(oven) stoveTopIron
August 19, 2012 5:22 PM Subscribe
ISO awesome cast iron skillet recipes (wait for it...) which specifically start on the stove top, finish in the oven. I've been searching Google and I've found a couple I like, including pan pizza (who knew? not me...)
I've been meaning to get into the whole cast iron thing, and when my grandmother passed away my Aunt gave me Granny's OLD cast iron cookware. I couldn't be happier. After a little TLC (my Aunt, good hearted as she is, after having grown up under the watchful eye of my grandmother, treated them rather rough trying to 'clean them up' for me) they're perfect. Two skillets, one round one square and so far they're the best thing since sliced bread. But what I *really* want are awesome dishes that require stove top time and oven time. Something that would be nigh impossible (or require too much effort to be worth it) with teflon, copper, etc.
I've been meaning to get into the whole cast iron thing, and when my grandmother passed away my Aunt gave me Granny's OLD cast iron cookware. I couldn't be happier. After a little TLC (my Aunt, good hearted as she is, after having grown up under the watchful eye of my grandmother, treated them rather rough trying to 'clean them up' for me) they're perfect. Two skillets, one round one square and so far they're the best thing since sliced bread. But what I *really* want are awesome dishes that require stove top time and oven time. Something that would be nigh impossible (or require too much effort to be worth it) with teflon, copper, etc.
Any kind of pan-roasted meat. Recipes that create a pan sauce while the meat is resting, if you're okay with reversing the order (oven, then stove-top - or stove-top, oven, back to stove-top). One of my quickest recipes is with a chunk of pork tenderloin, seared on all sides in cast iron, then add smashed garlic cloves, a sprig of thyme or rosemary, some mushrooms, and some cherry tomatoes, and throw it all in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the pork is done and the tomatoes are bursting.
posted by WasabiFlux at 5:30 PM on August 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by WasabiFlux at 5:30 PM on August 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
The classic is cornbread. Also frittata
posted by Jode at 5:32 PM on August 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Jode at 5:32 PM on August 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I don't cook steaks inside very often, but when I do, the method I use is to preheat a cast iron skillet in the oven, bring the pan to the stovetop on high heat to sear the steak, then return to the oven to finish. Alton Brown's directions for this method. I have used this method on a variety of beef steaks and on the more tender cuts of venison, and it has never failed.
posted by gimli at 5:35 PM on August 19, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by gimli at 5:35 PM on August 19, 2012 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Dutch baby! Here's my simplified version:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
- whisk 3 eggs in a large bowl
- add 1/4 cup sugar
- add 3/4 cup milk
- add 3/4 cup flour
- whisk everything together well (don't worry about the lumps)
- melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a cast iron skillet (low/medium heat)
- pour mixture into the pan and leave alone on the stovetop for 30 seconds or so
- put in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes.
- The edges will puff up and will get golden brown. When you remove it from the oven it will deflate but will still be absolutely delicious.
It's easy to create variations (apples / lemon juice & powdered sugar / bananas & rum - you add the fruit when melting the butter except for the lemon juice version which you add at the end).
posted by belau at 5:52 PM on August 19, 2012 [2 favorites]
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
- whisk 3 eggs in a large bowl
- add 1/4 cup sugar
- add 3/4 cup milk
- add 3/4 cup flour
- whisk everything together well (don't worry about the lumps)
- melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a cast iron skillet (low/medium heat)
- pour mixture into the pan and leave alone on the stovetop for 30 seconds or so
- put in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes.
- The edges will puff up and will get golden brown. When you remove it from the oven it will deflate but will still be absolutely delicious.
It's easy to create variations (apples / lemon juice & powdered sugar / bananas & rum - you add the fruit when melting the butter except for the lemon juice version which you add at the end).
posted by belau at 5:52 PM on August 19, 2012 [2 favorites]
We must be on the same wavelength, because it was literally this morning that I saw this technique in a recipe for the first time.
German Apple Pancake
posted by ellenaim at 5:53 PM on August 19, 2012
German Apple Pancake
posted by ellenaim at 5:53 PM on August 19, 2012
Beef Carbonnade is excellent and only seems to come out right when cooked in a cast iron dutch oven.
posted by belau at 5:59 PM on August 19, 2012
posted by belau at 5:59 PM on August 19, 2012
Best answer: I do Jacques Pepin's split roasted chicken in my cast iron pan and it's fabulous (and quick). If you're feeling lazy don't do the crust in the recipe, just salt and pepper and lemon on the chicken skin.
Also rack of lamb -- sear it off in the cast iron on the stove top, brush with flavor of your choice (I like a mix of dijon mustard and rosemary and garlic and oil and lemon), then finish briefly in the stove.
posted by Cocodrillo at 6:01 PM on August 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Also rack of lamb -- sear it off in the cast iron on the stove top, brush with flavor of your choice (I like a mix of dijon mustard and rosemary and garlic and oil and lemon), then finish briefly in the stove.
posted by Cocodrillo at 6:01 PM on August 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: This recipe for chili topped with cornbread is why I bought a cast iron pan many years ago.
posted by donajo at 6:03 PM on August 19, 2012
posted by donajo at 6:03 PM on August 19, 2012
Stovetop Lasagna is great for this.
Anything that's a stew can be started (with browning, or a roux) in a tall-sided cast-iron pan or dutch oven, and finished in the oven where it can cook, covered or uncovered, for the required eternity. Baked beans comes to mind; also a brick-colored roux (which is advanced roux-fu as far as I'm concerned, but slow-baking in an oven is brilliant technique). Gumbo/jambalaya can be done purely on the stove-top, but think of your 200F oven as being a place where all things come to a self-minding simmer for as long as you need them to.
posted by Sunburnt at 6:20 PM on August 19, 2012
Anything that's a stew can be started (with browning, or a roux) in a tall-sided cast-iron pan or dutch oven, and finished in the oven where it can cook, covered or uncovered, for the required eternity. Baked beans comes to mind; also a brick-colored roux (which is advanced roux-fu as far as I'm concerned, but slow-baking in an oven is brilliant technique). Gumbo/jambalaya can be done purely on the stove-top, but think of your 200F oven as being a place where all things come to a self-minding simmer for as long as you need them to.
posted by Sunburnt at 6:20 PM on August 19, 2012
For what it's worth, a friend of mine wrote an entire cookbook on cast iron cooking, perhaps you'd find some ideas there? Love my cast iron, most of which was handed down from my great-grandmother, and like her, I use it for everything, every day.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 6:22 PM on August 19, 2012
posted by bitter-girl.com at 6:22 PM on August 19, 2012
Nthing using the pan to sear/brown and then cook meat. I've done this with both chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on) and steak with delicious results:
- Get the pan really hot in the oven while it's pre-heating (350 for steak, 450 for chicken).
- While that's happening, dry your meat and season with salt, pepper and whatever else you like (old bay is great for chicken).
- Remove the pan from the oven (carefully!) and put it on a hot burner. Add a bit of olive oil (with chicken I actually sometimes just rub the oil on the skin side) and then place the meat on the pan (if it's chicken, skin side down).
- For steak, sear it for 1-2 minutes, then flip, top it with a small pat of butter and place back in the oven. For chicken, leave it on the pan for 3-4 minutes (until it's brown) before you put it in the oven.
- Cook in the oven about 5-7 minutes for steak, 15-20 for chicken. With chicken you might want to use a meat thermometer to see if it's done.
- Remove meat to a cutting board/plate to rest and return the pan to the burner to create a pan sauce. You can use wine, broth, vinegar, whatever to deglaze the pan. I like to add more of whatever spices I used on the meat and then reduce the sauce while the meat is resting. Yum.
If you're making chicken, you can also add cut-up veggies to the pan before you brown it - they roast in the pan with the chicken. This doesn't work as well with steak since the cooking time is so much less. I've seen some people say they saute the veggies in the pan after the meat has been removed, but I haven't had success with that - I think it'll only work well with really fatty meats.
posted by lunasol at 6:30 PM on August 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
- Get the pan really hot in the oven while it's pre-heating (350 for steak, 450 for chicken).
- While that's happening, dry your meat and season with salt, pepper and whatever else you like (old bay is great for chicken).
- Remove the pan from the oven (carefully!) and put it on a hot burner. Add a bit of olive oil (with chicken I actually sometimes just rub the oil on the skin side) and then place the meat on the pan (if it's chicken, skin side down).
- For steak, sear it for 1-2 minutes, then flip, top it with a small pat of butter and place back in the oven. For chicken, leave it on the pan for 3-4 minutes (until it's brown) before you put it in the oven.
- Cook in the oven about 5-7 minutes for steak, 15-20 for chicken. With chicken you might want to use a meat thermometer to see if it's done.
- Remove meat to a cutting board/plate to rest and return the pan to the burner to create a pan sauce. You can use wine, broth, vinegar, whatever to deglaze the pan. I like to add more of whatever spices I used on the meat and then reduce the sauce while the meat is resting. Yum.
If you're making chicken, you can also add cut-up veggies to the pan before you brown it - they roast in the pan with the chicken. This doesn't work as well with steak since the cooking time is so much less. I've seen some people say they saute the veggies in the pan after the meat has been removed, but I haven't had success with that - I think it'll only work well with really fatty meats.
posted by lunasol at 6:30 PM on August 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I appreciate all of the answers so far, and I'm so excited to try some of these out! Just to make sure we're all on the same page though, I've only got 2 skillets. While I'm interested in expanding my inventory, that's what I'm working with right now. I realize that may limit my stovetop to oven opportunities.
posted by one4themoment at 6:32 PM on August 19, 2012
posted by one4themoment at 6:32 PM on August 19, 2012
The only way to make omelets. Whip the eggs with water, not milk and cook on the stove then stick them under the broiler to cook the top. They will be amazingly light and fluffy and dry. Cook any filling separately, drain the moisture and add to the omelets right as they go under the broiler.
posted by fshgrl at 6:55 PM on August 19, 2012
posted by fshgrl at 6:55 PM on August 19, 2012
I also frequently make stews and sauces in the skillet by browning the meat or vegetables then add liquid and cooking in the oven. My skillet is about 3" deep so I stick it on a cookie tray to catch any spillage.
posted by fshgrl at 6:58 PM on August 19, 2012
posted by fshgrl at 6:58 PM on August 19, 2012
Best answer: This upside-down potato and onion tart is pretty good. It stuck a bit for me, though.
posted by soelo at 7:34 PM on August 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by soelo at 7:34 PM on August 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Frittata! Which, is obviously similar to fshgrl's omelet suggestion.
posted by shrabster at 7:45 PM on August 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by shrabster at 7:45 PM on August 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I do frittata this way (here's a recipe similar to the one I use, though the picture looks weird to me).
Also the Alton Brown technique for meat that gimli linked above. Mmmmm.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:02 PM on August 19, 2012 [2 favorites]
Also the Alton Brown technique for meat that gimli linked above. Mmmmm.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:02 PM on August 19, 2012 [2 favorites]
Similar to a frittata is tortilla española. One recipe here.
posted by nobodyyouknow at 8:19 PM on August 19, 2012
posted by nobodyyouknow at 8:19 PM on August 19, 2012
I came in to agitate for upside down cake. Apricot upside down cake, specifically.
EasyPeasy directions:
One stick butter, one cup brown sugar, melt together.
Arrange apricot halves all over the sugar mixture, canned or fresh.
Scatter some walnuts all around.
Mix up a box of yellow cake mix, pour it over everything and bake it up.
This is Mr. SLC's favorite birthday cake.
Go to town, Georgia Brown!
posted by SLC Mom at 8:47 PM on August 19, 2012
EasyPeasy directions:
One stick butter, one cup brown sugar, melt together.
Arrange apricot halves all over the sugar mixture, canned or fresh.
Scatter some walnuts all around.
Mix up a box of yellow cake mix, pour it over everything and bake it up.
This is Mr. SLC's favorite birthday cake.
Go to town, Georgia Brown!
posted by SLC Mom at 8:47 PM on August 19, 2012
nthing the searing of meat in cast iron then finishing in a hot oven.
If you're new to cast iron cooking, be very wary of iron skillets on the stovetop - in the midst of cooking commotion it's easy to grab the handle without thinking. You'll probably do it once or twice before you get the message.
And it's not really a recipe but cast iron makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches, pancakes and french toast ever.
posted by islander at 8:59 PM on August 19, 2012
If you're new to cast iron cooking, be very wary of iron skillets on the stovetop - in the midst of cooking commotion it's easy to grab the handle without thinking. You'll probably do it once or twice before you get the message.
And it's not really a recipe but cast iron makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches, pancakes and french toast ever.
posted by islander at 8:59 PM on August 19, 2012
Don't tell Julia Child, but iron skillet on stove, then in the oven is how I cook her recipe for clafouti.
posted by zippy at 12:07 AM on August 20, 2012
posted by zippy at 12:07 AM on August 20, 2012
Best answer: Toad in the hole works great in a cast-iron pan, as well.
posted by LN at 6:32 AM on August 20, 2012
posted by LN at 6:32 AM on August 20, 2012
Vietnamese Roasted Chicken (Ga Ro Ti). And dont forget the sticky rice, seasoned with the deglazed pan.
posted by shothotbot at 7:36 AM on August 20, 2012
posted by shothotbot at 7:36 AM on August 20, 2012
Response by poster: I'm so hungry right now. I plan on trying the ones I marked best answer very soon, but I will be trying all of these eventually! Thanks for all of the technique advice regarding meat prep, I enjoy roasted meat and it should be much easier to do it all in one skillet.
It never occurred to me to make a desert, as I'm not a big sweets person. If it's really that simple to make an upside down cake though... My sweets loving friends are about to love my new cookware :)
posted by one4themoment at 11:49 AM on August 20, 2012
It never occurred to me to make a desert, as I'm not a big sweets person. If it's really that simple to make an upside down cake though... My sweets loving friends are about to love my new cookware :)
posted by one4themoment at 11:49 AM on August 20, 2012
Roasted chickpeas - yum.
Old-fashioned corn bread - also yum.
posted by mskyle at 10:30 AM on August 21, 2012
Old-fashioned corn bread - also yum.
posted by mskyle at 10:30 AM on August 21, 2012
You can make an oven-baked variation on shakshuka that's pretty extraordinary. I don't have a proper recipe, but you basically make delicious spicy tomato sauce (including lots of roasted peppers is good, but really do it however you like it) on the stovetop, then break the eggs into the sauce, transfer to the oven, and bake 'til they're done. The texture they take on is amazing. Serve with plenty of crusty bread to mop up the sauce, and top with a small amount of cheese if you like.
(Note: I make this in enameled cast iron, and the acid in the tomato might be hard on the seasoning on yours. I'd wait to make it 'til the seasoning is pretty much rock solid.)
posted by dizziest at 9:27 AM on August 25, 2012
(Note: I make this in enameled cast iron, and the acid in the tomato might be hard on the seasoning on yours. I'd wait to make it 'til the seasoning is pretty much rock solid.)
posted by dizziest at 9:27 AM on August 25, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
Upside-down Cake
posted by Ideefixe at 5:29 PM on August 19, 2012