Cast Iron Cookware

[TNTreeHugger]

I have several older skillets.
Now that I know someone "might" be interested I'll pull them out of the cabinet tomorrow and take some photos for you.
I don't do yard sales and I don't like the PP and ebay fees, but there's no point in keeping them if someone else can use them
I used to like cooking with them, but they are so heavy... especially after there's food in them.

I do like the round flat gridle for pancakes and crepes though. You can't have that one.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

I'll put them in the Tradin' Post thread tomorrow.

 

[Philbert]

I'll put them in the Tradin' Post thread tomorrow.

Post a link here, too?

Thanks.

Philbert

 

[Philbert]

Here’s the post for @TNTreeHugger ‘s skillets in the Trading Post:

https://www.arboristsite.com/threads/cast-iron-skillets.375839/#post-8301069

Philbert

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Here’s the post for @TNTreeHugger ‘s skillets in the Trading Post:

https://www.arboristsite.com/threads/cast-iron-skillets.375839/#post-8301069

Philbert

Thank you!
I kept meaning to post it here.
So easily distracted.

 

[Philbert]

Two different, current, Lodge, cast iron griddles.


9-1/2 X 16-3/4”; 10-1/2 X20” (outside dimensions).

I was disappointed how the smaller one just barely covered the burners on my gas stove. Especially, based on the way cast iron distributes heat.



The additional cooking surface is not that much bigger, but I think that it will heat more evenly.

They also offer a third model (!), about the size of the smaller one, but with nicer handles.

Philbert

 

[H-Ranch]

As a novice cast iron cook I picked up three pieces this week from two scrapyards. This one is easy to ID as a Lodge. I don't know the vintage, but guessing it's relatively new.

This pot was interesting with the top, I think someone should recognize it (assuming they go together.)

And this small cornbread pan.

Can anyone provide any info on them? Thanks.

 

[Philbert]

Nice find!

Top one is one of Lodge’s ‘Chef’s Series’ skillets. Sold in a couple of sizes (measure across the top).

Middle is a Dutch oven with cover. The style you have is typically used over a camp fire (wire bail for hanging and retrieving), but it can be also used on a stove top or in an oven.

Bottom is a corn bread pan, as labeled.

All can probably be cleaned, saved, and used.

Philbert

 

[H-Ranch]

All can probably be cleaned, saved, and used.

Thanks Philbert. I did pick a few from the bin that weren't too pitted. I have about $8 invested so not a real loss either way.

 

[Philbert]

Scored today at a church rummage sale.

Wanted to find a nice 8” / #5 or #6 skillet to upgrade from the cheap one I have.
Saw a nothing special looking, enameled pan at the bottom of a pile.

Cleaned up nice!

Philbert

 

[Philbert]

(Not) Scraping By

Wanted to protect my stacked cookware. Not just seasoned cast iron, but enameled, non-stick, etc.

New pans are often packed in corrugated cardboard, so I started with circles of that (like mini-pizza trays), or pieces of old towels.

Found some silicone ‘stars’ on clearance at a fancy kitchen store (red in photo), but regular price was ridiculous. Same with heavy, felt ones.


Settled on some thick, rubber, shelf liner material that I had from a home center. Made a pattern out of a piece of cardboard.


Will see how they work?

*EDIT: I should note that these are not heat resistant, as the silicone ones are, and shoud only be used to separate cold pots and pans when stacked, and not as a trivet!





Philbert

 

[Philbert]

FINISHING

A lot of cast iron has sharp edges along the rim, etc., along with occasional sharp spots in the cooking surface, that you feel when cleaning.

This is a pet peeve of mine, especially, around the handles.

While stripped, I tried a number of abrasives, that I had, to smooth some of these out: sanding discs, abrasive cloth, Dremel sanding drums, stone points in an electric die grinder, etc.



Most worked. Some faster than others. The Dremels and die grinder were easy to control for detail work, with the piece clamped to a table.

3M ScotchBrite, Roloc discs worked really well, but can be harder to find. A straight or right angle pneumatic grinder could also be a good option.



The hanger holes and Dutch oven handles were a bit trickier. I used some ‘dull’, 5/32”, round, chainsaw files to reach tight radiuses, then finished with abrasive cloth, pulled up-and-down against the edges.



The photos also show a coarse, ScotchBrite, paint stripping pad in an electric drill, used to smooth down the ‘stipple’ of some newer cast iron: someone started that on these pans before I got them, and I will cover that in a separate post.


Philbert

 

[H-Ranch]

Oops, guess I need to go back and get this piece if it's still at the scrapyard.

 

[Philbert]

SEASONING

Everyone has recommended oils and methods for seasoning cast iron, and others to avoid. On the advice of a CI friend, I tried these Crisbee products.

I felt like it was ‘cheating’, by not using plain oil, but I had over a dozen pieces to season.

I was impressed by the results. Easy to do, and very reasonable: free shipping and a discount if ordered direct from their website.

‘Crisbee Cream’ is the consistency of suntan lotion, and is a mixture of sunflower oil and beeswax. It was easy to apply to textured surfaces, such as the deeply grooved ‘marking’ side of griddles, and the marinating ‘spikes’ on the lid of some Dutch ovens.



‘Crisbee Puck’ is a soft wax, the consistency of ChapStick, and easy to use on broad surfaces, when warm. It is a mixture of grape seed oil and beeswax, and seemed to build and darken faster.

Crisbee says both finished seasonings are equivalent, and can be applied over each other, as well as after cleaning.

A big help was figuring out the automatic, ‘time bake’ feature, that I had never used on my oven.

That made it easy to heat pieces at 400°F for the recommended hour, then let them automatically cool down, per the directions, while I was away, doing something else.

It also let me do 3 to 4 treatments in a day, if I focused a little.

The Lodge, Dutch ovens shown are: black (factory seasoning); grey (stripped / bare); dark bronze (4 coats of Crisbee Cream on lids, 4 coats of Crisbee Puck on main pot).

Note that the dark bronze ones appear darker in person: they reflect light more than the black.








Philbert

 

[djg james]

SEASONING

Everyone has recommended oils and methods for seasoning cast iron, and others to avoid. On the advice of a CI friend, I tried the Crisbee products.

I felt like it was ‘cheating’, by not using plain oil, but I had over a dozen pieces to season.

I was impressed by the results. Easy to do, and very reasonable: free shipping and a discount if ordered direct from their website.
View attachment 1211846
‘Crisbee Cream’ is the consistency of suntan lotion, and is a mixture of sunflower oil and beeswax. It was easy to apply to textured surfaces, such as the deeply grooved ‘marking’ side of griddles, and the marinating ‘spikes’ on the lid of some Dutch ovens.

View attachment 1211847

‘Crisbee Puck’ is a soft wax, the consistency of ChapStick, and easy to use on broad surfaces. It is a mixture of grape seed oil and beeswax, and seemed to build and darken faster.

Crisbee says both finished seasonings are equivalent, and can be applied over each other, as well as after cleaning.

A big help was figuring out the automatic, ‘time bake’ feature, that I had never used on my oven.

That made it easy to heat pieces at 400°F for the recommended hour, then let them automatically cool down, per the directions, while I was away, doing something else.

It also let me do 3 to 4 treatments in a day, if I focused a little.

The Lodge, Dutch ovens shown are: black (factory seasoning); grey (stripped / bare); dark bronze (4 coats of Crisbee Cream on lids, 4 coats of Crisbee Puck on main pot).

Note that the dark bronze ones appear darker in person: they reflect light more than the black.

View attachment 1211845
View attachment 1211843
View attachment 1211844
View attachment 1211842
View attachment 1211841
View attachment 1211840

Philbert

Beeswax? I didn't know that was considered edible or food grade.

 

[WoodAbuser]

Beeswax? I didn't know that was considered edible or food grade.

This is the version I use since I started using cast iron.

 

[EchoRomeoCharlie]

Beeswax? I didn't know that was considered edible or food grade.

You can absolutely eat beeswax. You've never eaten honeycomb before?

 

[Paul Bunions]

"Experts" say to use vegetable oil at 350 degrees to season pans, and that tells us two things: never use vegetable oil, and never season at 350 degrees.

For some reason, the world is against pork, even when it comes to seasoning skillets. The world is full of airheads who spend too much time listening to Oprah and Gwyneth Paltrow. Pork fat is the right thing to use. Plant oils give off blue smoke when heated, and the smoke will burn your eyes until the air clears. Pork fat doesn't do this. It just makes your house smell good. Bacon grease or lard will work fine, and they're free, unless you're some kind of vegetarian nut.

You want a very, very thin layer of fat on your pan. It's okay to apply multiple layers. Season at 450. You can do 500, but it's not necessary. Not much will happen at 350.

Older pans are superior to new ones. In the old days, they used very fine sand for casting, so the pans had smooth surfaces that worked better. Also, old pans are not as heavy and clunky, and they don't have rough edges. When you pick up a stack of 4 skillets, it's a lot easier with old Wagners than new Lodges. I only have two Lodges. I use one rarely, and I never use the other. They're good for frying steaks on the turkey fryer outdoors, though. I don't like using good pans for that.

Cast iron pans hold up forever. When you to go Ebay and see a nice-looking skillet for $35, you may be looking at a well-used hundred-year-old product and not know it. I have a bunch of Griswolds. I don't know how old they are, but they can't be less than 80 years old, because they quit making them in 1940. They look great.

You can clean the old crud off a pan, if you really have to, using the cleaning cycle on your oven. Some say there is a risk of warping, so caveat emptor. Electrolysis also works.

Always keep your cast iron away from guests, new girlfriends, and new wives. They will put them in the dishwasher.