cast iron cookware

[porthos]

what cast iron cookware is "pre seasoned" and/or what is considered the best brand??

[Rockingkj]

Decent modern made is mainly Lodge brand. Old cast iron Griswold is king with Wagner fans that will fight that statement. A bit of careful looking at garage sales and antique shops can get you some nice old cast iron. The best seasoning is cooking with it. Ya just don’t scrub it clean like modern pans.

[G W Wade]

Rockingkj speaks the truth. Good advice. "Just use it" Preseasoned is just a heavy coating the maker uses so they do not have to finish them like the old iron. New Lodge are good but if you compare them to old castm they are rough textured and HEAVY. Cast Iron Cuisine ..... GW

[Ed K]

I don't discriminate: every Griswold and Wagner I come across stays put. Guns are not even that sticky!

[Rockingkj]

Yep find some old Grizwold or Wagner that has smooth finish inside. Avoid rust pitting on the inside. There is some high priced old cast iron out there but with patience and careful shopping you can get some nice old stuff. Come out to Nebr junk jaunt the end of Sept and you will find some bargains and not just cast iron. 300 miles of sales. We get people that come from all over the US to bargain hunt. Seen outa state trailers overloaded with “treasures “ they have found.

[Mk42gunner]

The new Lodge stuff is supposedly pre seasoned; the problem is the cooking surface is so rough you need to work it down with a grinder, defeating the usefulness of any pre seasoning. After smoothing and seasoning, it works well though.

Almost any other modern cast iron cookware is going to be expensive, with a capital expensive. Take care of it though and your grandkids' grandkids will be fighting over it.

I'm still using Griswold skillets that my grandma had. Whether she bought them new or not, I have no idea.

Robert

[Slahp]

I have 3 Griswolds I wont use anything else. Take care of them and they will last forever.

[Gewehr-Guy]

Cowboy cook Kent Rawlins has a U tube video that compares different brands of cast cookware. Maybe some one can find it and post a link. Rockingkj, some day I'm going to do the Nebraska Junk Juant, sounds like fun. I think South Dakota has something similar, thats where I live

[stubshaft]

I have one Griswold and one Lodge that I have smoothed down to perfection. The only one available is the Lodge though,

[MT Gianni]

I find pre-seasoned to be less effective than bare. Coat it with cooking oil and put it in a 350 oven for 30 minutes. Turn the oven off and let it set overnight.

[tja6435]

Stargazer cast iron is super slick, comes seasoned or unseasoned

[JimB..]

Stargazer cast iron is super slick, comes seasoned or unseasoned
I don’t understand their handle design. I haven’t used it because it just looks uncomfortable.

I do polish new cast iron with sanding disks, but right now I’m trying carbon steel pans. They seem a bit harder to season.

[Shopdog]

Lodge is OK... but as posted above,they're a bit rough as issued. We have an arsenal of older C.I. pans,my favorites are so dang slick you can durn near use them as a mirror to shave with.

Frozen french fries,and bake them per direction in a pan that's misbehaving is a quick way to get one back in business.

Just remember,back in the day this style of cookware stayed on the stove.... all day. So modern folks get caught out because of being in a hurry.... think slow,be slow with heat adjustments. Get the heat just so,as in perfect and they're as non stick as anything on the market. Got a 5" on the stove heating for a cpl eggs right now.

[MrWolf]

I find pre-seasoned to be less effective than bare. Coat it with cooking oil and put it in a 350 oven for 30 minutes. Turn the oven off and let it set overnight.

This is basically what I did with my Lodge's. I did not know about the roughness nor of grinding them down. I still will give a quick spray of Pam or such before and after cooking. Basically no cleanup needed other than occasional under the faucet and towel drying.

[DougGuy]

For ANY seasoning on cast iron, you don't just spray and pray it will come out looking nice. That don't work. You have to put on or spray on your fats, lard, crisco, pam, whatever, and you WIPE OFF AS MUCH AS YOU CAN before you stick it in the oven. You keep doing this until you have a few coats and it will start getting easier to wipe on and off. I do 6 passes. I take the iron out of a 450F oven with welder's gloves, wipe the already treated blue Scott towel (lint free) on the hot iron, evenly, and THIN as you can get it, then put it back in the oven for 20mins, repeat until you have 6 coats.

For the record, heating iron to 100F below the smoke point of the iron will insure that it will not plasticize into seasoning, it will jut get sticky after enough coats. You MUST take the iron to and preferably above the smoke point. Lard and Crisco both need to go to 425F minimum, I use 450F. Pam and the Lodge spray cans are Canola oil, they can be seasoned at 400F.

[shdwlkr]

I have lots of cast iron cookware lodge and some other off named even some enameled. All new bare cast iron cookware needs to be washed, dried and then seasoned. I have an enameled small dutch oven that I use almost every day have for a few years. Plain cast iron pan gets used almost as much. clean while still hot. Don't use regular scub pad use stainless steel pad they sell to scrub pan, wipe out and then add small amount of oil and put back on hot stove burner. Has worked for years for me. Like others have said use it. One last thing with new stuff I have not seen much difference between the fair priced stuff and really expensive, might just be me. Enjoy cooking with cast iron works on every type stove I have ever used it on just have to learn what temperture setting works for what you are cooking.

[Gtrubicon]

We have quite a bit of cast iron cookware, old and new from several different brands. Last fall we purchased some from a brand called Smithey. It’s the best we own. I don’t think they have left the stovetop since the arrived. They are made in America and worth every penny.

[jimlj]

Lodge is the best inexpensive you will find. Camp Chef is close behind, but both are heavy compared to a vintage pan. There are some premium pans available but they come with a premium price. Just to see if I could make a usable pan, I bought the cheapest fry pan wally world had. It had about a finish as smooth as 60 grit sandpaper. Took a flap sanding disk to it with my angle grinder and ground it smooth inside and out. (make sure to wear a dust mask or you'll be picking black iron boogers for a couple days) After seasoning with small amounts of cooking oil as described by DougGuy I have a nice (although heavy) pan.
P.S. Use your gas grill outside to season the pans so the wife don't banish you to the dog house.

[porthos]

thanks guys. couple of questions; i have excellent sanding abilities. how smooth should i make a new cast iron pan or pot? and will a enameled pan cook/fry and clean as well as a non enameled unit ??

[gwpercle]

Check out Estate Sales ... Mom and Dad move on and the kids are getting rid of their stuff so they can sell the house ...
None of the kids want Mom's Cast Iron cookware and it sells for a few dollars ...
Estate Sales ... that's the ticket !
Gary

[tja6435]

I don’t understand their handle design. I haven’t used it because it just looks uncomfortable.

I do polish new cast iron with sanding disks, but right now I’m trying carbon steel pans. They seem a bit harder to season.


It’s way more comfortable than the Lodge handles. It’s also longer so it doesn’t heat up as quick as the Lodge handles to. I will say it did take quite a while to season it, I ordered one unseasoned. It is so slick the oil just didn’t take when I was initially seasoning it. However, now it is one of the slickest cast iron skillets we own. The Stargazer is my go to skillet for cooking eggs. Wipe it out with a paper towel when finished, zero food stuck.

Also, I have a 10”, 4” deep skillet made by BSR that was my grandmothers, it is incredibly slick as well. I was able to find a lid for it on eBay for about $50.

[Daekar]

I have never used modern cast iron anywhere near as good as the stuff I've gotten from the antique store and seasoned myself. If you can't find a good one from back in the day, just buy Lodge and use a circular sander and various grits of sandpaper to improve the finish of the cooking surface before you do anything else. Then just season it as you prefer and roll on.

[Wayne Smith]

If you have or find a good pan that is hopelessly crusted get a large heavy plastic trash can, make a lye solution, and drop the pan in, with a wire connected to the handle. The lye won't bother the cast iron but will get everything else off of it.

[Thundarstick]

Lodge's Blacklock line is by far the best, affordable, new, pre-seasoned cast you can buy!

Personally, I don't like any of the pre-season stuff. I strip it off with oven cleaner and re-season with avocado oil.

Have you considered steel? We use our steel skillets more than our cast iron ones.

[Char-Gar]

Cowboy cook Kent Rawlins has a U tube video that compares different brands of cast cookware. Maybe some one can find it and post a link. Rockingkj, some day I'm going to do the Nebraska Junk Juant, sounds like fun. I think South Dakota has something similar, thats where I live

He also has a video on how to clean cast iron after use. It really works and is the easiest way to go.

[Char-Gar]

In my last church before retirement, I mentioned one Sunday morning about how much I liked cooking with cast iron. I was flooded with old cast iron from folks who found it to heavy to use anymore. I cleaned and reseasoned all of it and set my kids up with it and put the rest on a table in my office. There were about thirty pieces and most were old Wagner and other makes. Some had the ring on the bottom for use in the "eye"of a wood range.

Folks would come in my office and ask why I have that pile of cast iron cook ware. I told them I was running a cast iron adoption center and take any of it they want with a limit of two pieces. They all went in due time. The word got around and more cast iron came in. All in all I received about 100 pieces. I still hear from a couple of folks who are still using it.

[Ed K]

Have you considered steel? We use our steel skillets more than our cast iron ones.

I use both. Top quality cast iron is expensive nowadays however stamped carbon steel pans are not and cook very well.

[jimlj]

thanks guys. couple of questions; i have excellent sanding abilities. how smooth should i make a new cast iron pan or pot? and will a enameled pan cook/fry and clean as well as a non enameled unit ??

When I did my cheap wallyworld pan I used 120 grit flap disk in a angle grinder. I don't think it is necessary to go smoother, but others may disagree. My pan is slick and non stick after seasoning it.

[nueces5]

I'm following this thread closely
I bought an iron pot and I didn't know anything about how to take care of it
unfortunately it has some rust pits
Has anyone had a solution for that?

[waksupi]

Most are pre-seasoned nowadays. I think they are all pretty much as good as another. A couple years back, I won two brand new frying pans. Both had the rough casting surface. I took one to the shop and smoothed it up well, then used both the smooth and rough equally after re-seasoning the smooth one. The rough one seasoned much better than the one I had smoothed.

One point about having a non-stick pan. Heat them until the oil starts to smoke. If you drop your meat or whatever into a pan that is not hot enough it will stick.

[jonp]

When I did my cheap wallyworld pan I used 120 grit flap disk in a angle grinder. I don't think it is necessary to go smoother, but others may disagree. My pan is slick and non stick after seasoning it.

Pretty much what I did. I found that after smoothing and leveling the pan then seasoning it, works pretty good but not as good as the 50? 75yr? old set at my hunting camp. Good enough, though if your careful

[jonp]

I'm following this thread closely
I bought an iron pot and I didn't know anything about how to take care of it
unfortunately it has some rust pits
Has anyone had a solution for that?

Unless they are so deep sanding or grinding them out will ruin the pot I'd just wash the pot thoughly to remove the rust then season it and ignore them.

[firefly1957]

A few years ago I got a new unused Lodge deep frying pan with a shallow pan as a cover the gal had it for just a couple bucks at a yard sale. I asked why so cheap she said it belonged to her cheating EX boyfriend .

The pans appeared to treated with bees wax I forget how I treated it before cooking but even with the rough surface the pans work well for me . I cook mostly potatoes in it .

[WILCO]

what cast iron cookware is "pre seasoned" and/or what is considered the best brand??

The most fun I've had with cast iron cookware is the cheapy chynese 3 skillet set from Harbor Freight.
Comes in the raw and you have to scrub it real good before use.
Do the traditional seasoning method and the adventure begins.
Heavy duty with the old school fire ring.
Finish is somewhat porous but smooths out with use.
I actually stopped using my regular collection of cast iron because the 3 skillets became my "Go-To" set.