# Cast Iron observations & questions



## vilasman (Mar 15, 2008)

First I want to attest to several things that I have read here. 
1 Cast Iron really is as non stick as calphalon or analon if you treat it right. 
2 Treating it right includes seasoning it, which is throughly discussed else where, but I am finding that repeatedly cooking bacon on it helps both in seasoning it and if you taste the metallic of the pan,  cooking bacon will fix that 
3 You never wash the pan. Primarily you drain the excess oil off while the pan is still hot. You just leave whats left. I have it on good authority from a CIA trained Chef that the oil won't go rancid. Now the wash the pan with salt instead of soap works. I you get gunk in your pan sprinkle it with salt like you would ajax and lightly scrub. Well right now I am alternating cooking bacon on a C. I. pizza pan and a 2 burner grill pan. Both live in the oven. I clean the fat off the grill pan when I think it will start over flowing to the bottom of the oven. The pizza pan when it looks like what I am going to cook next will be swimming in fat and the 2 burner is full of fat and the 2 other grill pans and 3 other regular pans are too small or to buried away. 
But,  point being, I can rub almost anything out of the bacon pans with my finger and salt. Occasionally I have to take a butter knife to a grill pan but even then it's not a fight. 

Questions 
1 occasionally I cook fish or chicken in the oven. For now I use a different pan cause I didn't know how the flavors would work together. Now can I do fish or chicken on the bacon pans? 
2. My CI wok,  can cook bacon in it to season it and not totally jack up the flavors of asian food ? 
3. Since the grill side of my pan is always up and the griddle side down I am noticing that the coating on that side is flaking off . Should I be concerned about that? If I flip it there's all that bacon fat.


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## Uncle Bob (Mar 15, 2008)

First I want to attest to several things that I have read here. 
1 Cast Iron really is as non stick as calphalon or analon if you treat it right. *I Agree*


2 Treating it right includes seasoning it, which is throughly discussed else where, but I am finding that repeatedly cooking bacon on it helps both in seasoning it and if you taste the metallic of the pan, cooking bacon will fix that *I Agree.*


3 You never wash the pan. *I Disagree. I always wash Cast iron. From a quick rinse/wipe out of a corn bread skillet to being as aggressive as I need to be to clean it. Up to and including mild soapy water, and a plastic scrubby. *

 Primarily you drain the excess oil off while the pan is still hot. You just leave whats left. I have it on good authority from a CIA trained Chef that the oil won't go rancid. *I Question this. I’m thinking oil that has been cooked in, and left un-refrigerated will go rancid with time. If you use the pan the next day maybe not…days later…Hmmmmm! *

 Now the wash the pan with salt instead of soap works. I you get gunk in your pan sprinkle it with salt like you would ajax and lightly scrub. Well right now I am alternating cooking bacon on a C. I. pizza pan and a 2 burner grill pan. Both live in the oven. I clean the fat off the grill pan when I think it will start over flowing to the bottom of the oven. The pizza pan when it looks like what I am going to cook next will be swimming in fat and the 2 burner is full of fat and the 2 other grill pans and 3 other regular pans are too small or to buried away. 
But, point being, I can rub almost anything out of the bacon pans with my finger and salt. Occasionally I have to take a butter knife to a grill pan but even then it's not a fight*. Like I said, I wash after every use.* 

Questions 
1 occasionally I cook fish or chicken in the oven. For now I use a different pan cause I didn't know how the flavors would work together. Now can I do fish or chicken on the bacon pans?  *Yes. If you are concerned about flavors mixing…Wash the pan after each use.*

2. My CI wok, can cook bacon in it to season it and not totally jack up the flavors of asian food ?  *Yes, if the pan is clean when you begin your Asian cooking*


3. Since the grill side of my pan is always up and the griddle side down I am noticing that the coating on that side is flaking off . Should I be concerned about that? *Somewhat! You are burning the seasoning off. Try cooking on the griddle side more often. *


 If I flip it there's all that bacon fat.


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## Chopstix (Mar 15, 2008)

I don't wash after every use.  It depends.  If my CI skillet was used for frying egg, just wiping it up with a paper towel and re-oiling suffices.  If I browned chicken in it, I rinse it with hot water while the CI pan is hot.  If there's still gunk, I scrub it lightly with my sponge with whatever little residual soap is in the sponge.  Rinse then re-oil.

Yes, the residual oil on the CI pan/skillet gets rancid if not used for sometime.  When this happens, I rinse it with very hot water before using.  Add a little new oil.

If your griddle's coating is flaking off, I think you'll have to scrape it down and re-season.


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## Robo410 (Mar 15, 2008)

I have a wok brush (looks like bamboo slats tied together.  HOT water and that brush is what I use on my cast iron and carbon steel pans.  I don't always use water if what I know I will cook next is similar (bacon sausage scrapple for example) I would after fish unless I were cooking fish again right away.

Oil and grease stays in the pores of the metal so obviously will flavors.  

Cast iron is a fabulous metal for many applications.  But I wouldn't cook sugar in it, such as fried apples to go with pork chops.  

Why are those old pans so much better than my new preseasoned one?  Well, it's had 75 to 100 years of seasoning, passed down from great gramma to gramma to mom to me. (yup, got three Griswolds! spider, 10" skillet and a rondeau (what some chefs still call a "griswold"))


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Mar 15, 2008)

Traditionally, lard was used to season the cast iron, pork fat.  Bacon has a lot of pork fat in it, but also has sugars and flavorings from the curing process.  I often was my cast iron with hot water and a stiff brush while the pan is still hot.  It cleans up in a breeze.  On the rare occasion that I do burn something to the pan, I use a stainless steel scrubby and immediately dry and rub alight coating of oil over the pan.  I rarely have to re-season (have only had to re-season once in 15 years, and that was to get the smoke flavor out of a pan my daughter took camping.

Tomato and other acidic foods don't pick up a metallic flavor from my pans as the seasoning keeps the acids away from the metal.  I rub a thin coating of oil on any of my pans before cooking, and virtually nothing sticks, not even burned in baked beans.

Cast iron is the only pan material I know that is durable enough to last multiple generations, even when badly abused.  Even good stainless steel requires more gentle treatment than does good cast iron.

All food oils go rancid over time.  But solid fats, such as lard and beef fat are more stable that their mono and polyunsaturated fats, and therefore take more time to pick up the molecules that make them rancid.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## wysiwyg (Mar 18, 2008)

vilasman,
Similar to Uncle Bob, I wash my cast iron skillet every time after using it.
After I am done cooking, I pour a quart of hot water on the pan before eating, and by the time I am finished with my meal is a matter of light scrubbing it.  
After cleaning and washing, I dry it, rub a light coat of oil and place a paper towel on top in case I need to store something on the cooking surface.
I season this pan twice a year with safflower or soybean oil, looks like these oils maintain the slick surface longer (I am guessing is due to higher flash point), the pan, a 12 in. Lodge, is fairly new but nothing sticks to the surface.


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## Dave Hutchins (Mar 19, 2008)

I have a whole battery of CI pans small to omg large including a CI wok all are seasoned and I wash every time I use them I like to put a quart or so of water in them the minute 
I am done cooking and they wash with warm water real well.  Treat them very well and your grand children will be using them


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## MexicoKaren (Mar 19, 2008)

I also wash my cast iron skillet - it is the same skillet my husband's mother used every day when he was growing up (and we are in our 60s, so it is VERY old). I often just pour water in it when I'm done cooking, and then swab it out, but I occasionally use soap. I re-season about every six months. In between, it is basically nonstick. Gotta love it.


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## jennyema (Mar 19, 2008)

Ima Washer, II

It's very important that you dry the CI very thoroughly after washing.  I use the stove burner for this.


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## sparrowgrass (Mar 19, 2008)

One reason the old cast irons work better is because they were made better to begin with.  The new Chinese ones are not as smooth inside as the old one.

I wash my pans with soap, dry them on the stove burner, and rub a little oil in each time.


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## justplainbill (Mar 20, 2008)

sparrowgrass said:


> One reason the old cast irons work better is because they were made better to begin with. The new Chinese ones are not as smooth inside as the old one.
> 
> I wash my pans with soap, dry them on the stove burner, and rub a little oil in each time.


 
Ditto.  I hand dry, then bring pan to low-medium heat for final dry, lightly coat with peanut oil while hot, let cool and then wipe out any excess oil.


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## letscook (Mar 20, 2008)

I was all mine after each use. The washing has done nothing to the pots and pans, I have no problem with things sticking.  I was with regular dish soap, after cleaned, I put onto the stove top heat it up to dry it (not hot - hot) then while still warm I take a paper towel with oil and rub them lighty. all set for the next use.  I have had them for years.

I also found some at garage sale that OMG disgusting filt.  brought them  lil to nothing.  
took them home - hosed them down outside.  took a electric drill with a wire brush and wired brushed the heck out of them.  washed out good in hot sudsey water - then took it back outside on my grill and  let it heat up in there and kept rubbing oil in it-   you can't hurt cast iron.  the one pot -dutch oven I got for 50 cents and when i saw it in a store it sold for 45.00.  i think I got a bargin


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## vilasman (Mar 22, 2008)

One thing I am noticing is that washing seems to mean 2 different things here. 
Some of you are more or less using hot water, while the pan is still how, and using salt or baking soda for a cleanser but no soap under any circumstances.

Some of you are using soap on a regular basis. Now I guess if you use something less than Dawn, it dosent matter to much. I say dawn because  I know Dawn will cut and clean up car motor oil cause I have used it to do it. 

My two burner griddle, generally only cooks bacon, so I tend to let oil build up on it until I become afraid that it will over flow and drip to the bottom of my gas oven. Which wouldn't be healthy for the kitchen.

I have also been cooking bacon on my pizza pan. I am trying to cook the bacon flavor into the pizza pan cause bacon flavored pizza crust has a certain appeal to me.

The rest of my pans, I have been using my wok lately, hmmm, wok oil and rice wine vinegar, cooking that flavor into the wok might not be such a bad thing.

Now, for another thought, for those of you who are using soap on your pans, I can see that if you have a good seasoning on your pans, a little soap wont hurt that. But, I have to assume that it will strip any flavors, that are in the pan. Now if you have more than one pan, having a flavor in a pan isn't such a big deal.

I am not leaving my pans filthy. I  am just trying to get a good seasoning on several of them that I dont mind having...... a good flavor to them.

Look at it this way... I was watching Rachel Ray this morning and she was talking about cassoulets that had been cooking stews for generations and I have also heard of woks that had generations of patina on them. 

I want to start a pizza pan and a griddle and maybe a fish pan that my grandkids will look at and think...  grandpa  used this...


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## MexicoKaren (Mar 23, 2008)

Vilas man, you certainly seem to be on the right track with your cast iron. And there is something very satisfying about using important items like cookware into the next generation. I use my MIL's stainless steel pots and pans, as well as cast iron skillet. Bought in the 40s-50s, you can imagine the great quality. I love using the same pans to prepare meals for her son that she used when he was a child. Nice feeling of continuity.


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## Wart (Mar 23, 2008)

Animal fat (bacon, butter) seems to work best.

I regularly rinse with water but also use detergent in varying degrees with a nylon/ polymer brush.

When I get a used pan I burn it out. I build a fire out back, put a grate over the fire and the pan on the grate. I wire brush the loosened stuff off. I do this not only to remove the crud but I don't know where the pan has been. I hope burning it removes contaminants.

One thing about a burn out, oil it before it gets cold, seems iron starts rusting while the item is still smoking hot.

I suspect new pans are made of recycled materials so they are not a true, raw cast iron. I'm guessing this is why they don't season well.

What is it with these new pans and the rough finishes? The last few pieces of iron ware I cared to look at seemed to have a rough almost bumpy orange peal finish on the inside bottoms.?? One thing to have a thin veneer of carbon, another to promote the capture of chunks of carbon.

Just checked the carbon steel wok. The wok gets washed with detergent and nylon/polymer brush just about every time its used. Its the nature of using sauces in hot cookery. This wok has a _Nice_ seasoning. But 1) I don't use a flat bottom wok. If I wanted to use a pan I would use a pan. OTOH, Wife brought home a nicely built anodized aluminum piece, I may see how well it works, and 2)  My burners are rated 28k BTU, may have something to do with the nice finish.


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## Uncle Bob (Mar 23, 2008)

Wart said:
			
		

> What is it with these new pans and the rough finishes? The last few pieces of iron ware I cared to look at seemed to have a rough almost bumpy orange peal finish on the inside bottoms.?? One thing to have a thin veneer of carbon, another to promote the capture of chunks of carbon.


 
Check the country of origin...Out sourced iron from abroad tends to be very rough. That could explain what you are seeing...Buy new or old lines of American made iron if possible.


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## Bigjim68 (Mar 23, 2008)

Right on sparrowgrass, whenever I can find an old cooking utensil that is better than the new equivalent, costs less, and has some history, I am going to buy it.  I have a new Lodge, and every time I clean it, the iron shows through on the hills, and the gunk collects in the valleys.


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## PanchoHambre (Mar 24, 2008)

vilasman said:


> I want to start a pizza pan and a griddle and maybe a fish pan that my grandkids will look at and think... grandpa used this...


 
This weekend I scored an old cast iron pot of my grandmothers. No way am I going to strip all of her seasoning. I will give the pot a good scrubbing and reseason lightly (it has been in storage awhile) but I am not going to strip it down to the metal. I like the idea that somehow this woman's awesome German cooking has a legacy in my pot. The skillets I acquire used from unknown souces get taken down to the metal becasue I have no idea where they have been or what they were used for.

Old cast iron is definitley the was to go... they just simply dont make them the same way. They ground the cooking surface of the old ones smooth the new ones are left rough.


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## Bigjim68 (Mar 24, 2008)

Congrats, the old stuff is definitely better, particularly if you know the history.  Grandma's grease didn't come out of my favorite skillet either.  I would make a test batch of something after seasoning just to be sure that there are no off flavors.  Try cornbread.  Some have suggested that the butter in fat in the cornbread aids in seasoning.  Haven't tried it.


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## ljmyers (Mar 24, 2008)

I wash my iron skillets and pots every time I cook something that will leave behind a specific taste. I use soap and a dish cloth or plastic scrubber. Then I dry on top of the stove, add a little oil or pam while pan is still very warm and use a paper towel to lightly rub in over surface and dry excess oil. I store them in the bottom of my oven to insure dry air. 

With that said . . . Older pans *were* made better because I have a much older skillet that this process works fine for but my newer one that is now about 8 years old, it continues to stick pretty badly with some food.


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## smag (Mar 24, 2008)

I have two lodge pans, both pre seasoned. One was bought four years ago, which I think I did something to the coating, that it is flaking..the other pan is pretty good, almost non stick. I generally was the pans in hot water, wipe them dry, heat them up, then apply pam or oil on the pans.
Does any one know how I can stop the old pan from flaking..and re season it.
thanks


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## PanchoHambre (Mar 24, 2008)

I think you want to remove all of the "pre seasoning" and re-season the pan from scratch. I am not sure how well that "flaking" seasoning is on there. The general methods for stripping cast iron should apply these usually involve either the self clean cycle of your oven or some combination of lye(or oven cleaner) and elbow grease. It is pretty hard to hurt your pan so dont worry.

Once you remove all the flaky stuff you should re-season with crisco or lard or your preference of fats.


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## Jeekinz (Mar 24, 2008)

sparrowgrass said:


> One reason the old cast irons work better is because they were made better to begin with. The new Chinese ones are not as smooth inside as the old one.
> 
> *I wash my pans with soap, dry them on the stove burner, and rub a little oil in each time.*


 
Exactly what I do.  Also, don't bother with the Lodge cast iron grill pans, they stink.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Mar 24, 2008)

The easiest way I've found to remove grime, or old seasoning from cast iron is by taking your pan/s, placing them into a large plastic bag (yard cleanup type bag), along with a glass cerial bowl filled with amonia.  Tie the end of the bag closed and let everything sit outside for twenty-four hours or so.  The old carbon and grease will pretty much wipe right off.  Wash with ordinary soap and water to remove anything that's still on the pan and re-season imediately.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## Wart (Mar 24, 2008)

Uncle Bob said:


> Check the country of origin...Out sourced iron from abroad tends to be very rough. That could explain what you are seeing...Buy new or old lines of American made iron if possible.



UB, what I was seeing was an intentional texturing of the surface. The texturing was very similar to a basketball. I'm pretty sure it was a Lodge iron pan. 

Far as buying more iron, I have 20+ pieces in the kitchen and around twice that in storage. Right about now I'm looking for the rare and exceptional.


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## Adillo303 (Mar 24, 2008)

I just put a coating of oil on the pan and put it in the oven for a few days, Every time I use the oven, I wipe on more oil and then just leave it in for the ride.

I am also a washer.


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## PanchoHambre (Apr 3, 2008)

Wart said:


> UB, what I was seeing was an intentional texturing of the surface. The texturing was very similar to a basketball. I'm pretty sure it was a Lodge iron pan.


 
ick I picked up (meaning handled not bought) a new "martha stewart" CI skillet at the store the other day to inspect this "new" cast iron and yep it had a really gross rough texture. I had never paid close attention before all the CI around had always been older.

The surface of an old wagner or griswold piece is smooth even after years of neglect. The difference in quality between a vintage and new is very apparent.

It is claimed that the new CI will perform fine with enough seasoning but I dont really care to find out.


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## Uncle Bob (Apr 3, 2008)

PanchoHambre said:


> ick I picked up (meaning handled not bought) a new "martha stewart" CI skillet at the store the other day to inspect this "new" cast iron and yep it had a really gross rough texture. I had never paid close attention before all the CI around had always been older.
> 
> The surface of an old wagner or griswold piece is smooth even after years of neglect. The difference in quality between a vintage and new is very apparent.
> 
> It is claimed that the new CI will perform fine with enough seasoning but I dont really care to find out.


 
The new Made In USA (Lodge) CI will and does perform fine. It is the out sourced Made In China products that have issues...

Fun!


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## Bigjim68 (Apr 3, 2008)

I must respectfully disagree about the new Lodge.  I have several old CI pieces and 3 newer Lodge.  The Lodge has the sand cast bumps on the interior, and, for me, the pans are difficult to season and difficult clean as the surface is too irregular.  I like the interior surface of the old cookware much better.


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## Uncle Bob (Apr 3, 2008)

Bigjim68 said:


> I must respectfully disagree about the new Lodge. I have several old CI pieces and 3 newer Lodge. The Lodge has the sand cast bumps on the interior, and, for me, the pans are difficult to season and difficult clean as the surface is too irregular. I like the interior surface of the old cookware much better.


 
Obviously you cannot compare old iron to new(er) iron. In time, and with proper seasoning/use the Lodge will be just as smooth. 

Have Fun!


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## Bigjim68 (Apr 3, 2008)

I hope that you are right.  I bought the newer Lodge a few years back as they are items that I could not find used.  I have noticed that my 2 burner griddle is becoming smoother
but it is now 4 or 5 years and it gets nearly daily use.  A square 10 frying pan, also a few years old, is used mostly for a bacon press, and so the interior gets little use.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Apr 3, 2008)

Uncle Bob is right.  I have a couple Lodge cast iron pans that had very grainy surfaces when I got them.  They are now very smooth.  I have no problem with them.  They do take a bit more time to heat up do to the fact that they simply have more metal in them than the Griswold and Wagner pans.  But them again, this makes them better suited to chores that require the ability to transfer more heat to foods, and hold the temperature stable when new food is added to the pan.

Like with most things, there are advantages and disadvatages to Lodge pans.  But IMHO, the advantages far outweigh the disadvatages, unless you have weak wrists.

Seeeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## Wart (Apr 3, 2008)

I was in the houseware section of the Box Store today and found myself next to the Lodge pans.

Last time I checked the Lodge pans had the basketball finish, today I see the pans now have a rough finish such as from a sand cast mold.

I wouldn't want a surface that needed filled with crud to become smooth.


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## RPMcMurphy (Apr 3, 2008)

Wart said:


> I want a surface that needed filled with *FLAVOR* to become smooth.



fixed! 

all joking aside, I saw lodge pans at marshalls for REAL cheap. I have a cast iron grill pan that I use, I think it's emerils brand? works good after cooking bacon in it a couple of times and just wiping clean. I haven't investing in a smooth pan yet, waiting to find one at a yard sale or something thats already been seasoned.


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## Wart (Apr 3, 2008)

RPMcMurphy said:


> fixed!



Not really.

I'm all for seasoned pans, I have plenty of them.

Seasoning a smooth iron is seasoning, these rough finishes on newer pans promote the buildup of crud.

Only real purpose I can see with these newer rough finishes is to make it easier for the beginner.


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## PanchoHambre (Apr 4, 2008)

Wart said:


> Only real purpose I can see with these newer rough finishes is to make it easier for the beginner.


 
and cheaper for the producer


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## ribs and steak (Jun 8, 2008)

A question to Mexicokaren-has your CI cracked or shattered when you wash it after cooking. I let mine cool down b4 washing.


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## MexicoKaren (Jun 8, 2008)

> A question to Mexicokaren-has your CI cracked or shattered when you wash it after cooking. I let mine cool down b4 washing.


No, I've never had a problem. But it is very old and very heavy CI.


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## Russellkhan (Jun 8, 2008)

Wart said:


> Not really.
> 
> I'm all for seasoned pans, I have plenty of them.
> 
> ...



I don't think there's anything easier for the beginner about the rough surface. In my initial seasoning process I would try to brush lard onto the hot pan with a paper towel and the stupid texturing would tear up my paper towel. And don't even think about trying to cook eggs in one of those pans until it's had at least a few months of use to fill in some of those crevices. I hadn't really thought about it much before now, but I'm leaning towards agreeing with you on your crud theory of new cast iron. My wok doesn't require any buildup, neither does my Griswold. 

I have one of the new Lodges, a 12" skillet, have had it for about 6 years. While it is smoother now, it isn't anywhere near as smooth as my Griswold 10" and it never will be. It also doesn't distribute heat as well, despite being a bit thicker. 

As far as how I clean mine, I'm another from the bamboo wok brush/hot water/no soap/dry it on the stove burner school. I used to keep my two skillets upside down on the top rack in the oven, and I believe that is the happiest place for them if you can do it, but since I got a baking stone, there isn't really room. 

As I posted in another thread, my Lodge pan is probably going to be replaced soon with a carbon steel (black steel? blue steel? I'm really not clear on the naming of these things) one.


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## Bigjim68 (Jun 8, 2008)

One thing I have threatened to do with my rough Lodge pans is to take them to the garage and attack them with the random orbit sander.  I really believe the only reason for the rough surface is the elimination of one step in the manufacturing process.  Personally, I would rather have the manufacturer mill the interiors and let me do the seasoning, since I do it anyway.


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## Russellkhan (Jun 8, 2008)

Whoops, there were questions! I got so involved in reading and responding to the rest of the thread that I almost forgot the OP.



vilasman said:


> 3 You never wash the pan. Primarily you drain the excess oil off while the pan is still hot. You just leave whats left. I have it on good authority from a CIA trained Chef that the oil won't go rancid. Now the wash the pan with salt instead of soap works. I you get gunk in your pan sprinkle it with salt like you would ajax and lightly scrub. Well right now I am alternating cooking bacon on a C. I. pizza pan and a 2 burner grill pan. Both live in the oven. I clean the fat off the grill pan when I think it will start over flowing to the bottom of the oven. The pizza pan when it looks like what I am going to cook next will be swimming in fat and the 2 burner is full of fat and the 2 other grill pans and 3 other regular pans are too small or to buried away.
> But,  point being, I can rub almost anything out of the bacon pans with my finger and salt. Occasionally I have to take a butter knife to a grill pan but even then it's not a fight.


It sounds like you're leaving a lot more on the pan than I would. Hot water and a thorough scrubbing with a wok brush (after pouring off excess fat) takes off any bits of food/spices, etc and leaves the seasoning. Very rarely, I've needed to use salt as an abrasive to clean off major crud. 



> Questions
> 1 occasionally I cook fish or chicken in the oven. For now I use a different pan cause I didn't know how the flavors would work together. Now can I do fish or chicken on the bacon pans?
> 2. My CI wok,  can cook bacon in it to season it and not totally jack up the flavors of asian food ?
> 3. Since the grill side of my pan is always up and the griddle side down I am noticing that the coating on that side is flaking off . Should I be concerned about that? If I flip it there's all that bacon fat.



Yes, absolutely.
Sounds good to me.
Not sure. Don't have one of those. Haven't worked with a piece of cast iron that's supposed to have two cooking surfaces. I tend to neglect the outside of my CI most of the time and occasionally (once every couple years or so) scrub it down when it begins to rust with a salt/oil paste and then reseason it.


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## Bigjim68 (Jun 8, 2008)

My cast iron cleaning tool is a broken off blade of a turner.  I don't worry about the exterior and find no difference whether there is a lot of crud on it or not.  When it gets too bad, I hit it with a wire wheel chucked in a drill.  IMO, if CI is scraped and wiped well, flavors don't transfer from one dish to another.


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## Jcas (Jun 24, 2008)

today i came across 2 cast iron skillets. Both identical i think it says Holcroft 10, they need a bit of work but overall they are not too bad.

Is anybody familiar with Holcroft, i googled it but didnt get a lot of info.

To me it feels like like good quality as they are as smooth as anything.


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## DramaQueen (Jun 24, 2008)

*If you buy Lodge Cast Iron you will never go wrong.  These are made in the U.S. and they haven't changed anything except to add a preseasoned line to their inventory.  I prefer to season my own.  As all of the information I have ever  read, and Lodge people themselves state, NEVER use soap on  cast iron.  I wash my pans with very hot water and a nylon scrub brush, then lay on the burner with a light swab of Crisco for about 60-90 seconds.  Off the heat, let it cool on the burner and put it away with a paper towel over it to absorb any moisture.   The reason for the original seasoning process is to seal the pores created when the iron is being forged.  You can't really "wash off the seasoning,"  but soap makes the pores larger therefore creating a sticking surface.*
*My pans have all developed a beautiful smooth patina and not one thing sticks to the cookware.  *


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## Bigjim68 (Jun 24, 2008)

Reasons to buy old CI
1.  Stuff gets recycled instead of getting thrown in the dump.
2.  Bargain hunting can be fun.  You might find that old Beatles album you have been looking for.
3.  You will buy for pennies on the dollar.
4.  There is a certain amount of nostalgia attached to a pan which probably was used to make the worlds best cornbread, in some grandchilds opinion..
5.  They make good no reason gifts for someone just starting out.  
6.  If it is over 60 years old, it was probably made in the US.
7.  You don't have to put up with trying to slide eggs around over mountains or valleys, and you don't have to wait several years for it to get smooth.

I am not familiar with Holbrook, but if it is smooth inside and has no cracks.  I would buy it.  Surface rust and old crud clean up easily, and the results are amazing.  Unlike copper cookware, most if not all CI was made to be used, not displayed, and never wears out.


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## justplainbill (Jun 24, 2008)

Bigjim68 said:


> Reasons to buy old CI
> 1. Stuff gets recycled instead of getting thrown in the dump.
> 2. Bargain hunting can be fun. You might find that old Beatles album you have been looking for.
> 3. You will buy for pennies on the dollar.
> ...


 
You ain't just whistling Dixie.
Interesting how DQ speaks with such great authority about forging CAST iron and using paper towels to absorb moisture.


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## DramaQueen (Jun 24, 2008)

*I guess I meant Cast not forge. Sorry, I wasn't thinking. The "authority" from which I speak however, comes directly from the people at Lodge Mfg. That was unecessarily sharp criticism. *
*And what exactly is your problem with using paper towels to absorb moisture?*


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## justplainbill (Jun 24, 2008)

DramaQueen said:


> *I guess I meant Cast not forge. Sorry, I wasn't thinking. The "authority" from which I speak however, comes directly from the people at Lodge Mfg. That was unecessarily sharp criticism. *
> *And what exactly is your problem with using paper towels to absorb moisture?*


Sorry for being too sharp.  I guess you do not have too much of a problem with moisture in Las Vegas.  I believe that Lodge talks in terms of placing paper towels between the lid and bottom of their dutch ovens to facilitate air circulation.  However, as many gun owners can tell you, metallic items like firearms stored in contact with many materials are prone to rusting precisely because the materials absorb and hold moisture.  Glad to see not everyone on this thread thinks Lodge's rough finish is so swift.


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