Cast Iron Skillets

[Sheldon]

I use electrolysis to restore old stuff but usually, I usually do it for other people.

[Getslow]

The benefit of the enamel pans is that they don't require seasoning. Seasoning can be burnt off if you get to pan too hot (we're talking about REALLY hot...like leaving them on the stove-top and forgetting to turn of the burner, which most everyone accidentally does every once in a blue moon), and seasoning is also susceptible to foods that are high in acidity. In general, it's best not to use a regular cast iron pan to cook any recipes with any major amounts of vinegar, tomatoes, or citrus in them. Tomato sauces, for example, are pretty much a big no-no for cooking in a regular cast iron pan. And if you have to use it to cook a recipe with high acid content, you definitely want to clean out the pan as soon as you've finished cooking.

 

However, if you have an enamel-coated cast iron pan, you can cook anything and everything in it. The enamel coating used on lower-cost cast iron pans tends to chip a little more easily, but I have a Lodge cast iron dutch oven that I use every time I make chili or stew, and it's worked absolutely great. There's a French manufacturer called Le Creuset that was the first company to try putting enamel coatings on cast iron, and they actually put a lifetime warranty on their enamel coating...but those suckers cost a pretty penny. A Le Creuset enameled 7-1/4 quart dutch oven will cost you $379.95 on Amazon, whereas I think I paid like $75 for my Lodge enameled 7-1/2 quart dutch oven 4 or 5 years ago.

 

You can put a Le Creuset cast iron in your dishwasher. Your dishwasher!

 

Whoever heard of such preposterous stuff? Man I can't even deal with that.

[ChickenWyngz]

After hearing some info here I think my approach is going to be to buy a new aged cheaper one and grind/buff it a bit smoother (I think I'd like that a little better than the rough ones).

 

In the meantime I will be looking for some older ones. I've checked out some videos after reading some of the things you all have posted and I think I'd really enjoy taking an old rusty skillet that has been around and seen a lot of history over the years and bring it to life. Seems like it'd be a worthwhile project to restore them as gifts for close family members here and there too.

 

I am thinking of going with a big one when I buy (14"-15"). My thought being I can always cook smaller amounts of things in them, but cannot make one bigger if I need more skillet space.

 

Quick question, I have a gas range so not worried about it, can cast iron be used on the smooth electric ranges?

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

After hearing some info here I think my approach is going to be to buy a new aged cheaper one and grind/buff it a bit smoother (I think I'd like that a little better than the rough ones).

 

In the meantime I will be looking for some older ones. I've checked out some videos after reading some of the things you all have posted and I think I'd really enjoy taking an old rusty skillet that has been around and seen a lot of history over the years and bring it to life. Seems like it'd be a worthwhile project to restore them as gifts for close family members here and there too.

 

I am thinking of going with a big one when I buy (14"-15"). My thought being I can always cook smaller amounts of things in them, but cannot make one bigger if I need more skillet space.

 

Quick question, I have a gas range so not worried about it, can cast iron be used on the smooth electric ranges?

 

I've done the buffing route on a newer skillet myself, and it worked out fine. I used a sanding flap wheel on a grinder, which accomplished the task REALLY quickly. In hindsight, though, I think it's probably really safer and just about as easy to just use an orbital palm sander and start off with some fairly aggressive grit sandpaper, and then work your way up in the fineness of sandpaper grit that you're using. That way you can be a little more gradual and have MUCH better control over what you end up with in terms of the smoothness of the cooking surface on your skillet.

 

To answer your question about smooth-top electric ranges, you can use any modern cast iron skillet on one, yes. They're made with smooth undersides. However, many of the older skillets have what is called a "heat ring" on the bottom of them. They're a raised metal ring around the outside of the skillet bottom that was intended to fit directly into the cooking eye of an old-school metal stove. The raised heat ring on the bottom would hold the majority of the skillet up off of the cooking surface on a smooth top-stove electric range and would make the skillet heat up really really unevenly. Not a great plan for cooking.

 

Here's a picture of what I mean by a heat ring. That's a vintage #5 three-notch Lodge skillet. It would date back to the 1940s or 50s.

 

Edited December 13, 2018 by Colonels_Wear_Blue

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

And for some clarification on a what a "cooking eye" is on a stove...they're the round areas on the stove-top, what we would usually call the "burner" in this day and age. Old cast iron stoves would actually have a removable cover on the eyes, and the heat ring on the underside of the skillet would fit down neatly into place to keep the skillet from moving around and to prevent flames and ash from spitting up out of the stove into your kitchen.

 

Most of the old cast iron manufacturers made both stoves and cookware, and the numbers assigned to the pans referred to the size of the eye that the skillet was made to fit rather than referring to an actual measurement of the skillet diameter. That's why most #8 skillets are traditionally around 10" to 10-1/2" in diameter. Additionally, a Piqua Favorite #8 skillet may not be the exact same size as a Wagner #8 skillet...instead, the Piqua Favorite #8 skillet would perfectly fit into the #8 cooking eye on a Piqua Favorite stove, and the Wagner #8 skillet would perfectly fit the #8 cooking eye on a Wagner stove.

 

[CincySportsFan]

I am thinking of going with a big one when I buy (14"-15"). My thought being I can always cook smaller amounts of things in them, but cannot make one bigger if I need more skillet space.

 

You'd be surprised at what you can fit in a good 12" pan. Plus, some of those really big ones are so ungodly to handle. And consider what you're going to be cooking it on. Will a large portion of the pan be sitting outside of the heating element?

[BigVMan23]

Cowboy Kent (cowboy cook who uses mostly cast iron) likes the Field and Stargazer brands, which are American made. The Lodge is good for the money, but the finish is very rough and he actually re-grinds them to get a smooth finish and re-seasons. The Lodge is also heavier.

[ChickenWyngz]

I've only been a cast iron skillet owner for a couple of weeks, but I am crazy happy with the decision to get one. One of my favorite purchases in a long time.

[MJAlltheWay24]

Probably cooking some deer burgers in mine tonight.

[ChickenWyngz]

Probably cooking some deer burgers in mine tonight.

 

One thing we haven't done in it yet is burgers. I told my wife last night we need to give that a shot. We've done sausage patties, kielbasa, etc, in it and it's got a great seasoning going now.

 

We're doing ham steaks in ours tonight.