The cast iron thread

[Shran]

@snoranger that pan looks great after the sanding job. I should do that to the lid/skillet of my Lodge chicken fryer.

Eggs are an exercise in frustration with cast iron. I use about an 1/8" pat of butter, it's good for 3-4 eggs and low low low heat. You almost have to have the right pan for fried eggs to stay together - they need a real smooth surface or a shit ton of lube. I'm pretty good at making them now and can even make omelets and stuff that don't stick but it took a lot of practice.

 

[Snoranger]

@snoranger that pan looks great after the sanding job. I should do that to the lid/skillet of my Lodge chicken fryer.

I’ll have them with me in September at the Ranger Round Up... I’ll put them on display for everyone to admire/criticize.


I was wrong about the brand... They’re not Lodge, they’re Ozark. And they were cheap as sh!t... less than $20 for both. The 15” I have in the kitchen is a Lodge.

 

[Snoranger]

I seasoned the freshly sanded pans today...

After seasoning them in the oven (oiled the entire pan), I put them on the stove over a medium flame (hot enough that they oil would just start to smoke very lightly) and wiped a little oil in them. I let that go for 15 or 20 minutes (until it wasn’t tacky anymore). Then another coat of oil and a good 30 minutes on the stove(until there was no smoke).

They now have a good couple a layers of polymerized oil like a pan that’s been used for years would build up over time... time that I don’t have because I wanted them ready to be packed away with my camping stuff. Normally I would just cook some bacon, sausage, or fry something in them for the first few uses, but I really don’t know what’s going to be the first thing I use these for.

 

[Uncle Gump]

It's always a good time for fried chicken... just saying.

 

[Curious Hound]

With all the cast iron cooking and Coleman lanterns and stoves, I hope we have time for trail riding at the trail ride.

 

[8thTon]

This is a $10 Walmart Lodge skillet I ground smooth years ago, and it's used almost daily - I spent more time on it and it's quite smooth. It's a little thicker on the bottom which is a help with an electric range. It's perfect for eggs, they don't stick at all.

I just did this big, cheap Victoria of my Daughters. She bought it as a camp skillet but now it will be useful in the kitchen. I didn't get it as smooth as the Lodge but it shouldn't matter.

Just ground:

And seasoned:

 

[Snoranger]

It’s nice to see someone else modifying their frying pans... I can’t leave anything stock!

 

[8thTon]

It’s nice to see someone else modifying their frying pans... I can leave anything stock!

Ported and polished for better food flow!

 

[Roert42]

I do not have one and probably never will have one. They are an adequate substitute for a BBQ grill, they do have a purpose for cooking hamburgers and stuff so that the patty doesn't stick to the bottom and the grease stays away from the food and in effect doesn't fry it. I think they're a pain in the ass to clean and very messy unless you have one with a lid. I'd use the BBQ grill ANY day over one of those, including the snowing and -32 days...

I have one of them, and you are 100% correct. It's nice for cooking hamburgers or like chicken, to keep them out of the grease, and that's kinda about it. Like you said, a substitute for a BBQ grill.

It is the biggest PITA to clean, got to wipe out all of those ribs individually.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The ribs are a mess but they are kinda nice to cook bacon on, helps reduce the amount of extra grease on it.

I am kind of a cast iron wimp. So far all I have is two double sided griddles for my campstove. Everybody be impressed, one is a Char-Broil and the other is a Bobby-Flay.





I love dutch oven cobbler, I borrow my dads though. this is from when we were camping last June:

With all the cast iron cooking and Coleman lanterns and stoves, I hope we have time for trail riding at the trail ride.

Night wheeling by lantern?

 

[97RangerXLT]

They’re not Lodge, they’re Ozark. And they were cheap as sh!t... less than $20 for both. The 15” I have in the kitchen is a Lodge.

I have one of the Ozark cheapos... I believe it is a #5, and mine was not really rough, but it does have a casting flaw/ crack in the side of it. it is high enough that it doesn't cause any issues though. the cheapo Mainstays #2 pan from Walmart is pretty decent.

for fit and finish/ quality, the Lodge 8" griddle is very nice... it was from Meijer.

AJ

 

[Curious Hound]

Just fried a couple eggs in my newest no-name el cheapo pan. Though it didn't look rougher than any of my others, the difference becomes obvious when you slide the spatula across the bottom. My seasoning job is good. Nothing stuck. But I think this is a good candidate for porting and polishing.

 

[8thTon]

My wife made scallops on the newly ground out Victoria pan, and it worked great. I think that will be a good addition for my daughter's kitchen.

 

[Shran]

I made four fried eggs in egg rings last Saturday in the nasty pan I cleaned up in the first post, then cut up and fried some leftover brats for breakfast. Had a few tiny spots of carbon burned on from the meat but zero eggs stuck, I was very pleased with my seasoning job.

I probably would have come home with another skillet or two from that junk store I mentioned in the Coleman thread but I bought the stove instead. Maybe next time I'm in the area.

 

[Uncle Gump]

You guys are killing me... now I wish I wouldn't have sold off my collection.

If any of you were going to buy new cast iron... what brand would it be. I will continue to watch for old stuff... but around here they get a definite premium for the old stuff.