The Cast Iron Skillet

 Home-cooked steaks will never be the same and one pot meals just became that much easier. The cast iron skillet revolutionized both (and all the while became an effective burglar deterrent - the sucker's heavy).  If you looked online, there are hundreds of posts raving about these 5lb pieces of wonder.  For me, since I rarely have access to a grill, they are excellent for cooking, in a matter of minutes, a beyond restaurant-quality steak.  Some of the best steaks you'll taste are grass-fed steaks straight from your cast-iron skillet - hands down.


Six things to remember:

• Avoid soap - Rinse with hot water, wipe down with a paper towel, and dry thoroughly
• A "seasoned" skillet is a good skillet - The easiest way to season a skillet is just to keep using it and avoid washing it out with soap. Once seasoned, food won't stick and you won't have to worry about that Teflon-hating, hippie girl going granola on you
• Avoid tomatos - they're acidic and bad for the skillet
• They're cheap - $20. Nothing fancy. And you'll avoid the immasculating trip to William and Sonoma
• They get hot. And stay hot - They heat evenly and you can thrown them in the oven without worrying about melting something
• They'll get smoky - Sometimes the hardest time I have is trying to avoid setting off the smoke detector, it just takes practice

And the last tip I have...

• I use an old school, steel lid as a make shift lid for the skillet.  Nowadays I can only find the glass lids, so you may have to try a thrift store.  This one has about an inch and half depth to it so its perfect for warding off smoke detectors and locking in that perfect 8-minute ribeye.