What to cook with cast iron skillet in oven?

[mrsjagirard]

Our fairly new stovetop has a glass/enamel top, and I've heard it may not be good to use a cast iron on the glass top. I love my cast iron skillet though (it's 12 inch) but I can't seem to find many recipes to use it in the oven, aside from cornbread. Does anyone have any good ideas or recipes for what I can cook with my cast iron skillet in the oven and not the stove top? Thank you!

[pdxgastro]

Tarte tartine with apples or pears.

[bogie]

In Real Cajun, Donald Link does a Cajun version of the classic Italian sausage and peppers in a cast iron skillet. In a nutshell, andouille sausage on a bed of mixed peppers (throw in a few hot ones) and onions with garlic, creole mustard and white wine (or beer would work, I'm sure). I've made this at home several times to rave reviews!

[Adrienne]

I made a whole collection of cast iron recipes, some of which are for the oven -- and I look forward to trying out a lot of the recipes on this thread!

My cast iron skillet blog http://kelliskillet.wordpress.com/
Just baked items http://kelliskillet.wordpress.com/cat...

[sfumato]

I often use mine in the oven for roasting- last night it was asparagus to go with homemade pizza.

[limonay]

I use my cast iron skillet for roasting spatchcocked chicken. But you can also use it for frittatas - starting it on the stove-top and finishing it up in the oven. My go-to frittata is eggs, sweet italian sausage, potatoes, chives, cheese.

[cstout]

I have used my cast iron skillets for many years on the glass top, just don't bang your skillet around. Go ahead & use it for everything, bacon, eggs, pancakes, veggies, whatever. In fact, I cook 99per cent of the time, with my skillet on the cooktop. Chili is great, do it all on there. The more you use the skillet, the better it becomes. After use, just wash out quickly with a mild dish suds & scrubber. Dry with paper towels, set back on stove, turn the heat to pretty high & when skillet is good & hot, take a paper towel & squirt a small amount of oil in pan & rub around. Keep the heat on & let pan absorb all it can of the oil. When cool, wipe out any excess & he is ready to go for the next meal. You can stack your skillets if you get more than one by placing a flat paper towel in the pan & then placing the other on top.

[Blancmange]

David Eyre's Pancake. Nothing more fun to watch puff up in the oven.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/mag...

[Dorothy Dean]

easy, delicious farinata (aka socca):

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage...

i like it with zaatar, and a carrot-parsley-pomegranate molasses salad on the side

[THewat]

Just what I was in the mood for! Looking forward to trying it. :-)

[Dorothy Dean]

Cool--bon appetit!

[THewat]

Dorothy, what's the consistency of your socca? I've never had it before & wondered if I undercooked it.

[jman1]

There should be a bit of crunch; maybe like a pizza crust, but of course it doesn't hold together as well. Some good images here:

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2008/06/...

I'd suggest that you should not be able to fold it without it breaking.

[THewat]

Mine wasn't great or that crispy. I did have some excellent freshly made socca recently, though, so now I have a better idea of what the goal is.

[senorverde]

This isn't exactly what you were asking for, but your title reminded me of my father, who used to make a dry roux for his cajun-style gumbo by putting flour in the cast iron skillet and putting it in the oven until it browned. It's a simple way to make a nice darkening and thickening roux for gumbo, and it creates less of an oily taste than traditional roux recipes.

[cstout]

senorverde..do you know at what temp he put the flour in the skillet at? Sounds like an easy way to make a roux...have not been too good at doing it the traditional way. Thanks.

[danionavenue]

Steaks for sure. You brown both sides of steak on med/high heat then bake the steaks at 400 degrees in your cast iron pan for 10 minutes

[Savour]

I always use my cast iron skillet to roast a small chicken.

[cioccolata]

Chocolate chip skillet cookie (with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge of course). I have a cast iron skillet I dedicate solely for this purpose (yes I'm a cookieoholic (if that isn't a word it is now!)).

[lilmomma]

Recipe please cioccolata. I love cc cookies!

[mrsjagirard]

I'm not sure this is the same recipe, but I found this 'skillet' chocolate chip recipe from Martha Stewart. i CANNOT WAIT to try it out! My skillet is 12" and not 10", so I'll have to adjust some, but really, i cannot wait to try this out this weekend: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/hu...

[cioccolata]

I use the skillet baked chocolate chip recipe from Martha Stewart. Here's the directions (I usually divide the recipe in half and bake whatever doesn't fit into the skillet as regular chocolate chip cookies) Enjoy!:
Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (about 9 ounces) mixed milk- and semisweet chocolate chips
2 pints vanilla ice cream
Caramel Sauce
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; mix until they are fully incorporated. Add flour mixture, and beat until just combined.
Stir in chocolate chips.

Transfer dough to a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, and press to flatten, covering bottom of pan. Bake until edges are brown and top is golden, 40 to 45 minutes. Don't overbake; it will continue to cook a few minutes out of the oven. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, 15 to 20 minutes. Cut into 8 wedges. Serve warm; top each wedge with a scoop of ice cream

[mrsjagirard]

Well I'm happy to say that I made this cookie tonight in a 12" skillet (so I multiplied the recipe by 50%) and it was-- correction, IS-- amazing. Also, now that I'm no longer scared to cook on my glass/enamel cooktop with the cast iron, I've been cooking in it almost every day. All kinds of sausage, meat, potatoes, etc. The cookie does NOT taste like any of those. It also slide right out of my cast iron-- made me proud that it was finally well-seasoned! This cookie is DELICIOUS.

[cioccolata]

Addicting isn't it? Even though the summer heat is here I still find myself making it, although I tend to let it cool for a little longer (hot cookie is a lot more appealing in the fall and winter). I actually have a skillet I use solely for this purpose (mainly because it is the perfect size to make a cookie that serves 1-3 people).

[loraxc]

I actually made this for myself for my birthday "cake" this year. I have come to the conclusion that I am too old to eat a dessert I don't really like that much (cake) on ,my birthday, tradition be damned.

Now my 7-year-old wants a pecan pie for her birthday "cake"--sure!

[lilmomma]

Cioccolata, For the cc cookie, do you think I could sub some oats for the flour?

[cioccolata]

Hey! Sorry it took me so long to respond (yeah studying for the GRE). I've never tried subbing oats for the flour in this recipe, but since I've tried it in regular chocolate chip cookie recipes with no problems I think it would work fine. I wouldn't sub in more than half though since it will change the texture of the cookie. I have seen oat flour sold in the stores which I think would work better to maintain the original texture than using regular old fashioned oats while still providing the same health benefits. Unless of course you prefer the texture that whole oats gives... Let me know how it works out for you!

[Rich102]

You might want to try subbing some quick oats or Quaker/Mothers Oat Bran Cereal. I've used the latter in some recipes; it has quite a bit of floury content, so should work pretty well, perhaps as a complete substitution.

[Rich102]

I've used a cast iron skillet upside-down in a very hot oven with the broiler on to bake Indian naan. Next best thing to a tandoor.

Preheat the oven and pan to the highest heat, then turn on the broiler (assuming you have the sort of oven with the broiler element/burner in the main oven chamber) and let it heat some more. Form an oval of naan dough, moisten one side, pull out the rack with the pan on it, and slap the dough, moist side down, onto the pan bottom. Push the rack back in, wait 45 seconds or so, pull it out again momentarily to brush the naan with a little butter, then give it another 30 seconds or so under the broiler. (Give the process your complete attention-- at the high temperatures involved the bread can burn in a few seconds.) When the bread is done, separate it from the pan with a spatula (the long skinny ones work well for this), and pull the bread out with tongs or a fork. Push the pan back under the broiler and close the oven while you form the next piece.

Just be careful not to burn your hands...

My favorite cornbread is basically the Crescent Dragonwagon Dairy Hollow House Skillet-Sizzled Cornbread recipe with a bit more cornmeal and less flour than in the original recipe, made with stone ground whole grain cornmeal.

[LJS]

Rich 102: thank you for the great naan bread technique...I am going to try it the next time we are doing Saag ghosh or butter chicken...it cries out for naan, but living in Lunenburg, NS, this is not something you can pick up on the way home!

[condie]

Oven fried anything!
I like to use it for chicken breast.

[mattstolz]

no one has mentioned corn bread yet??? how did that happen??

[mrsjagirard]

At the top, in my original question, I mentioned that cornbread was the only thing i knew to do in my cast iron in the oven. that's probably why you didn't see too many cornbread comments! ;-)

[audreyhtx1]

I got a cast iron skillet so that I could try this Alton Brown's "Mighty Duck" recipe that finishes in the oven (I also needed the skillet for my grill). You steam the duck first. But you also use the skillet to wilt some swiss chard in the duck fat after the duck is roasted. Check this recipe out: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/al...

[Chazz27]

I have been using my cast iron skillets on my glass/enamel topped stove for almost 10 years with no problems. It's like anything else....you have to be careful but it certainly doesn't hurt it. I fix beautiful steak and bacon and eggs. :-)

[rcallner]

Steaks are wonderful in cast iron - get the pan rocket hot on the stovetop, sear the steak for a nice crust, then finish in a 350 oven. The length of time depends on the thickness of the steaks and your preference for rare/medium/well. BTW - BE CAREFUL with whatever you cook in your skillet in the oven - it's easy to forget the handle will be very very hot.

[THewat]

Thew's very wonderful polenta: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/4546...

[j8715]

its been mentioned but not elaborated on. . .

PIZZA.

cheaper and almost indestructible, they beat those pizza stones. pizza stones are for "life-style" types who need to match their KA mixer to their LC dutch ovens. plus you can get them at hardware stores saving you an embarrassing trip to sur la table.

it is a bit trickier to get the pizza into the pan though, form it on a piece of parchment paper, then flop it in and slide the parchment out.

[pine time]

Forgot about pizza. I put my CI upside down in the oven, then toss the pizza dough on that, so don't have that mess of getting it out.

[j8715]

yeah thats not a bad idea. the seasoning on the bottom of mine isn't too nice though. i need to cook some bacon upside, obviously.

I don't think getting it out is bad, i think getting it in can be though.

[pine time]

Garlic chicken (melt butter, add whatever chx cuts you like, a tons of whole garlic cloves)--the cast iron is great for carmelizing the garlic and gives terrific color.
An old-fashioned cheap cut beef, pounded with flour, plenty of onion/garlic and tomatoes. Have read that the acidity of the tomatoes actually releases some of the iron from the pan into the food, so extra health benefits? (Don't know if this is true, but sounds nice.)
Sourdough bread--make 1/2 batch and bake in the CI skillet--good outer crunch and delicious innards.

[Nicolette S]

I just made a chicken pot pie in a pan I recently bought at Aldi. Enameled cast iron, similar in size and shape to the LC bouillabaisse pot. No reason you couldn't do that in your cast iron! How about stews, chicken and dumpling-type dishes, fruit crumbles/crisps, and deep dish pizza.
I like to toss cut up root vegetables with oil and seasonings, place Italian sausages on top, and bake. That might work well in your skillet. You'd get a nice crusty bottom.
Or sausages in kraut and onions...

You've made me hungry for cornbread. :)

[ipsedixit]

Pizza
Apple pie (or really any fruit pie with a double crust)
Fruit crisps
French toast
Chicken
Roasted potatoes
Roasted tomatoes
Bread pudding
Lasagna
Mac 'N Cheese

[flfoodie2]

Totally agree with the roast chicken suggestions...we make Thomas Keller's roast chicken with root vegetables all the time.

[meadandale]

Chicago style deep dish pizza!!

[lilmomma]

meadandale, recipe for the pizza please. Thnaks

[meadandale]

This is what I used for inspiration...

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/inde...

[GayleTX]

Pineapple upside down cake.

[corneygirl]

Or cherry cornmeal upside down cake. It's amazing!
http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/05/che...

[dingey]

Or BLACKBERRY upside down cake! It's the BOMB! it doesn't always turn out looking completely gorgeous, but nobody's complaining once fork reaches mouth...
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Fruit/...

[relizabeth]

I make Mark Bittman s vegetarian paella in a cast iron skillet. Starts on the stove, finishes in the oven.

[magiesmom]

roast chicken in a skillet

[Uncle Bob]

Biscuits........

[Antilope]

Cast Iron Skillet Baked Potatoes

These potatoes are baked, cut side down in a cast iron skillet. This
results in a potato with a slightly golden brown crust on the cut side and
a delicious, roasted flavor.

4 Tbsp cooking oil
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/8 tsp seasoning salt or kosher salt
3 or 4 medium size potatoes, sliced in half length wise

In a room temperature, cast iron skillet, add the oil and spread evenly over bottom. Sprinkle rosemary and salt evenly over the oil.
Scrub and dry the potatoes. Leave potato skins on. Cut potatoes in half, lengthwise, through widest part of potato. Place potatoes, cut side down, one layer deep in bottom of cast iron skillet. Press down on potatoes so that the cut side is coated in oil. Place cold skillet of potatoes in cold oven. Set oven to 400F and bake for 45-minutes. At end of cooking time, pierce with fork to test for doneness. Potatoes can be served with sour cream, grated cheese, etc.

[OldDog]

We make these often and call them 'half-baked potatoes.' Slight difference in technique, tho...the prepped spuds are tossed in the seasoned oil to coat all sides and sometimes sprinkled with course salt and cracked pepper. Yummm...

[mrsjagirard]

these are great suggestions, and i just bought a lot of potatoes, so i'll be trying this out this weekend! thanks!

[soccermom13]

Place a sage leaf in the pan, then put the potato half (cut side down) on top of the sage leaf. They look lovely when you serve them!

[egbluesuede]

one of my favorite ways to cook a potato....this is a stample at my house.

[greygarious]

I had been using cast iron on my ceramic-top stove for decades before I ever heard this was a no-no. There's at least one cookware thread on this. It appears to relate to the potential for scratching, or for cracking the top if the heavy pan is dropped. If you don't slide the pan around on the cooktop, scratching is not an issue, and anything heavy slamming into the cooktop could crack it. Go ahead and use the skillet on the stovetop.

[soccermom13]

I'm with Greygarious. I've used cast iron pans on my ceramic-top stove for many years with absolutely no problems. Just be careful not to side the pan around and, of course, not to drop the pan. In fact, using a cast iron pan on an electric stove allows you to reach and maintain a higher temp than you might be able to with other pans.

[LauraGrace]

Me too. Never had a problem.

[mrsjagirard]

thanks for all the suggestions! i did look at some posts on using the cast iron on the stovetop... i think my main concern in the end seemed to be that the diameter of my skillet is larger than the burners on my stove. is that not a big issue after all? It is a 12" skillet and my burners are regular sized (less than 12 inch).

[LauraGrace]

I have a similar problem with a couple of my skillets, but my solution is just to let the skillet heat up for plenty of time over a lower heat -- at least ten minutes so it can get a good consistent heat throughout. An inch or so of overlap isn't going to hurt much if you leave plenty of pre-heat time.

[Vetter]

I like it for a nice rich buttermilk cornbread and a small roast chicken (not at the same time). Also--- Skillet cookies: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/...

[cstout]

Thanks for the recipe...will put that one where I can remember to try it soon.

[Will Owen]

I use mine frequently to roast potatoes in - set the skillet in the oven while it preheats, or while some meat is roasting, and parboil potatoes and then toss them with oil, salt, pepper and herbs. Then maybe an hour before the meat comes out I'll pull the skillet out, dump in the potatoes, stir them around and stick the pan back in. I may or may not bother to turn the potatoes over halfway through.

Skillet-roasting fish is another good use, where the seasoned fish is dropped into a hot skillet on the stove top, given about five minutes there, then turned over and the skillet and fish put into a hot oven for another five minutes or so. You can also spread salsa or some other seasoning vegetables over the fish before putting it into the oven.

I have also used a skillet as a roasting pan, with or without a wire rack. It should be preheated if used like this, unless the roasting time is an hour or more. Now that I have several copper gratin pans I usually use those instead.

[JoanN]

I skillet-broil fish. I preheat the skillet under the broiler for a good five or ten minutes and the add fish that has been drizzled with oil and seasoned. No oil needed in the pan. Most fillets don't need to be turned, only the very thickest. Because the pan is so hot, the fillet cooks from both the bottom and the top. With skin-on fillets, the skin is marvelously crispy. Because I cook fish this way so often, I keep various homemade dry rubs on hand for seasoning the fish after it's oiled.

[cstout]

JoanN...love your way of doing fish in the skillet...will try that this week...thanks for sharing...there are so many neat tricks that you great people post...am learning so much from everybody!!!! Perhaps you could share your recipes for some homemade dry rubs.....yum yum.

[JoanN]

Sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you on this. I’ve been out of the country for a couple of months and it took me a while to look these up.

First and foremost, this Charmoula Spice Rub from Ana Sorten’s book “Spice.” It’s really terrific and keeps well in a bottle on the spice rack. I’m sure never to be without it:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7313...

Two more favorites are from Rick Moonen’s “Fish Without a Doubt.” The first is:

Moroccan Spice Mix
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon cardamom pods
10 whole cloves

Toast spices over medium heat for about 7 minutes, let cool completely, process in a spice grinder to a fine powder, and store in a dark place for up to 6 months.

The second is:
Cajun Spice Mix
4 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons white peppercorns
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
1 teaspoon cayenne
4 teaspoons Hungarian paprika
4 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoon celery seeds
1 tablespoon dried oregano, crumbled
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons coarse salt
2 tablespoons dried onion
1 tablespoon garlic powder

Coarsely process seeds and peppercorns in a spice grinder and mix with the rest of the ingredients.

This makes about one cup, which is a lot for me, so I usually make up just half a recipe.