How To Keep Cornbread From Sticking In The Pan

[Bird]

My mother used to put a little lard in the cast iron skillet and heat it up while she mixed up the cornbread ingredients. She'd then pour the surplus sizzling lard into the cornbread batter and stir it in before pouring the batter into the skillet to go back into the oven to bake. I don't recall her ever having a problem with the cornbread sticking. However, we now use the Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix and it tended to stick in both a teflon coated, and non-coated, muffin pans. So I bought two Lodge Cast iron baking pans, each is divided into 3 rectangular sections, so the two of them are pefect to making 6 rectangular pieces of cornbread. The cornbread doesn't stick as badly as in the muffin pans, but it doesn't just dump out either. So what's the best way to keep it from sticking?

[jimbrown]

The secret is to never ever wash that cast iron and let the grease build up. I also have good luck with the spray on stuff like PAM. I use the olive oil stuff.

But you ain't never gonna make it like MaMa did. I still remember the stuff my mohter made. She also cooked it in a cast iron skillet. We had a dog that would sit in front of the stove while she cooked it and no body got a piece until he did.

And it sounds crazy to people nowadays but we she often made a meat type of spaghetti sauce that w e put on top of it.
I wish I had some for dinner.

Ahh and a big piece with home made tomato soup.

[Roustabout]

You have to properly season your skillet. After you have cleaned it you have to season it again. When it gets slick enough, you can just wipe it out and store it. If there is a huge build up of baked on grease, burn the pan in a fire and then clean it. We used to do this every year to make sure it was clean. This is a link to a YouTube video about seasoning your cast iron skillets:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THgcMtxecvE

[hickchick]

I agree totally with never washing the skillet. If you have an iron skillet, use that for cornbread or biscuit bread only. Never fry any meats, eggs, or vegetables in it. Then when you are ready to use it spray it or grease it lightly. Once you have done this several times, you should be able to wipe it clean with a paper towel or dry cloth after each use. I store mine inside the oven all the time so that it doesn't get mixed up with my other skillets.

[MaggieMay]

I always use the butter flavored Pam spray when I make cornbread. It comes right out of the pan when I use it. I like using that better than lard or Crisco, they even have it in olive oil.

[Bird]

This Lodge cast iron is supposed to come already seasoned. Their instructions are to wash it without detergent and be sure it's thoroughly dried. If it becomes necessary to really clean it with detergents, then there are instructions for seasoning it again. Their seasoning is supposedly done with vegetable oil. We use olive oil. So I've even tried their instructions for seasoning it again. My cornbread doesn't stick really bad and tear up, but it doesn't dump out of the pans without some help, and always leaves a little bit stuck around the edges.
Lodge Cast Iron Cookware - America's Original Cookware - South Pittsburg, TN USA

[mountainmama]

I have one iron skillet that's been in my family forever. I use it for just about everything you can think of. I fry bacon in it, make burgers,scalloped potatoes and brownies..sometimes in one day! For me it's real simple. As soon as I'm done cooking I pour off any drippings, scrape it with a spatula if it has a lot of gunk on it and scrub it with hot water and a tad of dish soap (if need be) using a scratch free sponge . Rinse it , dry immediately and if needed add a little vegetable oil with a paper towel. It has a nice sheen to it and it's ready to go again.

[SilverVeil]

I keep separate skillets; one for frying and the other for baking cornbread and quick bread. The cornbread pan is cast iron and the frying pan is a cast iron and something hybrid. I don't use a scrubber or metal utensils on those and I don't cook water-based foods in the cornbread pan. The breads lift out.

[Roustabout]

On the Lodge site, they have a drop biscuit skillet that is fantastic for making drop biscuits AND cornbread muffins that are big enough to eat just one with a whole meal. I highly recommend it and we use it constantly. When my skillets are not in use, they are hanging on the wall as decoration in the kitchen. Makes it feel homey because most of them have been handed down in my family and my wife's family for years.

[Bird]

I think I finally found my problem with my cornbread sticking in my Lodge cast iron. I'd been using olive oil for nearly everything, but I've found the spray on vegetable oil like Pam, but even the generic from Walmart, works much better for that.