by caseydog » Fri Aug 10, 2007 10:31 am
I am not talking about using lard to lube my pan for cooking, or for a wipe-down after washing. I just use it to do the actual seasoning of the cast iron.
When cooking meats, I let the fat in the meat do the lubing, if there is enough fat in the meat. I try to use butter, in very small amounts, if I need a little extra fat while cooking in my seasoned cast iron.
When I cook in my All Clad try-ply cookware, I use olive oil as the fat. Same with my coated cast iron. I can wash those with soap, so the residue doesn't matter, anyway.
I just have found that using a vegetable fat for the actual seasoning always leaves my cast iron sticky. And when I had two dogs in the same house as the sticky cast iron, things got nasty in a hurry.
As for health concerns, I wouldn't think it would matter what you SEASON a pan with. I would never, ever COOK with lard. And, I only cook in my seasoned cast iron when I go camping, for the most part. I don't consider the healthiness of foods when I camp cook. My philosophy is to TRY to eat healthy every day, but when on teardrop time, bring on the red meat, bacon and eggs, and fry 'em up in butter.
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