The cast iron thread

[Shran]

Acid in tomatoes definitely affects taste. I make a pasta bake that pretty much has to be cooked in something else... bake it in iron and it'll taste just like iron.

Thought y'all might like this. I got it a while back from Lodge. I was pretty apprehensive about stacking a ton of weight on it but it's not a problem, as it turns out... very sturdy. Now everything except two dutch ovens is upstairs and within reach easily when I need it.

 

[fastpakr]

Acid in tomatoes definitely affects taste. I make a pasta bake that pretty much has to be cooked in something else... bake it in iron and it'll taste just like iron.

Thought y'all might like this. I got it a while back from Lodge. I was pretty apprehensive about stacking a ton of weight on it but it's not a problem, as it turns out... very sturdy. Now everything except two dutch ovens is upstairs and within reach easily when I need it.

View attachment 86191

Holy cow! I thought things had gotten bad when I was up to 6 or 7 cast iron items.

 

[Uncle Gump]

So... my big lodge skillet seasoned up really well. I did the same seasoning steps with this small one. It just didn't work so well. I used crisco in the oven.

I've never sanded one smooth but I think I may try it with this one.

What grit should I use?

 

[Shran]

Holy cow! I thought things had gotten bad when I was up to 6 or 7 cast iron items.

Funny thing is I use almost all of that on a regular basis... except the bacon & eggs pan, that one's kind of a curiosity rather than actually useful.

So... my big lodge skillet seasoned up really well. I did the same seasoning steps with this small one. It just didn't work so well. I used crisco in the oven.

I've never sanded one smooth but I think I may try it with this one.

What grit should I use?

I'd probably hit it with a flap wheel on a grinder. I guess I'd probably try 80 grit or even courser if possible to start with, then work down to a finer grit once you get the high spots knocked down. Sanding will take forever, I'd use that as a last step.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I didn't plan on hand sanding it...

I ordered a bunch of rol-loc disks and even a few flapper wheels for use on my new angle grinder... I'll probably go after the pan with my new angle grinder.

 

[Snoranger]

I didn't plan on hand sanding it...

I ordered a bunch of rol-loc disks and even a few flapper wheels for use on my new angle grinder... I'll probably go after the pan with my new angle grinder.

I used 50 grit rol-locs to knock it down and brown (coarse) cookies to smooth it out some. I was just trying to knock down the high spots and smooth them over, not polish that pans. A good seasoning will fill the valleys that are left.
You’ll definitely want to scrub and rinse the pan very well a few times after sanding. Then season it however you normally would. (Everyone has their own way.)

 

[Curious Hound]

The one pan that I sanded was a no-name brand I picked up used and was really rough. I used ro-loc discs on a pneumatic die grinder and it turned out nice.

 

[Roert42]

I like that pan holder, looks like it really saves a lot of space.

I have all my pans and lids hanging on the wall.


The only one I ever sanded down was one of those pans with the ribs like a grill. They were so hard to clean in between I would never use it, so I just used grinder then a flap disc to flatten the pan out. Made it much more useful. So much iron dust, I was blowing black dust out of my nose for a week, should have worn a respirator.

The rest of them I just let the build up smooth them out, took quite a while.

 

[Ranger850]

I've never bought a new skillet or cast iron pan. The one I use was given to me by my step mom (RIP), and she just had it all my life. No idea how old it is. As far as washing, I just scrub it with Dawn and air dry. Not sure about "Seasoning" or any of that. TBH I Never even thought about "new" skillets. The idea of NOT having one is just weird. If I had to get a new one, I wouldn't even know where to start.

 

[Snoranger]

I've never bought a new skillet or cast iron pan. The one I use was given to me by my step mom (RIP), and she just had it all my life. No idea how old it is. As far as washing, I just scrub it with Dawn and air dry. Not sure about "Seasoning" or any of that. TBH I Never even thought about "new" skillets. The idea of NOT having one is just weird. If I had to get a new one, I wouldn't even know where to start.

I never air dry my cast iron. I always throw it on the stove over a low flame for a few minutes to dry it. It drys it faster and pretty much guarantees that it can’t rust.

 

[Roert42]

I’ve never washed any of my cast iron. I just scrape the bottom with a little metal spatula then wipe it out with a rag.

The layer of built up oil and grease that is burnt on is what give them their non stick properties.

If there is some hard to get up sticky stuff, burnt on sauce or something, I will splash just a little bit of water in there while it’s hot it has a steam cleaning effect that loosens it up.

They are also a lot easier to clean when they are hot. You also are a lot better off if you let the pan get up to temp before putting food in, helps keep stuff from sticking that way.

 

[Ranger850]

I never air dry my cast iron. I always throw it on the stove over a low flame for a few minutes to dry it. It drys it faster and pretty much guarantees that it can’t rust.

I mean, I wipe it dry with a hand towel, I just don't heat it to dry. Never had any rust issues. Never even new skillet rust was an issue, until today. I also will let grease set there for a few days before I throw it out.

 

[sgtsandman]

I've never bought a new skillet or cast iron pan. The one I use was given to me by my step mom (RIP), and she just had it all my life. No idea how old it is. As far as washing, I just scrub it with Dawn and air dry. Not sure about "Seasoning" or any of that. TBH I Never even thought about "new" skillets. The idea of NOT having one is just weird. If I had to get a new one, I wouldn't even know where to start.

The worst thing you can do to the seasoning is use soap. A metal spatula takes care of the big chunks and just water and maybe a wash cloth for the rest.

I do need to redo the seasoning on a couple of items myself. It does wear off after a while.

The one pan needs hit with a wire wheel on the outside too. No idea what is built up on it but after generations of use, it needs some attention. Something I’ve kept putting off.

 

[Ranger850]

seasoning? WTF is that?

 

[sgtsandman]

I’ve never washed any of my cast iron. I just scrape the bottom with a little metal spatula then wipe it out with a rag.

The layer of built up oil and grease that is burnt on is what give them their non stick properties.

If there is some hard to get up sticky stuff, burnt on sauce or something, I will splash just a little bit of water in there while it’s hot it has a steam cleaning effect that loosens it up.

They are also a lot easier to clean when they are hot. You also are a lot better off if you let the pan get up to temp before putting food in, helps keep stuff from sticking that way.

That is how my cast iron griddle gets cleaned. The smaller stuff may or may not get cleaned while it’s still warm or hot.