Thread: cast iron pans

Originally Posted by Nightblade

So I've been re reading this thread and I must say. I am deeply saddened by the fact that you can't seem to find unseasoned cast iron anywhere these days.Lodge and all the other present manufacturers have all switched to that nasty preseasoned crud.And if you do find unseasoned cast iron,it's poor quality and unlike the old school stuff is pittier in texture. I wish somebody would get a clue and start making the good stuff again.When I win the lottery,that's what I'm gonna do.I'm going to make smooth unseasoned good cast iron that's affordable.....does that make me a sell out ?? Where's the quality anymore ???

Hunt an inexpensive pan and sand/grind the heck out of it with
some comet cleanser. Perhaps with a round ax/hatchet hone stone
that you can pick up for $7.00, or some wet dry paper or just common sand
and a wood block.

Today too many have the texture from the sand casting or some badly done
machining. This makes them hard to compare with the old ones
that are already smooth. After you get the cooking surface smooth
then clean it well wipe it with melted butter/oil/bacon fat and start
cooking. I am of the opinion that old good pans are like old good razors.
The good ones were kept and handed down while the others got tossed.

For some reason all my cast iron pans vanish but I have found
that an afternoon of scratching it with abrasive (sand) gives
a modern pan the finish of an old pan. Seasoning is just using
the pan... nothing special. I have used green scotch pads, SOS
pads soap and cleansers as needed to clean it... As long as I heat
it up and wipe it with oil/fat before I add food life is good.

i.e. abuse the heck out of a new cast iron pan and it will respond
in a positive way....

Cast iron cookware is definitely in a funk right now. I still find it hard to understand why it's cost effective to ship the stuff from the other side of the globe... You look at the quality of the imports and you see why it's cheap (in more ways then one), Ya Lodge has also made cutbacks but thats another discussion

I have a love hate relationship with Lodge, but Love always wins out in the long run. If you don't use the item much you never really get a good conditioning on it. They rough texture really takes allot to fill up. My current everyday pan (SC2) round bottom skillet, is very smooth and nothing sticks to that bugger. However my #12 skillet that only sees action about once a week is still rather rough.

I keep rotating my various Dutch Ovens, both flat bottom and legged ones. So they haven't really had a chance to really season up deeply... I must work on that I only have 7 DO's at the moment... and my wife has taken to confiscating my wallet when i go to Fresno Ag, where they have some #14 deeps and some #16 camp DO's OoooOOoo....

Originally Posted by jeffegg2

Well, My wife getting tired of my cast iron. I have now the 10.5, 12, and 15 inch with lids. I found a lid for the 15" lodge from another make. Kinda expensive, but seems more versatile than a dutch oven. I have one of those corn shaped muffin things as well.

Damn these things are heavy!!!

I'm still trying to get a Griswold lid for my grandmothers pan, to cheap to go ebite for one as shipping is wicked... I know someday I'll find one local

My wife is after me and my CI accumulations as well. While I don't collect I do have about 20+ pieces not counting lids... I only count lids when I have to pack and move...

Originally Posted by Nightblade

You misunderstand...I am an old hand at seasoning and such.The point I am making is you have to search for old stuff which gets harder and harder.It used to be up until about 7 years ago that you could still get Lodge CI and other brands unseasoned at any good surplus,hardware or sporting goods store.Now you can't.And unlike the old MFG's,they don't make cast iron smooth any more because of cost. Lodge claimed some while back that they stopped making the smooth iron and started making the pitted crud because the silica used to smooth it was too costly. Greed and modernism..Yak !! Guess that's why I'm a straight shaver,cause I'm old fashioned.

got it. when i got into it i just asked friends and co workers if they new anyone with old castiron. i came up with a bunch but that source disappeared. guess i need more friends. the only modern ci i use are lodge dutch ovens.

If this link has allready been posted, I apologize. But as a new cast iron user (one antique wagner griddle from my parents, and a newer wagner skillet which I had to sand for hours to get the casting sand texture flattened) needing to season two raw pans, and as a scientist wondering about how the chemistry behind seasoning works, this page was a god-send. Hopefully it helps someone else as much as it's helped me. The page also provides several links to more information regarding cast iron stuff which are also very helpful.

Chemistry of Cast Iron Seasoning: A Science-Based How-To

And a different site which I found super helpful as a cast iron beginner:
Using a Cast Iron Skillet Ain't so Hard!


I've been cooking lots of eggs and bacon. I'll try to post some pictures of my pans once I get them all pretty with a little more use (and grease ).

Thanks very much for links. Great info, now I may be able to really season my Griswold and Wagner with something that will stay.

Well, I believe they ship in those huge cargo container ships. Dollar cost of shipping is quite low then.

I just took my Lodge 12" and 220 grit wet/dry and sanded the bottom to smooth out the jimps. It still isn't perfect, but much smoother. Re-seasoned and so far so good. Without the sanding, I was spending too much time re-seasoning. We'll see how long it lasts now.

I may have to sand my 10.25 and 15 inch skillets....

Originally Posted by DwarvenChef

Cast iron cookware is definitely in a funk right now. I still find it hard to understand why it's cost effective to ship the stuff from the other side of the globe... You look at the quality of the imports and you see why it's cheap (in more ways then one), Ya Lodge has also made cutbacks but thats another discussion

I have a love hate relationship with Lodge, but Love always wins out in the long run. If you don't use the item much you never really get a good conditioning on it. They rough texture really takes allot to fill up. My current everyday pan (SC2) round bottom skillet, is very smooth and nothing sticks to that bugger. However my #12 skillet that only sees action about once a week is still rather rough.

I keep rotating my various Dutch Ovens, both flat bottom and legged ones. So they haven't really had a chance to really season up deeply... I must work on that I only have 7 DO's at the moment... and my wife has taken to confiscating my wallet when i go to Fresno Ag, where they have some #14 deeps and some #16 camp DO's OoooOOoo....

The question is: Do you wash your cast iron ware with harsh dish soaps after using them? And do you use brillo pads and the like during the cleaning process? It has been my experience that scrubbing cast iron with steel wool and using excess dish soap will ruin a cast iron skillet quicker than rust. Normally I give my cast iron a quick wash, rinse and dry over a low heat on the stove. After that I give the pan a very thin coat of vegetable oil. Seems to work for me.

When I have to get strong flavors out of a pan I use a nylon brush with just a touch of hand soap to remove the strong flavored oils out of the pan. Than I was in clear water to make sure the soap is gone, than put on the stove to dry fully and coat in olive oil. That is the only time I generally use MILD soaps. Otherwise it's just hot water and the nylon brush and reheat to dry and a coat of olive oil.

I have thought of sanding down my #12 skillet as it doesn't get used enough to get a good filling in of the seasoning... oneday maybe...

I have a large and small Lodge skillet I usually take car camping. The small one usually cooks link sausages and nothing else. I have had a love/hate relationship with the large one, but it's out of the garage and sitting on the stove. One of the guys I train with told me about cooking a steak in a cast iron skillet in the oven, and I had to try it. Turned out pretty well, so I'm going to put that beast in my rotation.

I usually wash with hot water, avoiding soap and scrub only as much as necessary to get the naughty bits out of the pan. I rinse thoroughly in hot (and I do mean hot!) water. This time around, I wiped the whole thing down with a thin coat of oil and tossed it in the stove at 250 for about 10 minutes, as I have no idea when I'd be using it next with the holidays.