Cooking in Your Cast Iron Skillet

Recipe: Potato-Bacon Hash

Every Southern cook knows a good hash recipe or two, and you’ll be adding this one with russet potatoes, bell peppers, onions, and thick-cut bacon to your list. We suggest you top it off with a fried egg.

Recipe: The Big Cinnamon Roll

With this big (and we mean massive) cinnamon roll, you can serve a warm, homemade breakfast right from the oven.

Recipe: Classic Grilled Cheese

Video: Classic Grilled Cheese

Sometimes you just have to stick with the classics, and this golden brown grilled cheese with American and sharp cheddar cheeses will never go out of style.

Recipe: Ham and Dijon Grilled Cheese

Video: Ham and Dijon Grilled Cheese

You’ll never make a plain ham and cheese sandwich again after trying this stepped-up grilled cheese that’s made with Gruyère. Don’t forget to coat the outer sides of the bread with mayonnaise or butter for that golden brown crunch.

Recipe: Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese

Video: Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese

Creamy goat cheese, fontina cheese, and caramelized onions make this grilled cheese melty, savory, and downright delectable.

Recipe: Brie, Fig, and Arugula Grilled Cheese

Video: Brie, Fig, and Arugula Grilled Cheese

If you love baked brie as an appetizer, you’ll want to eat this fancy grilled cheese every day for lunch. Sweet figs, rich and creamy brie, and spicy arugula provide full flavor in every bite.

Recipe: Beef Stew with Buttery Garlic Bread

Make this comforting beef stew on chilly fall and winter nights. Our favorite way to get the buttery garlic bread crispy is using our cast-iron skillet instead of the oven.

Recipe: Lighter Pan-Fried Chicken with Green Beans and Tomatoes

This delicious dinner recipe proves that you don’t need a deep-fryer to get crispy, golden goodness.

Recipe: Texas Skillet Cake

If you love classic Texas sheet cake, you’ll be obsessed with this thicker, richer Texas skillet cake.

Recipe: Cast-Iron Pork Cacciatore

This is the most restaurant-worthy 30-minute recipe you’ll ever serve. A tip from the test kitchen: Pork chops that aren’t too thick or thin are best in this recipe. Look for chops that are one inch thick—they will be meaty and filling without taking a ton of time to cook.

Recipe: Skillet Caramel Apple Pie

Ever had apple pie out of a cast-iron skillet? We bet you haven’t had apple pie with a bourbon-spiked caramel sauce, either. This warm fall dessert achieves both.

Recipe: Cast-Iron Cowboy Steak

You might remember it as the heavy black skillet grandma fried chicken in (and later passed down to you). But versatile cast iron goes from stovetop to oven to grill with such ease that you can bake a gooey upside-down cake in it as well as fry unbelievably crisp catfish. And it’s a regional icon that will boost your reputation as a savvy cook. So pull out your hand-me-down skillet, or buy a new preseasoned one―once you try these recipes, you’ll be a cast iron convert. We'll start with our Cast-Iron Cowboy Steak: This is the best way to cook a thick, juicy bone-in steak restaurant-style without smoking up the house. The skillet surface area promotes a more assertive flavor and better sear than grill grates, yielding a steak with the proper steak house crust.

Recipe: Cast-Iron Chicken Piccata

The best part of this chicken piccata is it only requires one dish to make, and we recommend a cast-iron skillet. It will heat more evenly than a nonstick pan, yielding a delicious cutlet that’s tender with crisp skin. Don’t forget to save the sauce to serve over pasta!

Recipe: Cast-Iron Salsa

Turn your skillet into a Mexican comal, aka griddle, by slowly charring onions, garlic, and peppers in a dry skillet. We like to use this traditional dry char technique because it coaxes sweet, earthy flavors from the vegetables and gives them just a hint of smokiness.

Recipe: Ginger-Peach Shortbread Cobbler

Put down your peeler: This brilliant dish is our easiest peach cobbler ever. 

Recipe: Crispy Sweet Potato-Green Onion Cakes

Crispy Sweet Potato-Green Onion Pancakes are a great choice for a Thanksgiving side dish. They bring a unique twist to the classic sweet potato, and create a nice crunch to complement the other items on the holiday lunch or dinner table. What’s so delicious about this recipe is that it blends the delicate flavors of the sweet potatoes and the green onions with the spicy zest of a couple of chopped red jalapeño peppers, meaning that it mixes the heat with the sweet. But it all mixes together to form a delicious sweet potato delight. Serve these savory little numbers with a dollop of sour cream and a squeeze of lime as a crunchy appetizer or a dish to accompany roasted or grilled meats or fish.

Recipe: Smoked Trout-Apple Hash

Equally at home on your stove or over a campfire, this fragrant skillet breakfast pulls double duty for dinner with a green salad. Try substituting sweet potatoes for russets and your favorite tart apple for Granny Smith. Other smoked fish like bluefish or whitefish also work well here. If using thinly sliced smoked salmon, cut into pieces and drape over hash just before serving.

Recipe: Chicken-and-Wild Rice Skillet Casserole

This rustic meal, a company's-coming riff on the old-school chicken-and-rice number, is held together by a tangy gravy flavored with country ham and mushrooms. This dish is perfect for weekend nights when you have more time to devote to ingredient preparation – it takes some time for these ingredients to come together to form one of the most delicious casseroles we’ve ever cooked. We can attest that this dish is worth the wait. Nutty wild rice helps sop up all the good chicken gravy so you don’t miss any flavor. Jazz up the classic comfort food recipe with fresh toppings like flat-leaf parsley and crunchy sliced almonds.

Recipe: King Ranch Chicken Mac and Cheese

All the flavors of a favorite casserole come together in the comfort of mac and cheese. Serve this dish to your family, and it will become a quick favorite.

Recipe: Pan-Seared Filet Mignon

Filet mignon cooks quickly with a little butter and olive oil in the skillet. Just add salt and pepper to seal the taste.

Recipe: Fried Pecan Okra

Crushed pecans and baking mix form a crisp breading for this Southern-style appetizer.

Recipe: Top-Shelf Chicken Under a Brick

The "top-shelf" in this recipe speaks to the crispy skin, superior flavor, and juiciness of the bird. It also refers to a novel new technique: cooking potatoes in the heavy cast-iron skillet that's used as a weight on the chicken. The weight presses the chicken flat against the grill grates, cutting the cooking time in half. Plus you'll be cooking your side dish at the same time.

Recipe: Apple-Cinnamon Dutch Baby

Straight from the oven, this puffy, airy pancake will elicit major oohs and aahs from your crowd. Be sure to use low-fat or fat-free milk--the pancake will puff higher. Like a soufflé, it will begin to deflate as soon as it leaves the oven, though that won't affect the flavor.

Recipe: Braised White Turnips 

This recipe is a simple way to create a delicious and beautiful side dish for your Thanksgiving table. If you prefer single-item sides rather than casseroles, or gratins, then dishes like these Braised White Turnips are the perfect dishes for you. These are cooked in butter, then simmered first in vinegar, then after in honey and butter, to create a beautiful combination of sweet-and-sour-tasting turnips. We based this recipe on one from Atlanta chef Linton Hopkins found in the book Lodge Cast Iron Nation. Use small Japanese turnips from farmers' markets, or peel and cut larger turnips into 1- to 2-inch cubes.

Recipe: Sour Cream Cornbread

Low-fat kitchen staples keep this Cheddar-topped cornbread moist and delicious. Enjoy it as a side to any meal, or use this recipe as an ingredient in our fabulous Farmhouse Eggs Benedict.

Recipe: Cast-Iron Blistered Brussels Sprouts 

This is the absolute best way to cook Brussels sprouts, but this recipe is as much about the beautiful flavors of the glaze as it is making sure that the sprouts are cooked to perfection. Mixing sweet and sour, an Asian-influenced sauce that includes honey, soy sauce, garlic, and crushed red pepper is stirred in with the crispy sprouts. This gives you spice, crunch, and bite in every mouthful. Searing your Brussels sprouts over high heat caramelizes the outside and yields perfect crisp-tender texture inside. For best results, use a 12-inch cast-iron pan, or sear your sprouts in two batches.

Recipe: Pineapple Upside-Down Carrot Cake

One quick flip and this moist cake with perfectly caramelized fruit slips from a skillet.

Recipe: Charred Peppers with Feta Dipping Sauce

Look for a colorful assortment of baby sweet peppers in the produce section of your local grocer. Hold them by the stems while dipping.

Recipe: Upside-Down Caramelized Apple Cake

The brown sugar, apple, and pecan mixture that’s cooked in the skillet and then topped with a spiced cake batter become a gooey, rich topping for the cake when it’s inverted.

Recipe: Pork Chops with Pepper Jelly Sauce

The sweet and spicy pepper jelly sauce creates a beautiful glaze on the pork chop and keeps the meat moist and tender.

Recipe: Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Brighten a wintry day with this combination of roasted root vegetables, mache, and a citrus-and-ginger-packed vinaigrette.

Recipe: Cornbread Focaccia

The inspiration for Cornbread Focaccia is Italian, but the taste is pure Southern comfort.

Recipe: Apricot-Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

Roll pecans, apricots, and a brown sugar mixture up in biscuit dough to make this warm breakfast treat. Or substitute chocolate chips, raisins, or other fruits to adjust the flavor to your liking.

Recipe: Fried Green Tomatoes With Bread-and-Butter Pickle Rémoulade

Fried Green Tomatoes are crusty and salty outside; warm, juicy, and lemony inside.

Recipe: Parmesan-Pecan Fried Catfish with Pickled Okra Salsa

This sensational main dish combines two Southern favorites, fried catfish and pickled okra, with a new twist.

Recipe: Barbecued Pork Quesadillas

Repurpose barbecued pork to make these cheesy quesadillas in your skillet, and top them off with green onions, sour cream, and cilantro. They are great as an appetizer or main course.

Recipe: Sunny Skillet Breakfast 

Sunny-side-up eggs top off this skillet full of shredded potatoes, bell peppers, and onions.

• To rid of rust stains, rub this handy rust eraser (pictured) on the stain, and then reseason pan. Find it at hardware stores, bike shops, or wood-working shops.
• To clean, use a stiff brush or plastic scrubber under running water while the cast iron is still warm but cool enough to handle with ease. Kosher salt is also a good scrubbing agent for baked-on stains. The most important tip is to never use soap!
• Before cooking, apply vegetable oil to the cooking surface, and preheat the pan on low heat, increasing the temperature slowly.
• Never marinate in cast iron. Acidic mixtures will damage the seasoning. Reseason if food particles start to stick, rust appears, or you experience a metallic taste.