The Officially Sanctioned Cast Iron Thread

[BartHarleyJarvis]

We've been flirting with this for a while, time to make it official. Post your pans, seasoning tips, favorite recipes, garage sale finds. No non-stick allowed. Carbon steel inclusion will be judged on a case by case basis.

[igrindtwinkies]

After using non-stick for years, I recently bought two cast iron pans and have been learning the ins and outs of the cast iron skillet.  Just one question, what oils do you guys usually use in yours?  I have a large tub of Olive Oil from Costco that I'm trying to burn through.  I know it's not ideal for the type of heat I'm getting from cast iron.  I bought it in my non-stick days, what should my next purchase be?

[JM]

Oh hell yeah. I’ve been hoping to get in early on a 1000 page thread.

On cleaning, can table salt work as well as rock salt? What about Himalayan pink salt? Does it have better crystal cleaning capabilities?

*and I will send later a pic of my favorite range top accessory.  Use it for pancakes mostly.

[DiscountCanofTuna]

Got a lodge cast iron a few years back, been using it on both Gas and Induction. I definitely neglect it and still haven't figured out how much I should scrub it out to get food scraps off without taking the seasoning with it (don't worry I'm not using soap). But despite that it still serves me well. I mostly just cook meat in it so I would be curious what else people use theirs for.

[BartHarleyJarvis]

My Daily Drivers: 2 Lodge cast iron skillets, a dutch oven, a non-branded cast iron grill pan, a lodge press/weight, and a carbon steel pan that I need to clean and re-season...

If I use an oil cooking, I just use canola. If I do scrub, I just use mortons kosher salt which works fine for me, but I only really do that if i'm going to re-season, which happens very rarely

[JM]

K, what do you think. Is this trick illegal?

- medium low heat
- melt butter on all the surface.
- scatter them pepperonis
- mix eggs in bowl
- apply mixture to surface
- (thank your deity of choice that you did not make too much egg mixture)
- add basil, and tarragon,and pinches of salt
- cook through
- cut into thirds
- flip thirds over
- apply shredded cheese
- flip thirds into halves
- admire your work
- feed the family















*family just called it egg pizza

[IUTSM]

Daily drivers are the lodge and wagner I pulled from a dumpster 5 or more years ago. Vinegar and many scrubs. Butter bake for initial season. Cornbread cooking to bring it home.

The seasoned dutch is an unmarked volrath. Super sturdy and lightweight. Circa 1940. Awesome, awesome pan

Got a full set of old unmarked Lodge skillets from a lady who said they came from Mexico w her grandma in the 1940s. They were still full of lard when i got em and i started to clean em but never finished, so theres so surface rust. Suuuuuuper lite weight. Look forward to electrolysis this summer


Unmarked griswold dutch needs to be electrolyzed

Ive got another griswold skillet circa 1950s somewhere and a few enamled/le creseut from junk stores as well.

Cornbread and pizza w homemade dough are great to start cooking in newly seasoned pans. Making a skillet cookie does a great job as well.

Bone broth will season a dutch like nothing else

[BartHarleyJarvis]

K, what do you think. Is this trick illegal?

- medium low heat
- melt butter on all the surface.
- scatter them pepperonis
- mix eggs in bowl
- apply mixture to surface
- (thank your deity of choice that you did not make too much egg mixture)
- add basil, and tarragon,and pinches of salt
- cook through
- cut into thirds
- flip thirds over
- apply shredded cheese
- flip thirds into halves
- admire your work
- feed the family















*family just called it egg pizza

I’ll be honest, it looks a bit abominable BUT
A) I’ll bet it’s delicious
B) any cast iron that you can cook an egg on without making a mess is a thing of beauty

[BartHarleyJarvis]

Daily drivers are the lodge and wagner I pulled from a dumpster 5 or more years ago. Vinegar and many scrubs. Butter bake for initial season. Cornbread cooking to bring it home.

The seasoned dutch is an unmarked volrath. Super sturdy and lightweight. Circa 1940. Awesome, awesome pan

Got a full set of old unmarked Lodge skillets from a lady who said they came from Mexico w her grandma in the 1940s. They were still full of lard when i got em and i started to clean em but never finished, so theres so surface rust. Suuuuuuper lite weight. Look forward to electrolysis this summer


Unmarked griswold dutch needs to be electrolyzed

Ive got another griswold skillet circa 1950s somewhere and a few enamled/le creseut from junk stores as well.

Cornbread and pizza w homemade dough are great to start cooking in newly seasoned pans. Making a skillet cookie does a great job as well.

Bone broth will season a dutch like nothing else

Beautiful. Skillet pizza is a go to. Little cornmeal on the bottom. The best

[JoseCansnake0]

I need to re-season mine, thanks for the reminder

[jgonzalez]

I’ll post what I got. I have a collection of vintage and modern lodge.

What I find helps with cleaning is when there’s like a film or something sticky that’s caking on I scrub under water with a non abrasive pad to avoid scratches that take off the smooth surface. Then when it’s mostly clean I put it on high heat to dry off. Then add a good amount of oil and let it smoke. Then I use a metal spatula to scrape the surface while there’s a lot of oil on the pan.  and I notice quite a bit of gunk comes off. Wipe it with a napkin and let it smoke to season then turn it off to cool. I use olive, canola, or avocado oil.

Initially I stick my new to me pans in hot coals to burn away the caked on gunk and leave them overnight. Next day I just wipe clean with water and repeat the seasoning process on the stove top a couple of times.

[brycickle]

I roll with carbon steel Made In pans lately. I find it's the best of both worlds between stainless and cast iron. When I cook I usually use butter lately, but also whatever high smoke point oil I have at the time.

Contrary to popular belief, you 100% can use a sponge and some dawn soap to clean your pans. The whole thing about not washing with soap only mattered when dish soap still contained lye, which would definitely strip your seasoning. With dawn and the soft side of a sponge though, you'll be fine. If dish soap is safe enough to remove crude oil from a bird, it's safe enough to remove cooking oil from your pan without stripping it.

[JM]

Expand Quote

K, what do you think. Is this trick illegal?

- medium low heat
- melt butter on all the surface.
- scatter them pepperonis
- mix eggs in bowl
- apply mixture to surface
- (thank your deity of choice that you did not make too much egg mixture)
- add basil, and tarragon,and pinches of salt
- cook through
- cut into thirds
- flip thirds over
- apply shredded cheese
- flip thirds into halves
- admire your work
- feed the family















*family just called it egg pizza

[close]

I’ll be honest, it looks a bit abominable BUT
A) I’ll bet it’s delicious
B) any cast iron that you can cook an egg on without making a mess is a thing of beauty

Thank you appreciate it. Just make sure it’s really hot before putting anything on it. The quick singe will help things not stick.

It was delicious… but way too much pepperoni taste. Bacon or sliced turkey would have been better.

Also, yes, I was laughing the whole time thinking it looks abominable.

[artskool]

https://www.lecreuset.com/signature-skillet/20182US.html

I've used this pan daily for 15 years, at least. Yes, it was expensive but if mine disappeared I wouldn't think twice before getting another. It has a unique surface that is pretty close to non-stick, but cooks like normal cast iron.

[BartHarleyJarvis]

https://www.lecreuset.com/signature-skillet/20182US.html

I've used this pan daily for 15 years, at least. Yes, it was expensive but if mine disappeared I wouldn't think twice before getting another. It has a unique surface that is pretty close to non-stick, but cooks like normal cast iron.

I love my Dutch oven which is fully enameled. It’s by far my most used pot. I would recommend le Creuset to anyone, especially if you can get a good sale.

However, I think the greatest thing about Lodge is the low barrier to entry. They’re inexpensive, available nearly everywhere, practically impossible to mess up, and they’ll still last you a lifetime.

[jgonzalez]

https://www.lecreuset.com/signature-skillet/20182US.html

I've used this pan daily for 15 years, at least. Yes, it was expensive but if mine disappeared I wouldn't think twice before getting another. It has a unique surface that is pretty close to non-stick, but cooks like normal cast iron.

I love my le creuset pot but I think a strength of pure cast iron is you can throw the cast iron without enamel on top of a fire or into a fire pit for cleaning. Probably can handle extreme heat and neglect better too without enamel. Can also take steel wool to the exterior for cleaning and use metal cooking utensils without any hesitation

No doubt that is a solid piece of cookware tho

[manysnakes]

Every time I see a stack of a dozen cast iron pans at the thrift store, I am reminded of Slap, and tempted to purchase them to share here, like some kind of pied piper for Lodge.

[manysnakes]

My official cast iron position, btw, is that Le Creuset is worth every penny they charge. Thankfully I got mine from the Goodwill, but if my main Le Creuset pan disappeared tomorrow, I'd run out and buy another one at retail before it was time to make breakfast the next day.

[frontsideNECKTIE]

Man this thread is feeding the need for another cast... idk where my other one went, probably turned to shit due to moving and cruddy housemates..

What's the go-to for cast irons these days? Got a decent tax return coming and I'm planning spending most of it on furnishing and housewares.

Mostly would use it for searing meat and making gravy/sauces. 4 mouths to feed in my house.

[BartHarleyJarvis]

Man this thread is feeding the need for another cast... idk where my other one went, probably turned to shit due to moving and cruddy housemates..

What's the go-to for cast irons these days? Got a decent tax return coming and I'm planning spending most of it on furnishing and housewares.

Mostly would use it for searing meat and making gravy/sauces. 4 mouths to feed in my house.

If you want to splurge, le Creuset is the way to go. They're great and very *~*Aesthetic*~*, available in a bunch of colors.

If you want to keep it budget, Lodge can't be beat imo

[Candied cigarettes]

I posted this a while ago in some other thread, but this video is all you need to know for cleaning and maintaining your cast iron.
https://youtu.be/3yVIvcFWoRc?si=xDS0uXtcuWu3esnE

Edit: I can’t embed shit anymore my apologies

[BartHarleyJarvis]

I posted this a while ago in some other thread, but this video is all you need to know for cleaning and maintaining your cast iron.
https://youtu.be/3yVIvcFWoRc?si=xDS0uXtcuWu3esnE

Edit: I can’t embed shit anymore my apologies

We had a pretty good cast iron thread going in a tyshawn thread, did you post it in there?

[bartlaser]

I copped the griddle recently.  Pretty awesome but my electric stove is ass. Its tricky dialing the heat across the two burners.  I think I need to run the smaller burner a bit hotter than the big.  I'll stay tuned here for tricks and tips.

[JM]

Someone please post proper cleaning techniques, and whether or not I should get some rock salt, or if table salt is good enough.   :'(

[MOE SYZLAK]

Cooking up a couple filets for me and my Valentine.

[BartHarleyJarvis]

Cooking up a couple filets for me and my Valentine.

OH BABY

[BartHarleyJarvis]

Someone please post proper cleaning techniques, and whether or not I should get some rock salt, or if table salt is good enough.   :'(

The video candied cigarettes posted is good. 90% of the time, hot water and a medium to soft brush will get it done. You should really only use salt if there’s some old, hardened food left in the skillet. Table salt is too fine, you need a box of kosher salt, nothing fancier than that is needed. In a pinch, dawn dish soap and a scrub brush is fine as well.

After cleaning, always makes sure to wipe the pan down completely and I even heat it up on the stove top a bit to make sure there’s no water left. If you leave the pan wet, it can rust.

[JM]

Expand Quote

Someone please post proper cleaning techniques, and whether or not I should get some rock salt, or if table salt is good enough.   :'(

[close]

The video candied cigarettes posted is good. 90% of the time, hot water and a medium to soft brush will get it done. You should really only use salt if there’s some old, hardened food left in the skillet. Table salt is too fine, you need a box of kosher salt, nothing fancier than that is needed. In a pinch, dawn dish soap and a scrub brush is fine as well.

After cleaning, always makes sure to wipe the pan down completely and I even heat it up on the stove top a bit to make sure there’s no water left. If you leave the pan wet, it can rust.

Thank you, Jarvis and candied cig.

[jgonzalez]

Every time I see a stack of a dozen cast iron pans at the thrift store, I am reminded of Slap, and tempted to purchase them to share here, like some kind of pied piper for Lodge.

Please share the love and be SLAP’s creampied piper for cast iron

I left a lodge skillet at the spot a couple of months ago and posted it here. Good food and skating makes life better.

[Lou Strux]

I cook almost exclusively in cast iron. Not because I believe it’s superior (it IS!) but because I have so darned much of it crowding my my stovetop.
This thread is a capital idea, BTW.

I recently found myself with a paltry 5 pieces of dried/packaged lasagna noodle left in in box & didn’t want to waste them, so I grabbed an enameled bread loaf pan & made a mini-sagna that was just the right size to feed my two kiddos & I.
Paired w/ a green salad & some garlicky, toasted kalamata olive bread & din-din was on the table.