Cast Iron Cooking

Elle Simone Scott's cast-iron skillet was the first cook’s tool that she knew to be special in her family. New this week! ATK Boot Camp Free quick YouTube cooking training videos with our TV show cast—Julia, Bridget, Jack, Elle, and the rest—all from their home kitchens. Hang out, have fun, share a laugh, learn something new. [Subscribe now.]( [Log In]( [America's Test Kitchen]( [find recipes]( [start free web trial]( Notes from Our Home Kitchens Dispatches from our cooks while we’re in our home kitchens instead of the Test Kitchen [Cast Iron Cooking. 5-22-2020]( From Elle Simone Scott, Executive Editor For me, cooking in my cast-iron skillet is very ritualistic. It’s probably the first cook’s tool that I knew to be “special” in my family. It was unlike any other pan in that it was stored in a special place, it was cleaned in a special way, and it was even used for cooking specific dishes. In my family, the matriarch passes down the [cast-iron skillet](. My great grandmother had her mother’s, my grandmother had hers, and now both my mother and I have my grandmother’s, and we cherish it. I love my cast iron because it’s so well seasoned. It has years’ worth of seasoning engrained in it. I also enjoy the memories that it invokes when I’m cooking, and while I love making my family recipes quite often, some of my ATK favorites are [Cast Iron Drop Doughnuts]( and [Classic Cast Iron Roast Chicken with Lemon-Thyme Pan Sauce](. Cast-iron skillets are great for retaining heat, so they’re ideal vessels for frying, and since this recipe doesn’t call for deep frying (as others usually do), it’s PERFECT. The doughnut dough is simple and light, and all the ingredients are pantry staples. You can make them for the kids or just for the kid in you; my inner kid loves them. Since the cast iron is great for retaining heat, it’s also ideal for roasting chicken. This recipe is such a time-saver, unlike the many roast chicken recipes that call for brining, trussing, and flipping while cooking. This roast chicken does all the work, with no fuss, right in your cast iron. And the cherry on top is that everything you need to make a delicious pan sauce is already in the pan! I hope this makes you feel inspired to do more than just fry and to stretch beyond savory offerings in your cast-iron skillet. FREE FOR TWO DAYS Cast Iron Drop Doughnuts For quick, tender, cake-style doughnuts, we first do away with rolling and stamping out the dough into rings. Instead, we merely drop generous spoonfuls of batter into hot oil, creating round doughnut “holes.” [view recipe]( FREE FOR TWO DAYS Classic Cast Iron Roast Chicken with Lemon-Thyme Pan Sauce We cook the chicken breast side up in a preheated skillet to give the thighs a head start and allow the skin to crisp up. Starting in a 450-degree oven and then turning the oven off while the chicken finishes cooking slows the evaporation of juices, ensuring moist, tender meat, even without brining or salting. [view recipe]( FREE FOR TWO DAYS Cast Iron Beer-Batter Cheese Bread This recipe produces a lighter loaf enhanced with the yeasty flavor of beer and a rich hit of cheese that comes together quickly and easily. We put a moderate amount of cheese into the batter itself and then sprinkle some extra on top of the loaf to create a beautiful, craggy crust. Making the bread in our cast-iron skillet gives it a great bottom crust and helps it bake through quickly and evenly. [view recipe]( Special Offer [Warehouse Sale. Up to 74% off. Includes new cookbooks, too! SHOP NOW.]( Recommended Equipment for These Recipes winner HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Lodge Classic Cast Iron Skillet, 12" [buy now]( Browning: ★★★   Sticking: ★★★   Durability: ★★★   Ease of Use: ★★★   This model, our favorite traditional cast-iron skillet, arrives with a slick, preseasoned interior that only gets better with use. It’s broad, and it browns food deeply. This is an excellent pan—and you’ll never have to replace it. [Learn More →]( winner RECOMMENDED Knapp Made Small Ring CM Scrubber [buy now]( Cleanup: ★★   Performance: ★★★   Maneuverability: ★★★   Chain mail scrubbers make easy work of cleaning stuck-on food out of cast-iron pans. This scrubber’s larger size allows it to cover a large area more efficiently. [Learn More →]( winner RECOMMENDED Nokona Leather Handle Mitt [buy now]( Fit: ★★   Heat Protection and Resistance: ★★★   Handle covers promise to protect your hands from the hot metal, making these pans easier and safer to use. This leather cover fits our cast-iron skillet handles securely thanks to a thick liner made from aramid, a heat-resistant synthetic fiber. [Learn More →]( From Our Online Cooking School How to Clean Your Cast-Iron Skillet Caring for a cast-iron skillet is like caring for a car: Service it regularly and it will last a long time. [VIEW COURSE]( Stay Connected with the Test Kitchen [2020 Webby People's Voice Award Winner]( Proof is a podcast that solves food mysteries, one story at a time. LISTEN FOR FREE: [APPLE PODCASTS]( [GOOGLE PODCASTS]( [STITCHER]( [SPOTIFY]( [OVERCAST]( [America’s Test Kitchen on The Splendid Table]( Tune in to your local public radio station or listen at [splendidtable.org](. 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