Cast Iron Skillet

[irul&ublo]

Not to be more of a dick than usual but no, just no to top round.

That’s why you have to get the prime.

[irul&ublo]

I've never been able to get one of those tender.

See above.

[MakersTeleMark]

Do you all go to a butcher and get your steaks cut special?

#roadkillangus

[MakersTeleMark]

^that looks like a chicken breast grilled with bbq sauce on it btw.

That is nothing but salt and pepper in a cast iron. Not even a butter baste. You have a lot to learn.

[old goat]

A trick for cleaning cast iron--as soon as you finish cooking wipe it out with paper towel while it's still hot--I use tongs. Then come back and clean with water at your leisure.

[billyk]

So, among the 15 or so cast iron pans & pots I discovered I have (my wife apparently buys them whenever she finds them at Goodwill), I have three 10.5” skillets. Two of them are old, with very smooth bottoms, and one is an almost brand new Lodge with a bumpy bottom that reminds me of the lunar surface.

After re-seasoning all the pans and running some experiments charring meat, I can definitely say the smoother bottom pans work better.

So I started looking into what it would take to smooth out the Lodge pan. After watching several videos on the subject, I came to the conclusion it would be a whole lot more effort and mess than I care for, particularly since I already have 2 smooth pans the same size. So, think I’ll just take the Lodge down to Goodwill and be done with it.

[liv2ski]

Good to know. Thanks

[jmedslc]

A trick for cleaning cast iron--as soon as you finish cooking wipe it out with paper towel while it's still hot--I use tongs. Then come back and clean with water at your leisure.

I run the hottest water in the sink on the still hot pan and hit it with a brush. Lightly oil and it’s good to go. My cast iron pans have not seen soap in years.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

So, among the 15 or so cast iron pans & pots I discovered I have (my wife apparently buys them whenever she finds them at Goodwill), I have three 10.5” skillets. Two of them are old, with very smooth bottoms, and one is an almost brand new Lodge with a bumpy bottom that reminds me of the lunar surface.

After re-seasoning all the pans and running some experiments charring meat, I can definitely say the smoother bottom pans work better.

So I started looking into what it would take to smooth out the Lodge pan. After watching several videos on the subject, I came to the conclusion it would be a whole lot more effort and mess than I care for, particularly since I already have 2 smooth pans the same size. So, think I’ll just take the Lodge down to Goodwill and be done with it.

Lodge is garbage compared to vintage Griswold etc.

The quality vintage cast iron is flatter, thinner and lighter of course. The cooking surface is also much smoother. There’s no comparison.


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[petey_]

Funny to see the used Lodge skillets in the local Goodwill type store selling for the same price as the new ones at Canadian Tire. They sure do have a textured surface. Maybe a milling machine to smooth them out?

Below is a recent camping meal. Thick sliced potatoes on an oiled CI and then vidalia onion with jalapeno on top. A small grill on top with a turkey breast seasoned with salt, pepper, and sage. Baste with sage butter as it cooks. The burner beneath the pan is off while the right side has tin foil packets of apple wood sawdust smoking away. 165 with the thermometer and good to go.

[billyk]

Funny to see the used Lodge skillets in the local Goodwill type store selling for the same price as the new ones at Canadian Tire. They sure do have a textured surface. Maybe a milling machine to smooth them out?

The videos I watched showed guys using grinders and sanding power tools. But also having to use close fitting goggles to keep the iron filings out of the eyes and a quality mask to keep from breathing that crap too.

The textured surface comes from the sand casting process. In the old days the manufacturers used to tumble the pans after casting to smooth them out. But that takes extra time and money to do. Lodge skips that step and is able to sell their pans cheaper, which allowed them to basically take over the market.

[Danno]

The videos I watched showed guys using grinders and sanding power tools. But also having to use close fitting goggles to keep the iron filings out of the eyes and a quality mask to keep from breathing that crap too.

The textured surface comes from the sand casting process. In the old days the manufacturers used to tumble the pans after casting to smooth them out. But that takes extra time and money to do. Lodge skips that step and is able to sell their pans cheaper, which allowed them to basically take over the market.

The older pans are lighter, which is nice, but I haven't found the bumpier surface any impediment to my cooking. The seasoning takes over, I can fry and egg on my Lodge pans, so not sure what improvement I'd get.

I will say that my pans don't work great on the glass top surface in my current rental (a lot of my pots/pans don't), but I'm moving next month, so hopefully the new place has a better cooktop.

[skaredshtles]

The older pans are lighter, which is nice, but I haven't found the bumpier surface any impediment to my cooking.

This. I have an old smooth Lodge 12" skillet and a newer, bumpy 10.5" cast iron griddle, and I can make crepes in both with no issues. If you can make crepes in a pan... I'd consider it non-stick.

[neckdeep]

Cast iron is great if you don't have the BTUs....but I got the BTUs. 75,000 of them. There's good reasons why cast iron woks are a novelty. Too heavy, too slow to heat, heat retention means you are stuck on sear. As a wok or a pan, carbon steel is just way better for dynamic cooking methods and yes, I have two vintage cast iron pans. $200 cast iron pans are great for searing a steak but a decent wok is 10 times as versatile and only costs $30. News flash: Choking down 20 oz slabs of beef is very hazardous for the health of middle aged men.



Seriously, everyone should have an outdoor burner. They are dirt cheap compared to a grill. Just let that smoke and spatter fly. You're outside, who gives a fuck.

[nickwm21]

Do you all go to a butcher and get your steaks cut special?

Yes.

For special occasions I go to a small business butcher shop in the neighborhood.

Outside of that - a full service grocery store with a butcher counter typically gets their meat delivered in primal cuts and breaks it down further and packages it on site. Don’t be afraid to ask for them to cut something thick or thin for you or fresh grind some chuck. Shit, I’ve even had them breakdown a chicken or debone a fish for me before… all this at no additional cost.



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[skaredshtles]

Cast iron is great if you don't have the BTUs....but I got the BTUs. 75,000 of them. There's good reasons why cast iron woks are a novelty.



Seriously, everyone should have an outdoor burner. They are dirt cheap compared to a grill. Just let that smoke and spatter fly. You're outside, who gives a fuck.

I'm gonna get one of those outdoor burners eventually... but it won't be one of those anemic 75,000BTU wimps.

[J. Barron DeJong]

I'm gonna get one of those outdoor burners eventually... but it won't be one of those anemic 75,000BTU wimps.

Imma need to know what kinda sauces you’re planning on making with that thing.

[skaredshtles]

Imma need to know what kinda sauces you’re planning on making with that thing.

It'd be for wok-usage almost exclusively... although once a year it would be used to make green chile "sauce."

[dan_pdx]

The older pans are lighter, which is nice, but I haven't found the bumpier surface any impediment to my cooking. The seasoning takes over, I can fry and egg on my Lodge pans, so not sure what improvement I'd get.

Yes, I have two contemporary Lodge skillets (my wife and I each had one when we combined households, awww) and a few years ago I used an angle grinder and some flap discs to smooth one out, I think I went to either 60 or 80 grit, and I was down to shiny metal instead of black cast iron. The one that was smoothed out worked a little bit better at the time, but after several years of seasoning I can't tell the difference between them anymore, either in looks or in performance.

[dan_pdx]

Seriously, everyone should have an outdoor burner. They are dirt cheap compared to a grill. Just let that smoke and spatter fly. You're outside, who gives a fuck.

I've been thinking I'd like to have exactly that setup for high-heat wok cooking. Add it to the wishlist for our new house

[neckdeep]

I'm gonna get one of those outdoor burners eventually... but it won't be one of those anemic 75,000BTU wimps.

Thats overkill for cooking. 200,000 is for home brewers or folks who need to boil 2 dozen lobsters at a time.

[skaredshtles]

Thats overkill for cooking. 200,000 is for home brewers or folks who need to boil 2 dozen lobsters at a time.

You're the one that brought up BTU's. This *is* a competition, after all, is it not?

[XXX-er]

my ex wife once said " its all about who has the biggest penis with you guys !"

I smoothed the inside of my cast iron fry pan with a sanding disc chucked in an old drill

I clean it by rinsing while still hot enough to sizzle from cooking which raises the goop in the pan pan but leaves the the surface and enough grease so it doesnt corrode

[J. Barron DeJong]

It'd be for wok-usage almost exclusively... although once a year it would be used to make green chile "sauce."

Sorry, but wok cooking isn’t part of the approved list:



Really intrigued by these sauces that require 200k BTU to make.

[XXX-er]

then If the dentist gig doesnt work out you can become a walla on the streets of mumbai

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHfrlApZwgo