Essential Equipment for Cast Iron
We’ve cooked a lot of different foods in cast iron while developing recipes. Here’s our list of essential equipment when cooking with cast iron.
12-inch Cast-Iron Skillet
Skillets made from cast iron heat up slowly but retain their heat well. For this reason, we often use cast iron to bake cornbread and other baked goods, as we love the deep crust that it gives. Cast-iron cookware is inexpensive and lasts a lifetime, however it must be occasionally seasoned (unless you buy pre-seasoned cast-iron cookware, which we recommend). The 12-inch cast-iron skillet is a true workhorse in the kitchen.
10-inch Cast-Iron Skillet
Some of the test kitchen's cast-iron recipes call for a smaller, 10-inch skillet. Cooking a recipe in a larger or smaller skillet can cause problems like unevenly cooked dishes and incorrectly reduced sauces, so check the requirements of each recipe.
Skillet Lid
Many cast-iron recipes require the use of a lid. Lodge, which makes our winning traditional cast-iron skillet, also sells tempered-glass and cast-iron lids for their skillets. We recommend the Lodge 12-Inch Tempered Glass Cover because it's more lightweight and doesn't need any special treatment for seasoning or cleaning.
Chain Mail Scrubber
Since soaking a cast-iron pan in soapy water can damage the seasoning, we've found other ways to remove cooked-on food, but there are also gadgets that promise to make this task easier, including the innovative CM Scrubber by KnappMade. The linked steel rings effortlessly lift away any stuck-on bits without damaging the pan's finish. The scrubber itself took some scrubbing to become completely grit- and oil-free for the next use, but it dried quickly and didn't rust.
Pot Holder
Whether you're using your cast-iron skillet on the stovetop, in the oven, or transporting it between the two, it's important to protect your hands. These skillets get very hot and stay that way. Our favorite potholder has a pocket with a sheet of silicone on one side, a panel of cotton fabric on the back, and soft cotton lining in between.
Cast-Iron Skillet Handle Cover
Because cast iron gets and stays so hot, they can also be tricky to handle—not just while they're on the stove or in the oven but long after they're off or out of the heat. Handle covers promise to protect your hands from the hot metal, making these pans easier and safer to use. Most covers can't be put in the oven, though they can be used to remove pans that have been heated there; instead, they're intended primarily for stovetop cooking projects.
