| I recently purchased a cast iron stove top griddle. It's | | | | perfection. |
| flat on one side and has ridges on the flip side. The | | | | You might prefer pre-seasoned cast iron since the |
| griddle I purchased was already seasoned-meaning it | | | | work is already done for you. It's more expensive than |
| was greased and baked in the oven until the surface | | | | unseasoned cookware for that reason. If you get an |
| becomes stick resistant. I love this griddle and use it as | | | | unseasoned piece of cookware, it's not that difficult to |
| often as I can. | | | | season it yourself; it just takes a little time. Here's how |
| Cast iron cookware is ideal for a number of reasons: | | | | I've done it: |
| 1) it's the only cookware that spreads heat evenly | | | | - Set your oven's temperature to 300°. |
| across the cooking surface giving you excellent | | | | - Coat your cookware in either bacon grease or lard. |
| control; 2) it's not expensive over time because it will | | | | You don't want to use vegetable oil because it leaves |
| last you a lifetime; 3) you can cook fat-free, never | | | | a film on the cookware that isn't non-stick. |
| needing to add oil to the pan to cook; 4) you can take | | | | - Place cookware in the oven and after 20 minutes, |
| cast iron from oven to stove top and vice versa; and | | | | wipe out the excess grease with a clean, dry cloth. |
| 5) clean up of cast iron is as easy as rinse in hot | | | | - Place the pan back in the oven for 2 hours. It helps to |
| water, scrub and dry immediately. | | | | repeat the process one more time. The more your |
| Few culinary tools get better with age. Cast iron | | | | cast iron cookware is allowed to heat up with fatty |
| cookware does because each time you use it, the | | | | grease, the more it gets seasoned and works like a |
| heat seasons the pan even more. My southern | | | | dream for foods that don't require oil for cooking. |
| grandmother used her cast iron skillet for just about | | | | You can find pre-seasoned and unseasoned cast iron |
| everything she made, and man was her food a joy to | | | | cookware on the web, in cookware stores, etc. The |
| eat. She made killer cornbread that was sweet and | | | | best places to search are flea markets and yard |
| had whole kernels in it. I was never able to get the | | | | sales. You can get a great bargain. Don't be afraid if |
| recipe before she died, unfortunately. I've tried to | | | | you find a pan that's got a little rust. That just means |
| duplicate it, but there's something not quite on there in | | | | the former owner let it sit in water and ruined the |
| my version. | | | | seasoning. You can purchase that cookware for a |
| If you love cooking, do yourself a favor and get-at the | | | | pennies on the dollar, take it home, heat it for a few |
| very least-a cast iron frying pan and griddle. The frying | | | | minutes on the stove top then put it in hot water and |
| pan is ideal for baking corn bread, cooking salmon, | | | | scrub away the rust with a Brillo pad. Once the rust is |
| creating one-pot meals, cooking meats that need to | | | | removed, follow the directions to season cast iron. |
| brown then go into the oven to finish cooking, and yes!, | | | | Season it 2-3 times to get a good, solid coating on the |
| even baking deep dish apple pie. The griddle makes | | | | pan and you're ready to begin enjoying the benefits of |
| evenly toasted sandwiches and flatbreads, huge fluffy | | | | cast iron cooking. |
| pancakes, and grills ham steaks and vegetables to | | | | |