Name a piece of cookware that works harder than your cast iron skillet. There’s a pretty good chance you can’t. In addition to handling a wealth of potential recipes, cast iron skillets are incredibly durable and can handle high temperatures—they are iron, after all. From a cooking standpoint, this means that cast iron skillets are better at retaining and distributing heat and, in turn, yield an even consistency and temperature whether you’re frying chicken or flipping pancakes.
Cast iron skillets also come with pretty specific rules: season them before use, always give them a nice preheat with oil, and never ever stick them in the dishwasher. Go ahead and add another rule to your cast iron skillet list and make sure this ingredient doesn’t go near it.
The 1 Thing You Should Never Cook in a Cast Iron Skillet
While there are plenty of foods you can (and should!) prepare in a cast iron skillet, there’s one you really need to avoid: fish.
First, cooking fish isn’t great for your cast iron skillet, especially if it wasn’t properly seasoned before initial use. The fish’s protein can stick to the pan through a chemical reaction, which endangers both your cast iron skillet’s seasoning and any future dishes you make in it.
In addition to wasting food and damaging your cookware, you’re also risking a stink that can survive multiple washes. Catfish-scented cinnamon rolls, anyone?
“Cooking is about temperature and moisture displacement,” says Hudson Rouse, chef and owner of Rising Son, Whoopsie’s, and Pure Quill Superette in Atlanta. “That vapor’s gotta go somewhere.” In other words, there’s a lot of science behind that stink.
When it comes to cooking fish on the stovetop, you’re better off using something with a slick surface, like a nonstick or stainless-steel pan. Delicate or thin fish like cod and halibut are less likely to break from a slick surface, and you won’t have to worry about the skin getting stuck to the pan.
