Skillet Buttermilk Biscuits & {How to Season & Care for Cast Iron Cookware}

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I'm right in the middle of Old Fashioned Favorites Week. For me cooking with Cast Iron is old fashioned so, I thought it would be fitting to post on how to season and care for cast iron cookware along with a recipe.

Why you ask? Well, I noticed every time I post a cast iron recipe then follows a lot of questions about care and cleaning. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to post a recipe for Skillet Buttermilk Biscuits and some cast iron tips thrown in as well.

Growing up I remember my mother cooking with cast iron skillets and I never understood her love for them. Well, I have come to find out it is definitely a Southern Thing!!! And all I can say is   I ♥ my Cast Iron Skillets!

I really do they're my all time favorite cookware, besides my Paula Dean Cookware LOL.

I don't know what I would do without my cast iron skillets. The cooking possibilities are endless and every true southerner knows the only way to cook good cornbread is to use a cast iron skillet.

If you follow proper cleaning and maintenance procedures your cast iron cookware will last for generations.

Anytime I mention that I use a cast iron skillet to cook, the first response I get from EVERYONE is the same thing.............. "I always heard how dirty they are" absolutely not true!

That's just someone who hasn't been properly taught how to care for and clean for cast iron. Well I'm here to tell you how to do so, that way you to can enjoy the love of Cast Iron Cooking.

First off after you purchase your cast iron cookware or skillet it will need to be seasoned. Follow these simple steps below to season your new best friend.

Once you cook with a cast iron skillet and learn all the basics, you will wonder WHY you haven't cook with one sooner.

Photo Credit - Google

How to Season New Cast Iron cookware:

Coat your new cast iron cookware with vegetable shortening (inside and out). Place in a 350 degree oven for one hour. Remove, and wipe off any liquefied shortening. Your pan is now seasoned! To avoid a mess in the oven, place a piece of foil under the pan. Keep in mind with a new cast iron skillet or cookware a  true no-stick surface takes time to form.

Washing and Care of Cast Iron Cookware:

For best results, rinse the pan with hot water immediately after cooking. If you need to remove burned-on food, scrub with a mild abrasive, like coarse salt, and a nonmetal brush to preserve the nonstick surface; you can also use a few drops of a mild dish washing soap every once in a while. 

When I prepare meals such a baked spaghetti or any greasy saucy dishes those are the times I use a bit of (mild dish soap). There are many cast iron users who feel it’s best to stick to water only. It's really your preference.

Whichever route you choose, be sure not to scrub too vigorously, and take care not to submerge the pan in a sink full of water. This could cause damage to the seasoning on the pan. I have owned my cast iron skillets for 15 + years and have never run into a problems by washing them in mild soapy water.

Cast iron will rust if not dried immediately after washing. Start by lightly towel drying your cookware. Then, place it on the stove burner over low heat for a minute or two to pull out any remaining moisture. Turn off the heat and lightly coat the inside of the pan with cooking oil, and heat for a minute or two longer. This will help to restore any seasoning that might have been lost during washing. Let your pan cool completely and store.


I store my cast iron skillets in the oven, on the off setting of course. Always remember to never store foods in cast iron, as this can break down the seasoning. Never submerge cast iron in water and never put cold water in a hot pan; this can cause the pan to crack or warp. And lastly never wash your cast iron in the dishwasher. If you follow these simple steps your cast iron cookware will last a lifetime.

OK now onto those pretty little Buttermilk Biscuits pictured above.  As I mentioned in my previous Buttermilk Biscuit Tutorial. I could never ever make buttermilk biscuits from scratch. I don't know why I just couldn't do it. Well the recipe I used in that tutorial is the perfect recipe!!!! I got it from Southern Living.

I know I can count on those biscuits turning out perfect every time. Well, it's been bugging me that I cannot recreate the same results using shortening. So I set out on a quest to make the perfect biscuit again............

I was watching a episode of Diners Drive Ins and Dives on the Food network. (I love that show). That particular day they highlighted a little southern hole in the wall in Kentucky, well that lady made the best buttermilk biscuits. All she used was flour, shortening and buttermilk!

I kept telling myself how do they do it? how do they get those biscuits to turn out perfect every time. Well, it came to me in a dream, I know crazy!!! I guess I do my best work while I sleep LOL.

For some reason I was visualizing Christy’s Southern Hoe Cake and to me it taste like one big ole buttermilk biscuit. Well the next day I woke up and said that's it!!!!!! Lets give it a try.

So I set out to use Christy's Hoe Cake recipe to make the perfect biscuit. I thought let me use my trusty Iron Skillet, because I saw Paula Deen use her Cast iron pan to bake biscuits so it has to work.
 

Well yesterday I made the most perfect skillet buttermilk biscuits using just 3 ingredients Yay Me!!!!!! I'm so super excited.

I know a lot of you will not think this is a big deal you probably already know how to do this but i didn't. I could never do it and I was always envious of everyone who could.
 

Now I have Two Perfect Buttermilk Biscuit Recipes one using real butter and one using shortening. My quest is over. Thank you Christy Jordan for popping up in my dream. 

These are the ingredients you will need:
Self rising flour (not all purpose), Shortening or Lard and Buttermilk.

Measure 2 1/2 cups of flour into a large bowl. I start with 2 cups but by the end you will use more when kneading the dough so it ends up being about 2 1/2 to 3 cups. Add shortening and cut into flour, I find using my hands helps to distribute the shortening all the way throughout the flour. But you can use a pastry blender which works just as well. Add the buttermilk and lightly mix just until it starts to form together.

turn biscuit dough onto a floured surface and lightly knead. Make sure not to overwork the dough or it will result in tough biscuits. Pat into a circle about 1/2 thick. If you like higher biscuits then leave the dough a bit thicker.

I use a glass to shape my biscuits, I don't have a biscuit cutter and that's what my mother use to do so I just do the same thing. Gently press a floured glass or biscuit cutter into the biscuit dough and push down (NEVER TWIST) the cutter or glass this will end up sealing the sides of the biscuits preventing them to rise. So always remember just push the glass straight down.

Cut each biscuit just like this.

Place each one of the biscuits in a large cast iron skillet touching each other, you know kind of like they are just dating not married! LOL make a fist and using your knuckles push down on each biscuit making an indention. Why do I do this you ask????? Because that's what Paula Deen did on her biscuit and milk gravy episode so just do it.

then brush melted BUTTER all over the biscuits, see all the butter puddling in the spots where we made the indention's! Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 12- 15 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.

When done remove from oven and brush on more melted butter. Cool, split each biscuit with a fork and serve. Carson is my little helper, he wanted to butter the biscuits really badly. I think he did a great job, biscuits are his all time favorite.

 

Skillet Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients:
2 1/2 - cups self rising flour (white lily if you can find it)
1 1/4 - cups buttermilk
1/2 - cup shortening or lard
Cast Iron Skillet

Directions:
Measure 2 cups of flour into a large bowl, add shortening and cut into flour. I find using my hand helps to thoroughly mix the shortening better. 

Using a pastry blender or a fork cut in the shortening. Add the buttermilk and lightly mix dough just until it starts to come together.
 
Turn biscuit dough onto a floured surface and lightly knead. Make sure not to overwork the dough or it will result in tough biscuits.
 
 Pat into a circle about 1/2 thick. If you like higher biscuits then leave the dough a bit thicker. Use a glass or biscuit cutter to shape the biscuits.

Gently press the floured glass or biscuit cutter into the biscuit dough and push down (NEVER TWIST) the cutter or glass this will end up sealing the sides of the biscuits preventing from rising. So always remember just push the glass straight down.

Cut all of the biscuits out and place each biscuit in a large cast iron skillet, touching each other. Make a fist and using your knuckles push down on each biscuit making an indention.
 
Brush melted BUTTER all over the biscuits. You can see where you pressed down all that melted butter just pools together.
 
Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 12- 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. When biscuits are done remove from oven and brush with more melted butter (real butter) not margarine.
 
Cool, split each biscuit with a fork and serve.