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Southerners, help me! My cast iron hates me.

There are places that will see pans that are milled on the inside. .. but you have to season it yourself. It's pretty easy to get vintage cast iron in really good condition for reasonable prices though. However, with the collector craze, a lot of people are over pricing it.

At this point I'm looking but am pretty comfortable with my setup. I have two cast iron pans that I use quite a bit - 8 and 12 inch Lodge that I've had for decades. And for most day to day stove cooking, I decided to go with 8 and 10 inch black steel frying pans, which I've grown to love and use more than anything else I have.
 
I had sticking problems only one time, early on, when I put too much corn oil in the pan and then baked it good. I had to go at it good with a steel scrubby and do it right...I was not a happy camper......felt like I should have known better.
 
It's usually with steel pans, versus cast iron, but I kind of quit worrying after a while because the recipe for lots of sauces want you "deglaze" a pan when hot. Anyway, I thought I'd try it, a form of deglazing as washing, and it hasn't warped any so far, and I think the steam does help remove the cooked food. And sometimes if I'm cooking meat (like a steak) on the stove, the pan at the end starts smoking like crazy, and instead of running it outside, I'll just run water over it.

But, yes, I agree, whatever works. Sometimes we make stuff hard that's actually easy, and I've found both cast iron and steel easy to cook with and maintain. If I accidentally strip the seasoning on a steel pan with tomato sauce or wine or lemon juice, next time I cook on the grill, or maybe put potatoes to bake in the oven, I'll 'season' the pans.

Ah, good point about deglazing.
 
Griswold and Erie on the bottom can make it very expensive, since it's collectable. I find for using Wagner ,Lodge, Vollrath and a lot of the unmarked stuff just at good. I did get a wapak at an auction for 5 bucks, and found out if I wanted to sell it, I could get 200 to 250 for it. It's a grand user though, and as smooth as glass on the inside. It's not a spinner either (Old cast iron tends to get warped over time). With the ones that have the logo's on it, you can track down the time frame in which it was made. For example, the Wapak cast iron company went out of business in 1926, and used the logo from 1914 to 1926, so I know that the pan I could sell for 200 was made during that time frame. People try to make complete collections out of specific logos... which is why it tends to get pricey.

The pan I like to use to make my eggs in is an old Wagner chef's skillet from the 1950's. Now that sucker is as smooth as glass.

I never thought to check. My favorite one of the lot says on the back:



Wagner
ARE
Sidney
-o-



(Picture as center-formatted, though)

:shrug:
 
Wait a sec....just how collectible are these?




A slightly smaller cast iron I also rescued from the grandparents' says:


No. 5



Griswold (inside a + sign with a circle around it)

Erie P.A.

724
H






Edit: Well, I decided to answer my own question. Looks like similar old models are ~$90-200 on ebay. Not enough to bother with trying to sell it. Besides, it did come from family.....
 
Season it with flaxseed oil. Several times. Like...season it...let it cool, bring it to temp and season it again. And again. 4 times minimum as a base coat. Heat it up on the range slow, then apply the flaxseed oil, then put it in the oven for about an hour. No need to get it super hot...just around 200 degrees. You should never need more than a resting coat after that for the life of the pan.
 
Cast iron dutch ovens are great. You can also use a cast iron dutch oven and put it in the oven at low heat in replacement for a slow cooker.
During the summer months I either grill or cook with dutch ovens. I seldom turn on the stove in the house. And we grill year round. Our last competition cook we did we made a sourdough bread, beef bourguignon, and a candied bacon/salted caramel brownie. We have some local competitions that we do 2-3 times every year. I'm working to get the gumption up to enter the IDOS tourney next year or the year after.
 
Yeah, uh, just don't never do nuthin I wouldn't, and you'll be fine. Just let the dog lick it out after yer done cooking and it's cooled. That's it.
Cleaned by 3 Rivers...
 
Hey guys. So I'm having some problems...

Decided to get a cast iron skillet some months ago. Well, another one. My dad got me one back in the day, but I was an underappreciative kiddo who didn't make use of the knowledge at my disposal, didn't really use it, and eventually it got lost in one of my many moves over the last couple years. Now he's gone and I don't know anyone who knows how to use one of these things!

Long story short, I can't get it to just... not stick to absolutely everything. It supposedly came pre-seasoned. I seasoned it again anyway with oil in the oven, because I read that there's really no such thing as too much seasoning. Ok, should be good.

Nope. I swear to god, every time I cook in it, I wind up having to pull out the steel wool to get it clean. Yes, I know how bad that is, and that I probably took off some of the seasoning. But seriously, it sticks that much.

I use lots of butter/oil, always. I'm not shy about that. Seems to be of very limited help.

What am I doing wrong, guys?

I currently use a 100 year old cast iron skillet to cook with. Girlfriend’s family cast iron skillet. I also worked at a camp and we did a lot of cooking over fires with it. So let me tell you what the best thing to do is...elbow grease. Stuff is gonna stick. But when you are done? No soap. Just water. Scrub the hell out of it with a stiff brush (no steal wool). Soak it a little if need be. Then rinse. Dry completely and Pam the hell out of it and wipe it down. :)
 
I currently use a 100 year old cast iron skillet to cook with. Girlfriend’s family cast iron skillet. I also worked at a camp and we did a lot of cooking over fires with it. So let me tell you what the best thing to do is...elbow grease. Stuff is gonna stick. But when you are done? No soap. Just water. Scrub the hell out of it with a stiff brush (no steal wool). Soak it a little if need be. Then rinse. Dry completely and Pam the hell out of it and wipe it down. :)
Ive never seen anything cooked on a dutch oven that couldnt be cleaned with a little hot water and a skillet scrapper. Even zombie pans we have restored that were abused...just burn them out if they are really that bad...cool em down...a bit of water to soak, scrape, water scrape...then a good seasoning and they are back in action.

We have had dutch ovens brought to us by scout troops that didnt clean them out and left them in a garage for years. The mold had mold. OK...those guys...into the fire. But you can bring em back to life.
 
Yeah, uh, just don't never do nuthin I wouldn't, and you'll be fine. Just let the dog lick it out after yer done cooking and it's cooled. That's it.

Yep.

Larry went to visit his 86 year old grandfather in a very rural area. After spending a great evening chatting the night away, Larry’s grandfather prepared breakfast of bacon and eggs. Larry noticed a film like substance on his plate, and questioned his grandfather asking, “Are these plates clean?”

His grandfather replied, “They’re as clean as cold water can get 'em. Just you go ahead and finish your meal”.

For lunch the old man made hamburgers. Again, Larry was concerned about the plates as it appeared to have tiny specks around the edge that looked like dried egg and asked, “Are you sure these plates are clean?”

Without looking up the old man said, “I told you before, those dishes are as clean as cold water can get 'em. Now don’t you worry, I don’t want to hear another word about it”.

Later that afternoon, as he was leaving, his grandfather’s dog started to growl, and wouldn’t let him pass. Larry yelled and said, “Grandfather, your dog won’t let me get to my car”.

Without diverting his attention from the football game he was watching on TV, the old man shouted, ‘COLDWATER, GO LAY DOWN NOW, YEH HERE ME!!!”

As Clean as Cold Water Can Get Them
 
I never thought to check. My favorite one of the lot says on the back:



Wagner
ARE
Sidney
-o-



(Picture as center-formatted, though)

:shrug:

The Sidney -o- is pre 1960. In 1959 they removed the -o- because they weren't exclusively Ohio.
 
Wait a sec....just how collectible are these?




A slightly smaller cast iron I also rescued from the grandparents' says:


No. 5



Griswold (inside a + sign with a circle around it)

Erie P.A.

724
H






Edit: Well, I decided to answer my own question. Looks like similar old models are ~$90-200 on ebay. Not enough to bother with trying to sell it. Besides, it did come from family.....

The Griswold is more collectable that the Wagner I think your Wagner is 40-s to 50's. The Griswold woudl depend on which logoc, the small block logo is not very collectable, but either the large block logo or the slant logo would put it up in the higher range.. Now, if it was the No 13 block logo, in good condition they go for like 2000 bucks. (and other 2000 if you have the lid).
 
I thought about ordering pieces off Ebay, but too many articles warned about counterfeits and I can't spot the real from fake with pictures....

Locally it's kind of unfortunate, but Lodge has been based in Tennessee forever and so dominated the market. I've never seen anyone (old timers included) that used anything but Lodge cast iron. The old Lodge stuff is a little better, it was polished inside, but it's not Griswold or Erie, which I've just never seen in real life. As I understand, those old pieces are also thinner and easier to handle. Still looking...
Lodge works great. Id avoid 'Camp Fire' and some of the real cheap walmart brands...but nothing wrong with Lodge.
 
You aren't letting it get hot enough. If you have an old pan that's seen a million strips of bacon, then it's more lenient. But a new pan you need to have hot befor you put anything on it. I put mine on medium low heat fo 5 to 10 minutes before cooking. That way it's not just hot, but every part of the pan is hot so that when you put cold meat on it, it doesn't lose all of it's heat right away and start sticking. So let it get some solid heat, don't add oil until right before you put in the food. Even if doing bacon, spray some non-stick if you don't have a great season right before putting in for added protection.

I bought a new one a while back. Every time I kick on my charcoal grill, as soon as I'm done cooking I lube up my new pan and set it right on the glowing red embers and let it chill in the grill for a few hours. A few times doing that and you'll have a top notch season. But even a new pan will do ok if you have enough fat in the pan and you really let it get warmed up.

Also, it's a misnomer that soap hurts the seasoning. The seasoning is solidified carbon that's been cooked on there. It's no longer oil and soap will not remove it as such. So I use soap on mine sometimes, but I'll use soap and a soft sponge or a soft brush. Aterwards, a super thin coating of oil.
 
During the summer months I either grill or cook with dutch ovens. I seldom turn on the stove in the house. And we grill year round. Our last competition cook we did we made a sourdough bread, beef bourguignon, and a candied bacon/salted caramel brownie. We have some local competitions that we do 2-3 times every year. I'm working to get the gumption up to enter the IDOS tourney next year or the year after.

Make sense to me. I tend to use dutch ovens for soups, or to bake chicken or a roast. Dutch ovens are good to put on grills too.. as well as griddles. Using dutch ovens makes for the best chili too.
 
I thought about ordering pieces off Ebay, but too many articles warned about counterfeits and I can't spot the real from fake with pictures....

Locally it's kind of unfortunate, but Lodge has been based in Tennessee forever and so dominated the market. I've never seen anyone (old timers included) that used anything but Lodge cast iron. The old Lodge stuff is a little better, it was polished inside, but it's not Griswold or Erie, which I've just never seen in real life. As I understand, those old pieces are also thinner and easier to handle. Still looking...

I got most of my pieces at yard sales and cleaned them up. The Wapak I have is very light and easier to handle, and I got that in a box lot at an auction for 5 bucks. That, if I wanted to sell it, would bring me 200 to 250. (mainly because of the size is a bit harder to find) .. and people like the Indian medallion logo it has. It's around 1970 that the insides got rougher for pre-seasoning, and to skip the milling process to save money.
 
Or too hot? Seems more likely?

No.. having it too cool to start with will cause things to stick if it doesn't have 'mature' seasoning. Once it has that nice carbonized layer on it, then it doesn't matter so much.
 
Ive never seen anything cooked on a dutch oven that couldnt be cleaned with a little hot water and a skillet scrapper. Even zombie pans we have restored that were abused...just burn them out if they are really that bad...cool em down...a bit of water to soak, scrape, water scrape...then a good seasoning and they are back in action.

We have had dutch ovens brought to us by scout troops that didnt clean them out and left them in a garage for years. The mold had mold. OK...those guys...into the fire. But you can bring em back to life.

Amen to that one.
 
Lodge works great. Id avoid 'Camp Fire' and some of the real cheap walmart brands...but nothing wrong with Lodge.

Yeah, I have nothing against the brand. I've got two pieces I've used for decades (1980s), and they're completely fine, and workhorses that I use regularly and will last till I'm gone for sure. The small one I use mostly for cornbread finally started flaking and the seasoning cracked, so I had to strip it and start over recently, but it's back to providing excellent service.

I bought a double sided Lodge griddle a couple years ago that I also use a lot - mostly to make corn tortillas (once I learned how easy that was, I quit buying them at the store). But I also use it on the grill - steaks are better seared/cooked on the flat side IMO, even if the grill lines look better. Anyway, I have no need at all for new cast iron pans, but it's fun to look, and I'd love to pick up a couple of pieces of antique CI for cheap and have fun restoring it.
 
No.. having it too cool to start with will cause things to stick if it doesn't have 'mature' seasoning. Once it has that nice carbonized layer on it, then it doesn't matter so much.

What took me a while to learn and accept is that the food will often release on its own after a crust forms, so I have to keep telling myself - DO NOT TOUCH THE FOOD until it's time to flip it. I always want to move the food around for no reason - just to be doing something. Stupid, but I can't help myself.. ;)
 
What took me a while to learn and accept is that the food will often release on its own after a crust forms, so I have to keep telling myself - DO NOT TOUCH THE FOOD until it's time to flip it. I always want to move the food around for no reason - just to be doing something. Stupid, but I can't help myself.. ;)

Either that, or constantly do it. I have an old scotch bowl that I use for stir fry instead of a wok. Works great.
 
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