Butter or Oil in Cast Iron Skillet?

JefCB01

doing sous vide filets today and trying to sear in CI for the first time. What type of oil do I use in the skillet and at what temp?  What about butter?

bgebrent

Pat the filets dry.  Use any high smoke point oil.  Vegetable, canola, grape seed etc.  use butter to finish while resting.  Sounds good!  Post it and good luck.

JefCB01

Thanks

gdenby

Heat the oil till it "shimmers." It will start forming waves within itself. The technique I've come to use is to drop the meat into the pan, cover w. a splatter screen, and not turn it till the water sputtering sound all but stops.

And I'd add cracked pepper to the butter at the end.

Focker

I like Kerrygold clarified butter or Berkshire lard.

Regular butter cannot get hot enough without burning.  Removing the milk proteins when making clarified butter prevents this.

You can make your own ghee, super easy, a little babysitting of the pan is required.  Plenty of vids out there.  Or find some in an Indian grocer or market.  Even a health food section at the bigger grocery store may have it.  

Mixing a higher smokepoint oil with butter to prevent burning helps some too in a pinch, but ghee is the best for the high temp stuff.

I like the IR of my CI grids, pans, griddles to be around 500-600s after a nice long preheat of both the CI and ceramic.  And somewhat raised direct with a fully engaged fire like here, last night.



 Reseasoning CI gets old rather quickly, and this is plenty hot to sear.  You don't need a smoking white hot pan, it will burn the seasoning.  And you risk warping or cracking your CI....don't ask how I know.

Phatchris

I like ghee  or bacon fat for searing as well.

Acn

+1 for ghee

lousubcap

Lazy and use peanut oil-high heat threshold.  Melted butter after.  

JefCB01

Worked like a charm. Thanks for the tips. 

Chubbs

Bacon fat here

gdenby

Looks yummest!

jimithing

I like Ghee.  Bacon fat works but it imparts a bacon flavor on the steak which I'd rather not have.

20stone

jimithing said:

I like Ghee.  Bacon fat works but it imparts a bacon flavor on the steak which I'd rather not have.

I am a fan of ghee as well.

However, if you have pork fat (rendered before smoking), it has a much milder flavor.  We have a coffee can full of "pork butter" for that purpose

Phatchris

20stone said:

jimithing said:

I like Ghee.  Bacon fat works but it imparts a bacon flavor on the steak which I'd rather not have.

I am a fan of ghee as well.

However, if you have pork fat (rendered before smoking), it has a much milder flavor.  We have a coffee can full of "pork butter" for that purpose

Mmmm... Pork buttah!

Thatgrimguy

20stone said:

jimithing said:

I like Ghee.  Bacon fat works but it imparts a bacon flavor on the steak which I'd rather not have.

I am a fan of ghee as well.

However, if you have pork fat (rendered before smoking), it has a much milder flavor.  We have a coffee can full of "pork butter" for that purpose

@20stone Do you just throw your trimmings from butts in a crock pot? I've been planning on doing that for the trimmings from the two Kobe briskets I bought to make tallow.. I want a can of pork buttah!

20stone

Thatgrimguy said:

Do you just throw your trimmings from butts in a crock pot? I've been planning on doing that for the trimmings from the two Kobe briskets I bought to make tallow.. I want a can of pork buttah!

This batch was done in a skillet with the surplus fat from a ham and a shoulder. Crockpots sound like the jam, but we don't have one. Growing up, my mom kept bacon grease, and filtered and reused it.

Focker

Preach on brother....
PRAISE THE LARD!!!

smokeyw

20stone said:

jimithing said:

I like Ghee.  Bacon fat works but it imparts a bacon flavor on the steak which I'd rather not have.

I am a fan of ghee as well.

However, if you have pork fat (rendered before smoking), it has a much milder flavor.  We have a coffee can full of "pork butter" for that purpose

I think they call that lard?

Darby_Crenshaw

Looks like it browned in the skillet

or you can boil chunks of fat down fo make lard

Thatgrimguy

Darby_Crenshaw said:

Looks like it browned in the skillet

or you can boil chunks of fat down fo make lard

Just cool the water when you are done and pull your lard off the top?

fishlessman

when i sear in a skillet i just toss a pinch of salt in a dry skillet, get it hot and toss the steak in

20stone

Darby_Crenshaw said:

Looks like it browned in the skillet

or you can boil chunks of fat down fo make lard

I am doing that with my leaf lard this weekend.  I did that last bit in a skillet before I knew better.

I did, however, season the hell outta that skillet

Thatgrimguy

20stone said:

Darby_Crenshaw said:

Looks like it browned in the skillet

or you can boil chunks of fat down fo make lard

I am doing that with my leaf lard this weekend.  I did that last bit in a skillet before I knew better.

I did, however, season the hell outta that skillet

Please make a post. I'm going to take my trimmings from my 2 18-20lb Kobe gold briskets and make tallow once I figure out the process.

SmokeyPitt

I like to use both oil and butter.  I throw a pat of butter in after I have already started searing the steak just for additional flavor.   

20stone

Thatgrimguy said:

20stone said:

Darby_Crenshaw said:

Looks like it browned in the skillet

or you can boil chunks of fat down fo make lard

I am doing that with my leaf lard this weekend.  I did that last bit in a skillet before I knew better.

I did, however, season the hell outta that skillet

Please make a post. I'm going to take my trimmings from my 2 18-20lb Kobe gold briskets and make tallow once I figure out the process.

Will do.

I was thinking that in the future I would use my surplus pork back fat to make Texas (Czech) style sausage with brisket flats.  I haven't ever really had surplus beef fat, so I'll be interested to see how that goes for you.

As for the leaf lard, that's for pies and biscuits.

bhedges1987

Bought Ghee yesterday. Worked well. It didn't smoke at all.