Show Us Your Cast Iron

Focker

Frying an egg with large amounts of fat and scrambling an egg with little fat are completely different animals, not even comparable.  

travisstrick

Dobie said:

OK I'm on the garage sale and estate sale circuit for the 100 year old cast iron holy grail. Self cleaning, impervious to sticking and cooks gourmet meals with no oil.

Let me know when you find it.

travisstrick

Focker said:

Frying an egg with large amounts of fat and scrambling an egg with little fat are completely different animals, not even comparable.  

ok

Focker

travisstrick said:

Dobie said:

OK I'm on the garage sale and estate sale circuit for the 100 year old cast iron holy grail. Self cleaning, impervious to sticking and cooks gourmet meals with no oil.

Let me know when you find it.

Seems like you, Eggcelsior, and Carolina Q have already found it. 

I want one. 

yzzi

There's a lot of hoopla in this thread. Sorry I don't have pictures but my collection includes Griswold #9 Dutch oven, griddle, muffin pan, 8 skillet, 3 skillet, Wagner 6 and 8 skillets, emril big hunker skillet, and a griswold forgery of the wheat stick pan. And a couple le crueset enameled pieces.

All my ware is used heavily in 90% of our cooks. Rarely use our allclad set these days. Cleaning is simple: wipe with a paper towel and put back most of the time, scrape or scrub with wooden spatula or course side of sponge and wipe and store other times, or maybe wash with water and dry on stove and coat with oil.

I don't bother trying to get carbonized stuff off anymore since the next cook cleans up the last cook. Just keep using it and you'll spend less time cleaning it.

Eggcelsior

travisstrick said:

Mine never sees soap and will fry an egg with no problem. In fact, it almost never needs the scrubber.

Me too! Even scrambled! I get less residue than I do with my nonstick skillet. Boy Mr Travis, we're on to something!

Maccool

Focker said:

You will want The Ringer.  Anyone who says they only use a paper towel to clean their cast iron after cooking doesn't really use CI.  For 20 bucks, it's worth every penny and makes a PITA chore a breeze.

Wow! +1 on the Ringer. Fantastic tool for cast iron. Just throw it in the dishwasher every so often.

Dobie

OK with the help of this thread and some basic interwebs searches I have figured out that CI cooking has mostly died for use of more modern cooking surfaces and that the craftsmanship in modern pieces is lacking. Older pieces 50 plus years old were cast of thinner iron and polished surfaces. The fact that there are no modern equivalents produced today is really sad. I didn't want to have to learn how to buy, restore and identify something produced before I was born just to sear some meat. I thought the stuff was cool, but I'm delving into more hassle than bargained for to obtain cookware. Its really sad no high quality pieces are any longer produced.

Maccool

Well, for my part I started acquiring CI because my wife wouldn't let me use our cookware on the BGE. Lodge was the obvious cost-efficient choice. No regrets. It's been as non-stick as I could want, has stood up to 700 degrees-plus and has been very flexible. Washes up great with a Ringer and some water, wipe it down with some vegetable oil on a paper towel then occasionally put it in the oven at 400 degrees for an hour.

Learn how to buy?...I got my various Lodge pieces from Amazon.

yzzi

Dobie said:

OK with the help of this thread and some basic interwebs searches I have figured out that CI cooking has mostly died for use of more modern cooking surfaces and that the craftsmanship in modern pieces is lacking. Older pieces 50 plus years old were cast of thinner iron and polished surfaces. The fact that there are no modern equivalents produced today is really sad. I didn't want to have to learn how to buy, restore and identify something produced before I was born just to sear some meat. I thought the stuff was cool, but I'm delving into more hassle than bargained for to obtain cookware. Its really sad no high quality pieces are any longer produced.

Learning to buy and restore is the whole fun of it! It's actually very easy and I use my egg to do it all.

yzzi

@dobie I recommend you just go buy a new Lodge skillet just to use. They cook just fine. We use our emril pan all the time and it cooks great. If you're put off by finding an old one then just go find a new one and put it to use. The older ones may be made differently and are preferred by many people, but it doesn't mean the new ones suck. They'll sear a steak like you dream of.

tarheelmatt

MeTed

Good post @yzzi, Lodge cast iron are very nice pans they just must be used often!

Cymbaline65

Focker said:

Cymbaline65 said:

I am Jonesing for the Lodge Hibachi. Great for apps like Satay or Tuna.

The Lodge Sportsman's Grill is a heavy, awkward tank.  The goofy handle and elevated grid design makes transferring difficult and the draft door and charcoal doors fall out easily.  Cleanup was a PITA.  A great searing machine though with a considerable amount of grid real estate with the oval design.  All of the coals burn out with each cook.   

Stripped, reseasoned and sold it for a small profit on craigslist.  FWIW, would buy another before getting a mini though. 

Interesting take, @Focker. I'm surprised the door design is so flimsy. So how is cleanup harder than any other well-seasoned CI device? Yeah, I know all the fuel will burn regardless, but it does not hold much. I envision using it for dinner parties serving appetizers.

I'm impressed with how folks user their Minis. I don't see me getting one because when I use my medium, I use all the space so a mini would not see much use.

Focker

Cymbaline65 said:

Focker said:

Cymbaline65 said:

I am Jonesing for the Lodge Hibachi. Great for apps like Satay or Tuna.

The Lodge Sportsman's Grill is a heavy, awkward tank.  The goofy handle and elevated grid design makes transferring difficult and the draft door and charcoal doors fall out easily.  Cleanup was a PITA.  A great searing machine though with a considerable amount of grid real estate with the oval design.  All of the coals burn out with each cook.   

Stripped, reseasoned and sold it for a small profit on craigslist.  FWIW, would buy another before getting a mini though. 

Interesting take, @Focker. I'm surprised the door design is so flimsy. So how is cleanup harder than any other well-seasoned CI device? Yeah, I know all the fuel will burn regardless, but it does not hold much. I envision using it for dinner parties serving appetizers.

I'm impressed with how folks user their Minis. I don't see me getting one because when I use my medium, I use all the space so a mini would not see much use.

The charcoal door isn't so much flimsy, but has two tabs at the bottom.  When lifting with the handle to carry, it falls out.  The draft door slides into a groove at the bottom.  It will slide out with any movement.  Found it was best to remove both when transferring.  

All of the ash falls to the bottom, requiring you to lift and dump the ash out every cook.  The base weighs 25+ lbs ez, enough to be a PITA.  Fully assembled, easily 40 lbs.  

With it being CI, and being used primarily to sear at higher heat, rust was an issue, definitely in the charcoal area and cooking grid.  Kept it in the shed, taking it out for each use, and putting it back immediately after cleaning.  Sprayed with Pam at first to keep the rust at bay, but the small amount of ash would combine with the canola and gunk it up.  Was a project stripping and reseasoning the 5 components before selling.      

It is a nice outdoor charcaol burner, you could easily fit two #8 skillets/DOs, one on each end.  A rectangular #8 griddle fit on the oval perfectly for breakfast and burgers.  It made fantastic grill marks, if that's you're thing.  And properly cared for, will outlast us. 

Many I'm sure, are happy with the Lodge Hibachi.....just offering an honest review.  

  

JWF

So I found this at my mother in law's. Any way to learn the details? Not many markings. @travisstrick sounds like you're pretty good at identifying these things!

NPHuskerFL

Lit

@jwf that lip around the bottom is called your heat ring. Google 3 break heat ring and found you have an older lodge skillet. http://www.blackskyeiron.com/p169147920

Big_Green_Craig

LOVE my cast iron! 

travisstrick

JWF said:

So I found this at my mother in law's. Any way to learn the details? Not many markings. @travisstrick sounds like you're pretty good at identifying these things!

Lodge 1940-1960. The un named bottom with the 3 cuts in the fire ring are the give away.

JWF

@lit and @travisstrick‌ thanks guys!

R2Egg2Q

Wok Shop 14" wok
Lodge 4 QT & 6 QT camp DOs
Lodge drop biscuit pan, muffin pan, 2 QT camp DO, 1 Pint kettle, 9 1/4" griddle, and grill press
Lodge assorted skillets and mini servers
Recently acquired Griswold #8 with cover, Wagner Ware skillets and kettle (cleaned & re-seasoned)
Not shown Bayou Classic reversible griddle

yzzi

I love that kettle. I don't see those around much.

R2Egg2Q

yzzi said:

I love that kettle. I don't see those around much.

I should have taken a pic when I got it. It was covered in rust (supposedly the former owner used it to hold open a gate 8-} )

R2Egg2Q

I picked up some more vintage CI recently.

Wagner Ware #3E 6" skillet


Griswold Colonial Breakfast Skillet

Some unmarked pieces in need of some restoration

An odd piece that looks handmade and I'm guessing is a tortilla press

yzzi

@R2Egg2Q‌ You got some nice finds there! The colonial skillets are pretty rare (at least for me) and that's a really nice dutch oven. About how big is it?

nolaegghead

That's some sweet Fe.

GeorgeS

Here is my 1860 ish pan handed down through the family with scallops loaded on it. And a Griswald muffin pan I got for Fathers Day. Not sure of the age.

R2Egg2Q

@yzzi‌ - I think the camp DO with the lid is about 2 QTs. The 2nd one without the lid looks to be a 4 QT size. It has a number 8 on the bottom that looks like it was etched in by hand.
I found it in my MILs garage and I hope to find its lid but at least the lid from my Lodge will fit it.

Terrebandit

Got a lodge 12" skillet and a 7 qt. Dutch oven. Those 12" skillets are only 20 bucks, so whacking the handles off them, to serve BGE duty only, seems like a good way to go. That's what I plan to do.