Swapped my stainless pans for cast iron a few weeks ago and wow

I've been cooking on stainless steel pans for years, thought they were the best for searing meat. But I picked up a beat up 12 inch cast iron skillet at a flea market near Austin for $12, spent a Sunday scrubbing and re-seasoning it. First steak I cooked on that thing came out with a crust I never got from my stainless, even with the same heat level. The heat retention is just different, it doesn't drop temp when you drop the meat in. Stainless always stuck or needed way more oil, but cast iron just works better for me for that hard sear. I'm still figuring out how to handle acidic stuff like tomatoes in it, that part is trickier. Anyone else made the switch and stuck with it, or went back?

3 comments

3 Comments

troy_scott1mo ago

Crust on a steak is crust on a steak, you're acting like you discovered fire or something. Stainless steel works fine if you just let the pan heat up properly and don't crowd the meat. I've got both in my kitchen, use stainless for sauces and acidic stuff all the time, cast iron for cornbread. It's really not that deep, just different tools for different jobs. The whole "game changer" talk about cookware is exhausting, it's a hunk of metal.

paul_owens2525d ago

Saw some food science guy on YouTube test this and he basically came to the same conclusion you did, heat management matters way more than what metal you're using.

the_blair1mo ago

Man that exact same thing happened to me with the flea market find, mine was $8 and took like 3 rounds of seasoning before it was right. For acidic stuff I just keep a stainless pan around for tomatoes and deglazing, not worth the hassle of stripping the seasoning lol.