Hmm. Letting myself make mistakes...

Post #328,901 by static 6/30/10 9:01:52 AM Reply	Hmm. Letting myself make mistakes... We all know that learning means making mistakes, right? Well, although I've gotten a big leg up in cooking thanks to our very own Drook, I had a really different lesson this evening. Basically, it was that lamb cuts don't cook properly when the pan isn't hot enough. :-/ At least I think that's what I did wrong. (I did also use dripping rather than butter, but it couldn't have made that much difference.) That reminded me that in Starting From Scratch, the clearest passage that basically said "when cooking, you will sometimes fail" was about learning how to make a brown sauce. And that was just a sentence or two. And that's the only time I've seen a book about cooking seriously talk about failure. :-/ Drew, I wonder if a blog post about cooking failures might be about due? Wade. Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers? A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.
Post #328,902 by boxley 6/30/10 9:07:53 AM Reply	lamb cooks fine when its not hot just need to cook it a lot longer :-). There is two kinds of lamb, stew cooked slow and fire grilled. Nowt in between
Post #328,931 by crazy 6/30/10 5:18:15 PM Reply	And I grill the sliced shoulder Kinda chewy, but worth it.
Post #328,933 by static 6/30/10 8:04:24 PM Reply	Yah, I didn't do the 'lot longer' bit either. :-) Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers? A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.
Post #328,960 by drook 7/1/10 1:34:39 PM Reply	Not a bad idea -- Drew
Post #328,973 by beepster 7/1/10 4:27:01 PM Reply	On drippings v butter drippings would be better as butter would burn at temp...which it sounds like you WOULD have discovered except for you didn't have the pan hot enough ;-) On meat, the investing in cast iron or some other pan that can go from stove top to oven is a wonderful thing..as you will get that pan to searing temps...get one side done, flip and move to oven to complete cooking...works on any good cut of meat. I will choose a path that's clear. I will choose freewill.
Post #328,985 by static 7/1/10 9:54:05 PM Reply	I've pan-fried in butter several times before. Seems to work. I will try the dripping again, of course. Looking for a skillet last weekend, I did happen to find some new cast-iron cookware in the same store. Well, enamelled cast-iron. Made in France - everything else was made outside Europe. Couldn't see a frying pan, as such, the closest was a 7" griddle. Thing was AU$350 and heavy as all get out. I think I need to haunt the second-hand stores if I want a chance at cast-iron. Wade. Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers? A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.
Post #328,986 by drook 7/1/10 10:02:43 PM Reply	Second-hand is better IMO The Lodge pre-seasoned is, to put it gently, junk. My old pans have a smooth, machined finish for the cooking surface, while the outer surfaces have the rough sand-cast finish. I don't care how well seasoned it is -- and Lodge's seems pretty perfunctory -- the cast surface is just not as smooth. Enameled cast iron, on the other hand (you were probably looking at Le Creuset) isn't non-stick at all, and doesn't claim to be. But it's durable and cleans up well. At second-hand stores, there's usually someone who knows what cast iron is worth. And it only takes one person to teach all the others and set the prices accordingly. Your best deals are likely to come from garage sales and estate sales, where someone who doesn't cook is unloading the dear-departed's stuff. -- Drew
Post #328,989 by Andrew Grygus 7/2/10 2:24:58 AM Reply	Lodge cast iron. I have a fair number of cast iron pieces, two of which are Lodge and several are older pans with a machined inner surface. Of course I consider the Lodge 90G round griddle essential for a number of ethnic cuisines, particularly Indian, Thai and Mexican, but it is almost always used dry and rarely with just a wiped on coating of oil. My most used skillet is the Lodge CS2 10 inch chef's pan (sloped sides rounded into the bottom rather than steep with a sharp corner). This seems to have been replaced with a CS3 10 inch chef's pan which looks identical. I find that with some use the bottom becomes quite smooth due to the seasoning crust that develops. Of course my pans get smoother over time because when the seasoning seems to be getting a little thick I sandpaper them with a 200 grit abrasive cloth until I see a good scattering of bare metal. I learned long ago that, particularly with the machined finish pans, if the crust gets a bit thick it starts flaking off into the food, which is not a good idea.
Post #328,990 by static 7/2/10 6:01:20 AM Reply	Saw this on Ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com....ame=STRK:MEWAX:IT I know I shouldn't have, but I was curious. This looks new. And the price looks to good to be true. :-/ What do you guys think? Wade. Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers? A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.
Post #328,991 by Another Scott 7/2/10 6:56:13 AM Reply	It's a little small, I think. 7.5" flat bottom inside, if I'm converting correctly this early in the morning. I've got at least 2 cast iron skillets around here, but haven't bought one recently. They're all at least 30 years old and have machined inside surfaces. The one that was used most was a #10 (10.5" outside diameter, about 8.5 inch flat bottom). It's good for cooking 3-4 chicken breasts, lots of fried eggs, etc. The one you found might be good for omelets and so forth as the sides seem to be sloped more. I have also located a #5 which would be good for small items (e.g. eggs for one). Cast iron pans should be inexpensive. http://shop.ebay.com...=p3286.m270.l1313 Especially being so close to China, you shouldn't have any trouble finding a decent one for little money. :-) There's no advantage I can think of in buying new over a decently cared for used one - they all look the same after they've been used a few times. Good luck! Cheers, Scott.
Post #329,000 by folkert 7/2/10 9:27:13 AM Reply	26cm == 10" 2.54cm per inch
Post #329,002 by Another Scott 7/2/10 9:33:48 AM Reply	Yeahbut... It's the bottom that matters in most cases. "PAN BASE (internal) : 19cm diameter" = 7.5" It's not quite a (US) standard #10. May be a fine pan, I dunno. :-) Cheers, Scott.
Post #328,994 by boxley 7/2/10 8:16:37 AM Reply	used cast iron is best, do they have flea markets in Oz? perhaps they might call the bazaars. Haunt those for cheap used cast iron
Post #329,020 by static 7/2/10 6:49:18 PM Reply	They're a bit rare in my suburban belt. I'm sure I could find something, though. Wade. Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers? A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.
Post #329,036 by jake123 7/3/10 12:27:31 AM Reply	350 bucks? Holy. I picked up a good cast iron frying pan in a store in Montreal for 25 bucks a year or so ago. Cast iron is the shizzit. I have a dutch oven cast iron pot (an old Findlay 8) I inherited from my grandmother via my mom. It is at least ninety years old and as good as the day it was made. My mom has told me several times that she regrets giving it me.
Post #329,039 by folkert 7/3/10 12:39:51 AM Reply	HAHA! Her loss!
Post #329,040 by jake123 7/3/10 12:51:25 AM Reply	Well, she did get another one but it's sure not her grandmother's 90 year old pot, either.
Post #329,041 by Andrew Grygus 7/3/10 2:15:54 AM Reply	Enameled iron is total crap for frying, at any price . . . . . and Le Crueset is a perfect example of how the Frogs rape wannabe gourmets (for every predator there is a rightful prey). Yes, the quality is excellent - but the price is more than twice what is reasonable. Of course there's also cheap enameled iron from China (they also have their rightful prey) that'll be showing bare iron in about two weeks, and what's dissolved in your food is probably heavy with that most favored of Chinese ingredients - lead. Enameled Iron is no good for a skillet. It doesn't hold seasoning well, and it's very sensitive to thermal shock, becoming rough and unusable if mistreated - and a skillet will be mistreated. For a skillet you want plain cast iron. You can abuse it horribly - even red hot to cold running water - and it doesn't give a damn. Sandpaper out the burned on stuff, wipe on some oil and its ready to go. It quickly builds up a crust that beats any "non-stick" coating ever made, and it doesn't give a damn if you use metal tools - it's completely self healing. Non-stick is, of course, despised by competent chefs (which set does not include Rachael Ray (also despised by competent chefs)) - except some (who do their own clean-up) like to have a non-stick skillet for scrambled eggs - only. Enameled Iron is great for soup pots, dutch ovens and braising pots (I prefer the oval shape).
Post #329,056 by static 7/4/10 12:16:49 AM Reply	Thanks. That's good to know. Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers? A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.

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