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Comment by ogre_codes | Hacker News Reader

For steaks I heat my cast iron up and drop it on the skillet, just a few seconds each side. I use the broiler for odd shaped stuff like ribs.

I know a lot of people use a torch, but personally I like the skillet. Seems less fiddly and generally faster for a steak.

Maybe I’m just paranoid and missing out on some flavor but I don’t cook anything other than fish below 135F to kill any bacteria. https://www.amazingfoodmadeeasy.com/info/sous-vide-safety/mo... (Update) I’ve seen other reliable sources suggest 130F for 2+ hours is safe.

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> but I don’t cook anything other than fish below 135 F

That's funny; fish is the one thing I'm ultra paranoid about. Many parasites survive in fish up to 145 F, and parasites are much more common than you might think. The gross out factor convinced me to switch away from wild salmon to farmed. Sushi grade fish is a bit different since it's required to be flash frozen in the U.S., but you're still eating parasite corpses (which doesn't bother some people, but personally makes me a bit squeamish).

Eating parasite corpses objectively isn't worse than any other live matter in a fish.

As a society we live bathed in feces. The fecal-oral route is the most common way in which we get food poisoning. Yet it's only when the feces is pathogen-laden that we actually get food poisoning.

Worrying about dead parasites seems a little pointless when most people don't even wash their hands correctly.

My only hope with this pandemic is that people will wash their hands more than before.

> That's funny; fish is the one thing I'm ultra paranoid about.

For me anyhow, beef at 135 is decent (pork and chicken at 145 is my goto FWIW), but lots of fish tastes rubbery and just bad when cooked above 125 or so. I don't eat a ton of fish so I gamble on that.

Practically all commercial fish is frozen to kill parasites. "Sushi grade" is a marketing term.

Another good reference for sous vide safety is Doug Baldwin: https://www.douglasbaldwin.com/sous-vide.html#Safety

He has a fairly exhaustive explanation of the different food-born microorganisms and how to kill them.

My main gripe with the cast iron is that it generates so much smoke (even with fancier oils like grapeseed) that I get a pretty bad headache. I guess my ventilation is just not up to par. I've been eyeing a portable induction cooktop to use outside, but my boyfriend just wants me to get a grill.

Induction cooktops are MAGIC. Since I am a lazy i used the portable ones, because having not to install them. And discovered i can flip/fold them against the wall when not in use to save space!

Anyways, go get at least one!

How are induction cooktops going to help with smoking oil?

I think it was because the poster was specifically buying one for outdoor use (rather than the fact that it was induction).

To piggyback on this comment, one reason I love using a cast iron skillet for steaks is so I can get a nice fond and deglaze for a sauce to go over the steak/potatoes/whatever. It's like a freebie!

> I think it was because the poster was specifically buying one for outdoor use

Ahh, that could make sense, yes.

> one reason I love using a cast iron skillet for steaks is so I can get a nice fond and deglaze for a sauce

Yup. Pan sauces are free flavor that you get with every pan meal :) Works well with stainless steel skillets too.

Yeah, I think my preference to the cast iron is mostly that the torch seems so fiddly and slower, otherwise it works just fine.

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