Think you’re a cast iron master? Let’s prove it.
After 50+ years cookin’ in cast iron, I’m putting a BRAND NEW Lancaster Cast Iron Skillet – first heat ever, bronze not black – to the 5-food torture test. No build-up to hide behind. Just pre-heat, heat control, and self-release.
We cook:
0:00 The 5-food master test in a new pan
1:50 Level 1 – Over-easy eggs
3:04 Level 2 – Fresh hash browns
4:48 Level 3 – Buttermilk pancakes
6:50 Level 4 – Skin-on salmon
9:46 Boss Level – Classic French Omelet
12:09 All 5!
5 for 5, you’re a master. 3 for 5, you’re close – it’s heat, not seasoning.
Comment eggs or fish – which one still gets you? I read every one.
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🌡️ My Favorite Thermometers:
Typhur Sync Gold Quad
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🔥 My Favorite Cast Iron Skillets
Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet Set (great starter set)
https://amzn.to/4c31vcf
Lodge 12 Inch Cast Iron Skillet with Red Silicone Hot Handle Holder (great daily user)
https://amzn.to/49VOFeM
Lodge Cast Iron 10.5-inch Square Grill Pan (great for steaks)
https://amzn.to/4qYwX04
Lancaster Cast Iron
https://amzn.to/4hnvpJp
🔥 My Favorite Carbon Steel Skillets
Lodge 8 Inch Carbon Steel Skillet
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Lodge 12 Inch Carbon Steel Skillet
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🍳 Cast Iron Tools I Use Daily
Lodge Scrub Brush
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MR.SIGA Pot and Pan Cleaning Brush – Pack of 2
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2 Pack Fish Spatula Stainless Steel
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Kitchen Tweezers
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HardMill Leather Pan Handle Cover
Standard https://amzn.to/4eLt2if
Long https://amzn.to/4watOMQ
Silicone Trivet Mats 4
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Salt and Pepper Grinder
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Oil Sprayer
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🎬 Production
DJI Mic Mini
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LumaFushion for iPad
(video editing, on app store)
Apple iPad Pro 13-Inch (M4)
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Magnetic Camera Mount
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Camera Phone Mount with 360° Rotatable Cold Shoe Base, MagSafe
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Zeadio Heavy Duty Metal Tripod Kit with Arca Ball Head
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👨🍳 ABOUT COOKIN WITH BOB #cookinwithbob :
50+ years of cooking experience sharing easy tips, tricks, and the best cooking hacks. With a touch of humor. New videos every week! Keep Cookin! 🍳 #cookinwithbob Bob Travis
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21 Comments
That skillet is a beauty.
Really loving your videos!
Those are about the best eggs I have seen you cook yet. You think it is the skillet?
Bob, grabbed you pancake recipe from another video and made them last sunday. Big hit in my house. Thanks, love your videos.
Well done…. 🙂
You’re gonna love that skillet Bob. My Lancaster is the first one I reach for almost every day.
I have bought three of those now, one for myself and one each for two of my daughters. And the lid they make for it is really nice also. Just got one for one of my girls.
I struggled for ever until I watched you low heat fixed all my problems love my cast iron now. Thanks
Sir, you are a cast iron master!! I have been thinking about going back to using my cast iron skillets and it's been so long since I've used my Lodge skillets that I had forgotten how to use them. Then, as miracles do happen, one of your videos popped up on my YouTube feed and I'm going to give it a try again this weekend. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us. I have subscribed to your channel and will be binge watching. I won't be listening to anyone but you. One question – do you need to let the cast iron skillet cool down before running it under water to clean it? Thank you!
your the king of cast iron. lol
Hi Bob, try a little jam or jelly on each layer of your pancakes. My favorite is homemade peach marmalade. And if you're making jelly and it fails to set as desired, it's perfect for pancake topping.
Fantastic. Watching/listening to you cook is like a good therapy session. Also–nice skillet!
Good move Lancaster, this is the guy I would want showing my product. Look how evenly the pancake cooked. I believe Lancaster is as similar to vintage skillets as you can buy today. Not thick enough to be heavy but has even heating and heat retention. This should be a premium skillet.
Hey, you're always trying new things, Bob. But I didn't know you'd lower yourself to cooking with a skillet that isn't at least as old as I am–which puts you into Grizwald and Wagner territory. One thing I do when making hash browns is, after I've rinsed all the starch out of them, I cover them for the first ten minutes or so of cooking. This allows the steam to make sure they're nice and cooked inside. Then remove the cover and as they brown, all the moisture cooks off. Keep on cookin', Bob!
Bob you are amazing! Love watching your content my friend! You always bring something that will help bring all of us cast iron folks together. I mean you can cook and I cannot lol. However, you make me feel more confident in the kitchen and as always you nailed it and we love you for being you 🙂
I think it is called a Jimmy shake when cooking a fried egg. If you can fry an egg and it slides around like a hockey puck on ice with just a "Jimmy shake" (aka passing the fried egg test), then you know your cast iron is at excellent seasoning performance.
Salmon looked great. I am still working on trying to get my blackened fish to come out great. Getting there sorta.
Great video again. I own a few Lancaster skillets myself and I love them. I live in PA so they are relatively local to me, which increases their appeal even more. They are beautiful 'old style' skillets, very well made, and very nicely finished. The price isn't going to be for everyone, to me it's like buying a Honda vs a Mercedes. They both will get you to work in the same amount of time, but the Mercedes is going to have a lot nicer higher finish and attention to detail. You're also going to pay multiple times more for it. Same with cast iron. The fancier you want it to be the more you're going to pay.
Bacon has turned into one of the worst things to cook in fresh cast iron. The amount of sugars in most bacon will cause nothing but headaches for many people. Sugars burn easily and is not the best thing to start with, no matter what people say. "That's how we did it growing up" doesn't really mean much with how much things have changed in the last 50 years. Things are not the same as they were then. Best then doesn't always equal best now. Cars didn't use to have seatbelts. Do you refuse to use them now because 'my grandparents didn't use seatbelts and they survived'? Things change, learn to change with them. Bob just showed us all that learning the right way to do things makes such a huge difference.
Keep cooking!
I'm from the school of thought that bacon is that first thing to cook with a new, seasoned pan. Even though I've been watching your videos for the past several months, I'd still do the bacon…can't go wrong if done right. However, these days I've learned, from you, to use that lower heat. That makes the difference. Had burgers tonight, cooked in the cast iron, along with a little butter. Stayed on a medium low heat and the burgers cooked slow and perfectly. Let the pan cool, and was able to drain the grease, wipe with a paper towel, and clean with hot tap water and scrubby brush. Ready to go for the next meal! Thanks for the video! Newbies? This guy is the real deal! Made me better on my skillet and Dutch oven cooking. Sad part? My adult son has been telling me for the past 20 years that my heat was too high with my cast iron cooking.
0:05 Outstanding presentation. That would be a great skillet, especially for a first time cast iron purchase. Like they say buy once, cry once. Great food, gotta say that thin omelette turned out spectacular. Keep cooking and learning. Many thanks for sharing.😊
You are going to enjoy the heck out of that Lancaster. I got their #8 for Christmas and the #12 for Father’s Day and I absolutely love them.
Have no plans to ditch my trusty Lodge pans but I do end up grabbing my Lancasters or the Fredericksburg Cast Iron pan that I got from my local foundry here in the Texas Hill Country.
You will not be disappointed.
We gave our original cast iron frying pans to my brother in law when we moved to a house with a smooth top stove. They have a gas stove. Have since learned we can use cast iron on ours. So, we bought new pans. Trying to get the hang of it again. Im not much of a meat eater anymore, so i like to learn about cooking other things.
Apple butter on pancakes