Sure. First step, which is optional is to make a chili sauce. De-seed dried Mexican chilis. I used pasilla, ancho, arbol and guajillo. In a saucepan, toss in a nunch of whole garlic cloves, no oil, and brown them. When they get a tiny bit of colour adde th chilis. Roast them for a bit then add water or chicken stock. Like a litre. Toss in a whole tomato, the stems of the coriander/cilantro bunch and simmer for 20-30 minutes. After that you put in a blender or use a hand blender and blend until smooth. If you don't take this step, not the end of the world, you can use chili powder...which I used anyways. Set aside. Chili time: 1) Brown your meat...in batches if you're making a lot. If you put in too much at a time, it ends up boiling and you get no colour. Once browned, put in a separate bowl 2) finely chop onions, and add to same pan. Fry until golden 3) once golden, add some chopped peppers. I used a red and a poblano. regular green is fine. 4) once peppers are cooked for a bit, add back the meat. 5) add some chili powder, paprika, cumin...and fry up with the meat and veg mixture for a bit 6) add your chili sauce...if you didn't make chili sauce, just amp up the dried spices..especially the chili powder 7) add a can of beer...I used Miller High Life. Champagne of Beers! 8) season with salt & pepper 9) simmer for an hour or so...taste for seasoning, spicing 10) add a can of beans (sorry Texans)...I used pinto 11) cook for another half hour...then toss in a bunch of chopped coriander I didn't put any jalapenos or spicy stuff, becaues my family is wimpy. I just add hot sauce to my own bowl. As far as measurements...I didn't use any. I'm sure you can figure it out. Use less, not more. You can always add more...all that stuff.
We have been searching for enameled cast iron without lead in the enamel, and the only one we have found so far is Staub, unless something has changed. Just an fyi.
Always have to chuckle at friends who shake their heads when I mention I'm cooking with cast iron. They can't believe I still use 'antiquated' cookware. Of course, those people also don't heat with wood, scrounge/process their own firewood, grow a garden, hunt, and so on. Their loss. Probably my favorite cast iron recipe is my bear meat hunter's pie. I can eat that for lunch and dinner every day until it's gone (and sometimes put it in a breakfast omelet). Brown the meat, sauté the onions, do a quick cook on everything but the potatoes on the stove, then pop it right in the oven. Once it's cooled down, it gets covered and goes right in the fridge (after suitable amounts of freshly cooked pie have been consumed of course). After a couple days, some portions get wrapped and put in the freezer and the after soaking for a few minutes, I can pretty much just wipe out the well-seasoned cast iron and it's ready for the next meal. Simplicity at its finest.
Good God yes! A quick story about cast iron; We've been cooking on cast for years and years. When my wife went in for cancer treatments and blood work, "Everytime" the tested her blood the Doctor would come in and ask us/her, (How come, and what are you doing because your NOT Anemic). What are you eating? I told him and her other Doctor, "we cook exclusivley on cast Iron"! He said DON'T EVER QUIT doing that! Her blood counts are very good because of that! Her Doctors actually made notes about that!
Had a craving for a pork roast. This is a piece of shoulder. I have to fight the kids for the crackling
Cast iron question, but not really cooking.... We got a cast iron kettle/steamer from this house when we bought it and i recently "re-found" it. I want to rehab it for stovetop use as a steamer. It is rusty and in need of a good cleaning. Should I treat it as other cast iron and clean/season it the same? Thinking that if so, I shouldn't oil the bottom where it will touch the stove, so that it doesn't get on stove top. Or I guess I could season all over and heat/treat it on range top/oven first....?
Interested in reading what others will post about this. I use a cast iron steamer that supposedly originally came with what the manufacturer called a 'ceramic coating' which would prevent rust/chipping. I called BS on that as it barely made it through one season before rusting inside and out. Since it is a dedicated steamer, I just sand the rough spots and hit it with some high-temp matte engine paint. Not sure if that would work for your kettle/steamer, especially if you ever plan on using it for anything other than just a steamer.
So I had thought the same.... I guess I could season the inside like other CI just in case I need to use it for food/hot water purposes, and paint the outside.
One of my coworkers knows that I use cast iron alot and gave me this Lodge 14" wok for free. Can't wait to use this sucker on the firepit!
