5 Reasons Why You Need a Cast-Iron Skillet

A kitchen without a pan is like a karaoke night without “Sweet Caroline”.

A quality pot is truly a kitchen workhorse, but it won’t do everything for you.

You’ll want something that can hold up under higher heat for searing meats and sautéing vegetables.

You’ll want something that’s shallower to make stirring easier during stovetop cooking, and to enable airflow during roasting.

Welcome the cast-iron skillet.

It’s what your grandma used. And it’s still the best material for many pieces of cookware.

While most kitchens have at least one pan, the skillet blows all the contenders out of the water when it comes to function and versatility.

That cheap nonstick skillet you got for your first place on your own may do a decent enough job, but there’s nothing holding most people back from a serious upgrade.

As far as I’m concerned, if you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, you need to drop what you’re doing now and go get one!

…What, still here?

Okay, let me give you five good reasons.

1. It Retains Heat Like a Mofo

One of cast-iron’s “weaknesses” is actually one of its strengths. Unlike that cheapo pan, a skillet takes a while to heat up.

But once it gets hot, it stays hot.

One of the greatest benefits is that a cast-iron skillet can sear the hell outta meats.

That flimsy pan will lose much of its heat when a cooler hunk of meat is tossed in. This will increase both the cooking time and the likelihood you’re gonna overcook the interior.

You can also briefly remove cooking foods from heat sources (or open the oven to take its temperature) without fearing it will increase your cooking time too much.

2. It’s Seriously Indestructible

If you’ve ever seen old Looney Tunes cartoons, you’ll know that a pan is one of the preferred weapons of Bugs Bunny, the Road Runner, and others.

But with the flimsy nonstick pans on the market today, Bugs wouldn’t stand a chance.

A cast-iron skillet is heavy. It can withstand scorching temperatures and lots of physical abuse.

In other words, a cast-iron skillet will last you the rest of your life.

Drop ’em, scorch ’em, flatten Elmer Fudd’s head with ’em. These things are hefty and can withstand whatever cooking abuse you can throw at them.

And although they will get some added iron in your food, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing (and can be minimized by reducing the amount of acidic foods you use them for), but beats the heck out of whatever it is that your nonstick pan will leach over time.

3. It’s a Multitasker

Multitasking is crucial.

If you don’t have to spend half your money to fill your kitchen up to your eyeballs with stuff you’ll rarely use, then why bother?

Like an enameled Dutch oven, a cast-iron skillet can go both in the oven and on the stovetop.

It has the added benefit of being grill-ready, since it doesn’t have any coating to discolor.

Truly much more of a Swiss Army Knife than your flimsy nonstick pan.

4. It’s Nonstick

In my article on enameled Dutch ovens, I made the claim that they are more nonstick than bare steel, but here I’m going to say the exact opposite.

Why?

Well, technically enamel is going to give you a slicker surface, but a seasoned cast-iron surface will be slickest of all.

Many people fear cast-iron cookware because of the assumed complexity of cleaning, seasoning, and maintaining.

Nonsense.

I’ll go through how simple all this is later, but suffice it to say that once your pan is properly seasoned (and it will be sooner than you expect), you’ll be cooking up omelettes in no time.

5. It’s Cheap. Dirt Cheap.

Here’s the real clincher.

A cast-iron skillet will cost you around $15, which is about what you’d pay for a cheapo pan of the same size.

You do the math, sucka MC.

The Verdict

Cast-iron skillets get rip-snortin’ hot without any risk to your health. They’ll last a lifetime and excel at a multitude of tasks from the stovetop to the oven.

(Oh, and they cost the same as the flimsy pans that do none of these things.)

I suggest an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven as a “get whenever you can” product since they can still be fairly pricey, but the cheapness of a good skillet is so small that I’d suggest you gather your loose change and get one as soon as you can.

They perform far better than any nonstick pan you have sitting around, and won’t break the bank.

Do it already.

Buying a Cast-Iron Skillet

If you’re looking to buy a cast-iron skillet, there’s really only one game in town: Lodge.

Sure, there are a couple of fancy-pants brands out there, but a cast-iron skillet is a very primitive tool, and as such doesn’t require much flair (or a celebrity chef name) to ensure quality.

Lodge’s pans are reasonably priced and available everywhere. I’d suggest the 10–1/4“ model. It’s quite a bit cheaper than the 12” one, and, I’d argue, more useful for other tasks such as making cornbread.

Lodge’s pans are also sold pre-seasoned, which makes getting started with them far easier.

The one knock against their pans are that they are not machined, and have a bit of a matte finish rather than a glossy one.

In theory, this makes them more likely to stick, but there are ways to minimize this impact, including using them often, and using a metal spatula on them to create a smoother surface.

The option for the adventurous is to go on eBay and search for old Griswold or Wagner pans. (Remember how I told you these things last forever? It means you should be able to find a quality antique.)

They tend to run more expensive than the Lodges, and are machined to a smooth surface.

What you don’t know with these is how well they were taken care of, and therefore you may need to season them before use.

Cast-Iron Maintenance

Seasoning creates a nonstick surface on the pan that protects it from rusting and allows you to cook “clingy” foods such as eggs and fish without worry.

As I mentioned earlier, I think the greatest barrier for most people to making the switch to bare cast-iron cookware is the perceived increase in maintenance.

Yes, you can’t just toss your skillet in the dishwasher and hope for the best, but keeping it in shape isn’t nearly as difficult as you’ve been led to believe.

There are a bajillion methods out there for seasoning cast-iron, but it all comes down to this:

1. Cover all the iron in an oil or fat.
2. Heat it up to a high temperature.
3. Let it cool.
4. Repeat as necessary. (The more the better.)

I would make the following recommendations:

1. Use flax seed oil for seasoning.
2. Heat upside down (with foil or a cookie sheet underneath) at 400°F (200°C) for an hour or two.

The more you use your pan, the more oil gets “cooked” onto the surface, maintaining a smooth nonstick texture.

On the topic of cleaning,

1. You should “clean” as little as possible.
2. But if you must, rub it all over with a dry paper towel or rag to get all the solids out.
3. If anything is still stuck, add some kosher salt and scrub to remove.
4. If you still have anything sticking, then wash it with a clean rag in straight water (no soap).
5. Empty all water and heat up on stovetop to evaporate all moisture to avoid rusting.

(For more on maintaining cast-iron cookware, check out this page, which is probably the best page on the topic on the whole interwebs.)

With the prevalence of pre-seasoned cast-iron, you shouldn’t have to worry at all about getting your skillet up and running, but seasoning an old pan is quite easy.

The more you use it (and don’t be stingy with the fat!), the more you ensure that your pan remains seasoned.

Like a fine wine, a cast-iron skillet only gets better with age.

The Dynamic Duo of Kitchen Cookware

Next to an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven, a cast-iron skillet is one of the most essential tools you can have in your kitchen.

In fact, the two are like best friends. The yin and the yang, together encompassing all that is possible in the kitchen.

The pot will allow you to boil soups, stews, and braises that warm you up during the chilly months. The pan will help you sear the meats and vegetables you add to these dishes, contributing a sweeter, more complex flavor.

The pot will allow you to make soft-boiled, hard-boiled, and poached eggs. The pan will allow to fried eggs, scrambled eggs, and omelettes.

You’ll use the pot to boil your veggies, and the pan to sauté them.

You’ll use the pot to make puffy loaves of bread, and the pan to make thin pita breads.

The pot and the pan are the Dynamic Duo of the kitchen, and they reach their apex in the form of the enameled cast-iron Dutch oven and the cast-iron skillet, respectively.

If you’re looking to upgrade your kitchen (or get your first one up and running), buying a cast-iron skillet is a no brainer.

Once you try your first steak made in a skillet, you’ll understand.

Trust me.

(Dang. Just realized how many times I used the term “cast-iron” in this article. But it’s important, yo. Don’t settle for less.)