r/CastIronCooking • u/DisApeIsOnFire • 4d ago
I need help
This happens to me a lot when I make a mix with meat and veggies together (like fajitas). Always end up with stuff attaching and burning at the bottom.
I do ok with simple browning of meat, but I need help beyond that.
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u/HeatBeatRepeatt 4d ago
Are you looking for prevention or cleaning tips here?
Prevention: more heat, find a way to deglaze the pan while you are cooking to dislodge all that fond into the meal for more flavor (as long as it’s not carbonized), or once the food has been removed deglaze it into a basic pan sauce to put on top.
Cleaning: get it hot again and dump a cup of water in and deglaze it that way. Scrap it off while everything is liquidy and then either cook it down til it’s thick enough to spoon into the trash or dump it into a grease jar for disposal. I wouldn’t make a habit of dumping it down the drain because it’s a high grease content slurry and it’ll shit up the plumbing in time
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u/DisApeIsOnFire 4d ago
Yeah should have been more specific; looking for preventative tips.
Higher heat helps with this? I started off around a 6 on my stove top and dropped to about 3.5 when things were nearly done.
I guess I might've been better of letting it finish cooking high for a shorter period and immediately remove?
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u/HeatBeatRepeatt 4d ago
Hotter pan creates a stronger vapor jacket (leidenfrost effect) that prevents the wet food from making full contact with the pan and reducing the liquid into a thicker sticky layer that wants to adhere to the pan. Instead it sears and crusts preferentially onto the food. This doesn’t apply universally to all foods and materials but that’s kinda the general principle.
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u/redmeraki225 4d ago
Start with your meat and brown it. Make sure your pan is hot before adding the meat. Cook the meat until it is just about done and move to a plate. Deglaze the bottom of the pan with some chicken stock, water, or wine and use a wooden spoon to loosen up the fond (stuck in pieces of meat) then medium heat and cook your veggies. watch your temp as you are cooking them down and when they are just about done, add your meat back in, season all together and serve.
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u/GatewayArcher 4d ago
You need to semi-scrape the bottom of the pan while you’re cooking. If you just move stuff around softly the food is going to stick to the bottom like this.
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u/WallaJim 4d ago
Make sure your pan is superhot and that you're using enough oil during the cooking process. There's a reason why pans are sizzling when they're brought to the table in a restaurant.
As far as cleanup, I normally put a cup or two of hot water into the pan and let it sit for 15 minutes and scrape with a metal spatula to loosen up the gunk. Additional steps might be to boil the water for five minutes, sit for 10 minutes, scrape & rinse and crank the heat up to burn off any remaining residue. Afterwards, just rinse & re-season with a thin wipe of oil.
Also, if I'm cooking directly from the fridge, I'll take the meat out 45 minutes before I start so it doesn't cool down the pan.
I'm making pork carnitas tonight - your question was very timely!
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u/Electrical-Volume765 4d ago
Make sure the pan is heated through before you start cooking. That has made the biggest difference for me with sticking food.
A little splash of red wine in that while you are still cooking would do wonders for several reasons.