Want to get a cast iron pan

[JASinIL2006]

What sort of things do you plan to cook in the cast iron pan? For searing proteins, I like my Lodge pan just fine. It has a thermal mass that the smooth, lighter cast iron pans don't have.

I'm less crazy about the Lodge when I need something closer to non-stick. For that, I have a smooth-surfaced ancient Griswold that is much better.

[jknife]

After some additional reading it seems important to wear a mask while working on smoothing cast iron. That's not a problem for me since I have some that are left over from some event. Can't quite remember what it was.

[Kekoa]

What sort of things do you plan to cook in the cast iron pan? For searing proteins, I like my Lodge pan just fine. It has a thermal mass that the smooth, lighter cast iron pans don't have.

I'm less crazy about the Lodge when I need something closer to non-stick. For that, I have a smooth-surfaced ancient Griswold that is much better.

I was hoping for some non-stickness out of it, if surface finish is really the difference then I instantly become very curious about trying to smooth out a Lodge and see what I can get out of it. I just got access to an angle grinder recently so we'll see. I'm also going to take a look at some of the smoother pans I happened across at the antique store if I get the chance.

If I try to think of what I would be cooking in it off the top of my head, sautéing onions, cooking up taco meat, cooking chicken sausages, are all frequent tasks, and I was hoping that I would be able to cook eggs and pancakes on it too, but those are things that need some non-stickness, even the chicken sausage I make sticks pretty bad on the wrong pan. I feel like I'm missing some other things I cook but those are probably the most frequent things. Will certainly try a pan pizza if I get a 12 in.

After some additional reading it seems important to wear a mask while working on smoothing cast iron. That's not a problem for me since I have some that are left over from some event. Can't quite remember what it was.

Um, definitely. Any time you are grinding something you want a mask so you don't breath any of it in. And safety glasses.

[XexoX]

If you do decide to look at carbon steel, don't forget about Darto ones. Made in Argentina. I don't have them, but they were mentioned in a carbon pan thread a few years ago.

[ex1580]

If I try to think of what I would be cooking in it off the top of my head, sautéing onions, cooking up taco meat, cooking chicken sausages, are all frequent tasks, and I was hoping that I would be able to cook eggs and pancakes on it too, but those are things that need some non-stickness, even the chicken sausage I make sticks pretty bad on the wrong pan. I feel like I'm missing some other things I cook but those are probably the most frequent things. Will certainly try a pan pizza if I get a 12 in.

Pancakes can be tricky. It probably depends on your mix but that is the only thing I have had trouble with. I make buckwheat pancakes. Everything else is smooth sailing (including cake!). A cast iron skillet is perfect for fajita veggies and proteins.

[Lloyd Harner]

on something deep like a dutch oven an orbital sander or the mentioned drill attment would work better. i want to say when i have to fix rust on myb griddle it was 80 grit. dont need to go crazy on grit smooth is fine if you go too high sometimes the seasoning doesnt want to stick nicely or can flake off

[mauichef]

If I try to think of what I would be cooking in it off the top of my head, sautéing onions, cooking up taco meat, cooking chicken sausages, are all frequent tasks, and I was hoping that I would be able to cook eggs and pancakes on it too, but those are things that need some non-stickness, even the chicken sausage I make sticks pretty bad on the wrong pan. I feel like I'm missing some other things I cook but those are probably the most frequent things. Will certainly try a pan pizza if I get a 12 in.

Pancakes can be tricky. It probably depends on your mix but that is the only thing I have had trouble with. I make buckwheat pancakes. Everything else is smooth sailing (including cake!). A cast iron skillet is perfect for fajita veggies and proteins.

I use our non smoothed Legend Comal for pancakes, never had one stick.

[mauichef]

Our new house will have a nice outside kitchen as we eat most of the time outside and I love cooking over live flames etc. My number one priority is to include a griddle. My brother just got one and he is in love! I recon I will be making over 50% of our meals on it.

[ex1580]

Our new house will have a nice outside kitchen as we eat most of the time outside and I love cooking over live flames etc. My number one priority is to include a griddle. My brother just got one and he is in love! I recon I will be making over 50% of our meals on it.

griddle.jpg

You are living my dream! I will catch up eventually.

[mauichef]

Our new house will have a nice outside kitchen as we eat most of the time outside and I love cooking over live flames etc. My number one priority is to include a griddle. My brother just got one and he is in love! I recon I will be making over 50% of our meals on it.

griddle.jpg

You are living my dream! I will catch up eventually.

Gracias.......Dont rush it...theres no hurry

I have dreamt of a nice outside kitchen for years and now is the time to realize it. Outdoor living is the main thing for us here, we rarely eat inside, so very excited by this. Got the Komal the other week and have eyes on the rest of the gear. (Cru Pizza oven, Napoleon gas grill, Le Griddle gas griddle, small IR burner) We finished the designs the other day so really anxious to see the renderings.

[JASinIL2006]

I considered taking a grinder to a cast iron pan to smooth out the interior, but after watching a couple Youtube videos, I decided that was just too much work and wasn't really guaranteed to produce a flat (as well as smooth) surface. If I needed to cook delicate proteins that I didn't want to stick (e.g., eggs and fish) or things like pancakes, I'd probably just use a non-stick pan or a carbon steel skillet.

Honestly, my Griswold (which is a lighter cast iron pan that Lodge, but with a smooth interior) functions about the same as carbon steel. The difference in thermal mass between the Griswold and my carbon steel pan isn't that great - it favors the Griswold slightly - but that really only matters when I'm trying to sear the bejesus out of something. For everything else, they perform about the same.

[ex1580]

I got my hands on a 12" Lodge carbon steel skillet recently. I plan on using it over a campfire, but maybe on the grill too. As such I wasn't going to put a lot of effort into making it perfect in regard to smoothing it out or anything. I used some sandpaper and smoothed out the rough Lodge seasoning until it was good enough. This only took a few minutes with some 220 grit paper. I wouldn't call it really smooth like my other skillets but the inside is much smoother than the outside now. I know the picture doesn't look like much but when you run a finger across it the seasoning feels smooth now, rather than pretty grippy like a skateboard deck.

After the sanding I cleaned, dried, and oiled it and took it outside to the burner and reasoned it. I probably accelerated the seasoning process by a few months of regular use. No complaints about the skillet and I look forward to cooking with it! I had a griddle on that burner last weekend and I was thinking that it sure would be nice to have a handle so I could move the food away from the heat.

I will say that it was a little annoying to season the handle. There were some chips in the seasoning that were starting to rust. I oiled up the handle and held it in the flame until it smoked, then set the skillet down and rubbed more oil in until it stopped smoking. It looks good now but maybe next time I make pizza I will stick it in the hot oven for a bit.

[XexoX]

I got my hands on a 12" Lodge carbon steel skillet recently. I plan on using it over a campfire, but maybe on the grill too. As such I wasn't going to put a lot of effort into making it perfect in regard to smoothing it out or anything. I used some sandpaper and smoothed out the rough Lodge seasoning until it was good enough. This only took a few minutes with some 220 grit paper. I wouldn't call it really smooth like my other skillets but the inside is much smoother than the outside now. I know the picture doesn't look like much but when you run a finger across it the seasoning feels smooth now, rather than pretty grippy like a skateboard deck.

After the sanding I cleaned, dried, and oiled it and took it outside to the burner and reasoned it. I probably accelerated the seasoning process by a few months of regular use. No complaints about the skillet and I look forward to cooking with it! I had a griddle on that burner last weekend and I was thinking that it sure would be nice to have a handle so I could move the food away from the heat.

I will say that it was a little annoying to season the handle. There were some chips in the seasoning that were starting to rust. I oiled up the handle and held it in the flame until it smoked, then set the skillet down and rubbed more oil in until it stopped smoking. It looks good now but maybe next time I make pizza I will stick it in the hot oven for a bit.

Nice looking skillet you got there! I didn't even know that Lodge made carbon steel pans. Learned something new today. How much does it weigh? I'm finding that is becoming an important factor as I age (unfortunately, not like a fine wine. )

[billk1002]

I got my hands on a 12" Lodge carbon steel skillet recently. I plan on using it over a campfire, but maybe on the grill too. As such I wasn't going to put a lot of effort into making it perfect in regard to smoothing it out or anything. I used some sandpaper and smoothed out the rough Lodge seasoning until it was good enough. This only took a few minutes with some 220 grit paper. I wouldn't call it really smooth like my other skillets but the inside is much smoother than the outside now. I know the picture doesn't look like much but when you run a finger across it the seasoning feels smooth now, rather than pretty grippy like a skateboard deck.

After the sanding I cleaned, dried, and oiled it and took it outside to the burner and reasoned it. I probably accelerated the seasoning process by a few months of regular use. No complaints about the skillet and I look forward to cooking with it! I had a griddle on that burner last weekend and I was thinking that it sure would be nice to have a handle so I could move the food away from the heat.

I will say that it was a little annoying to season the handle. There were some chips in the seasoning that were starting to rust. I oiled up the handle and held it in the flame until it smoked, then set the skillet down and rubbed more oil in until it stopped smoking. It looks good now but maybe next time I make pizza I will stick it in the hot oven for a bit.

Nice looking skillet you got there! I didn't even know that Lodge made carbon steel pans. Learned something new today. How much does it weigh? I'm finding that is becoming an important factor as I age (unfortunately, not like a fine wine. )

That is a nice looking skillet, I will have to look into one of those, I also had no idea that Lodge make carbon steel items.

When I need to touchup the seasoning on my cast iron, I will rub the entire pad down, inside, outside & handle, throw it in a 450 degree oven for 45 minutes then shut the oven off and leave the pan in the oven for as long as it takes to cool off.
Give it a try and let us know what you think.

[ex1580]

Nice looking skillet you got there! I didn't even know that Lodge made carbon steel pans. Learned something new today. How much does it weigh? I'm finding that is becoming an important factor as I age (unfortunately, not like a fine wine. )

Thanks! I was looking for something cheap but not garbage and came upon this. Time will tell but I think it looks well enough made. The center is slightly higher than the sides so it wont turn into a spinner on a glass top stove when hot (not that I am doing that, but I did check). The Lodge seasoning is very grippy and if that bothers you a little sandpaper can fix it pretty quickly. I went over the corners of the handle so I wouldn't leave leather on them. I believe it weights a hair over 4 lbs which is pretty good. Something to consider is that most of my cast iron skillets have a heat ring around the edge which holds them just above a burner so they heat evenly. If you cook on electric or induction then it is important to know that this sits directly on the burner and will heat up quickly.

I'll try to remember to update this after I use it a few times.

[cliff]

I love Lodge. They make a great enamelled Dutch oven.

For a big skillet, I use a Mafter carbon steel pan. It's similarly inexpensive but a bit easier to maneuver.

[ex1580]

I made tacos tonight and the skillet worked beautifully. If I had to nitpick I would wish that the side wall was a little higher so I wouldn't lose any veggies overboard when tossing the food, but I knew that before I bought it.

[Kekoa]

I got to take a quick look at the cast iron pans at the antique store yesterday. There are about six Wagners around 8-10 in. for $30-40 dollars depending on which one. They look OK to my untrained eye, fairly smooth bottoms, but with some small pits scattered across the surface. Not sure if that is typical. They didn't feel bad from a weight perspective for me personally, I wouldn't mind the weight at all. I have no idea how old they are, and unfortunately I wasn't able to snap a picture this time around to help date them. I'll try to get a picture if I happen to end up there again.

Not sure what to think of the pricing, or if the little pits in the bottom matter. Any thoughts?

[ex1580]

Not sure what to think of the pricing, or if the little pits in the bottom matter. Any thoughts?

Do you need a skillet or a project? It could be fun! It's sort of like the fit and finish of a knife. The further it is from where you want it to be the more work you will need to do. I read an article a long time ago that I can't for the life of me find now by a guy who refinishes cast iron skillets he finds at garage sales and flea markets. If memory serves you will want to bring a ruler and make sure the bottom is level and the cooking surface is not damaged. Those are things that are more difficult to fix than it's worth.

EDIT: I think this might be the article I was thinking of. https://www.bonappetit.com/story/cast-i ... -interview

[XexoX]

I got to take a quick look at the cast iron pans at the antique store yesterday. There are about six Wagners around 8-10 in. for $30-40 dollars depending on which one. They look OK to my untrained eye, fairly smooth bottoms, but with some small pits scattered across the surface. Not sure if that is typical. They didn't feel bad from a weight perspective for me personally, I wouldn't mind the weight at all. I have no idea how old they are, and unfortunately I wasn't able to snap a picture this time around to help date them. I'll try to get a picture if I happen to end up there again.

Not sure what to think of the pricing, or if the little pits in the bottom matter. Any thoughts?

If I remember correctly, that was the price for Griswold pans back in the 1990s. If you aren't going for a "collectable" cast iron, you might do a bit better on price, but not much I think. I saw some no-brand cast iron pans made in Taiwan last week at a Goodwill Store for $20. Thought that was about 5 more than they should have been. I did like them. Shorter pan sides, which made them lighter. Seem to be good castings. I'm guessing made in the 1970s.