May
20
2009
Cast Iron Pan, My Steak’s Best Friend
Author: adminjol501In the Philippines, we are not familiar with cast iron pans. I did not even remember seeing cast iron cook wares in our department stores there. What most Filipinos use are aluminum cook wares. This is because aluminum is very cheap and this is only what most people there can afford. There are many stainless steel, glass and Teflon cook wares but they are too expensive for most Filipinos.
Our beef in the Philippines are mostly organic and grass-fed. There are only very few ranches there and the sources of beef are usually families who raise cattle for side income. They just bring their cattle to the meadows to graze every day. They supplement the cattle feeds with hay, rice and corn chaff during long periods of drought. It usually takes several years for the cattle to reach adulthood when raised this way. This could be the reason why our local beef takes too long to cook and explains why we are not fond of pan-fried steaks.
The cattle is tied to a post and left in the meadow to feed on grass
In Canada, our beef is very tender, usually grade AAA. I have always loved beef and having it cooked in a short time makes it even better for me. I have learned to cook roast beef here and discovered an even easier way to cook beef, by using a cast iron pan.
My cast iron pan is a 12-inch pre-seasoned Lodge Logic. Using cast iron is not as intimidating as before because there are already pre-seasoned ones in the market and they are ready to use. Cast iron pans is a good investment because they are inexpensive and can last forever if you know how to care for them. Mine does not have a cover that goes with it but I have a glass cover from my other stainless steel pan that I could use when I need to. It just fits perfectly well.
Exactly how my cast iron pan look like
Everybody loves a good steak. I use my cast iron pan mainly for cooking steaks and pork chops. Just less than ten minutes and you have your steak done. I usually just season my steak with salt and pepper and give it a garlic rub and that’s it. I give each side a good sear and cover it for about three minutes and it’s done. I give it some time to cool down a bit to redistribute the juices back to the meat. The pork chops takes a little longer since you really have to make sure that your pork is well cooked.
My cast iron pan has become one of my best friends in the kitchen. Heat is well distributed so it cooks evenly, plus you only need to cook on medium heat. I always get the meat cooked to my liking. Using the fingers when testing for the meat’s doneness is always reliable when cooking with a cast iron pan. Sometimes when you use other types of skillet or pans for steaks, the meat will appear to be well-browned but when you slice it, it’s not as well-cooked as you want it to be.
