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is $20 for a consignment shop griswold/wagner cast iron skillet a good deal? The wagner is square.
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May 16, 2012 15:58
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 07:29 |
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TECHNICAL Thug posted:is $20 for a consignment shop griswold/wagner cast iron skillet a good deal? The wagner is square.
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May 16, 2012 17:59
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NOT PAUL LAYTON posted:What's the proper approach to finding a several-decades-old cast iron pan that hasn't been cared for or used? Scour the hell out of it with steel wool and then coat the whole thing in hot fat? I'm not sure what cleaning steps I should take before applying a seasoning, essentially. Is it rusty? If it is, hit it with some sandpaper or a wire wheel brush in a power drill until the rust is gone, then apply a seasoning. Then cook some bacon. If it isn't rusty, just wash it with some soap and water or maybe a brillo pad and cook some bacon. I had the same question a few threads ago with some thrift store cast iron and the logic was essentially that if it didn't come off with soap and vigorous scrubbing it deserved to be there, and certainly wasn't going to hurt anything. Good seasoning comes with lots of use. Use it lots. Pro tip: buy the 3 pound pack of bacon ends and pieces for seven dollars instead of the regular, 5 dollar a pound bacon.
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May 17, 2012 02:55
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Stalizard posted:Pro tip: buy the 3 pound pack of bacon ends and pieces for seven dollars instead of the regular, 5 dollar a pound bacon. Where do I find this? I've been looking at the various (terrible) grocery stores in my town, and none of them seem to carry bacon ends and pieces. Am I just not looking in the right place, or am I just SOL?
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May 31, 2012 06:17
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ChuckHead posted:A fried of mine says that he buys them at garage sales and throughs them into his fireplace. After a few fires they emerge bright grey and ready for the seasoning process. I have never tried it. Surely won't hurt them. I've stripped my camping pan and dutch oven that way more than once, just built a good wood fire, tossed them in, and let it burn down. Not too big a fire, though, don't want to accidentally melt anything.
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May 31, 2012 14:11
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Well the cast iron thread is gone and this thread seems to fit the bill pretty well so here goes. Last night I took my cast iron pan that I have been using for 3 years and sanded the insides of it until the looked and felt smooth to the touch. Got loving tired of that sand cast surface, never got it as smooth as I wanted despite using it all the time with a proper metal spatula and never cleaning it with soap etc. etc. Not that I complained about its performance, this pan worked really well, I made eggs and omelettes in it, but I would have issues from time to time nomatter what I did. Meatballs where a problem, they like to stick all the time. Anyway after I polished it good with 150 grit sandpaper and washed it thoroughly I oiled it in canola oil and put it in the oven for an hour. Then I fried a pack of bacon in it. The first strips stuck like heck but by the end of the pack the bacon was just sliding off it. I made some eggs after that and it was incredible, and the surface just feels so smooth now, like glass. Come dinner time I put it to the real test and holy poo poo that's so nice, the meatballs just came loose by shaking the pan and no stuck on meat behind them either. The new seasoning hasn't even properly taken yet in and it's still brighter in spots, yet the pan has in a few hours of cooking surpassed what 3 years of careful seasoning had done. I doubt I will buy any more cast iron anything, I just need one pan. But if I do, it will be polished before I ever use it, it outperforms my teflon pans easily now.
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Jul 23, 2012 12:35
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Has anyone had any experience with seasoning just flaking off in places? I just reseasoned my lodge about 4 months ago, and at first, it was beautiful. Now, I've got several substantial grey patches where the coating seems to have just chipped off for some reason leaving behind what appears to be bare iron. It still cooks well to this point, but there's a definite textural difference between the patches and the intact seasoning. Also, when I wipe it with oil after use and cleaning, it's not uncommon to come away with glittery black flecks of my poor seasoning. Anyone know what's causing this? I clean with a polycarbonate scraper, a stiff brush, and hot water. Are these patches just going to keep expanding and eventually ruin my cooking surface? I keep seasoning on top of it, of course, but it seems to only be getting worse rather than better. I miss my beautiful glossy finish. 
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Sep 4, 2012 23:52
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Since this thread has been resurrected - this is probably a stupid question but how do people look after the bottom of their pans (as in, the opposide side to the cooking surface)? I never considered needing to look after it but while the top is nice and glossy, the bottom is starting to get a little bit rusty even though I always make sure to dry it properly. It has embossed writing on it which is going to be a bitch to de-rust but do you just oil it up and stick it in the oven every now and then?
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Sep 5, 2012 07:44
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Eden posted:Since this thread has been resurrected - this is probably a stupid question but how do people look after the bottom of their pans (as in, the opposide side to the cooking surface)? You don't cook on that side, so there's no reason to season it.
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Sep 5, 2012 15:23
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Chef De Cuisinart posted:You don't cook on that side, so there's no reason to season it. Exactly. Just hit that bitch with some steel wool.
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Sep 5, 2012 19:18
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I'm stripping down a pan that has some really bad and uneven seasoning right now. After steel wool and one round of oven cleaner, there's still a lot of it sticking to the pan  Got the flax seed oil too. Doing this as more of an experiment than as an expression of spergin.
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Oct 27, 2012 16:39
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axolotl farmer posted:I'm stripping down a pan that has some really bad and uneven seasoning right now. After steel wool and one round of oven cleaner, there's still a lot of it sticking to the pan How are you stripping it? I am going to start looking for some cheap cast iron and expect to take a grinder to it.
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Oct 27, 2012 20:54
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It went against all my instinct of taking care of cast iron, but I'm deciding to get rid of that patchy seasoning. First I scrubbed it with dish soap  Then I took soapy steel wool and got off as much seasoning I could. Next up is spray on NaOH oven cleaner, and just a once over didn't really get rid of it all, so I'm letting it soak for a few hours. Still don't know if I will get rid of the seasoning, ruin my pan, both or neither.
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Oct 27, 2012 21:10
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axolotl farmer posted:It went against all my instinct of taking care of cast iron, but I'm deciding to get rid of that patchy seasoning. What doesn't come off at this point deserves to stay on. Just use the flax oil and season as normal. If you really want to start 100% fresh, get a wire wheel for your power drill or angle grinder and take it off like man. You can't ruin the pan. I frequently get rusty thrift store pans, and the wire wheel cures all. You can't ruin the pan. Seasoning's not that big of a deal, unless you totally go internet aspergers over silly things like pans. You can do the flax oil over whatever seasoning's left after steel wool, soap and oven cleaner. p.s. just cook some drat bacon
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Oct 29, 2012 04:18
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I got rid of most of the seasoning, and I have done a couple of coats of flax seed oil. The seasoning was really bad and uneven in this pan, before I knew better I used to cook tomatoey stuff in it. Will post trip report when it's done.
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Oct 29, 2012 14:25
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Wire wheels are your friends, when it comes to really stripping a pan or bad rust. I'm trying to find a metal shop right now that'll give me a smooth grind on the surface of a Lodge pan for cheap.
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Oct 29, 2012 15:14
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I cooked steak tonight using my parents cast iron and my dad kept going on about me potentially ruining his pan. I said that it would be totally fine but he is certain my mam has warped on in the past some how through too high a heat. I've no idea how and wondered if anyone else could explain it. He did admit the steak had noticeably improved the seasoning after the meal at least.
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Nov 2, 2012 23:44
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Not exactly food-related, but I have cast iron trivets. They form rust every now and then. Could I wipe them with vegetable oil to keep them from forming rust or should I use a non-food oil? If so, what kind? I have oil for my paper shredder, could I use that?
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Nov 3, 2012 00:59
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Season it as you would a skillet?
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Nov 3, 2012 01:02
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I use cast iron exclusively and I've never tried to season my pans. I just use them. They're perfectly nonstick and I just wipe them out when I'm done.
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Nov 3, 2012 01:26
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Quick question: I have several well seasoned cast iron skillets. We had a pretty serious house fire that was in the attic which caused the most toxic black lovely film of smoke to cover everything including my skillets. The question is, what the hell should I do? Put them in the dishwasher several times and bring them back to original status? Wash them lightly and then reseason them? Toss them out?
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Nov 3, 2012 16:56
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Nhilist posted:Quick question: Build a good, clean fire in your fireplace/fire pit/charcoal grill and put your cast iron in it until you burn everything off and it's bare iron. Then scrub off the ash with steel wool and/or scotch brite in hot water (dry very quickly or else it'll start to rust). Oil the outside with a paper towel or rag. Have a a few pounds of bacon ready. Put skillets on stove, heat up, and immediately cook all the bacon. Rub the cooking bacon all over the inside of the skillets. edit: Cook only non-acidic things in plenty of butter, grease, or oil for a while, until you have a good seasoning built up.
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Nov 3, 2012 21:55
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I bought a cast iron skillet for cooking steak under the broiler.. Well I didn't know about seasoning or anything and after I used it just washed it off as normal and let it dry. The next morning obviously rust started to form.. Is it too late to season it?
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Nov 3, 2012 23:06
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aca posted:I bought a cast iron skillet for cooking steak under the broiler.. Well I didn't know about seasoning or anything and after I used it just washed it off as normal and let it dry. The next morning obviously rust started to form.. Is it too late to season it? If it's a brand new pan I'd have a hard time believing it would start to rust after one day...
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Nov 4, 2012 02:49
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rj54x posted:If it's a brand new pan I'd have a hard time believing it would start to rust after one day... As for your now-rusted pan, if it's just a tiny bit rusted you can generally clean that off with paper towels + a bit of oil (try it - it works), or steel wool, or scrubbing with a particularly resilient sponge.
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Nov 4, 2012 05:40
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Nhilist posted:Quick question: Toss. You can probably clean and re-season them, but why risk it?
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Nov 4, 2012 07:03
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aca posted:I bought a cast iron skillet for cooking steak under the broiler.. Well I didn't know about seasoning or anything and after I used it just washed it off as normal and let it dry. The next morning obviously rust started to form.. Is it too late to season it? It is never too late to season a cast iron pan. I've got I couple I picked up from garage sales that I literally had to take a grinder and a wire wheel to to get the rust off, and after that and a good cleaning they seasoned right up. Just hit it with a steel scrubber to get the rust off, or some fine-grit sandpaper if it is too stubborn for that, wash it, then season as normal. Short of melting it or rusting a hole through it, you'll be hard pressed to actually ruin a cast iron skillet.
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Nov 4, 2012 09:13
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Gilgameshback posted:Toss. You can probably clean and re-season them, but why risk it? Yeah, if it's got toxic poo poo, just replace them. Cast iron's cheap.
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Nov 4, 2012 09:50
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Liquid Communism posted:Short of melting it or rusting a hole through it, you'll be hard pressed to actually ruin a cast iron skillet. If you have an electric stove, the bottom of the pan needs to be completely flat. Throwing a pan on a fire can probably warp it so it will wobble and not get even heat on an electric stove anymore.
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Nov 4, 2012 10:34
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Is it actually possible to warp a cast iron pan through extreme heat like my dad thinks or was it more likely a case of extreme heat then cold water?
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Nov 4, 2012 11:13
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It'll shatter if it goes through a huge drop in temperature but I can't imagine it warping. Re. house fire pans- why would there be an issue with anything toxic? I say scrub, grind, cook bacon.
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Nov 4, 2012 18:44
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The pan can warp if you heat it up too hot too quickly. So yes, extreme heat can do it.
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Nov 4, 2012 18:56
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I always just cook bacon, empty out some of the grease if needed, and bake at 450 for an hour or so. Turn on a fan.
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Nov 4, 2012 21:06
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So I did the whole re-seasoning thing from the op. Seven coats of flaxseed oil later, the pan is nice and dark. When I tested it by frying some sliced potatoes, the surface was really slick. No starchy bits stuck to the pan, and all I needed to do after was to wipe it down with a paper towel. My pan is old and pockmarked, so I'll never get the mirror surface that was promised in the link in the OP, but it's better than it ever was and it would probably need machining to get rid of the uneven surface.
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Nov 8, 2012 09:48
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If anyone wants to buy unseasoned cast iron skillets but sees nothing but Lodge at kitchen stores, I'm finding that for some reason they're common at military surplus stores
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Nov 14, 2012 09:54
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axolotl farmer posted:So I did the whole re-seasoning thing from the op. Machining, or just fry in it a -lot-, with lard or shortening. Seasoning will build up over long periods of time to level out minor pits.
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Nov 14, 2012 18:03
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Well this pan is beyond fixing with seasoning.
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Nov 14, 2012 18:32
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Steve Yun posted:If anyone wants to buy unseasoned cast iron skillets but sees nothing but Lodge at kitchen stores, I'm finding that for some reason they're common at military surplus stores Sporting goods / outdoorsman stores tend to stock them as well that I've found. In other news, I am ashamed - I just managed to crack a perfectly good cast iron pan in half by slapping it on a burner at full and walking away. So yeah, I can personally confirm that you can gently caress up cast iron pretty easily by being an idiot and exposing it to huge heat differentials in one direction.
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Nov 14, 2012 23:47
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So, I think it's time to admit I have a problem. 
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Dec 1, 2012 06:03
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rj54x posted:So, I think it's time to admit I have a problem. Yes, your camera appears to have a dust problem.
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Dec 1, 2012 06:58
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