Do you press??

[Icarry2]

While whipping up some fantastic BLT's tonight I got to thinking.

How many folks out there use a press to keep their Bacon flat??

Just curious.. BTW, I am never letting my better half cook with my cast iron skillet.... I never had bacon stick till now... I have to burn it and reseaon it.. Which brings me to my second question for the masses...

How does everyone season their cast iron?

Hope everyone is well and enjoys the holidays..

TJ

 

[LEaSH]

I don't press.

I seasoned my cast ironware with normal use. After cooking, using hot water only, get all the food bits off and towel dry. Then coat the cooking surface with a table spoon of olive oil.

I think my mom told me to heat them up in the oven when new and then coat them with olive oil. I don't think I did that.

 

[bluewraith]

The only good way to reseason a cast iron skillet is to cook a couple pounds of bacon. Mmmm...

 

[Benny]

I don't press either. I cut the pound of bacon right down the center and cook it on a griddle @ about 275 degrees. It turns out perfectly crispy and flat every time.

My cast iron skillets get "seasoned" with the food I cook in them (to season the first time, bacon is a good choice). They get cleaned exactly how LEaSH described. If I'm cooking something greasy, I'll skip the hot water and just wait until it's cool enough to wipe out, but still hot enough that everything gets wiped out easily...I don't even need olive/vegetable oil afterwards.

 

[Wolfe28]

I don't press bacon (but when you make your own, you can cut it thick enough that it doesn't need pressing). Roasting it on a cookie sheet in the oven also helps to eliminate the need to press (old restaurant trick).

As for cast iron, I use the Emeril Lagasse method for seasoning:
Pour Kosher salt into the bottom of the pan until there is a layer 1/4 inch thick. Fill the pan 2/3 of the way full with vegetable oil, and then place in a 350 degree F oven for one hour. Turn the oven off after the hour, let cool and then poor the oil/salt mixture out and rinse and wipe dry.

Once it is seasoned, I just scrub it out with hot water and a brush, and then heat it up to dry. A quick wipe with a little bit of oil and its ready to go.

D