Recently I had the opportunity to cook with a cast iron skillet. I fried some bacon and eggs for a friend, and they turned out perfectly. The pan was over 60 years old and well-seasoned. The eggs did not stick, and the bacon cooked nice and crispy.
But the skillet was a different shape. It had higher sides. It was 10 ½ by 3 ½. The bottom read “Chicken Fryer”.
I had to have one and found such a pan on Amazon.
We always cooked on cast iron skillets when I was growing up. We had several sizes of skillets, but we never had a chicken fryer size. Last might I fried some chicken in my new pan and it was yummy.
Cast iron skillets have been around for quite a while. Thousands of years, actually, tracing back to the Chinese Han Dynasty in 220 AD. Cast iron holds heat better than steel or other metals but once it gets hot, it’s harder to cool down, so build up to the correct heat (about 350) slower.
The chicken fryer will cook a half of a chicken at a time. I suppose the old chefs did their fried chicken in two batches, but the iron skillet cooks quickly once it gets hot, so you could probably get it all done in 45 minutes.
I am following care instructions precisely and simply washing or wiping the skillet to retain its seasoning properties. To dry the skillet, I put it in the oven to prevent any rust. Over time, the pan will become more and more smooth and more and more non-stick.
The only disadvantage I see is that it’s heavy, really heavy. I don’t know if I would be able to manage one much larger.
I’m looking forward to frying a little of “Mama Ida’s Cornbread” in the coming weeks. She always cooker hers in a cast iron skillet and it was the best.
