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Thread: Anyone Ever Polished a Cast Iron Skillett??

  1. #61
    Boolit Master


    gbrown's Avatar
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    I own about 50 or 60 pieces of cast iron cookware, some older, some newer. I use about 10 pieces regularly. 2 #10 skillets, 1 is Mom's, a Griswold from the '40s, my Lodge from the '70s. Both cook like teflon pans, soap never touches them. One of the things you never see is the glass lids that were sold with them--I found 2 at an antique store. For smothering cabbage, kale or simmering chili they work great. Lodge makes a little plastic scraper sold in a 2 pack. http://shop.lodgemfg.com/indoor-acce...n-scrapers.asp
    I have a Lodge #8 pot from the '30s with lid. Bottom of the pot has scallops where a smoke ring would be. Makes really good chili, spaghetti or stew. Clean cast iron? Run hot water in it, hot as you can get it. If it has food stuck to the bottom, let it sit for a while to soften. Then use a plastic scraper and wipe the pan dry. Both my grandmothers saved their newspapers. That's what they wiped their cast iron with. Here's a site you can refer to for anything cast iron. Its interesting reading. Shows how to restore and season cast iron. I've done this process a hundred times for some of mine and resurrecting friends and neighbors cast iron. At the camp, I have a 10 quart stew pot, a 14 inch spider, 2 quart bean pot and a #10 Lodge I picked up off the curb and restored. I love cast iron and rather use it than my $1000 Nutristahl stuff.

    http://www.castironcollector.com/
    Last edited by gbrown; 10-08-2017 at 01:53 PM. Reason: Add info
    One of my father's favorite statements: "If I say a chicken dips snuff, look under his wing for the snuffbox" How I was raised, who I am.

  2. #62
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    I've done three now with 80# abrasive followed by finer grit. 15-20 minutes total time by hand with a block. Just took the points off the surface. They are non stick and getting smoother every time I use them.

    Shiloh
    Je suis Charlie

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    “Any government that does not trust its citizens with firearms is either a tyranny, or planning to become one.” – Joseph P. Martino

    “If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert , in five years there would be a shortage of sand.” – Milton Friedman

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  3. #63
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    Got a NEW 10" Lodge gifted to me 10-5-17. Makes four now. 8, 9, 12, and now a 10"

    Shiloh
    Je suis Charlie

    "A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves."
    Bertrand de Jouvenel

    “Any government that does not trust its citizens with firearms is either a tyranny, or planning to become one.” – Joseph P. Martino

    “If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert , in five years there would be a shortage of sand.” – Milton Friedman

    "Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns; why should we let them have ideas?" - J. Stalin

  4. #64
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    To All,

    One of my recent "finds" at Goodwill is an antique 4" diameter piece of USA-made cast iron, that looks like a small saucepan. - I was told, by a curator at The Witte Museum, that it was made (probably about WWI) for making sauces & melting butter.
    (The only markings are: USA & what looks like the figures 44.)

    The price was 89 cents, less a 20% veteran's discount. = "Color me" pleased, clear down to the ground.

    yours, tex

  5. #65
    Boolit Grand Master Artful's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shiloh View Post
    Got a NEW 10" Lodge gifted to me 10-5-17. Makes four now. 8, 9, 12, and now a 10"

    Shiloh
    Your cooking is evidently much appreciated! Congratulations
    je suis charlie

    It is better to live one day as a LION than a dozen days as a Sheep.

    Thomas Jefferson Quotations:
    "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."

  6. #66
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    My Lodge 10" skillet is finally getting a good surface after a year of use. Made fried ham for supper and made a little gravy in the cast iron pan to get the nice caramelized bits up. After putting gravy on the mashed potatoes I added water to the pan and let it soak until I was done eating. Poured water out, wiped pan out with a paper towel, rinsed with hot water, dried it then heated it and rubbed bacon fat on it to season it more.

  7. #67
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    Quote Originally Posted by Artful View Post
    Your cooking is evidently much appreciated! Congratulations
    Need a glass lid for the 9".
    I'll take it to the second hand store and find one.

    Shiloh
    Je suis Charlie

    "A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves."
    Bertrand de Jouvenel

    “Any government that does not trust its citizens with firearms is either a tyranny, or planning to become one.” – Joseph P. Martino

    “If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert , in five years there would be a shortage of sand.” – Milton Friedman

    "Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns; why should we let them have ideas?" - J. Stalin

  8. #68
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    My wife has some cast iron that used to belong to her grandmother. They are smoother and lighter than my Lodge. One skillet she uses just for cornbread, nothing sticks. I almost had another heart attack when I saw her clean hers in the dishwasher. It works for her. I had a nice skillet that looked exactly like one my son cooked with when he was living with me. I will always believe he moved out and inadvertently swapped pans....

    As mentioned earlier, an enameled cast iron pot works great for chili. Mine somehow got ruined and I had to retire it.
    Tom
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    Did I ever mention that I hate to trim brass?

  9. #69
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    My enamel cast iron is wearing on the inside bottom where the spoon scrapes(yes even plastic will wear the enamel eventually) but it is pushing 15 years old... still works fine, enamel isn't chipping, just getting thin.

  10. #70
    Boolit Master
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    If my wife ever caught me messing around with any of her cooking stuff that would be the end of me.

  11. #71
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    Mom gave dad a set of pots and pans for days he was going to cook... when dad died they were still in the box, he took the easy way out and they would go out to eat!

  12. #72
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by JonB_in_Glencoe View Post
    I use the old stuff daily (Griswold).

    A few years ago, My Dad bought a new Lodge pan with Ribs (to create grill marks), besides the Ribs, it had the lodge bumpy finish. He gave it to me, after he decided, he didn't like it. I used it once, and let me tell you, that thing was a bugger to clean, I suspect my Mom cleaned off the seasoning? I seen no real use for it, for my type of cooking, so I donated it the local thrift store with a bunch of other stuff.


    Lol. I bought one of those pans for steaks and chops when I was grill less
    In an apartment. I hate that pan. The most tedious thing to clean. If you leave too much oil gunk to fill the pore it'll Smoke you out with or without anrange hood.

    And the first grill mark is easy, after that the pan is too cool. I suppose you could pull the steak until the bars reheat.

    Back to the OP. I did take a sander to a chicken fryer pot. I knocked the tops off the high spots
    But didn't go totally smooth.

  13. #73
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    I remember an old cowboy out where I live that used to take his pots and leave them outside in the sand storms. He swore that it made them better to cook with over an open fire.

    I did eat his cooking once...........but just once.

  14. #74
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom W. View Post
    My wife has some cast iron that used to belong to her grandmother. They are smoother and lighter than my Lodge. One skillet she uses just for cornbread, nothing sticks. I almost had another heart attack when I saw her clean hers in the dishwasher. It works for her. I had a nice skillet that looked exactly like one my son cooked with when he was living with me. I will always believe he moved out and inadvertently swapped pans....

    As mentioned earlier, an enameled cast iron pot works great for chili. Mine somehow got ruined and I had to retire it.
    They were smoother and lighter. Some of them were processed with machines or grinders to start out a lot smoother.
    Wagner, Erie and Griswold were the vintage makers and there are a lot out there.

    Shiloh
    Je suis Charlie

    "A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves."
    Bertrand de Jouvenel

    “Any government that does not trust its citizens with firearms is either a tyranny, or planning to become one.” – Joseph P. Martino

    “If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert , in five years there would be a shortage of sand.” – Milton Friedman

    "Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns; why should we let them have ideas?" - J. Stalin

  15. #75
    Boolit Buddy AllanD's Avatar
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    What is often misunderstood about "seasoning" cast iron skillets is that you are trying to create a layer of applied nearly pure carbon.

    The traditional way of accomplishing this is to reduce a high smoking point oil, say Peanut oil, Lard (more traditional)
    or what I consider "Best" is "bacon grease" and almost literally burning it onto the Iron but you may have varying results with a fine (smooth) surface on the Iron parent material.

    The best way I've seen to polish a cast iron skillet is by a century or more of daily use cooking bacon & eggs

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