what is a good steak dressing/sauce/flavoring/rub?

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Gibsons

Lifer
Aug 14, 2001
12,530
35
91
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: weadjust
Dale's

http://www.dalesseasoning.com/

Dales' is awesome! But is only avalable in the South, my relatives out west and in the northeast have never heard of Dales. Take some Dales' and mix it with garlic and it makes a great maranade.


Dales has a nice taste, but it's incredibly amazingly salty.

With a nice cut of meat though, it's better to go minimalist - salt and pepper, maybe a touch of garlic or mustard powder at the most.
 

Gibsons

Lifer
Aug 14, 2001
12,530
35
91
Originally posted by: z0mb13
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: z0mb13
just got a cast iron pan and I fell in love with elton brown's recipe :D:D

did black pepper and salt.. want to try something else.

You have to season that cast iron pan before you use it. Coat all sides of the cast iron pan with corn oil and heat up the oven, place the pan in the 500° oven, it will smoke (you want that) for a while , the oil will begin to harden (that is good), keep it in the oven untill it quits smoking. After it is finished take it out and cool it off and repeat the previous step at leats 10 times (more is better) untill there is a black finish on the all sides of pan.

Do not wash the pan with soap. Soap will seep into the pores of the iron and come out the next time the pan gets heated, your food will taste like palmolive. Clean the pan after use by wiping it with a wet cloth and imeadeatly dry by placing it back on to a hot stove. Do not air dry or towl dry cast iron.

Make sure that you cover the handle and all sides of the pan with oil, this is very important for many reasons.

[*]It prevents sticking
[*]It prevents rust
[*]seasoned cast iron pans can last several generations. The more it is used, the more it gets seasoned. Old Pans are always better than new ones.
[*]an unseasoned pan won't last more than 1 year before you end up sending it to the scrap iron pile.

Failure to do this will result in poorly cooked food.

The Irreplaceable Cast-Iron Skillet

thanks for the tip, my cast iron pan says that its already seasoned. Do I still need to do the seasoning?

Damn I just washed it with soap.. I hope it wont ruin it.. wont do it again next time.


You need to (re)season it because you washed it with soap. It's probably not ruined. You'll know soon enough if it is. :p

 

brush on the most expensive extra virgin olive oil you can afford
salt and pepper (freshly cracked) when it hits the grill

use hickory wood instead of charcoal

save the skillet for a rainy day
 

btw, it's alton brown

elton brown is a football player (unless eltron brown has a good steak technique as well ;))
 

z0mb13

Lifer
May 19, 2002
18,106
1
76
help!! I just took the pan out of my dishwasher and some parts of it is rusted! but not the cooking part.

I will reseason it...
 

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
7
81
Originally posted by: troytime
btw, it's alton brown

elton brown is a football player (unless eltron brown has a good steak technique as well ;))

Alton Brown has a very interesting show on the food network, he explains the science behind the cooking to improve your techniques.
 

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
7
81
Originally posted by: z0mb13
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: z0mb13
just got a cast iron pan and I fell in love with elton brown's recipe :D:D

did black pepper and salt.. want to try something else.

You have to season that cast iron pan before you use it. Coat all sides of the cast iron pan with corn oil and heat up the oven, place the pan in the 500° oven, it will smoke (you want that) for a while , the oil will begin to harden (that is good), keep it in the oven untill it quits smoking. After it is finished take it out and cool it off and repeat the previous step at leats 10 times (more is better) untill there is a black finish on the all sides of pan.

Do not wash the pan with soap. Soap will seep into the pores of the iron and come out the next time the pan gets heated, your food will taste like palmolive. Clean the pan after use by wiping it with a wet cloth and imeadeatly dry by placing it back on to a hot stove. Do not air dry or towl dry cast iron.

Make sure that you cover the handle and all sides of the pan with oil, this is very important for many reasons.

[*]It prevents sticking
[*]It prevents rust
[*]seasoned cast iron pans can last several generations. The more it is used, the more it gets seasoned. Old Pans are always better than new ones.
[*]an unseasoned pan won't last more than 1 year before you end up sending it to the scrap iron pile.

Failure to do this will result in poorly cooked food.

The Irreplaceable Cast-Iron Skillet

thanks for the tip, my cast iron pan says that its already seasoned. Do I still need to do the seasoning?

Damn I just washed it with soap.. I hope it wont ruin it.. wont do it again next time.

I hope you didn't ruin it either, my advice is to put water in the pan and bring it to a fierce boil then imeadiately dump the water before it starts to boil off (it leaves the iron dry and the soap will start to burn). Repeat this a dozen times or untill you think all or most of the soap has been removed.

Most pans that come pre-seasoned are not seasoned enough. On of the best ways to season a pan is to fry bacon with it. You can always have an under seasoned pan but there is no such thing as an over seasoned pan. A 60 year old seasoned cast iron pan will have better non-stick properties than a brand new stainless steel teflon coated pan. But a new teflon pan will always beat a new Iron skillet (pan) when in contest for non-stickness.

My favorite Cooking TV Show is on PBS called Americas Test Kitchen
http://www.americastestkitchen.com/default.asp

Shows like this are good reasons why all of you need to write to you politcal representitive in Washington, D.C. and tell them not to cut funding for public television. Do it now because congress is going to act soon on this issue. We need public broadcasting, who else is going to tell both sides of the issues with having to worry about bias views because of special interiests like advertisers.
 

z0mb13

Lifer
May 19, 2002
18,106
1
76
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: z0mb13
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: z0mb13
just got a cast iron pan and I fell in love with elton brown's recipe :D:D

did black pepper and salt.. want to try something else.

You have to season that cast iron pan before you use it. Coat all sides of the cast iron pan with corn oil and heat up the oven, place the pan in the 500° oven, it will smoke (you want that) for a while , the oil will begin to harden (that is good), keep it in the oven untill it quits smoking. After it is finished take it out and cool it off and repeat the previous step at leats 10 times (more is better) untill there is a black finish on the all sides of pan.

Do not wash the pan with soap. Soap will seep into the pores of the iron and come out the next time the pan gets heated, your food will taste like palmolive. Clean the pan after use by wiping it with a wet cloth and imeadeatly dry by placing it back on to a hot stove. Do not air dry or towl dry cast iron.

Make sure that you cover the handle and all sides of the pan with oil, this is very important for many reasons.

[*]It prevents sticking
[*]It prevents rust
[*]seasoned cast iron pans can last several generations. The more it is used, the more it gets seasoned. Old Pans are always better than new ones.
[*]an unseasoned pan won't last more than 1 year before you end up sending it to the scrap iron pile.

Failure to do this will result in poorly cooked food.

The Irreplaceable Cast-Iron Skillet

thanks for the tip, my cast iron pan says that its already seasoned. Do I still need to do the seasoning?

Damn I just washed it with soap.. I hope it wont ruin it.. wont do it again next time.

I hope you didn't ruin it either, my advice is to put water in the pan and bring it to a fierce boil then imeadiately dump the water before it starts to boil off (it leaves the iron dry and the soap will start to burn). Repeat this a dozen time or untill you think all the soap or most of it has been removed.

Most pans that come pre-seasoned are not seasoned enough. On of the best ways to season a pan is to fry bacon with it. You can always have an under seasoned pan but there is no such thing as an over seasoned pan. A 60 year old seasoned cast iron pan will have better non-stick properties than a brand new stainless steel teflon coated pan. But a new teflon pan will always beat a new Iron skillet (pan) when in contest for non-stickness.

so you clean it just by using damp towel?

I am currently seasoning the pan (phase two). after I take it out of the oven then I just put it to air dry?
 

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
7
81
Originally posted by: z0mb13



so you clean it just by using damp towel?

I am currently seasoning the pan (phase two). after I take it out of the oven then I just put it to air dry?

Yes, use a wet towel. And no (kind of) do not air dry it, sitck it back on the stove so it can heat up, air drying causes rust. The heat from the stove will vaporize all the water before it has a chance to settle down and cause damage. It should only take a few minutes to do but it is worth it and this pan will last a lifetime or two.