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I'd like to find a nice big cast iron pan. Places I've seen good ones include the antique mall and Gander Mountain has a vast selection. I think buying one at an antique mall might be a good idea...what about thrift stores?
Advice? Tips?
Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion » Q&A
Cast Iron Pan
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drew
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Don't see why there would be any problem with just getting one from an antique/thrift store... if it has been mistreated, I suspect it should be obvious.
We have a couple of Lodge Logic pans (I think that's what Gander Mountain carries), can't say enough good about 'em.
Edit: err... after looking, they're 'Lodge' pans. Don't know about Lodge Logic...
Posted 3 years ago # -
Mercurius
First Avenue
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I use mostly a Lodge 12" Frying Pan. It's nice because it it the exact same size as my dutch oven and the lids are interchangeable. I'm a little indifferent if it's been pre-seasoned but keep that in mind if you are buying a used one, it's probably going to need reconditioned/seasoned.
As to where to get them, I inherited quite a few, got a few from yard sales and bought some new. I know Cookware Sorcerer offers quite a few. Also, I fancy a nice set of Le Creuset.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Snarf
Dystopia
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What's the process for re-conditioning or re-seasoning? My lack of knowledge about care for and upkeep for cast iron is what's holding me back probably...but as the winter approaches I want to up my inside cooking options.
I do dig that Le Creuset stuff, we recently got their five qt
dutchfrench oven in teal. Those things are freakin $$$! Great for frying incidentally.Posted 3 years ago # -
Mercurius
First Avenue
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Snarf wrote >>
What's the process for re-conditioning or re-seasoning? My lack of knowledge about care for and upkeep for cast iron is what's holding me back probably...but as the winter approaches I want to up my inside cooking options.
I do dig that Le Creuset stuff, we recently got their five qtdutchfrench oven in teal. Those things are freakin $$$! Great for frying incidentally.It's easy. You just rub them with vegetable oil/bacon grease and bake them for 40 minutes or so at 400 F. Then after, make sure they never touch soap.
Edit: Google says longer and lower but I'm pretty sure those were the directions from Lodge?
Posted 3 years ago # -
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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There is no reason not to get a used one.
But a New Pre seasoned one is under $20 on Amazon.
Posted 3 years ago # -
roy
Downtown
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Snarf, a couple consistently applied house rules help but honestly, it's easy. First use, wash with lots of warm soapy water and dry well. Melt some Crisco, the solid vegetable shortening, and coat the pan inside and out including the handle. Follow the manufactuer's rec for heating the greasy pan during this first-time seasoning and be sure to place foil or a half-sheet pan on the rack below to catch melt-off. All new Lodge pans come with a handy guide to seasoning, it's on the opposite side of the circular attached to the cooking surface.
For everyday care, try to avoid soap. Purists say NEVER use soap, but sometimes I have to, garlic or fish. When detergent is necessary, use just a drop, dry pan well and melt a tablespoon of Crisco in the bottom, swishing it around with a paper towel. If you have a gas oven, sit it in there, oven off, to absorb.
Posted 3 years ago # -
roy
Downtown
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Forgot to say: I find kosher salt a great scrub for cast iron, undoubtedly read it somewhere, never would have thought of it. I keep a palm-size brush, like the little OXO, for just this use. The salt is able to scrub out the food bits without ruining the seasoned surface.
Posted 3 years ago # -
turbo ninja
Formerly Crumb Bus, Oh. Now Durm, NC.
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Posted 3 years ago # -
turnedNOTburned
Grandview/Columbus, Ohio
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Goodale Pro Hardware sells Lodge also - Good instructions for seasoning on them as well (spray some pam on the inside, wipe out excess with a paper towel, bake at 325 for an hour till the oil polymerizes) NEVER wash, clean with a few tablespoons of kosher salt and a few drops of canola oil. I've had my 14" cast iron for 12 years now - I call it "the Baconator".
Posted 3 years ago # -
alexs
Limestone bluffs of the Scioto
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I honestly wonder if all my cast iron cookware put together would weigh as much as I do (200+).
+1 on the Lodge, avoid the cheap Asian stuff. Or, for amusement, feel the texture on the inside of the vessel, compare its roughness to the smooth finish on a new Lodge piece.
I too use a little soap sometimes on the iron, it won't destroy it. Just don't ever leave it soaking overnight, cook and clean and dry as soon as possible. Heat and oil are your friends.
Le Creuset, oh yeah, mine is in dark green and Mom's is mostly yellow with some red and orange. Her stuff is 20 - 40 years old and it will outlive her. There are also a few pieces of comparable quality from Dansk and a few other brands.
I used to be able to find odd pieces of Le Creuset at Tuesday Morning or TJ Maxx, I assume those were from broken sets. But I could get a $90 oval french oven for $45, etc. I haven't seen much of that in a long time.
Posted 3 years ago # -
michaelcoyote
!seabus
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Tenzo wrote >>
Lodge cast iron pan.
accept no others.
SeriouslyReally? Why? I have 4 cast iron items and only one is Lodge. While the Lodge is definitely a good pan (20 years old and still looks new), the others have been just fine as well, and appear to be as solidly built as the Lodge.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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1) American company
2) Pre-seasoned
3) Reputation
4) Personal experiance*There was a show on Food TV about why lodge, I'll have to see if I can find a link to it.
*But I'm prob harder on stuff than most people. I went through life with average cooking gear before going to cooking school. Then when I did homework I started shredding my stuff. I mean pots and pans were cracking, busting at the seams, splitting, warping, shattering. Utensils were catching on fire and melting. Total Armagedon.
Most everything been replaced except the lodge cast iron and my Grandmother's german knives.
It's pro level and costs the same.
Esquire – Lodge Skillet – May 2009
We're No. 1! Esquire taps Lodge Skillet as top item all men should own.Chicago Tribune – Renee Enna – May 2008
“It never fails. Various publications and networks test grill pans to determine the best product on the market, and every time Lodge wins. â€ÂChicago Tribune – Skillet Sense – February 2, 2005
“To our surprise, higher cost didn’t automatically equal best performance. While the most expensive skillets certainly performed well, the skillet we like the best cost the least: the Lodge pre-seasoned cast-iron skillet.â€ÂPosted 3 years ago # -
Cookie
Flyntonville
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Tenzo wrote >>
1) American company
2) Pre-seasoned
3) Reputation
4) Personal experiance*
There was a show on Food TV about why lodge, I'll have to see if I can find a link to it.
*But I'm prob harder on stuff than most people. I went through life with average cooking gear before going to cooking school. Then when I did homework I started shredding my stuff. I mean pots and pans were cracking, busting at the seams, splitting, warping, shattering. Utensils were catching on fire and melting. Total Armagedon.
Most everything been replaced except the lodge cast iron and my Grandmother's german knives.You broke a cast iron pan?
Posted 3 years ago # -
TaraK
shoe-mocker
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My family inheritance is pretty much a collection of cast iron. Seriously -- soap free, when possible. My great-aunt Zella has one that hasn't been washed in something like thirty years and it makes the most amazing fried potatoes of this lifetime and the next.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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The coolest thing about cast iron is that the more you use it the better it gets.
You broke a cast iron pan?
It lived.
Unlike the stock pot that burst a side seam with 8 gallons of scalding hot chicken stock that went everywhere!
The lodge and the knives is about the only items that I still have from pre-cooking school.
Posted 3 years ago #
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