
temperature above 350 degrees cast iron
loves some deep frying it does you might
want to do this maybe once a week twice
a month it'll help keep that seasoning
in there it's gonna build it but also
it's going to firm up that foundation
the seasoning that you already have on
there hey I've got me one of them
griddles how do you take care of it how
you clean it how do you season it it's
cast iron folks it is the same method
throughout I clean it the same way most
of the time with the steam method and I
Reese's in it the same way storage I get
so many people how I live in an
apartment well I don't know where to put
my cast iron I can't hang it on the wall
well my mother stored hers in the oven
for years I like to hang my on the wall
if you've got a place that you can do
that we've got a video we did on how to
store cast iron and you can check that
out but make sure you don't stack it
oven to oven or skill it to skillet
you're gonna scratch some of this season
off so let's make this the year
throughout the world that we begin to
cook in cast iron you're gonna have the
benefits of your food tasting so much
better when you cook out of a cast iron
skillet also there's a health benefit
there is number one don't get hit in
head by number two you're gonna absorb
iron from eating out of iron cast iron
is not intimidating folks it really
isn't it's something that's gonna last
you a lifetime and with the maintenance
and the tips that we give you today it
will perform and you will be so proud
you have it we got a lot of additional
information that will help you out and
everything that we used or we talked
about in this video
shann will have in the little
description below you won't be lost I
want to thank our veterans and all our
service members for keeping this country
free that we can all enjoy eating out a
good cast iron remember now hit them
little buttons share and like god bless
you each and every one and see you down
the cast iron trail now there's so many
myths and everything that our boy you
didn't take long they screw that up did
it help hey you're gonna cooking this
stuff you got to throw it on that burner
and a bagel wants outside
it won't be just second you can show him
scratching coming back in I'll talk
about cooking in cast on the face of
loveliness big says