REVIEW: Cast Iron Grilled Pan

I just received my cast iron grill pan in the mail from Amazon.com. It is fantastic! We made grilled shrimp in it this weekend. They were really easy to handle.

Cooking with a cast iron pan
I had read some of the reviews that mentioned that the pan gets very hot and produces a bit too much smoke. I noticed this but simply turned down the flame on my stove and gave the pan more time to heat up. I also turned on my fan. This minimized the smoke during cooking and me to comfortably stand over the shrimp to turn them.

Seasoning the cast iron pan
Every time you cook in a cast iron pan, you need to "season it" with some olive oil. First you heat up the pan, then spray a thin coat olive oil in it and then wipe it inside the surface of the pan with a paper towel. It's that simple.  Technically, you are supposed to then bake it for an hour in a 300 degree oven to actually seal it.  I have to admit that I don't do this baking step each time, maybe just once a month. o, what is the purpose of using the oil? The oil goes down into the pores and helps protect the iron in the pan from rust from air hitting it. Seasoning your pan keeps it from rusting over time.

Cleaning a cast iron pan

Cleaning this pan is a bit different. Since it is a cast iron pan, you basically cannot immerse it in any soap or water. Otherwise, it will rust. I had a cast iron pan before and ruined it by doing this. So, after cooking my shrimp, I wiped the pan out with a paper towel and then used a brush or soft scouring pad to gently scrub the stuck on food off of the surface.

Then I quickly gave the surface of the pan a quick once over with a soft scouring sponge. Done.