How to use cast iron?

On Sun 25 Dec 2005 09:04:07a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Michael
Horowitz?

Quoted message said:

Assume all skillets are properly seasoned.

I have a collection of cast iron skillets ranging in size from ~9" to
~24".

Thinking I was going to duplicate the flat surface resturants use for
hamburgers, pancakes, almost everything, I took down the 24" dropped
some butter in the center and turned the heat on med-low. Then I began
the think about the heat distribution.

Obviously the flame (gas stove) doesn't evenly cover the bottom of
the skillet. If I turn the stove to high, the part of the skillet over
the flame will get very hot (and hurt the seasoning) before the other
parts of the skillet get warm. So, there must be a process to get the
skillet uniformly hot and not burn the seasoning or clarify the
butter.

I'm thinking the process might be : cold skillet placed over med. low
heat until the heat has spread uniformly over the skillet. Add butter
or oil, begin saute or whatever.

Anyone have a process they'd care to share? - Mike

Preheat the skillet in the oven, the transfer to a medium or medium-low
burner to maintain the heat.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
__________________________________________________________________
And if we enter a room full of manure, may we believe in the pony.

Michael Horowitz said:

Assume all skillets are properly seasoned.

I have a collection of cast iron skillets ranging in size from ~9" to
~24".

Thinking I was going to duplicate the flat surface resturants use for
hamburgers, pancakes, almost everything, I took down the 24" dropped
some butter in the center and turned the heat on med-low. Then I began
the think about the heat distribution.

Obviously the flame (gas stove) doesn't evenly cover the bottom of
the skillet. If I turn the stove to high, the part of the skillet over
the flame will get very hot (and hurt the seasoning) before the other
parts of the skillet get warm. So, there must be a process to get the
skillet uniformly hot and not burn the seasoning or clarify the
butter.

I'm thinking the process might be : cold skillet placed over med. low
heat until the heat has spread uniformly over the skillet. Add butter
or oil, begin saute or whatever.

Yup, that's it... use med-low heat until entire pan reaches the correct
temperature.

But now explain how you fit a 24" pan on your stove top over one
burner... that size pan would would necessitate covering both front and
back burners and due to the backsplash would still leave a full four
inches of pan hanging out past the front edge of the stove... not to
mention that about 8" of pan would be hanging out sideways over your
kitchen counter. The industry standard for kitchen ranges is 9"
diameter grates (regardless of burner diameter) placed 9" center to
center... any pan over 18" would overhang the two grates. The entire
stove depth including backsplash is 24", the typical stove only has 20"
of useable space front to rear before something has to hang out into
space - most stoves have even less space due to thicker backsplashes.
Sorry, but I just don't believe your story.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Sheldon said:

Michael Horowitz said:

Assume all skillets are properly seasoned.

I have a collection of cast iron skillets ranging in size from ~9" to
~24".

Thinking I was going to duplicate the flat surface resturants use for
hamburgers, pancakes, almost everything, I took down the 24" dropped
some butter in the center and turned the heat on med-low. Then I began
the think about the heat distribution.

Obviously the flame (gas stove) doesn't evenly cover the bottom of
the skillet. If I turn the stove to high, the part of the skillet over
the flame will get very hot (and hurt the seasoning) before the other
parts of the skillet get warm. So, there must be a process to get the
skillet uniformly hot and not burn the seasoning or clarify the
butter.

I'm thinking the process might be : cold skillet placed over med. low
heat until the heat has spread uniformly over the skillet. Add butter
or oil, begin saute or whatever.

Yup, that's it... use med-low heat until entire pan reaches the correct
temperature.

But now explain how you fit a 24" pan on your stove top over one
burner... that size pan would would necessitate covering both front and
back burners and due to the backsplash would still leave a full four
inches of pan hanging out past the front edge of the stove... not to
mention that about 8" of pan would be hanging out sideways over your
kitchen counter. The industry standard for kitchen ranges is 9"
diameter grates (regardless of burner diameter) placed 9" center to
center... any pan over 18" would overhang the two grates. The entire
stove depth including backsplash is 24", the typical stove only has 20"
of useable space front to rear before something has to hang out into
space - most stoves have even less space due to thicker backsplashes.
Sorry, but I just don't believe your story.

I was kinda wondering about that...

My largest Cast Iron pan is a #14 Griswold and I never use it on the
stove top. It's large enough to hold a turkey or a large roast, so I
just use it in the oven for roasting.

I normally use the #8 for regular cooking and the #10 (10"😉 for larger
batches of stuff on the stove top.

It's plenty big enough...

My griddle for pancakes and such is a #8.

Why would you really need anything larger?

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

Duh'Wayne Boatwright said:

Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Michael Horowitz?

Quoted message said:

Assume all skillets are properly seasoned.

I have a collection of cast iron skillets ranging in size from ~9" to
~24".

Thinking I was going to duplicate the flat surface resturants use for
hamburgers, pancakes, almost everything, I took down the 24" dropped
some butter in the center and turned the heat on med-low. Then I began
the think about the heat distribution.

Obviously the flame (gas stove) doesn't evenly cover the bottom of
the skillet. If I turn the stove to high, the part of the skillet over
the flame will get very hot (and hurt the seasoning) before the other
parts of the skillet get warm. So, there must be a process to get the
skillet uniformly hot and not burn the seasoning or clarify the
butter.

I'm thinking the process might be : cold skillet placed over med. low
heat until the heat has spread uniformly over the skillet. Add butter
or oil, begin saute or whatever.

Anyone have a process they'd care to share? - Mike

Preheat the skillet in the oven, the transfer to a medium or medium-low
burner to maintain the heat.

Why can't the pan be heated over a med-low heat top burner to begin
with, *before* dropping in the butter??? Even you gotta admit using an
oven to heat a pan is more than a bit Rube Goldbergish. Heat up an
entire oven just to heat a pan... this just proves you never cook
anything... what an idiot! In all my years I've never seen anyone heat
a pan in the oven and then proceed to cook with it on the stove top...
duh!

And just to illustrate to everyone on the planet just what a low IQ
[censored] Duh'Wayne truly is... no residential oven will accept a 24"
diameter pan and still allow the door to close... typically 18" front
to rear is the limit, a very few ovens will accept 19", but even that's
stretching it, more like 18 1/2" is the outer limit... how yoose gonner
heat that other 6" of pan, shove it up your dumb butt?

See how simple it is to catch the big mouth bassturds who never passed
their GED, just let em yammer and they catch themselves.

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Sheldon said:

Michael Horowitz said:

Assume all skillets are properly seasoned.

I have a collection of cast iron skillets ranging in size from ~9" to
~24".

Thinking I was going to duplicate the flat surface resturants use for
hamburgers, pancakes, almost everything, I took down the 24" dropped
some butter in the center and turned the heat on med-low. Then I began
the think about the heat distribution.

Obviously the flame (gas stove) doesn't evenly cover the bottom of
the skillet. If I turn the stove to high, the part of the skillet over
the flame will get very hot (and hurt the seasoning) before the other
parts of the skillet get warm. So, there must be a process to get the
skillet uniformly hot and not burn the seasoning or clarify the
butter.

I'm thinking the process might be : cold skillet placed over med. low
heat until the heat has spread uniformly over the skillet. Add butter
or oil, begin saute or whatever.

Yup, that's it... use med-low heat until entire pan reaches the correct
temperature.

But now explain how you fit a 24" pan on your stove top over one
burner... that size pan would would necessitate covering both front and
back burners and due to the backsplash would still leave a full four
inches of pan hanging out past the front edge of the stove... not to
mention that about 8" of pan would be hanging out sideways over your
kitchen counter. The industry standard for kitchen ranges is 9"
diameter grates (regardless of burner diameter) placed 9" center to
center... any pan over 18" would overhang the two grates. The entire
stove depth including backsplash is 24", the typical stove only has 20"
of useable space front to rear before something has to hang out into
space - most stoves have even less space due to thicker backsplashes.
Sorry, but I just don't believe your story.

I was kinda wondering about that...

My largest Cast Iron pan is a #14 Griswold and I never use it on the
stove top. It's large enough to hold a turkey or a large roast, so I
just use it in the oven for roasting.

I normally use the #8 for regular cooking and the #10 (10"😉 for larger
batches of stuff on the stove top.

It's plenty big enough...

My griddle for pancakes and such is a #8.

Why would you really need anything larger?

Even those rectangular two burner griddles are only 9" X 18".

It's a guy thing... some like to exaggerate... but 24 inches! Even a
stallion would have trouble getting a date, that's why I always
understate.. gals really don't want to hear about more than 6"... with
8" a gal could choke to death! LOL

Sheldon said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Sheldon said:

Michael Horowitz wrote:
> Assume all skillets are properly seasoned.
>
> I have a collection of cast iron skillets ranging in size from ~9" to
> ~24".
>
> Thinking I was going to duplicate the flat surface resturants use for
> hamburgers, pancakes, almost everything, I took down the 24" dropped
> some butter in the center and turned the heat on med-low. Then I began
> the think about the heat distribution.
>
> Obviously the flame (gas stove) doesn't evenly cover the bottom of
> the skillet. If I turn the stove to high, the part of the skillet over
> the flame will get very hot (and hurt the seasoning) before the other
> parts of the skillet get warm. So, there must be a process to get the
> skillet uniformly hot and not burn the seasoning or clarify the
> butter.
>
> I'm thinking the process might be : cold skillet placed over med. low
> heat until the heat has spread uniformly over the skillet. Add butter
> or oil, begin saute or whatever.

Yup, that's it... use med-low heat until entire pan reaches the correct
temperature.

But now explain how you fit a 24" pan on your stove top over one
burner... that size pan would would necessitate covering both front and
back burners and due to the backsplash would still leave a full four
inches of pan hanging out past the front edge of the stove... not to
mention that about 8" of pan would be hanging out sideways over your
kitchen counter. The industry standard for kitchen ranges is 9"
diameter grates (regardless of burner diameter) placed 9" center to
center... any pan over 18" would overhang the two grates. The entire
stove depth including backsplash is 24", the typical stove only has 20"
of useable space front to rear before something has to hang out into
space - most stoves have even less space due to thicker backsplashes.
Sorry, but I just don't believe your story.

I was kinda wondering about that...

My largest Cast Iron pan is a #14 Griswold and I never use it on the
stove top. It's large enough to hold a turkey or a large roast, so I
just use it in the oven for roasting.

I normally use the #8 for regular cooking and the #10 (10"😉 for larger
batches of stuff on the stove top.

It's plenty big enough...

My griddle for pancakes and such is a #8.

Why would you really need anything larger?

Even those rectangular two burner griddles are only 9" X 18".

It's a guy thing... some like to exaggerate... but 24 inches! Even a
stallion would have trouble getting a date, that's why I always
understate.. gals really don't want to hear about more than 6"... with
8" a gal could choke to death! LOL

My bad. I went back and measured. 15".
It just looked like 24"
Horse can relax.

- Mike

Michael Horowitz said:

Sheldon said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
"Sheldon" <[email hidden]> wrote:

> Michael Horowitz wrote:
> > Assume all skillets are properly seasoned.
> >
> > I have a collection of cast iron skillets ranging in size from ~9" to
> > ~24".
> >
> > Thinking I was going to duplicate the flat surface resturants use for
> > hamburgers, pancakes, almost everything, I took down the 24" dropped
> > some butter in the center and turned the heat on med-low. Then I began
> > the think about the heat distribution.
> >
> > Obviously the flame (gas stove) doesn't evenly cover the bottom of
> > the skillet. If I turn the stove to high, the part of the skillet over
> > the flame will get very hot (and hurt the seasoning) before the other
> > parts of the skillet get warm. So, there must be a process to get the
> > skillet uniformly hot and not burn the seasoning or clarify the
> > butter.
> >
> > I'm thinking the process might be : cold skillet placed over med. low
> > heat until the heat has spread uniformly over the skillet. Add butter
> > or oil, begin saute or whatever.
>
> Yup, that's it... use med-low heat until entire pan reaches the correct
> temperature.
>
> But now explain how you fit a 24" pan on your stove top over one
> burner... that size pan would would necessitate covering both front and
> back burners and due to the backsplash would still leave a full four
> inches of pan hanging out past the front edge of the stove... not to
> mention that about 8" of pan would be hanging out sideways over your
> kitchen counter. The industry standard for kitchen ranges is 9"
> diameter grates (regardless of burner diameter) placed 9" center to
> center... any pan over 18" would overhang the two grates. The entire
> stove depth including backsplash is 24", the typical stove only has 20"
> of useable space front to rear before something has to hang out into
> space - most stoves have even less space due to thicker backsplashes.
> Sorry, but I just don't believe your story.
>

I was kinda wondering about that...

My largest Cast Iron pan is a #14 Griswold and I never use it on the
stove top. It's large enough to hold a turkey or a large roast, so I
just use it in the oven for roasting.

I normally use the #8 for regular cooking and the #10 (10"😉 for larger
batches of stuff on the stove top.

It's plenty big enough...

My griddle for pancakes and such is a #8.

Why would you really need anything larger?

Even those rectangular two burner griddles are only 9" X 18".

It's a guy thing... some like to exaggerate... but 24 inches! Even a
stallion would have trouble getting a date, that's why I always
understate.. gals really don't want to hear about more than 6"... with
8" a gal could choke to death! LOL

My bad. I went back and measured. 15".
It just looked like 24"

I knew all along you were exaggerating. Next time use that pan to
straddle two burners, use med-low heat, and get it up to temperature
*before* adding butter.

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

Why would you really need anything larger?

You should know that, given your handle.
Ostrich omelet, sunny side up.

Michael Horowitz said:

Assume all skillets are properly seasoned.

I have a collection of cast iron skillets ranging in size from ~9" to
~24".

Thinking I was going to duplicate the flat surface resturants use for
hamburgers, pancakes, almost everything, I took down the 24" dropped
some butter in the center and turned the heat on med-low. Then I began
the think about the heat distribution.

Obviously the flame (gas stove) doesn't evenly cover the bottom of
the skillet. If I turn the stove to high, the part of the skillet over
the flame will get very hot (and hurt the seasoning) before the other
parts of the skillet get warm. So, there must be a process to get the
skillet uniformly hot and not burn the seasoning or clarify the
butter.

I'm thinking the process might be : cold skillet placed over med. low
heat until the heat has spread uniformly over the skillet. Add butter
or oil, begin saute or whatever.

Anyone have a process they'd care to share? - Mike

The problem is inherent with cast iron - it is a relatively poor
conductor of heat. Other than oven heating, I cannot think of a solution.

Peter Aitken

In article <[email hidden]>,

Sheldon said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Sheldon said:

Michael Horowitz wrote:
> Assume all skillets are properly seasoned.
>
> I have a collection of cast iron skillets ranging in size from ~9" to
> ~24".
>
> Thinking I was going to duplicate the flat surface resturants use for
> hamburgers, pancakes, almost everything, I took down the 24" dropped
> some butter in the center and turned the heat on med-low. Then I began
> the think about the heat distribution.
>
> Obviously the flame (gas stove) doesn't evenly cover the bottom of
> the skillet. If I turn the stove to high, the part of the skillet over
> the flame will get very hot (and hurt the seasoning) before the other
> parts of the skillet get warm. So, there must be a process to get the
> skillet uniformly hot and not burn the seasoning or clarify the
> butter.
>
> I'm thinking the process might be : cold skillet placed over med. low
> heat until the heat has spread uniformly over the skillet. Add butter
> or oil, begin saute or whatever.

Yup, that's it... use med-low heat until entire pan reaches the correct
temperature.

But now explain how you fit a 24" pan on your stove top over one
burner... that size pan would would necessitate covering both front and
back burners and due to the backsplash would still leave a full four
inches of pan hanging out past the front edge of the stove... not to
mention that about 8" of pan would be hanging out sideways over your
kitchen counter. The industry standard for kitchen ranges is 9"
diameter grates (regardless of burner diameter) placed 9" center to
center... any pan over 18" would overhang the two grates. The entire
stove depth including backsplash is 24", the typical stove only has 20"
of useable space front to rear before something has to hang out into
space - most stoves have even less space due to thicker backsplashes.
Sorry, but I just don't believe your story.

I was kinda wondering about that...

My largest Cast Iron pan is a #14 Griswold and I never use it on the
stove top. It's large enough to hold a turkey or a large roast, so I
just use it in the oven for roasting.

I normally use the #8 for regular cooking and the #10 (10"😉 for larger
batches of stuff on the stove top.

It's plenty big enough...

My griddle for pancakes and such is a #8.

Why would you really need anything larger?

Even those rectangular two burner griddles are only 9" X 18".

It's a guy thing... some like to exaggerate... but 24 inches!

ROFL!!!
And guys wonder why women have trouble estimating sizes. ;-)

Quoted message said:

Even a
stallion would have trouble getting a date, that's why I always
understate.. gals really don't want to hear about more than 6"... with
8" a gal could choke to death! LOL

Or just say "ouch!!!". ;-)

Cheers!

Quoted message said:

--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

In article <[email hidden]>,

Michael Horowitz said:

Sheldon said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
"Sheldon" <[email hidden]> wrote:

> Michael Horowitz wrote:
> > Assume all skillets are properly seasoned.
> >
> > I have a collection of cast iron skillets ranging in size from ~9" to
> > ~24".
> >
> > Thinking I was going to duplicate the flat surface resturants use for
> > hamburgers, pancakes, almost everything, I took down the 24" dropped
> > some butter in the center and turned the heat on med-low. Then I began
> > the think about the heat distribution.
> >
> > Obviously the flame (gas stove) doesn't evenly cover the bottom of
> > the skillet. If I turn the stove to high, the part of the skillet over
> > the flame will get very hot (and hurt the seasoning) before the other
> > parts of the skillet get warm. So, there must be a process to get the
> > skillet uniformly hot and not burn the seasoning or clarify the
> > butter.
> >
> > I'm thinking the process might be : cold skillet placed over med. low
> > heat until the heat has spread uniformly over the skillet. Add butter
> > or oil, begin saute or whatever.
>
> Yup, that's it... use med-low heat until entire pan reaches the correct
> temperature.
>
> But now explain how you fit a 24" pan on your stove top over one
> burner... that size pan would would necessitate covering both front and
> back burners and due to the backsplash would still leave a full four
> inches of pan hanging out past the front edge of the stove... not to
> mention that about 8" of pan would be hanging out sideways over your
> kitchen counter. The industry standard for kitchen ranges is 9"
> diameter grates (regardless of burner diameter) placed 9" center to
> center... any pan over 18" would overhang the two grates. The entire
> stove depth including backsplash is 24", the typical stove only has 20"
> of useable space front to rear before something has to hang out into
> space - most stoves have even less space due to thicker backsplashes.
> Sorry, but I just don't believe your story.
>

I was kinda wondering about that...

My largest Cast Iron pan is a #14 Griswold and I never use it on the
stove top. It's large enough to hold a turkey or a large roast, so I
just use it in the oven for roasting.

I normally use the #8 for regular cooking and the #10 (10"😉 for larger
batches of stuff on the stove top.

It's plenty big enough...

My griddle for pancakes and such is a #8.

Why would you really need anything larger?

Even those rectangular two burner griddles are only 9" X 18".

It's a guy thing... some like to exaggerate... but 24 inches! Even a
stallion would have trouble getting a date, that's why I always
understate.. gals really don't want to hear about more than 6"... with
8" a gal could choke to death! LOL

My bad. I went back and measured. 15".
It just looked like 24"
Horse can relax.

- Mike

Heh. ;-)
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mark Thorson said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

Why would you really need anything larger?

You should know that, given your handle.
Ostrich omelet, sunny side up.

Quiche. ;-)

Oven.

'nuff said!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Sheldon said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
"Sheldon" <[email hidden]> wrote:

> Michael Horowitz wrote:
> > Assume all skillets are properly seasoned.
> >
> > I have a collection of cast iron skillets ranging in size from ~9" to
> > ~24".
> >
> > Thinking I was going to duplicate the flat surface resturants use for
> > hamburgers, pancakes, almost everything, I took down the 24" dropped
> > some butter in the center and turned the heat on med-low. Then I began
> > the think about the heat distribution.
> >
> > Obviously the flame (gas stove) doesn't evenly cover the bottom of
> > the skillet. If I turn the stove to high, the part of the skillet over
> > the flame will get very hot (and hurt the seasoning) before the other
> > parts of the skillet get warm. So, there must be a process to get the
> > skillet uniformly hot and not burn the seasoning or clarify the
> > butter.
> >
> > I'm thinking the process might be : cold skillet placed over med. low
> > heat until the heat has spread uniformly over the skillet. Add butter
> > or oil, begin saute or whatever.
>
> Yup, that's it... use med-low heat until entire pan reaches the correct
> temperature.
>
> But now explain how you fit a 24" pan on your stove top over one
> burner... that size pan would would necessitate covering both front and
> back burners and due to the backsplash would still leave a full four
> inches of pan hanging out past the front edge of the stove... not to
> mention that about 8" of pan would be hanging out sideways over your
> kitchen counter. The industry standard for kitchen ranges is 9"
> diameter grates (regardless of burner diameter) placed 9" center to
> center... any pan over 18" would overhang the two grates. The entire
> stove depth including backsplash is 24", the typical stove only has 20"
> of useable space front to rear before something has to hang out into
> space - most stoves have even less space due to thicker backsplashes.
> Sorry, but I just don't believe your story.
>

I was kinda wondering about that...

My largest Cast Iron pan is a #14 Griswold and I never use it on the
stove top. It's large enough to hold a turkey or a large roast, so I
just use it in the oven for roasting.

I normally use the #8 for regular cooking and the #10 (10"😉 for larger
batches of stuff on the stove top.

It's plenty big enough...

My griddle for pancakes and such is a #8.

Why would you really need anything larger?

Even those rectangular two burner griddles are only 9" X 18".

It's a guy thing... some like to exaggerate... but 24 inches!

ROFL!!!
And guys wonder why women have trouble estimating sizes. ;-)

Quoted message said:

Even a
stallion would have trouble getting a date, that's why I always
understate.. gals really don't want to hear about more than 6"... with
8" a gal could choke to death! LOL

Or just say "ouch!!!". ;-)

You think? You'll be lucky to emit a weak gurgle. LOL

P.Aitken said:

Michael Horowitz said:

Assume all skillets are properly seasoned.

I have a collection of cast iron skillets ranging in size from ~9" to
~24".

Thinking I was going to duplicate the flat surface resturants use for
hamburgers, pancakes, almost everything, I took down the 24" dropped
some butter in the center and turned the heat on med-low. Then I began
the think about the heat distribution.

Obviously the flame (gas stove) doesn't evenly cover the bottom of
the skillet. If I turn the stove to high, the part of the skillet over
the flame will get very hot (and hurt the seasoning) before the other
parts of the skillet get warm. So, there must be a process to get the
skillet uniformly hot and not burn the seasoning or clarify the
butter.

I'm thinking the process might be : cold skillet placed over med. low
heat until the heat has spread uniformly over the skillet. Add butter
or oil, begin saute or whatever.

Anyone have a process they'd care to share? - Mike

The problem is inherent with cast iron - it is a relatively poor
conductor of heat. Other than oven heating, _I cannot think_ of a solution.

You and Duh'Wayne have the same daddy... idjit genes.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Sheldon said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Sheldon said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet wrote:
> In article <[email hidden]>,
> "Sheldon" <[email hidden]> wrote:
>
> > Michael Horowitz wrote:
> > > Assume all skillets are properly seasoned.
> > >
> > > I have a collection of cast iron skillets ranging in size from ~9"
> > > to
> > > ~24".
> > >
> > > Thinking I was going to duplicate the flat surface resturants use
> > > for
> > > hamburgers, pancakes, almost everything, I took down the 24"
> > > dropped
> > > some butter in the center and turned the heat on med-low. Then I
> > > began
> > > the think about the heat distribution.
> > >
> > > Obviously the flame (gas stove) doesn't evenly cover the bottom of
> > > the skillet. If I turn the stove to high, the part of the skillet
> > > over
> > > the flame will get very hot (and hurt the seasoning) before the
> > > other
> > > parts of the skillet get warm. So, there must be a process to get
> > > the
> > > skillet uniformly hot and not burn the seasoning or clarify the
> > > butter.
> > >
> > > I'm thinking the process might be : cold skillet placed over med.
> > > low
> > > heat until the heat has spread uniformly over the skillet. Add
> > > butter
> > > or oil, begin saute or whatever.
> >
> > Yup, that's it... use med-low heat until entire pan reaches the
> > correct
> > temperature.
> >
> > But now explain how you fit a 24" pan on your stove top over one
> > burner... that size pan would would necessitate covering both front
> > and
> > back burners and due to the backsplash would still leave a full four
> > inches of pan hanging out past the front edge of the stove... not to
> > mention that about 8" of pan would be hanging out sideways over your
> > kitchen counter. The industry standard for kitchen ranges is 9"
> > diameter grates (regardless of burner diameter) placed 9" center to
> > center... any pan over 18" would overhang the two grates. The entire
> > stove depth including backsplash is 24", the typical stove only has
> > 20"
> > of useable space front to rear before something has to hang out into
> > space - most stoves have even less space due to thicker backsplashes.
> > Sorry, but I just don't believe your story.
> >
>
> I was kinda wondering about that...
>
> My largest Cast Iron pan is a #14 Griswold and I never use it on the
> stove top. It's large enough to hold a turkey or a large roast, so I
> just use it in the oven for roasting.
>
> I normally use the #8 for regular cooking and the #10 (10"😉 for larger
> batches of stuff on the stove top.
>
> It's plenty big enough...
>
> My griddle for pancakes and such is a #8.
>
> Why would you really need anything larger?

Even those rectangular two burner griddles are only 9" X 18".

It's a guy thing... some like to exaggerate... but 24 inches!

ROFL!!!
And guys wonder why women have trouble estimating sizes. ;-)

Quoted message said:

Even a
stallion would have trouble getting a date, that's why I always
understate.. gals really don't want to hear about more than 6"... with
8" a gal could choke to death! LOL

Or just say "ouch!!!". ;-)

You think? You'll be lucky to emit a weak gurgle. LOL

Depends...

<smirk>
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Sheldon said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
"Sheldon" <[email hidden]> wrote:

> OmManiPadmeOmelet wrote:
> > In article <[email hidden]>,
> > "Sheldon" <[email hidden]> wrote:
> >
> > > Michael Horowitz wrote:
> > > > Assume all skillets are properly seasoned.
> > > >
> > > > I have a collection of cast iron skillets ranging in size from ~9"
> > > > to
> > > > ~24".
> > > >
> > > > Thinking I was going to duplicate the flat surface resturants use
> > > > for
> > > > hamburgers, pancakes, almost everything, I took down the 24"
> > > > dropped
> > > > some butter in the center and turned the heat on med-low. Then I
> > > > began
> > > > the think about the heat distribution.
> > > >
> > > > Obviously the flame (gas stove) doesn't evenly cover the bottom of
> > > > the skillet. If I turn the stove to high, the part of the skillet
> > > > over
> > > > the flame will get very hot (and hurt the seasoning) before the
> > > > other
> > > > parts of the skillet get warm. So, there must be a process to get
> > > > the
> > > > skillet uniformly hot and not burn the seasoning or clarify the
> > > > butter.
> > > >
> > > > I'm thinking the process might be : cold skillet placed over med.
> > > > low
> > > > heat until the heat has spread uniformly over the skillet. Add
> > > > butter
> > > > or oil, begin saute or whatever.
> > >
> > > Yup, that's it... use med-low heat until entire pan reaches the
> > > correct
> > > temperature.
> > >
> > > But now explain how you fit a 24" pan on your stove top over one
> > > burner... that size pan would would necessitate covering both front
> > > and
> > > back burners and due to the backsplash would still leave a full four
> > > inches of pan hanging out past the front edge of the stove... not to
> > > mention that about 8" of pan would be hanging out sideways over your
> > > kitchen counter. The industry standard for kitchen ranges is 9"
> > > diameter grates (regardless of burner diameter) placed 9" center to
> > > center... any pan over 18" would overhang the two grates. The entire
> > > stove depth including backsplash is 24", the typical stove only has
> > > 20"
> > > of useable space front to rear before something has to hang out into
> > > space - most stoves have even less space due to thicker backsplashes.
> > > Sorry, but I just don't believe your story.
> > >
> >
> > I was kinda wondering about that...
> >
> > My largest Cast Iron pan is a #14 Griswold and I never use it on the
> > stove top. It's large enough to hold a turkey or a large roast, so I
> > just use it in the oven for roasting.
> >
> > I normally use the #8 for regular cooking and the #10 (10"😉 for larger
> > batches of stuff on the stove top.
> >
> > It's plenty big enough...
> >
> > My griddle for pancakes and such is a #8.
> >
> > Why would you really need anything larger?
>
> Even those rectangular two burner griddles are only 9" X 18".
>
> It's a guy thing... some like to exaggerate... but 24 inches!

ROFL!!!
And guys wonder why women have trouble estimating sizes. ;-)

> Even a
> stallion would have trouble getting a date, that's why I always
> understate.. gals really don't want to hear about more than 6"... with
> 8" a gal could choke to death! LOL

Or just say "ouch!!!". ;-)

You think? You'll be lucky to emit a weak gurgle. LOL

Depends...

<smirk>

Ain't gonna argue with the expert! hehe

Sheldon said:

And just to illustrate to everyone on the planet just what a low IQ
[censored] Duh'Wayne truly is... no residential oven will accept a 24"
diameter pan and still allow the door to close... typically 18" front
to rear is the limit, a very few ovens will accept 19", but even that's
stretching it, more like 18 1/2" is the outer limit... how yoose gonner
heat that other 6" of pan, shove it up your dumb butt?

See how simple it is to catch the big mouth bassturds who never passed
their GED, just let em yammer and they catch themselves.

Merry Christmas to you too, grinch.

jim

In article <[email hidden]>,

Michael Horowitz said:

Assume all skillets are properly seasoned.

I have a collection of cast iron skillets ranging in size from ~9" to
~24".

Thinking I was going to duplicate the flat surface resturants use for
hamburgers, pancakes, almost everything, I took down the 24" dropped
some butter in the center and turned the heat on med-low. Then I began
the think about the heat distribution.

Obviously the flame (gas stove) doesn't evenly cover the bottom of
the skillet. If I turn the stove to high, the part of the skillet over
the flame will get very hot (and hurt the seasoning) before the other
parts of the skillet get warm. So, there must be a process to get the
skillet uniformly hot and not burn the seasoning or clarify the
butter.

I'm thinking the process might be : cold skillet placed over med. low
heat until the heat has spread uniformly over the skillet. Add butter
or oil, begin saute or whatever.

Anyone have a process they'd care to share? - Mike

The Frugal Gourmet always said:

hot pan - cold oil - food won't stick

Some people don't agree, but it always works for me.

I don't use cast iron, though. I have a big skillet, maybe 16 inches.

I would advise giving it a try with something cheap, like oil and small
pieces of potatoes, until you get it down or find out it won't work.

--
Dan Abel
[email hidden]
Petaluma, California, USA

In article <[email hidden]>,

P.Aitken said:

The problem is inherent with cast iron - it is a relatively poor
conductor of heat. Other than oven heating, I cannot think of a solution.

It depends what you are cooking and how you cook it.

--
Dan Abel
[email hidden]
Petaluma, California, USA