Cast Iron observations & questions

[Russellkhan]

Whoops, there were questions! I got so involved in reading and responding to the rest of the thread that I almost forgot the OP.

Originally Posted by vilasman

3 You never wash the pan. Primarily you drain the excess oil off while the pan is still hot. You just leave whats left. I have it on good authority from a CIA trained Chef that the oil won't go rancid. Now the wash the pan with salt instead of soap works. I you get gunk in your pan sprinkle it with salt like you would ajax and lightly scrub. Well right now I am alternating cooking bacon on a C. I. pizza pan and a 2 burner grill pan. Both live in the oven. I clean the fat off the grill pan when I think it will start over flowing to the bottom of the oven. The pizza pan when it looks like what I am going to cook next will be swimming in fat and the 2 burner is full of fat and the 2 other grill pans and 3 other regular pans are too small or to buried away.
But, point being, I can rub almost anything out of the bacon pans with my finger and salt. Occasionally I have to take a butter knife to a grill pan but even then it's not a fight.

It sounds like you're leaving a lot more on the pan than I would. Hot water and a thorough scrubbing with a wok brush (after pouring off excess fat) takes off any bits of food/spices, etc and leaves the seasoning. Very rarely, I've needed to use salt as an abrasive to clean off major crud.

Questions
1 occasionally I cook fish or chicken in the oven. For now I use a different pan cause I didn't know how the flavors would work together. Now can I do fish or chicken on the bacon pans?
2. My CI wok, can cook bacon in it to season it and not totally jack up the flavors of asian food ?
3. Since the grill side of my pan is always up and the griddle side down I am noticing that the coating on that side is flaking off . Should I be concerned about that? If I flip it there's all that bacon fat.

1. Yes, absolutely.
2. Sounds good to me.
3. Not sure. Don't have one of those. Haven't worked with a piece of cast iron that's supposed to have two cooking surfaces. I tend to neglect the outside of my CI most of the time and occasionally (once every couple years or so) scrub it down when it begins to rust with a salt/oil paste and then reseason it.

[Bigjim68]

My cast iron cleaning tool is a broken off blade of a turner. I don't worry about the exterior and find no difference whether there is a lot of crud on it or not. When it gets too bad, I hit it with a wire wheel chucked in a drill. IMO, if CI is scraped and wiped well, flavors don't transfer from one dish to another.

[Jcas]

today i came across 2 cast iron skillets. Both identical i think it says Holcroft 10, they need a bit of work but overall they are not too bad.

Is anybody familiar with Holcroft, i googled it but didnt get a lot of info.

To me it feels like like good quality as they are as smooth as anything.

[DramaQueen]

If you buy Lodge Cast Iron you will never go wrong. These are made in the U.S. and they haven't changed anything except to add a preseasoned line to their inventory. I prefer to season my own. As all of the information I have ever read, and Lodge people themselves state, NEVER use soap on cast iron. I wash my pans with very hot water and a nylon scrub brush, then lay on the burner with a light swab of Crisco for about 60-90 seconds. Off the heat, let it cool on the burner and put it away with a paper towel over it to absorb any moisture. The reason for the original seasoning process is to seal the pores created when the iron is being forged. You can't really "wash off the seasoning," but soap makes the pores larger therefore creating a sticking surface.
My pans have all developed a beautiful smooth patina and not one thing sticks to the cookware.

[Bigjim68]

Reasons to buy old CI
1. Stuff gets recycled instead of getting thrown in the dump.
2. Bargain hunting can be fun. You might find that old Beatles album you have been looking for.
3. You will buy for pennies on the dollar.
4. There is a certain amount of nostalgia attached to a pan which probably was used to make the worlds best cornbread, in some grandchilds opinion..
5. They make good no reason gifts for someone just starting out.
6. If it is over 60 years old, it was probably made in the US.
7. You don't have to put up with trying to slide eggs around over mountains or valleys, and you don't have to wait several years for it to get smooth.

I am not familiar with Holbrook, but if it is smooth inside and has no cracks. I would buy it. Surface rust and old crud clean up easily, and the results are amazing. Unlike copper cookware, most if not all CI was made to be used, not displayed, and never wears out.

[justplainbill]

Originally Posted by Bigjim68

Reasons to buy old CI
1. Stuff gets recycled instead of getting thrown in the dump.
2. Bargain hunting can be fun. You might find that old Beatles album you have been looking for.
3. You will buy for pennies on the dollar.
4. There is a certain amount of nostalgia attached to a pan which probably was used to make the worlds best cornbread, in some grandchilds opinion..
5. They make good no reason gifts for someone just starting out.
6. If it is over 60 years old, it was probably made in the US.
7. You don't have to put up with trying to slide eggs around over mountains or valleys, and you don't have to wait several years for it to get smooth.

I am not familiar with Holbrook, but if it is smooth inside and has no cracks. I would buy it. Surface rust and old crud clean up easily, and the results are amazing. Unlike copper cookware, most if not all CI was made to be used, not displayed, and never wears out.

You ain't just whistling Dixie.
Interesting how DQ speaks with such great authority about forging CAST iron and using paper towels to absorb moisture.

[DramaQueen]

I guess I meant Cast not forge. Sorry, I wasn't thinking. The "authority" from which I speak however, comes directly from the people at Lodge Mfg. That was unecessarily sharp criticism.
And what exactly is your problem with using paper towels to absorb moisture?

[justplainbill]

Originally Posted by DramaQueen

I guess I meant Cast not forge. Sorry, I wasn't thinking. The "authority" from which I speak however, comes directly from the people at Lodge Mfg. That was unecessarily sharp criticism.
And what exactly is your problem with using paper towels to absorb moisture?

Sorry for being too sharp. I guess you do not have too much of a problem with moisture in Las Vegas. I believe that Lodge talks in terms of placing paper towels between the lid and bottom of their dutch ovens to facilitate air circulation. However, as many gun owners can tell you, metallic items like firearms stored in contact with many materials are prone to rusting precisely because the materials absorb and hold moisture. Glad to see not everyone on this thread thinks Lodge's rough finish is so swift.