Gotta love Kent and Shannon. Great folks. I don't do much cooking over a fire anymore. But use it a lot in the kitchen. Ken, do you and Miss Lisa cook with cast iron? Bacon? Pat
A good friend hooked up with a girl years back ,and she decided to do him a favor and took his well seasoned cast iron and polished all of it to a high shine with steel wool and cleaned off all the "Icky black stuff" that was on it. He was really pissed off but couldn't bitch because she spent all day on it .
Finex pans have a machined smooth surface... seriously heavy and also expensive, but worth every penny. Don't buy one without a lid! I've got a couple of them that get used for everything...
I've given a few as gifts as well and all I hear is good things from those folks, except how heavy they are.
I killed the 70 year old seasoning in my dad's family Dutch Oven by letting it soak in soapy water overnight. Took him 4 weeks to get the seasoning right after that. And I heard about it for years.
I have a skillet that was manufactured in Cleveland, TN. It came from my grandmother and is easily 100 years old or more..... Black as night and slick as a baby's bottom... JD
I have a Lodge carbon steel skillet which is 1/8 inch thick stamped steel. I use it for eggs and bacon. It's 3lbs lighter than Lodge's cast iron skillet which is good when you're carrying it but it's too light to sear a steak properly. Al_in_Ottawa
I own 2 Lodge pieces, a flat skillet and a deep pan, lid fits both. I spent a lot of time grinding and sanding to get the sand marks out. That is why Lodge is as inexpensive as it is. They do not finish them. They good now, after lots of work.
My wife's father used to work at a metal plating shop. He put a high polish and then chrome plated the inside of his wife's skillets. They were as nonstick as teflon.
I got a 7" Lodge skillet a few years ago and use it daily. Unfortunately the "pre-seasoning" they employ was thick and built up all over the inside, making it difficult to impossible to clean.
Before you suggest grinding it out, know that I live in a studio in an oldfolks apartment building - no garage or shop or outside work space. I may have to look into some of the more-expensive stuff Kent Rollins is demonstrating.
For the rough Lodge finish another way to make it smooth is to scrape the edge of a metal spatula over the surface as you cook and clean it. That works over time. Also, pick up antique pans when you can. - MH
Well, I bought a Stargazer 10.5 Inch a while back and have no complaints about it. It has a finely machined bottom and comes In cured, or uncured varieties. It is a very handsome skillet. I love its bronze color too. Also, I don't make gravy. Eggs and bacon, and steaks so far.
It's the price difference that gets me. The 3 Lodge skillets and 2 Lodge dutch ovens I have work just great, are well seasoned, and cover all my needs. And all 5 pieces together are probably cheaper than the one Finex. The only complaint is that their ceramic coated pieces are, cough cough, made in China. I have one dutch oven that's coated, and I fricking love it. I just gotta ignore the hecho in China label on the box.
Best ones I have came from yard sales. Although my others are lodge and they work great. Want a great meatloaf? Use a cast iron bread pan. It's all I use, other than stainless steel for pots and acidic stuff. I've had two of my pans for over 40 years.
Worst thing that happened was when the idiot maids my lazy wife hired stuck my favorite skillet in the dishwasher. That sort of thing sucks, but at least it can be fixed.
Pro tip to refurbish one: fill it with hot coals, and stick it on a pile of coals in the grill, close the lid, and walk away. Hours later, there'll be a pan that looks like it came out of the casting mold.
I wish I had time to watch. Right now, my Phillies are playing... Go Phils!!!
ReplyDeleteGotta love Kent and Shannon. Great folks. I don't do much cooking over a fire anymore. But use it a lot in the kitchen. Ken, do you and Miss Lisa cook with cast iron? Bacon? Pat
ReplyDeleteA good friend hooked up with a girl years back ,and she decided to do him a favor and took his well seasoned cast iron and polished all of it to a high shine with steel wool and cleaned off all the "Icky black stuff" that was on it. He was really pissed off but couldn't bitch because she spent all day on it .
ReplyDeleteFinex pans have a machined smooth surface... seriously heavy and also expensive, but worth every penny. Don't buy one without a lid! I've got a couple of them that get used for everything...
DeleteI've given a few as gifts as well and all I hear is good things from those folks, except how heavy they are.
That's a killing offense in the Deep South.
DeleteI killed the 70 year old seasoning in my dad's family Dutch Oven by letting it soak in soapy water overnight. Took him 4 weeks to get the seasoning right after that. And I heard about it for years.
I find rummage sale cast iron works just fine.
ReplyDeletePerhaps even better. The old stuff was superior to the most popular current stuff.
DeleteI have a skillet that was manufactured in Cleveland, TN. It came from my grandmother and is easily 100 years old or more..... Black as night and slick as a baby's bottom...
ReplyDeleteJD
I have a Lodge carbon steel skillet which is 1/8 inch thick stamped steel. I use it for eggs and bacon. It's 3lbs lighter than Lodge's cast iron skillet which is good when you're carrying it but it's too light to sear a steak properly.
ReplyDeleteAl_in_Ottawa
I have my great grandmother's skillet. Love it. Antique shops also good sources; the new ones don't seem to be as nice.
ReplyDeleteI own 2 Lodge pieces, a flat skillet and a deep pan, lid fits both. I spent a lot of time grinding and sanding to get the sand marks out. That is why Lodge is as inexpensive as it is. They do not finish them. They good now, after lots of work.
ReplyDeleteTom762
I did the same.
DeleteMy wife's father used to work at a metal plating shop.
He put a high polish and then chrome plated the inside of his wife's skillets.
They were as nonstick as teflon.
I have a Lodge skillet and I have to do that as well. It is not very good for my use the way it is, it is too rough.
DeleteIf you are going to throw money at this, look up "Finex". You are welcome. That is all.
ReplyDeleteI'll contend that with Finex, at least it's money well spent.
ReplyDeleteI got a 7" Lodge skillet a few years ago and use it daily. Unfortunately the "pre-seasoning" they employ was thick and built up all over the inside, making it difficult to impossible to clean.
ReplyDeleteBefore you suggest grinding it out, know that I live in a studio in an oldfolks apartment building - no garage or shop or outside work space. I may have to look into some of the more-expensive stuff Kent Rollins is demonstrating.
For the rough Lodge finish another way to make it smooth is to scrape the edge of a metal spatula over the surface as you cook and clean it. That works over time.
DeleteAlso, pick up antique pans when you can. - MH
I have a few Griswolds from family, and bought a Lodge. I had to sand it for a while to get it smooth!
ReplyDeleteWell, I bought a Stargazer 10.5 Inch a while back and have no complaints about it. It has a finely machined bottom and comes In cured, or uncured varieties. It is a very handsome skillet. I love its bronze color too. Also, I don't make gravy. Eggs and bacon, and steaks so far.
ReplyDeleteIt's the price difference that gets me. The 3 Lodge skillets and 2 Lodge dutch ovens I have work just great, are well seasoned, and cover all my needs. And all 5 pieces together are probably cheaper than the one Finex. The only complaint is that their ceramic coated pieces are, cough cough, made in China. I have one dutch oven that's coated, and I fricking love it. I just gotta ignore the hecho in China label on the box.
ReplyDeleteLodge man here. I own about 10 of them.
ReplyDeleteBest ones I have came from yard sales. Although my others are lodge and they work great. Want a great meatloaf? Use a cast iron bread pan. It's all I use, other than stainless steel for pots and acidic stuff. I've had two of my pans for over 40 years.
ReplyDeleteWorst thing that happened was when the idiot maids my lazy wife hired stuck my favorite skillet in the dishwasher. That sort of thing sucks, but at least it can be fixed.
Pro tip to refurbish one: fill it with hot coals, and stick it on a pile of coals in the grill, close the lid, and walk away. Hours later, there'll be a pan that looks like it came out of the casting mold.
Test em for lead if buying second hand.
Delete-arc
Lodge all the way. Helps that my parents live near the factory and can get them cheaper at their factory store...
ReplyDelete