Spaghetti and cast iron

[George K]

OK, first of all, any comments about my use of a pre-made sauce will be deleted.

(It's good to be the king)

Mrs. George wanted spaghetti tonight, and rather than getting all fancy-schmancy, I thought I'd make it the way I did when we had 4 kids in the houses and easy was important.

I oiled up my Lodge cast iron skillet, and threw in a chopped onion, some garlic and cooked them. Add some ground beef and get that cooked through.

Then (here's the part where Vince (RIP) would throw something at me), I added a jar of some spaghetti sauce. Tonight it was Newman's Own Tomato and Basil. Heat it up and then spice it up: salt, pepper, oregano, Italian seasoning, and cilantro. Add LOTS of all of them and heat it up.

Make your pasta of choice - I used fettuccine tonight - and serve.

For the cleanup, I did my usual: sprinkle coarse sea salt into the cast iron skillet and rinse under water while wiping with some paper towels.

I've cleaned up this way for at least 10 years, and it works great.

However, tonight, I just happened to notice that the cast iron just didn't have the "sheen" that I'm used to seeing on it after cooking other meals, notably steaks and pork chops.

Is the tomato in the sauce doing that?

The seasoning will, I'm sure, be OK the next time I use the skillet. But tonight is the first time I noticed that the skillet "looked" different from my other cleanings.

THoguhts?

[Mik]

Could be the acid, yeah.

[LuFins Dad]

Definitely the acid. It won’t kill the cast iron but you will need to reseason regularly when using tomatoes or other acidic foods…

I love making my Jambalaya outside in my Lodge Dutch Oven, but I have had to reseason it every 2 times.

[George K]

@mik said in Spaghetti and cast iron:

Could be the acid, yeah.

I'd read about that, and, in the past when I made it, it never seemed to be an issue - probably because I never paid attention.

However, tonight, it was.

Non-stick in the future.

[Mik]

I’d do stainless if you have it.

[LuFins Dad]

Enameled cast iron would work, too.

[Jolly]

Or just use your cast. Well-seasoned cast iron can handle the acid, as long as it gets a little TLC.

This feller don't back up from tomatoes in his cast dutch ovens.

[George K]

@jolly I've been using my cast iron for this forever, but it wasn't until yesterday that I noticed the "sheen" kind of gone. It'll take nothing to throw some oil in and reheat it.

Just found it interesting.