Cast iron skillet

[gadzooks]

I would LOVE a cast-iron skillet but my problem is, I can't pick them up! Help!

I know what you mean. I mentioned a Griswold-Wagner 9" chef skillet in a previous post. It is fairly recent, and weighs in at a hefty 3 lbs, 13-1/2 oz. Just today, I picked up a Wagner-Sidney 9" chef skillet, an earlier version of the same pan, and it weighs 2 lbs, 15-1/2 oz. Same pan, nearly a pound difference. You can guess which pan I'll be flipping eggs and pancakes in. And I'm a big guy.

 

[GB]

The heavy weight is what makes cast iron so good at what it does. Get the heaviest one you can lift. The weight (or more accurately, the mass) is the reason cast iron can suck up and hold onto heat so well.

 

[TechEngDavid]

The "dirty bottom" is the seasoning. My dad gave me a set of cast iron pans when I as younger, a couple of years later I gave them back. Foolish, now I know better.

 

[Joshatdot]

I've recently got into CI cookware, my 1st was a returned "defective" Lodge 8" skillet. I used to work at ACE Hardware, and we carried many of the Lodge products. It was returned because the lady (and my co-workers) believed the pre-seasoned CI was good enuff. She cooked something, and complained that it tasted like metal/rust. So it was put in our returned/defective basket. I saw it there and asked if I could have it. We usually claim the defective item with our warehouse/distributor or manufacture and get a refund. Once the claim is filed, they toss the item in the garbage. I couldn't believe that this CI skillet was defective. Anywho, I got the pan, took it home and Google'd CI (re)seasoning, and this is what I found to work best:

- Preheat your oven to 350*f.
- Thoroughly clean the CI item in hot water & a little mild soap.
- Smear/coat heavily the CI with shortening/Crisco everywhere.
- Place in oven upside down, and cook for one hour.
- After one hour, turn off the oven & let the CI cool in the oven with the residual heat.

After that the skillet was jet black & slick, before that it looked dark gray & had a matte finish.

I've learned alot reading the posts here. I didn't know there was a difference from Lodge and other CI, mainly the finish/smoothness of the CI process. I also have a 10" skillet I got from a Thrift Store, it is an "SK" brand made in the USA, and it has a smoother CI finish.

I found some Griswold's on eBay, and wow they have a silky smooth looking finish!

 

[Robo410]

Griswolds are spectacular...I have several, one dating back to the 1800s and still cooks like magic!

 

[Joshatdot]

When looking for old skillets .. are the heat ring ones better, or the non heat ring ones?

 

[Uncle Bob]

When looking for old skillets .. are the heat ring ones better, or the non heat ring ones?

The heat rings...or "rim" or "rimmed" pieces were made to lift the skillet slightly off/above the surface of the old wood burning cook stoves for better heat distribution....On today's modern stoves there is no advantage in performance one way or the other....The presence of or lack of the ring is really only important to collectors of cast iron...HTH


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