Question to engineers in the Pit about C. I.

[FireMan]

I have a question to someone of our engineer members in the Pit. Recently on America’s Test Kitchen, it was advised to heat a skillet in the oven at 500 degrees F, for a half hour to bring said skillet to needed temp to sear/cook the ultimate steak. Upon the 1/2 hour point, take the skillet out & put it on a burner & cook the steak until you get the right temp of doneness desired.
In my area of non expertise, is a 1/2 hour a little overkill, or could the same results be attained in 15 to 20 min. “They also recommended the same procedure for cookin a spatchcocked yardbird. Everything looked great, but I’m wondering about the use of energy & cost factor.
I thought I’d pose this to some of our geeks out there. I say that in an appreciative & envious vein, since my brain doesn’t function in that way. Just wonderin.

[Henrik]

The first question that comes to mind is: why do they recommend pre-heating in the oven? What would the benefits be?

I'm guessing that the pan should have an even temp all the way through. But that doesn't make sense in my engineering brain. Iron is superb at transfering heat, so a few minutes on the burner would be the same thing. Please elaborate.

[FireMan]

Q #1, "ya get the skillet smokin hot".
My answer, duh, yah.

[RonB]

I don't use that technique, but I can tell you that it doesn't take that long for my Baking Steel to get to temp, and it's 1/4" thick. Sounds like it's time for someone with an infrared thermo to run a test.

[FireMan]

I think you are beginning to answer my question. They consider that the CI does not evenly disperse heat, so it takes (in their minds) a great deal of time to bring the skillet to an even total desired temp of the skillet. After a 1/2 hour, I guess they feel there are no "cold" spots. I feel it’s a bit of overkill.

[FireMan]

After further review, I now question the need to use the oil of choice & "season" C I for 1/2 hour at 500 F. Or, could a lower temp & less time suffice to "bake" the seasoning into the C I?

[smokinfatties]

lower temp if you oil. I think closer to the 300 range

[jfmorris]

The primary use for my CI skillet is to cook steaks on the stove when its crappy outside, and most recently, for searing them after a sous vide cook. I can tell you from the IR thermometer that the CI is getting up to 700-900 degrees on a gas burner on max by the time I throw the steaks in there to sear. A 500 degree oven is not nearly hot enough. A 500 degree gas grill can barely sear anything as we all know, so I question the wisdom of wasting the energy to heat an entire oven to 500, then heat it further on a burner anyway.

I like some of the stuff I see on America's Test Kitchen, but I feel in this case they are just setting the skillet in there to preheat so that they don't have to worry about it smoking on the stove top while they do something else. I do know that my skillet will start smoking at some point when pre-heating on a burner.

[Huskee]

One thing about ATK is they know their stuff because they spare no expense to find the 'perfect' way for anything in the kitchen. However, that rarely translates into practicality or affordability for the yous & mes of the world. Their method for the perfect fried 'no flip' eggs works but it takes too long for me so I don't do it their way. I don't doubt baking the skillet will work well since it will surely evenly pre-heat the skillet so that the burner can take it the rest of the way up to searing temps, but as others have mentioned, is it worth the relative waste of fuel and time?

[snowswamp]

Agreed. I love CI although some things are over the top. Another example is adding water to the skillet to render bacon fat. By the time the water has evaporated the bacon starts to crisp very nicely. Problem is, it takes forever to cook the bacon and forget about doing more than a few strips.

[MBMorgan]

I'm betting there's an Alton Brown fan at ATK. This heat-the-skillet-in-the-oven technique is very similar to AB's Season 1, Episode 1 of Good Eats method for rib-eye steak.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/good-eats/episodes/steak-your-claim

[Troutman]

Overkill. Just put it on the grill or the stove top and heat the thing up. I'm with jfmorris , just use your gasser if you have one with a sear zone. My Summit grill gets up to about 900*, maybe 1000* on a good day. That will sear the hair off the dog .....

[FireMan]

I knew I could count on youse guys. Sorta figgered what ya’ll came up with, it’s great having this expertise at one’s finger tips. A question still unanswered is the situation with the seasoning. Is that a myth, of oiling then in the oven for a year, or is it accomplished faster & more efficiently in a manner such as on a fire or drove top at higher heat & quiker temp?

[Polarbear777]

I’ve used flaxseed and couldn’t get a durable layer. I use standard shortening and a couple rounds at 450F for an hour and it’s good to go. I haven’t re seasoned my lodge 12” in years and I wash it with soap and scrub each time used, then set on a burner until bone dry, wipe with oil and done.

[mnavarre]

Also have not had any luck with flaxseed oil. Did two pieces with multiple layers of seasoning and both flaked off the first time I cooked in them. Stripped both back down and used Crisco to season and they're beauties. Possibly I baked too hi/low for the flaxseed, but 250 - Crisco - 450 seems pretty foolproof.

[JCGrill]

I use the oven primarily because I season the whole thing. Pretty hard to season the outside on the stove.

[RobertC]

Temperature isn't the same thing as heat flux. Air at a temperature of 200F will take a lot longer to cook something than water at 200F, because the water has higher heat capacity (since it's much more dense). Likewise, a convection oven at 350F will cook faster than a "still" oven at 350F even though the heat capacity of air in a convection oven and the heat capacity of air in a conventional oven is the same (because the air currents in the oven will bring more air in contact with the food so the heat can be transferred).

It turns out that cast iron has high heat capacity, and high conductivity, but it heats unevenly so there are hot and cold spots.

RonB mentioned his Baking Steel. I have a baking steel, too, and if I try to cook two pizzas, one right after the other, the second pizza won't cook as quickly or as well. The oven temperature is the same, but in cooking one pizza the Baking Steel has transferred some of its heat to the pizza. If, on the other hand, I wait a few minutes for the heat in the Baking Steel to get "re-charged" from the hot air in the oven, the second pizza will turn out the same as the first.

All that said, I just heat up my CI pan on top of my induction stove, and bypass the middle man of the air in the oven.

[HouseHomey]

Well said sir. And below too. Takes me back to food science. Oh the horror.

[RobertC]

When you "season" a CI pan in the oven, you're trying to "polymerize" the fat or oil. If you try to do this too quickly, you can burn off the oil or fat rather than polymerize it. Polymers are long-chain molecules, and heating the oil or fat at the right temperature allows the fat molecules to form long chains. If you go too high in temperature, the fat molecules will break apart but they won't re-form into long chains.

[FireMan]

This is so cool! 👍 🔥 👍

[HouseHomey]

Yes!!

[Polarbear777]

I think the oven may be practical in some cases because you are evenly heating it and it won’t go too high while you prep and do everything else. Then it’s ready when you are.

Ive done Alton Brown’s duck recipe where you finish in a 500+ loaded skillet and since you steam and prep first, having the CI in the oven ready to go is nice.

[lonnie mac]

Actually CI truth be told is horrible at transferring heat "to itself". As compared to aluminum, iron's thermal conductivity is terrible. An AL pan on a burner will heat up whole much faster. Now once CI is hot, it will hold it's heat better than anything else. Heating CI on a burner will indeed induce major hot spots until it is all hot... Now once it's hot, it stays hot. The oven trick is a way to get the whole process started. I use this method a lot while I am doing other things. And of course it is mandatory when doing corn bread. So is bacon grease.