I recently watched two different episodes of America's Test Kitchen where they touted a technique of pre-heating a cast iron pan in a 500 degree oven before continuing on with the recipes, one for chicken, one for steak.
They said that, though cast iron is great for holding heat, it doesn't heat up evenly on top of the stove, so heating it in a hot oven is best.
So, I tried both chicken and steak using their methods below.
I had chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken. The chicken was good, the skin was crispy, but it wasn't as great as my mom's method of shaking chicken pieces in a bag of flour, daubing a pat of butter on each piece, seasoning with Bell's, and baking on aluminum foil. And the clean-up of mom's method is easier! Photo of thighs in post #24: http://www.netcookingtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13774&highlight=baked+chicken+QSis
My steak sear was not particularly impressive. Maybe I should have had a press. I had a flat iron steak, and though it was good, it did NOT have a terrific crust that the one they cooked on TV did. And this method took a lot longer (the half hour of heating the pan) than my regular pan method of heating it on high on the stove top, with less of a char. At least I didn't set off the smoke alarm using the ATK method.
Here's a photo of my regular pan-seared steak: http://www.netcookingtalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=278762&postcount=1
Note: If you do this, make sure your oven is CLEAN first!
It's fun to try different techniques, and I might try this for a steak again ... but not chicken.
Lee
Crisp Roast Butterflied Chicken with Rosemary and Garlic (ATK)
Put skillet in a cold oven on lowest rack. Set oven to 500 for half hour.
Prepare chicken by removing the backbone and flattening it out a bit. Fold under wing tips.
Season inside with salt and pepper.
Flip chicken over, and pat dry the skin side. Season with S & P.
Place chicken in hot skillet, skin side down, and return to oven. Turn oven down to 450.Roast for half hour.
Flip bird over, and brush skin side with a mixture of olive oil, minced garlic and rosemary. Return to oven for 10 more minutes.Check temp of meat – 175 in the thigh.Remove chicken from pan and let rest for about 15 minutes.
ATK Heated Cast Iron Pan-Seared Steak
Season steaks on both sides with salt and pepper – set aside.
Cast iron skillet in 500 oven for half hour, then put on burner, medium high heat.
2 T. olive oil in pan and heat oil.
Pat steaks dry and season with a little more pepper. Place steaks in pan and turn every 2 minutes, 6 minutes or so, then turn heat down to medium low. Turn steaks once or twice more, until temp of 125 for medium rare.
Let rest, tented. Spread with compound butter.
They said that, though cast iron is great for holding heat, it doesn't heat up evenly on top of the stove, so heating it in a hot oven is best.
So, I tried both chicken and steak using their methods below.
I had chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken. The chicken was good, the skin was crispy, but it wasn't as great as my mom's method of shaking chicken pieces in a bag of flour, daubing a pat of butter on each piece, seasoning with Bell's, and baking on aluminum foil. And the clean-up of mom's method is easier! Photo of thighs in post #24: http://www.netcookingtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13774&highlight=baked+chicken+QSis
My steak sear was not particularly impressive. Maybe I should have had a press. I had a flat iron steak, and though it was good, it did NOT have a terrific crust that the one they cooked on TV did. And this method took a lot longer (the half hour of heating the pan) than my regular pan method of heating it on high on the stove top, with less of a char. At least I didn't set off the smoke alarm using the ATK method.
Here's a photo of my regular pan-seared steak: http://www.netcookingtalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=278762&postcount=1
Note: If you do this, make sure your oven is CLEAN first!
It's fun to try different techniques, and I might try this for a steak again ... but not chicken.
Lee
Crisp Roast Butterflied Chicken with Rosemary and Garlic (ATK)
Put skillet in a cold oven on lowest rack. Set oven to 500 for half hour.
Prepare chicken by removing the backbone and flattening it out a bit. Fold under wing tips.
Season inside with salt and pepper.
Flip chicken over, and pat dry the skin side. Season with S & P.
Place chicken in hot skillet, skin side down, and return to oven. Turn oven down to 450.Roast for half hour.
Flip bird over, and brush skin side with a mixture of olive oil, minced garlic and rosemary. Return to oven for 10 more minutes.Check temp of meat – 175 in the thigh.Remove chicken from pan and let rest for about 15 minutes.
ATK Heated Cast Iron Pan-Seared Steak
Season steaks on both sides with salt and pepper – set aside.
Cast iron skillet in 500 oven for half hour, then put on burner, medium high heat.
2 T. olive oil in pan and heat oil.
Pat steaks dry and season with a little more pepper. Place steaks in pan and turn every 2 minutes, 6 minutes or so, then turn heat down to medium low. Turn steaks once or twice more, until temp of 125 for medium rare.
Let rest, tented. Spread with compound butter.
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