Subscribe for weekly menus!

Equipment Starter - Cast Iron 1

admin
Download menu
(requires login or signup)
One pan, seven ways. Everything here comes out of cast iron — the hard sear, the smoking blackened crust, the gravy, the cornbread, the cobbler. Nothing leaves the kitchen that wasn't cooked on seasoned metal.
Fried & CrispedShallow-fried openers. The pan holds itsheat when cold food hits it, which is thewhole reason these come out crisp insteadof greasy.FRIED GREEN TOMATOESWITH COMEBACK SAUCEFirm green tomatoes in a cornmealcrust, fried in bacon fat and servedwith the pink, peppery sauce everyMississippi table keeps on hand.HUSHPUPPIES WITHCHIVE BUTTERCornmeal batter dropped straight intohot fat, craggy outside and steamingwithin, served with cold butterwhipped with chives.CRISPED HALLOUMI WITHHOT PEPPER JELLYSqueaky brined cheese seared hard untila lacquered brown crust forms, cut by aspoonful of sweet-hot pepper jelly.SKILLET CHICKEN LIVERSWITH PICKLED ONIONLivers dusted in seasoned flour andflashed in hot fat so the outside crispswhile the middle stays rosy, with sharppickled onion cutting the richness.The Hard SearWhat the pan was made for. Cast ironstores enough heat to keep searing whencold meat lands on it, which is how you getcrust instead of grey.RIBEYE WITH BONEMARROW BUTTERA thick ribeye taken to a mahoganycrust and basted in foaming butter,finished with a disc of roasted marrowbutter melting over the top.SMASH BURGERS WITHGRIDDLED ONIONLoose balls of chuck smashed thin ontoscreaming metal so the entire undersideturns to lace-edged crust, with onionpressed in as they cook.THICK-CUT PORK CHOP,SAGE PAN SAUCEA brined double-cut chop seared onevery face, the fond deglazed withcider and mounted with butter andfried sage.DUCK BREAST WITHSORGHUM GLAZEScored duck started in a cold pan so thefat renders slowly into a shatteringskin, glazed with sorghum syrup andblack pepper.BlackenedPrudhomme's technique, and the reason acast iron pan lives in a Louisiana kitchen.Spice on butter, hit by metal hot enough totoast it black. Open a window.BLACKENED REDFISHWITH LEMON BUTTERThe original. Redfish fillets dipped inbutter, packed with a paprika-cayennerub, and dropped onto a pan heateduntil it smokes white.BLACKENED CHICKEN,TRINITY CREAMPounded chicken cutlets under a darkspice crust, served over a cream saucebuilt on onion, celery and bell peppercooked down in the same pan.BLACKENED SHRIMPWITH CHARREDSCALLIONBig shrimp tossed in rub and throwninto a smoking pan for barely twominutes, with scallions blisteredalongside in the same heat.BLACKENEDCAULIFLOWER,REMOULADEThick cauliflower slabs blackened like asteak, the florets catching the spice,served on cold mustard remoulade.Smothered &SimmeredLow and long in the same pan. Smotheringmeans cooking a thing down in its owngravy until a fork is all the knife you need.SMOTHERED PORKCHOPS, ONION GRAVYThin chops floured and browned, thenburied under slow-cooked onions andstock until they give way completely.CHICKEN ETOUFFEELiterally smothered — chicken cookeddown in a blond roux with the trinityuntil the gravy is thick enough to standa spoon in.OXTAILS IN BROWNGRAVYOxtails browned hard, then given threehours in the pan until the collagen turnsto silk and the gravy goes glossy on itsown.SMOTHERED CABBAGEWITH HAM HOCKCabbage cooked far past the point ofbrightness, in smoked pork fat, until itis sweet and silky and the pot liquor isworth drinking.Cornbread &Skillet BreadsBatter meets a pan already screaming withhot fat. That shock is the entire technique— it sets the crust before the crumb hastime to soak.BUTTERMILK CORNBREADWITH HONEY BUTTERNo sugar in the batter, the way it ismade below the line. Poured intosmoking bacon fat so the bottom setsinto a dark, brittle shell.JALAPENO-CHEDDARHOECAKESGriddled cornmeal cakes with sharpcheddar and fresh chili, crisp at thelace edges and tender in the middle.SKILLET FOCACCIA WITHROSEMARYA slow, wet dough proofed and baked ina well-oiled pan so the bottom fries asit bakes into something close to a crust.SWEET POTATO BISCUITSRoasted sweet potato worked into abuttermilk dough, baked shoulder toshoulder in the pan so they rise tallagainst each other.Charred VegetablesVegetables given the same hard heat asthe meat. A skillet chars where a sheetpan only roasts, and the difference is thepoint.BLISTERED SHISHITOSWITH SEA SALTWhole peppers thrown into a dry,ripping-hot pan until their skins balloonand blacken in patches. One in ten willbe hot.CHARRED BROCCOLINI,ANCHOVY BUTTERBroccolini seared until the florets catchand crisp, tossed in butter melted downwith anchovy, garlic and chili.SKILLET CORN WITHCHILI & LIMEKernels cut from the cob and left alonein a hot dry pan until they pop andscorch, then dressed with butter, chiliand lime.BURNT-EDGE BRUSSELS,BACON & VINEGARSprouts halved and laid cut-side downuntil the faces go almost black, finishedwith bacon and a sharp splash of cidervinegar.Skillet DessertsThe pan goes from stove to oven to table.Everything here is served in the iron it wasbaked in, still bubbling at the edge.SKILLET APPLE CRISPApples caramelized in butter and brownsugar on the stovetop before the oattopping goes on, so the fruit is jammyrather than watery.BROWN BUTTER PEACHCOBBLERBatter poured over browned butter andpeaches so it climbs around the fruit asit bakes, the edges going lacy andcaramelized.GIANT SKILLETCHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIEOne enormous cookie baked in the pan,crisp at the rim and deliberatelyunderbaked at the center so it staysmolten.PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWNCAKEPineapple caramelized in butter andbrown sugar in the pan itself, the cakebatter poured straight over andinverted while hot.medalmenu.com
AboutTerms of ServicePrivacyContact© 2026 Dinnerveloper, LLC