Cast Iron Skillets

It's from the first run of the wildlife series from back in the 90's made by lodge , There's a more recent wildlife series that was manufactured by Lodge here within the last 10yrs. You use to come across them every now and then but anymore they are getting harder and harder to find.

The middle row is the complete early series wildlife pans.

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My duck pan came with a fish (bass) pan. Have looked everywhere for the damned thing
 
Haven't posted in here since page one, but just over the weekend I bought a Harbor Freight angle grinder and some flexible sanding disks, and went to town on making the cooking surface as smooth as a spun pan. I then twice seasoned for an hour at 550 degrees with grapeseed oil, and it's a whole new experience. Passes the egg test with only a hint of butter, and any bits that do stick, only require a gentle flick with a spatula to knock off.
 
Someone earlier in this thread has a Stargazer and said most of his other pans sit in the cupboard since he got it.

And now, a moment of silence. My stepdaughter made apple butter in the CI yesterday and then used dish soap to clean it out. Needless to say, the seasoning is gone. At least the apple butter is delicious

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Well did you take the daughter out and properly stone her ?
 
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Well did you take the daughter out and properly stone her ?
No, my wife wouldn’t like that very much and I wouldn’t be able to make romance inside of her for a long time.

It’s ok though. It’s been worn so smooth over the years that it doesn’t really matter now. I used the same amount of butter that I usually use the next time I made eggs too
 
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When cast iron just has to be cleaned the quickest and simplest way is with a cutting torch. A little heat, a quick squirt of oxygen, and repeat until you have done the entire thing. Rub it off with a coarse cloth, oil, then heat, and wipe it out after it cools. Good to go. If you just have to wash it use plain water and then dry it immediately. A good piece of cast iron cookwear will outlast generations if given decent treatment.

My wife has her mother's and my mother's cast iron cookware which make it OLD cast iron, no over seas made junk. She has also added a couple of pieces of Lodge in the last few years which has been good. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can equal cast iron for cooking cornbread.
 
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When cast iron just has to be cleaned the quickest and simplest way is with a cutting torch. A little heat, a quick squirt of oxygen, and repeat until you have done the entire thing. Rub it off with a coarse cloth, oil, then heat, and wipe it out after it cools. Good to go.

My wife has her mother's and my mother's cast iron cookware which make it OLD cast iron, no over seas made junk. She has also added a couple of pieces of Lodge in the last few years which has been good. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can equal cast iron for cooking cornbread.
Ahhhh yes , nothing beats the taste of fried spam with a little hint of acetylene !
 
Sanded my Lodge pan and re seasoned it and a Matfer. Six coats so far. Even though I did not do the best sanding job it is much better to cook with now.
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I purchased a Matfer and just started using it, didn't season it at all just washed it really well to get off any of the coating that was on it. It still looks pretty new, however nothing sticks to it. I like the way yours looks I think I will season it in the oven this weekend.
 
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Well, she was trying........ Not too many wives would have given a second thought to a cast iron pot.
After all that bacon fat is not too heart healthy.
But it's good.
Bacon fat is a million times healthier than seed oils, especially if the pigs weren’t fed a diet of shitty, cheap feed.

I don’t want to start derailing this thread but all the info about fat/cholesterol over the last 75 years is the exact opposite of the truth
 
I purchased a Matfer and just started using it, didn't season it at all just washed it really well to get off any of the coating that was on it. It still looks pretty new, however nothing sticks to it. I like the way yours looks I think I will season it in the oven this weekend.
I used Grapeseed oil { had it on hand } and the oven. When I originally seasoned them seven or eight years ago, I used to much oil. That really messes things up. This time I used very, very thin coats. They came out great.
 
Bacon fat is a million times healthier than seed oils, especially if the pigs weren’t fed a diet of shitty, cheap feed.

I don’t want to start derailing this thread but all the info about fat/cholesterol over the last 75 years is the exact opposite of the truth
It started in 1975. It can be exactly dated and visually observed.
 
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Getting back to cast iron, all that is for sale around here was made in china. Boy, I can’t tell you how much I hate that. (And I promise you, the fellows selling the china made cast iron still have not found a home for their cast iron in my home!)
 
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Today the cast iron got a high dose of crisco and chicken wings.

The wings had that awsome flavor not found in an electric fry basket.

Sadly some people will never know the difference .

They think chick fillet is good chicken.
 
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Me and everyone I know washes their cast iron after every use with dish soap, and wipes on vegetable shortening. Not washing pans is gross.
I was taught it was heresy to use soap in cast iron.
Now I always wash em with dish soap, and then follow with a quick wipe with oil.

Just wanted to come back and comment that this was the best cast iron advice for me. Thanks!
 
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I cook my eggs and sausage in a Griswold every morning, haven't cleaned it years, but I also use low heat and no issues with sticking or left over mess in the skillet. I do wipe out the excess fat from the sausage occasionally. I have my grandmother's round bottom cast iron camp kettle, she rendered pork fat and made cracklin in it. I have the rest of her cast iron skillets and dutch ovens, never cleaned them in all the years I owned them.

Anything using water based recipes, I use my old circa 2003/2004 Calphalon
 
There is a difference between seasoning on a pan and crud.

Nothing wrong with a little soap and hot water to make sure you get the crud out. Seasoning is polymerized oil on the surface and protects the pan from corrosion and is inert when cooking. Crud is just crud - nasty burnt food, fat, grease, etc. and has no benefit (other than putting off-flavors onto your food).

Old Griswold or newer Lodge - doesn’t matter as far as care.

The old ones are soooo smooth though!
 
I put water in mine after cooking, bring it to a boil, toss in a folded paper towel, and use that to "scrub" the inside. Everything always comes loose.

Rinse with hot water, back on the flame to reheat and dry, wipe with a very thin coat of either lard or beef tallow, just enough to make it shine again. As soon as it cools, hang it back up in the pantry.

Mom made a quince Tarte Tatin in one of mine the other day. Cleaned up easy with my method, and that was caramelized sugar and fruit. She will wash hers with soap, but mine never see soap, just boiling water and paper towels pushed around with tongs or a wooden spatula. I always clean them before they cool off. Deglazes/cleans easy that way.
 
Also, all mine are vintage Griswold or Wagner. If I was buying today, Smithey, Stargazer, and Finex are all making great cast iron that is as smooth as the old stuff.

Lodge can be sanded smooth then re-seasoned if the price tag on the others I mentioned is an issue, but it is not necessarily a quick process. I had several that I had done, but gave them to friends when I inherited my dad's collection. He just displayed them, but I have cleaned and re-seasoned all of them.

A sleeper brand that commonly comes up at estate sales and flea markets throughout the South is Birmingham Stove and Range. Easy to identify once you do a bit of research, but almost never have a logo other than the casting number and size.
 
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Also, all mine are vintage Griswold or Wagner. If I was buying today, Smithey, Stargazer, and Finex are all making great cast iron that is as smooth as the old stuff.

Lodge can be sanded smooth then re-seasoned if the price tag on the others I mentioned is an issue, but it is not necessarily a quick process. I had several that I had done, but gave them to friends when I inherited my dad's collection. He just displayed them, but I have cleaned and re-seasoned all of them.

A sleeper brand that commonly comes up at estate sales and flea markets throughout the South is Birmingham Stove and Range. Easy to identify once you do a bit of research, but almost never have a logo other than the casting number and size.
Time and use will wear the inside of a Lodge smooth as well. That’s how mine got as awesome as it is.

Will definitely check into the Birmingham stuff, thanks for the tip