I agree that Goodwill can be a treasure trove for quality cast iron.
Be sure to:
place it on a flat surface to ensure that the bottom hasn't become bowed. It's no fun cooking on a pan that rocks and heats unevenly.
rap your knuckle on the bottom and make sure it rings rather than thuds. Thuds mean that it's cracked and it can't be fixed.
Even if it rings, check it for cracks. There could be cracks in the side that don't prevent it from ringing.
The knob will get hot before the handle will.
The handle will do a decent job of dumping heat as it accumulates.
If you boiled water for an extended time it would eventually get hot but probably not in the usual course of cooking a meal.
Instant Pots are microprocessor controlled and are practically goof proof as long as there's at least a half cup of liquid in it before you seal it.
Even if you forget, it will shut itself down.
As soon as the temperature gets above 250°F the Instant Pot knows that it's out of liquid and shuts down. It will not blow up.
Even the old stovetop pressure cookers were hard to blow up if you remembered to put some liquid in them.
Usually not! I have been using my saute pan with metal handles since 2012 without thinking about potholders for the handles or lid unless I am pulling it out of the oven. Recently I got caught by surprise with unexpected guests and used it for a dark roux. I burnt the &$@# out my fingers when I grabbed it! BTW the smothered turkey necks in onion gravy got raves! It's Heresy cooking cooking a Cajun roux in a stainless saute pan but it sure worked!
als, that sounds really good. I love Cajun roux, but not a clue how to make it.
Ingredients:
Patience
Good company; Grandkids are the best. Family, friends and neighbors are great, music or singing to yourself will do in a pinch.
Time; About one hour for a Cajun dark roux: Now, there are various schools of thought on this. There are renowned Louisiana Chefs and many northerners (meaning anyone that lives above I-10) who pull together a wonderful, nutty smelling, velvety, dark chocolate colored roux together in twenty minutes.
Me, I'm into being 'in the zone' and going slowly so I can get the most out of the company, conversation, changing smell, color, texture and feel as the roux comes together.
Flat bottomed spoon
Well seasoned cast iron Dutch oven
One cup EACH oil and flour made into a dark roux will thicken about 6-8 cups of gumbo. (
I'll use butter, poultry, pork or bacon fat for part or all of the oil depending on the dish that I am making.)
Here are links to three masters of South Louisiana Cuisine for techniques.
https://www.gumbopages.com/food/ingred.html
Read the book by Alice Walker, Temple of my Familiar for a memorable roux and gumbo passage.
$80.14 right now
eBay with VIP Outlet has the open box Instant Pot 8QT Crisp Multi-Cooker & Air Fryer (140-0048-01) for $69 - 10% off in cart - 20% off with coupon code COUNTDOWN22 [Exp 10/23] = $50 with free shipping.
Instant Pot 140-0048-01 8QT Crisp Multi-Cooker Air Fryer 195925250088 | eBay?
Air fryer and pressure cooker, $50 now!
QVC has the OL601 8qt Pressure Cooker Air Fryer w/ Smart Lid for 99.95 with free shipping code FREESHIP
Black, Stainless, Copper, Cinnamon colors
$80 at Costco!
https://home.woot.com/offers/ninja-12-in-1-speedi-rapid-cooker-air-fryer-1?
$65.99 refurbished on Woot!
$29 air fryers!
From what I can tell, air fryers are very much like a tightly closed convection oven - we've got a regular one of those and it gets a little use...not much.
My pressure cooker adventure branched off of getting a rice cooker - which was great, until I got my hands on a lightly used PowerXL pressure cooker, and then...
Wow.
Stuff that I used to do overnight in the crock pot now takes well under an hour; hard veggies that were fiddly to cook now get done in a single cycle, and to get tender pork is now amazingly simple.
Best of all (IMO) once in a while I splurge on some hot sausages - and doing those up in the pressure cooker is purely delightful, the best I've ever had - even better than cooking them over an open flame.
The only thing less than ideal about the pressure cooker is that like all non-stick cookware, the high heat at the bottom defeats that and it was a pain to clean until I discovered 2 things:
1 - Letting it soak with hot water & baking soda loosened that crud easily;
2 - Making a circle of grill mat material to be used along with either ample water or coconut oil at the bottom eliminated that problem 100%.
When electric pressure cookers came out I was not impressed by their ~$100 pricing...but having one now that cost far less has become a real kitchen favourite.
https://www.costco.com/midea-11-quart-two-zone-air-fryer-oven.product.4000188881.html
Two levels... air fryer on top, traditional toaster oven on bottom. $60!
Anyone got the recall for the Best Buy pressure cooker? I got my notice, put in my info, awaiting a replacement pot and pressure valve.