Who uses a cast iron skillet?

[Alesia]

sometimes my skillets will have a black residue coming off of them.. can't figure out what I am doing wrong.
just wash in hot water with a veggier brush, dry after,, but the cloth usually comes out black,, even rubbing with a paper towel with crisco, the paper is black.
huh?

The veggie brush is scraping off the seasoning. Never rub it with anything rougher than a dishcloth. Even then, don't scrub it.

After you wash it, towel dry it immediately and then but it on a very hot burner for several minutes. This will evaporate any water that has soaked inside the skillet (remember, iron is very porous.) It will also cause any residual food to burn off. Wipe out the pan with a towel and, while still very hot, coat with a thin layer of oil.

 

[csharpwv]

Alesia is right - don't scrub! The wonderful thing about cast iron cookware is that once it is well seasoned, you really don't need much more than a small pat of butter/margarine or a teaspoon of oil to make it as 'non-stick' as Teflon or similar cookware.

When we first got married I had to 'brief' my wife on the proper care of cast iron cookware. She had never been around it, cooked in it, or cleaned it. I grew up in the country - by parents who were raised by parents who were raised in the country! LOL

The world's best sausage gravy is cooked in a well seasoned iron skillet - AFTER the sausage has been cooked! HAHA

If you can find a stove top reversible griddle/grill - they are GREAT on a gas stove. We love to grill chicken breasts, hot dogs, or brats in the winter when grilling outside isn't much of an option. It can get pretty cold here in the winter! The great thing about the grill on the one side - is that once we are finished - we just wipe it clean with a wet cloth, flip it over to the griddle side, and the next time we go to cook pancakes or something any of the unwanted residue on the grill side just burns off - and then - the grill is ready to go again! We LOVE ours - it came with our stove!