GB
Chief Eating Officer
The process that Lodge uses to pre-season their cast iron is exactly the same thing you would do to season you pan at home just on a larger scale.
If you want to get good cast iron cookware almost free, check out yard sales. They generally come several in a set for very little money. Look for "estate" sales. I have given away dozens of cast iron items to those just starting out. Generally I purchased a box to get at one item that I wanted. I don't trust old cookware seasoning, and use soap, steel wool, and boiling salt water to bring out the old grease and start over. I don't understand pre-seasoned Lodge. Seasoning is acquired with use, and it is my understanding that you have to do that anyway. The new Lodge pans that I have seen do not have a polished interior. The ones that I acquired and used were difficult to clean due to the rough surface. Think that I will stick with my old ones.
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I wonder if I could get take a sander to a non seasoned one and speed up the wear.
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What pieces did you get? Thankfully, I have a Lodge outlet store about 30 minutes from me to feed my cast iron cravings. It has some remarkable deals on factory seconds that cook just as good as the "first" and have more character to boot.
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Some seasoning info that is better than what comes from the factory:
www.camp-cook.com :: View topic - Dutch Oven - Basic Technique
Cast Iron
That is what I did. Took my random orbit sander to a double burner griddle, made it a lot better, but not as good as if it had been done properly at the factory. I prefer the older cast iron, and there is a lot of it available used.I did and it worked for me.
And that is why it did not stick.I did however, use a bit of olive oil on the steak thou.....
And that is why it did not stick.
Seasoning is something that takes time. The pre-seasoned pans jsut take care of the initial seasoning. You need to continue seasoning it (by using it) if you want it to become truly non-stick.
Technically, yes that is correct. After enough time and cooking with enough fat your pan should be seasoned enough that you would not need to add any oil, but you usually want a little fat in there anyway.
I was watching Americas Test Kitchen the other day and they did a piece on cast iron. To prove that they really are non-stick they made scrambled eggs in a well seasoned cast iron pan with no additional fat. The eggs slid right out without sticking at all.
For searing, both cast iron and SS work great. I would say it is a little easier to get a good sear using CI, but it is pretty easy on SS too.
Cast Iron - hands down!! The only things I cook in my stainless steel cookware are dishes that are going to be "saucy". For searing/grilling like plain steaks, chops, etc., nothing beats my well-seasoned regular cast-iron pan or cast-iron grill pan.
Solid fat (not oil) is the best seasoning for castiron. Our foremothers used castiron and they cooked with animal fat (especially lard).
At a minimum, pick up some Crisco. Better yet, collect fat from meat/poultry you purchase - chicken, pig or beef fat are all fine. Fat freezes well so just collect fat from one type in a ziplock bag (in your freezer). When you have a bunch, throw it, frozen, in your castiron pan and render it. Even if you throw out the rendered fat, this is the best (and easiest) way to season (or re-season) castiron.
If you don't know how to properly render fat, see this post Rendering Fat