Frying potatoes

Hey Mike,
I use a cast iron skillet.
But my regular pans work as well.
Be sure to have a hot pan and that you squeeze the moisture out of the potatoes before you put them in.
Also try not to crowd the pan.
High starch / low sugar potatoes work better.
Jon

Hi Mike, and welcome to Chef Talk.

I love making potatoes Anna when I'm in the mood for really crispy potatoes. Have you tried them?

Please stop in at the Welcome Forum and introduce yourself. We'd love to hear about your food faves, etc.

Jon, I am guessing your cast iron skillet is well-seasoned, right?

You are correct Mezz!

Hasn't seen soap in 4 years.

Don't ask about my crepe pans.:D

Jon

And don't skimp on the clarified butter. Remember this is pan-frying, not sauteing.

Answers to a few of your questions -- NONE of which are dumb. :D

Cast Iron skillets can be used for almost every kind of frying: shallow, pan-fry, deep (depending of course on how high the sides are), pan-grill (as in searing and finishing steaks and chops). Also for baking THE BEST cornbread. There are several good brands -- I have Lodge, which is very good. And best of all, cast iron is inexpensive and if handled properly will last for generations. (Just don't drop it!) It's not great for stewing or braising, because the moisture can cause problems -- although a properly seasoned cast iron dutch oven is great for those.

Before you use a cast iron pan, you have to "season" it. That means sealing the pores. This makes it relatively non-stick, and keeps it from rusting (the biggest problem, other than how heavy those things are.) It takes a little while to season one, but once it's done, everytime you use it you tend to improve the coating. To season a cast iron pan, you coat it inside and out with a very thin layer of neutral, edible fat -- Crisco or vegetable (not olive) oil, and bake it for an hour or so. Wipe off any excess, and repeat. (It's a little more complicated than that, but not much.) Then the first few times you use it, after you clean it but before you put it away, you coat it very lightly again. (Lodge pans come with a label that tells you exactly how to do it.) Eventually the pan will go from metal-grey to black; it might look funny, but that's what you want: a sealed, "seasoned" pan.

There are some conflicting opinions about cleaning cast iron, so I won't go into detail. The main point is: don't scrub off that seasoning!!

Now my interest is piqued. Just what are the different opinions on how a cast iron skillet should be cleaned? I wouldn't mind a lengthy discussion on this "issue" ;)

Here are a couple of threads that discussed it:

Sci fireader's thread

Shimmer's thread

And if you do a search on "cast iron" you'll find more!

At one time, in the not too far pass, cast iron had fallen out of vogue. Many companies discontinued making cast iron, and at one point, I believe, Lodge was the only one left making cast iron cookware. I think that there might be a few others in business again, as cast iron has proven to be a staple in many kitchens. As was stated before, one of the great things about cast iron is that it is very cheap. I just bought a 4 qt dutch oven with legs and a lid for $25. I can't imagine what "Allclad" would charge for that. It has become my dutch oven for camping (the legs prevent the pot from smothering the coals placed underneath it), but I am seriously considering buying one without legs to use in my home kitchen. This along with the 2 cast iron frying pans I have.

Re: Frying potatoes

You can use stainless - if you get it hot enough prior to starting. "Hot pan/cold oil, foods won't stick." What some might consider a cheesy source - the old Frugal Gourmet's words still ring true.