Cast Iron Cooking, by Nate Bressler
Growin’ up in tha woods and bayous of tha deep south you see seventy percent of your food cooked in “black pots.” It wasn’t ‘til my archaeology days that I got to see how the Cajuns of Louisiana used their cast iron. When you would ask a guy like Flash or LaHaye how long ‘til the sauce is ready (almost everything is called a sauce) they’d say “bout a six pack”! These Cajuns took great pride in their cookware and here’s a few things they taught me…
How to season:
Season cast iron with two packs of bacon (cheap and fatty) and an outdoor fire. After the fire has died down a bit, place your new cast iron on the fire for 3 or 4 minutes or you see smoke. Remove the cast iron and place a half pack of bacon in the pot or skillet, using tongs move the bacon (which will start to burn) all over the your cookware letting it cool for a minute or two before repeating the process three more times. Iron is not clean when you first use it so opening the pores up with heat releases impurities which are replaced with grease before they close back up. Repeating the process reinforces this notion.
How to clean:
Never use soap! If you have a messy pot wash quickly with hot water and the soft side of a sponge… but never soap. After washing heat up your cast iron on the stove and dry with a paper towel or dedicated rag coated with oil. Keep your cast iron cookware well-oiled when not in use or it will dry and rust out. Salt is a great way to keep it clean. When your eggs are fried you can always clean and polish your pans with iodized table salt. Shake it in and move it around with a rag this will pick up any burrs that start to accumulate.
Nate’s cast iron quiver: 6”, 8”, 10”, 12” skillet, 16” griddle, 15” wok (find in china towns nation wide) 10” pot for fryin’, and last but not least a 12” dutch oven (perfect ‘cause the lid fits on the 12’ skillet). Enjoy and Laissez les bon temps roulez!!
Nate Bressler is an LA-based photographer, beekeeper, surfer, and frequent contributor to Best Made. See more of his work.
