Hottest home oven available?

Are you thinking about Jeff Varasano? Heh heh heh.

I know that it's possible to do OK pizza with a pizza stone. I'm just speculating. Out of purely intellectual curiosity.

happy_c in Cookware

Hottest home oven available?

It seems like this question should have been asked and answered on this board before, but a search failed to turn up what I'm looking for. Anyway, strictly out of curiosity (really!), I'm wondering if any of those "professional style" ovens (Wolf, Viking) will get up to 700-800*F or so - hot enough to bake a screamin' good pizza. Or do I have to buy a specialized pizza oven? Not that I'm planning to drop $7K for one any time soon, of course. Really. *must cut credit card in half*

happy_c in Cookware

Looking for nice round deep fry basket

Thanks for the recommendation. I went and looked it up on Amazon for the reviews, though, and came across someone who said: "The quality was definitely excellent as far as the basket is concerned. The handle, however, is pretty flimsy. The handle does not lock into place very well, and can come completely separated from the basket when you tip it, or even while shaking it slightly."

How does your experience with the handle compare with this? That's one reason I was leery of buying the 9" Lodge one (the other one was that it seems too shallow for the Lodge dutch oven - or is it not supposed to rest on the bottom?)

happy_c in Cookware

Looking for nice round deep fry basket

I got a 5-quart Lodge enameled dutch oven (the one with stainless handles) and I'd like to find a deep-fry basket to go with it that:

1. Won't scratch the enamel - i.e., no rough ends on the wires or the frame holding it together
2. Is more than 3-3/8" deep (which is the depth of the one Lodge sells)
3. Is between 9" and 10" in diameter

The Browne-Halco one I bought, sight unseen, not only has wire that is unraveling around the edges, but also is poorly finished on the ends of the wire frames to the point where shaking it back and forth in the pan would probably scratch the enamel pretty badly.

Recommendations would be appreciated! Thanks.

happy_c in Cookware

Leaving deep-frying oil IN cast-iron skillet?

Thanks for the detailed reply! Where can I get a "collapsible plastic container" suitable for this purpose? Somehow, I don't trust Ziplocs not to spring a leak.

happy_c in Cookware

Cast-iron skillet - inside walls are bumpy

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I wonder - do you notice that the older, smoother pan is any more or less likely to make food taste acidic? One disappointment for me is that pan sauces I make in the Lodge taste like nails; I wonder if a smoother surface and/or "good iron" would be any different.

happy_c in Cookware

Leaving deep-frying oil IN cast-iron skillet?

I was surfing YouTube for tips on cast iron cooking when I came across this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Isgn1iZ3L8

At about 3:17, the guy says that after he fries stuff in his cast-iron skillet, he usually just leaves the oil in the pan and sticks the pan, oil and all, into the oven for storage. Has anyone else tried this, and if so, what are the benefits and/or problems of keeping the oil in the pan as opposed to pouring it out into another container? I'd worry that the oil would turn rancid or create gummy residue. Also, wouldn't leaving bits of food still floating around in the oil affect how long you can store it and how often you can reuse it?

happy_c in Cookware

Storing cast iron in oven

Maybe. My Lodge is so rough already, though, that I don't think the salt would add significantly to the roughness. If anything, it would make the surface smoother - the new Lodges are that rough. :(

happy_c in Cookware

Storing cast iron in oven

Thanks for everyone's replies.

GreaseFire, I'm actually kind of confused about the role of salt in cast iron maintenance and seasoning. I use it sometimes just to get stuck-on food off the pan, but that's just sprinkling it on, rubbing with a paper towel, and rinsing it off - no added oil or heat. I've also come across this "deep-cleaning" method

http://www.ehow.com/how_2028544_deep-clean-cast-iron.html

which seems to imply that the salt will strip the seasoning off, requiring you to re-season the pan from scratch after the deep-cleaning process. I'm guessing that you only do this when the seasoning has gone rancid or turned gunky and sticky for some reason.

But your post is the first I've heard of using salt to *enhance* seasoning. What's the benefit of adding the salt to the oil-and-paper-towel procedure? Given that salt works so well to scour off stuck bits of food, I'd worry that the salt would actually abrade away seasoning rather than help establish or maintain it.

happy_c in Cookware

Storing cast iron in oven

I'm sure it'd be ok at 450 if it had something in it - just don't know about empty.

Maybe I should just give it a shot and see what happens, except I worked so hard at getting a decent seasoning that I hate to put it at risk. :(

happy_c in Cookware

Storing cast iron in oven

Yes, it's possible - that's why putting cast iron through a self-cleaning oven cycle works to strip off the seasoning if you want to start over again from bare metal.

happy_c in Cookware

Storing cast iron in oven

My kitchen is so ridiculously tiny that I've taken to storing my cast-iron skillet in the oven. But I'm sick of taking the skillet out whenever I want to use the oven - I've got nowhere else to put it, that's why it was in the oven in the first place!

I've heard of people leaving their cast-iron pan in the oven even while baking/roasting. However, I'm afraid that if I leave my skillet in the oven when I'm roasting at high temperatures (400 or 450 degrees F, usually), the seasoning will burn off.

Anyone know how high I can turn the oven temp, and for how long, without damaging the resident skillet?

happy_c in Cookware

Pan sauce + cast iron skillet = bleah

Guess I gotta go buy me a stainless pan. Thanks.

happy_c in Cookware

Pan sauce + cast iron skillet = bleah

So just to be clear ... even if my pan had 50 years of seasoning on it, would it give a metallic taste to a pan sauce made in this way?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWG98yLh0x8

If so, I don't understand how anyone can advocate doing a recipe like this in a cast-iron pan. Or is it something that will produce an edible result when my grandkids make it in my by-then-antique pan?

happy_c in Cookware

Pan sauce + cast iron skillet = bleah

LOL ... OK, I exaggerated. I loosen them with a spatula, then *lift* them out (I avoid lifting the pan itself when I can, it's too darned heavy) or, more often, flip them. Once loosened, they do slide around pretty well, though.

By "no" oil, I also meant that I don't add any oil just before cooking the eggs. I'm not counting the thin coating of oil I rub on the skillet every time I put it away, which probably has something to do with it.

I'll also clarify that while pancakes don't stick to the bottom, they do stick to the sides if they should happen to land partially on them after a flip. Presumably because the bottom gets seasoned whenever I cook on it but the sides don't (unless I'm deep-frying, which I don't do very often).

happy_c in Cookware

Pan sauce + cast iron skillet = bleah

Thanks. I wonder one thing, though - yesterday I didn't actually make the pan sauce in the CI skillet. I sauteed onions in it to get the fond out, then transferred the onions to a stainless saucepan and added liquid. It still tasted metallic. Are onions acidic enough to cause that?

My eggs and pancakes taste fine, so clearly it's not an across-the-board issue ...

happy_c in Cookware

Pan sauce + cast iron skillet = bleah

OK, I think I have a pretty good seasoning going on my 3-month-old cast-iron skillet. I can fry eggs on it with no added oil and they slide right out. Pancakes flip with nary a crumb sticking to the bottom. Yet whenever I make a pan sauce in it, it tastes like I'm eating nails. What gives?

happy_c in Cookware

Cast-iron skillet - inside walls are bumpy

Politeness - when you say the Lodge "never got quite right," what was the problem, exactly? And in what ways is the Griswold superior?

I myself have a Lodge that I think might be underachieving, and this makes me wonder if I should start looking for vintage Griswolds on th' Bay.

happy_c in Cookware

Cast-iron skillet - inside walls are bumpy

"The grease spatters onto the sides of the pan, but never gets completely carbonized or whatever to become that nice slick, slowly-built-up seasoned layer. It stays as a collection of rough half-baked globs."

MakingSense has got it right. Apparently, it also happens when you season a pan in the oven and don't wipe off the excess oil from time to time (per the excellent advice in the article linked to below).

http://www.econoculture.com/m/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=308&Itemid=64

happy_c in Cookware

Oven safe splatter screen?

Thanks, embee. I know there are some silicone ones out there that are rated oven safe to like 450 degrees or so. But I don't want to use a silicone one because I'm afraid they'll cause the food to steam rather than fry/bake.

What makes the "metal mesh filter material" different from the one in the first link?

happy_c in Cookware

Seriously Now -- Which countertop appliances do you leave out on your counter?

Rice cooker, microwave, and toaster oven.

The rice cooker is way too big for the limited counter space I have but I use it almost every day so why bother putting it away! Plus I don't have storage space for it anywhere else.

happy_c in Cookware

Oven safe splatter screen?

I hate it when I sear something on the stovetop, put it in the oven to finish, and wind up with oil splattered all over the oven walls and door. Can I use an all-stainless splatter screen in the oven to prevent this? Something like this

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-K13SCRN-13-Inch-Splatter-Screen/dp/B00008GKCP/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1239907574&sr=8-3

or this

http://www.global-b2b-network.com/b2b/26/37/859/page10/68808/stainless_steel_splatter_screen.html

(if I removed the black handle, that is)

Would they be oven safe?

EDIT - never mind, I now know that at least the Lodge one would be oven safe ... shoulda looked a little harder before posting here ...

http://www.pans.com/specialty-cookware/camping-cookware/lodgesplatterscreen.cfm

happy_c in Cookware

Pot roast oven temp?

Thanks all.

What temperature do you let it get to before pulling out of the oven?

happy_c in Home Cooking

Pot roast oven temp?

If you're baking a pot roast rather than simmering it on the stovetop, does oven temperature really matter? I mean, the liquid can't go above 212 degrees F no matter how hot the oven is. So as long as it's above 212, shouldn't the oven temperature be irrelevant? If not, why not? *confused*

happy_c in Home Cooking

Chinese sharpening stone help!

I was using them dry - until I got so much sludge I had to wash the stone off with water. I was pressing fairly hard, so maybe I'll lighten up next time.

happy_c in Cookware

Chinese sharpening stone help!

Thanks, dscheidt. I gave it a whirl with my sacrificial knife (dull as anything, inherited from an old roommate, and not used for 10+ years), and got it to the point where it would actually cut grapes without a whole lot of pressure, which it couldn't do before. At least that's something for a rank beginner.

A related question for those who do this kind of thing regularly. The sharpening process produced a HUGE amount of sludge, which I assume was mostly bits of the stone wearing away, as it had a noticeable dip in the middle afterwards. (To correct this, I went and flattened both sides of the stone on the sidewalk this morning - worked pretty well.)

My question is, will washing that sludge down my kitchen sink clog the drain? I keep imagining all that grit collecting at the bottom of the U-bend until it blocks the entire pipe.

happy_c in Cookware

Chinese sharpening stone help!

Note to self: Rub stone on sidewalk tomorrow before snowstorm forecasted for Sunday. Thanks for the tip.

happy_c in Cookware

Chinese sharpening stone help!

Thanks for the encouragement, Bill. From what I've been reading from surfing the Web on the topic, it seems that freehand sharpening takes a good deal of time and practice to learn. That's one reason I want to dip my toe in the water, so to speak.

happy_c in Cookware

Chinese sharpening stone help!

Thanks all. Yes, it's a very, VERY cheap Chinese stone, both sides of which feel quite coarse, and which came in a box covered in Chinese. I'll see if I can scare up a magnifying glass from somewhere.

I am brand new to sharpening so I'm afraid I won't have the experience to be able to feel the difference between coarse and fine from actually using the stone. I bought the cheap stone to experiment with - I'm flirting with the idea of learning to sharpen freehand, but I don't want to invest a lot of money in good stones and what not if I find from using this one that I just don't have the ability or the patience for it.

happy_c in Cookware