Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Welcoming the Griswolds to the family

GQuiz
GQuiz Posts: 701
Package finally arrived from home. A pair of Griswolds... and the weekend starts tomorrow. What to cook? But first question, is there a preferred way to clean them?

XL BGE; Schertz TX by way of Stow OH. #egghead4life

Comments

  • ChokeOnSmoke
    ChokeOnSmoke Posts: 1,942
    edited June 2013
    Look nice...solid.  I'm no expert on cleaning cast iron, but I've always read just water and kosher salt, no soap/detergent.
    Packerland, Wisconsin

  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,727
    I've heard of even just using kosher salt alone to scour the pan.

     I know this may sound blasphemous, but I clean my CI with a wee bit of soap and water, and a gentle scrubbing after most cooks. I can't bear the thought of cooking in them again and again without washing them with some soap. Don't listen to me though, because that's not how you develop a nice patina on your CI.

    That square piece looks really nifty , BTW.

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
    How is the seasoning? If intact just wash and re-oil. Wash with water and a soft scrub sponge. Wipe out excess water and put on a burner on low to evaporate the rest. Put in a little oil and wipe it all over with a paper towel. Then, keep wiping until it almost looks it is dry of oil. You want a very thin layer.

    If it needs reseasoning, whole different ballgame.
  • GQuiz
    GQuiz Posts: 701
    Just a little surface oxidation. They're each at least 60 years old. Don't want to screw them up.

    XL BGE; Schertz TX by way of Stow OH. #egghead4life
  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
    You won't screw them up. They're Griswolds.

    That's the gift that keeps on giving!

  • shtgunal3
    shtgunal3 Posts: 5,629
    I clean mine with HOT water and a washcloth.

    ___________________________________

     

     LBGE,SBGE, and a Mini makes three......Sweet home Alabama........ Stay thirsty my friends .

  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,669
    What a find.
    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Plus a couple Pit Boss Pellet Smokers.   

  • cajunrph
    cajunrph Posts: 162
    No soap. Unless you want to start of by having to season them again. I bet there's a cast iron cooking forum somewhere with experts just like eggheads. They might have the perfect answer. Great find. Good luck. 
    LBGE, Weber Grills, Silverback Pellet grill, PBC. No I don't have a grill issue. 

    LBC, Texas 

  • TexanOfTheNorth
    TexanOfTheNorth Posts: 3,951
    edited June 2013
    A couple of years ago I needed to re-season my CI skillet. I read that putting in a self-cleaning oven and running a cleaning cycle would return it to "like new" condition. Sure enough, it did. From there I just re-seasoned it as normal. You could probably accomplish the same thing doing a clean burn in your egg.

    I'd advise against soap as this will not allow a the nice patina to develop (this is what helps the CI to be naturally non-stick). The other thing to avoid is acidic foods in CI ware (e.g., tomatoes).

    For any small rust spots (and to get rid of stuck on food) just give it a light rub with steel wool
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Well, "spa-Peggy" is kind of like spaghetti. I'm not sure what Peggy does different, if anything. But it's the one dish she's kind of made her own.
    ____________________
    Aurora, Ontario, Canada
  • sticks88
    sticks88 Posts: 94
    No soap .I have a group of cast-irons nearly 20 years old and they have never seen soap.Bake in the oven at high heat for about an hour with a little salt and oil on it to season.

    XL BGE and Pellet smoker

  • GQuiz
    GQuiz Posts: 701
    Thanks for the tips. Now, what do I cook? May have to make some corn beard this weekend.

    XL BGE; Schertz TX by way of Stow OH. #egghead4life
  • TexanOfTheNorth
    TexanOfTheNorth Posts: 3,951
    Did you say cornbread? Here's the recipe I use.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Well, "spa-Peggy" is kind of like spaghetti. I'm not sure what Peggy does different, if anything. But it's the one dish she's kind of made her own.
    ____________________
    Aurora, Ontario, Canada
  • yzzi
    yzzi Posts: 1,843
    Really nice! Forget about "What do I cook." Take your other pans, put them deep in the cabinetand pull them out a couple years from now when your cast iron collection is overgrowing it's space! We use cast iron for almost everything these days. So much nicer than our allclad pans, but they still have their uses.
    Dunedin, FL
  • 70chevelle
    70chevelle Posts: 280
    I love my Griswolds.  Amazing the difference between new CI and those, being that they are smoother, thinner and lighter, but still feel more substantial.  I got bit by the buy after using a Griswold chicken fryer on vacation.  I bought a 10" and 12" as soon as I got home from Etsy.  The are my goto pans.  Anyway, knowing that they were 60-100+ years old, I felt I needed them to be clean, so I did scrub with soap and water, and then re-seasoned.  I don't need the chicken fryer, but it's on my list of 'if I find it at a garage sale for cheap' list.   
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Wish I could find some. I think mineral oil is the new recommended oil for seasoning.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
    Wish I could find some. I think mineral oil is the new recommended oil for seasoning.
    Does mineral oil polymerize? I thought it was a non-drying oil which is why you put it on cutting boards and what not. Flax seed oil is top-notch, but mineral oil would be much cheaper.
  • SmokinDAWG82
    SmokinDAWG82 Posts: 1,705
    I love that little square pan, I'd do some jalapeno corn bread in that for sure!
    LBGE
    Go Dawgs! - Marietta, GA
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Wish I could find some. I think mineral oil is the new recommended oil for seasoning.
    Does mineral oil polymerize? I thought it was a non-drying oil which is why you put it on cutting boards and what not. Flax seed oil is top-notch, but mineral oil would be much cheaper.

    I read it somewhere but in looking it seems like flaxseed is the most highly recommended. I'll keep looking for the article


     

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON