Little side note- this thread has inspired me to make a leather pan handle grip. More about that in my Leather crafts thread, when I have made some more progress with it.
Getting ready for New Year’s Day and Blackeyed Peas.. Going a bit farther than simply opening a can. Ham Hocks, Holy Trinity, Hempler's Bacon, and a can of Rotel the kitchen is already smelling great... Lodge 5.5qt Enameled Dutch Oven for the win...
I used a large cast iron pan, and pan fried two T-Bone Steaks, , then pan fried a bunch of new potatoes in butter rosemary, garlic, and Black pepper. When crispy, you cut up the t-bone steaks, toss them in the potatoes, and finish it off. There are a few more seasonings, but this is the basic recipe. If interested, I can give full details.
Trader Joe's now has ketchup flakes in the spices section. Sounds weird to me and not overly useful but apparently it's popular.
This is just off the top of my head. I use T-Bone or Ribeye steaks, that I have in my freezer. They have been beaten with a tenderizer, lightly, and have a little meat tenderizer sprinkled on them. I do this because I am a Police Officer, and can't afford to buy the $20 per lb of steaks. I catch them on sale for under $5 a lb, and they need a little help. No worry, they come out very tender. So, here we go. Use the small, golf ball sized New potatoes, 1-1 1/2 lbs, cut in half. Boil them until just tender, in salted water. Set aside, drained. Use 2 large steaks. Wiped with Olive oil. Dust with ground black pepper, garlic powder, very little onion powder, and dried rosemary. Get the largest cast iron skillet you have hot. Add a generous amount of Canola oil, or whatever you like, to the pan. When it just starts to smoke, add steaks. You cook fast and hot, to get a crisp brown on them, without cooking the inside completely. Add a little more oil to the pan for the second steak. Set steaks aside when browned well. Toss in 1/2 stick of butter, or more to your liking. Get it hot and toss in the potatoes. Salt, and pepper, garlic powder, and dried rosemary. Stir and flip, until brown and.crispy on all sides. While this is getting cooked, de-bone, and cut up the steaks to 1/2 inch or so cubes. When potatoes are done cooking, add a little more butter, and toss in the steaks. Stir and turn over often, until the steaks are cooked. Scrape the pan as you are doing this, to get everything well coated. When steak meat is cooked to your preference, pull off the heat. Serve immediately. It goes well with fresh Asparagus, a good Sour Dough bread, and a little Red Wine.
So, I skimmed through page 1 and page 17.... Yes, I'm pro-cast iron (and I vote), some things just don't taste right cooked in anything else. I only comment to say, I have never heard of using beeswax for seasoning cast iron....interesting, I'll have to dive into that. I usually use lard or grapeseed oil....or bacon
