A cast iron skillet may not be the only skillet you need in your kitchen, but I’ll make a case for a 12″ cast iron skillet which is the most useful kitchen piece you can own.
Once you get past the common stereotype that a cast iron skillet is only for cooking over a campfire, you realize how incredibly versatile this tool is.
The obvious use of a cast pan is for frying things. A cast iron skillet does an excellent job of preparing steaks, pork chops, fried chicken, and anything else you’d use a stainless steel or aluminum skillet for. Well seasoned, a cast iron skillet can also cook eggs and other sticky dishes you might think you need a nonstick skillet for.
This brings up the point that cooking with nonstick pans can have health risks, and your nonstick cookware will need to be replaced every few years. By comparison, a cast iron skillet introduces no toxic chemicals into the food and can last for many generations.
A cast iron skillet has many other uses besides frying if you exercise a little culinary creativity.
You can bake with it in the oven, or on a barbecue. (I made cake at a barbecue. It was entertaining and it turned out amazing.)
Here are the sizes of some common baking dishes:
* 9″ round cake plate – 63 square inches
* 8 x 8 cake pan – 64 square feet inches
* 9 x 13 cake pan – 117 square feet inches
Lodge 12″ Cast Iron Skillet – 113 sq. in.
As you can see, a 12″ pan can be substituted for one 9×13 cake pan, two 8×8 cake pans, or two 9″ round cake pans. This means that cakes, pies and casseroles can be baked in your pan.
A cast iron skillet can also be used for most things you would use a baking stone for. The main purpose of a baking stone is to even out hot spots and temperature fluctuations in your oven. A cast iron skillet has similar enough thermal retention and thermal mass that you can substitute it for a baking stone in many recipes. In other words, pizza, cookies, and bread can all be cooked in a cast iron skillet.
Due to its excellent heat retention, a cast iron skillet is a good choice for frying. You can make fish and chips, latkes, donuts, corn dogs, and more in your skillet.
A large skillet is an excellent source for roasting. Chicken, ham and prime rib are great.
A cast iron skillet can also be used for soups and stews. A 12″ Lodge skillet has a 3.9-quart capacity, so you can do just about anything you’d use a 4-quart pot for. For example, my wife makes French onion soup in ours. She caramelizes the onions in the stove, adds the rest of the ingredients to make the soup and simmers it, then puts bread and cheese on top and puts it all in the oven to finish.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Baked Mac & Cheese, Pancakes, Omelettes, Calamari, Pannini, Pies, Cobblers, Bread, Pizza, Steaks, Cookies, Cornbread, Soups, Stews, Biscuits, Roasts, Sautés, Burgers and more all from the same pan! !
Some people may consider a 12″ skillet too large to be their main pot. Rarely is “too big” an issue. There are few situations where a small pot can perform a task better than a large one. pot that is too small for the dish you are preparing is completely useless There is very little you can do with an 8″ or 10″ skillet that you cannot do with a 12″ skillet, but there are many dishes you can prepare in a skillet 12″ that won’t fit in an 8″ or 10″.
I have nothing against smaller pans, but after much experimentation I have decided that if I could only have one, it would have to be a 12″.
Cast iron cookware is inexpensive, eco-friendly, incredibly versatile, and lasts almost forever. Most importantly, it makes great food.
Whether you’re heading out on your own for the first time or you’re a seasoned cook looking to rediscover a better way to cook, get yourself a cast iron skillet and see for yourself why it may be the only skillet you really need.