Cast iron cookware

[Desertdog]

If there is too much build up of carbon, it can be removed by building a big fire ansticking the the cast iron int he coals and let it burn off.

it would may work by putting them in a self cleaning oven.

I have also just put it on top of a gas burner and burn the build up off the botten of the pan.  Re-season after burning off.

[mtnbkr]

If there is too much build up of carbon, it can be removed by building a big fire and sticking the the cast iron int he coals and let it burn off.

My grandmother did this years ago when we were burning brush on her property.  It works quite well.

Chris

[coppertales]

I have used cast iron skillets all my life, I am 65.  My skillets have come from antique stores, flea markets, etc.  My favorite brands are Favorite, Griswold, Martin, and one other that I can't remember right off.  The old skillets are thinner and closer grained in the metal.  They season much easier.  I wash mine with soap and water then wipe down with oil.  Never a problem. The newer Lodge cookware needs more attention until they get old to keep the sticking to a minimum.  I see alot of newer Lodge cookware in antique stores where someone left it outside in the rain for a couple months to rust up, aka age, so they can pass them off as antiques.....chris3

[T.O.M.]

We got three cast iron skillets and a dutch oven as a wedding gift.  The dutch oven is a favorite of mine for stews and such.  Anything I'm cooking for hours goes in the iron.  The skillets I love to use for any meat that I'm browning, then roasting.  I just brush them clean in hot water (no soap) with a stiff vegetable brush, dry with a papertowel, then wipe down with oil.

As an aside, my grates on my Weber Spirit grill are cast iron.  After years of crappie wire grates, these are simply amazing.  Care is the same as for my other cast iron.  Brush it down and oil it up.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Has anyone actually tried smoothing out a rough Lodge skillet to remove the roughness?

Did it work?

[Gewehr98]

Hmm...

I have a rusty old Lodge pan and a brand new 3-flute TiN end mill - may have to fixture it in the mill and make a couple skim passes...

[Nick1911]

Hmm...

I have a rusty old Lodge pan and a brand new 3-flute TiN end mill - may have to fixture it in the mill and make a couple skim passes...

I was kind of thinking the same thing.  Pan, meet Mr. Fly cutter. 

I'll let you all know if I try this.

[Brad Johnson]

I have a 6" that I picked up fifteen or twenty years ago at a surplus store.  Thick as a my thumb and heavy as heck, but the inside was machined smooth and it's a beauty sandwich or cornbread pan.  Takes for-frikkin-ever to heat up but holds enough heat to cook a couple of eggs even after you turn off the burner.

Brad

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

it would may work by putting them in a self cleaning oven.


this works

[Jim147]

I was going to reply last night but I wanted to look to see just how many cast iron pans I had.
Wow, maybe that is my back problem.

My favorite is a Wagner 10" that I got from my wifes grandmother when it became to heavy for her to lift. Smooth as a babies butt. I just scrub it out with super hot water and give it a spray of Pam.

My second most used is my 3 1/2 quart Le Creuset "French Oven" (Enameled Dutch oven.) I use it for Chile, stew and roasts.

Everyone always says that it is the seasoning that makes the pan. But I think you have to wear it or machine it smooth.

The good cast iron we had when I was a kid worked great. We used to take it on float trips all the time. We washed them in the river with sand or river rock to scrub with. I didn't know at the time just what the sand was doing.

The only other thing I can think of is to use the lowest heat you can. Let the pan heat up slowly and it will hold it. Low and slow makes some mighty fine chicken fried venison.

jim

[sanglant]

If there is too much build up of carbon, it can be removed by building a big fire ansticking the the cast iron int he coals and let it burn off.

it would may work by putting them in a self cleaning oven.

I have also just put it on top of a gas burner and burn the build up off the botten of the pan.  Re-season after burning off.

don't do this on a windy day, i warped my favorite skillet this way. is a 12incher to. on the lodge's being rough, use it and it will become smooth

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

I was kind of thinking the same thing.  Pan, meet Mr. Fly cutter. 

I'll let you all know if I try this.

Perhaps you could sell "fixed" Lodge skillets on Ebay or something.

Buy 'em cheap ($15?), smooth 'em out, season 'em properly, and sell 'em for 2 or 3 times their regular price ($50?).

[RoadKingLarry]

Anybody else have and use a cast iron stove top waffle iron?
Mine is Belknap brand, picked it up a junk store in the country several years ago. Took me almost a week to clean the old carbonized crud off of it to be able to use it. Light shot of Pam before each waffle and they fall out.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

Anybody else have and use a cast iron stove top waffle iron?

no but i'd like to!  it heat up on the burners?

[RoadKingLarry]

It has a cast iron stand that the two halves fit on to. The halve mate together with a ball that fits into a socket on the stand to enable turning. The handle is a spring type arrangement to keep from burning your hands.
Simlar to these but mine has a high base
http://www.wag-society.org/guest/Belmont/Belmont.html

[Brad Johnson]

Mom still has hers.  When I was a kid electric waffle irons were what them rich folks had.

Brad

[sanglant]

Anybody else have and use a cast iron stove top waffle iron?
Mine is Belknap brand, picked it up a junk store in the country several years ago. Took me almost a week to clean the old carbonized crud off of it to be able to use it. Light shot of Pam before each waffle and they fall out.

i posted the link to mine in a different thread, let me get it
rome castiron pie irons
better link
the ones without the base work better on a hotplate, hard to grab on the stove top

and man, i post to many bad puns

[stevelyn]

I love cooking with cast iron. Of course I'm starting to like the newer enameled cast iron cookware, especially the big dutch ovens. You can throw a whole chicken in one with veggies of your choice, shove it in the oven and have a decent meal in a couple hours or so.