cast iron adventure

[worth1]

Skillet that is.
Needed some cleaning and decided to show y'all a fast and easy method but somewhat dangerous way of doing it.
The right angle grinder with a wire rope wheel will cut the crust off fast and there isn't any rust flash over from caustic or oven heating.
There is always the slightest bit of oil left to keep that from happening.
Came out nicely if you ask me and it has some cooking oil on it hanging back up ready to be seasoned.
Be careful wear a face shield and don't wear gloves.
All the gloves will do is makes matters worse if it hits you.
OSHA doesn't recommend it either for that reason.
Keep back and no loose clothing.
These little machines can be your worst nightmare ever.

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[MissS]

That's the best looking Lodge that I have ever seen. Nice job.

[worth1]

That's the best looking Lodge that I have ever seen. Nice job.

Thanks.
The best method would be a blasting cabinet.
I can also guarantee that fire or extreme heat doesn't turn cast iron red nor does it ruin it on the molecular level.
The red is from the rust flash over.
It might warp or crack it but that is all.
After all this stuff was molten at one time and left to cool slowly in the molds.

[Tormahto]

Decided to polish out my Lodge cast-iron round griddle skillet.
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Yeah, but how are you going to cook while constantly looking into the mirror?

[Tormahto]

Skillet passed the egg test.
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The cheese omelette test is the tough one.

[worth1]

Decided to polish out my Lodge cast-iron round griddle skillet.
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Yeah, but how are you going to cook while constantly looking into the mirror?

The mirror thing has two reasons.
One was to polish it to a smooth finish like the old ones used to be.
The other was to show people that cast iron isn't grey like the so called experts on YouTube says it is how you can tell it's cast iron.
Anyone that has seen the polished journals on a cast iron crankshaft knows that.
And you can make carbon steel grey by etching it with acid.

[worth1]

Skillet passed the egg test.
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The cheese omelette test is the tough one.

Done it several times on it already.

[worth1]

Upon farther research my old much used cast iron dutch oven was made by Birmingham stove and range back in the very early 80s from what I can tell.
All I know is we bought it brand new for camping over a wood campfire.
Pretty sure it was bought in Austin at a place called Academy but not the big box Academy they have now.
It was one of the older Academy spots and outdoors stores.
It was located on I 35 around 38th street.
First started out back in the 30's in San Antonio Texas.

[worth1]

Here's my take on polishing the cast iron.
It's mostly a mistake because I can't get the seasoning to stick.
One skillet I had to scratch it up to get seasoning to stick.
What needs to happen after polishing out the skillet is to sand blast it to make the surface accept the seasoning.
Or acid etch it which is highly dangerous.


The other option is to just leave it alone and let it do it's own thing.
Maybe take out any bumps higher than the rest.
There are so many silly videos on YouTube about this that it's overwhelming simply because they don't know what they're doing.

I ran across just one person that explained cast iron the way it should be as far as it's conductivity of heat and heat retention.

[worth1]

I used to let the dog lick my skillets until I discovered the dog slobbers ruined the seasoning.
That and Bullet was wearing her teeth out trying to scrape the bottom of the skillet.

[Tormahto]

Here's my take on polishing the cast iron.
It's mostly a mistake because I can't get the seasoning to stick.
One skillet I had to scratch it up to get seasoning to stick.
What needs to happen after polishing out the skillet is to sand blast it to make the surface accept the seasoning.
Or acid etch it which is highly dangerous.


The other option is to just leave it alone and let it do it's own thing.
Maybe take out any bumps higher than the rest.
There are so many silly videos on YouTube about this that it's overwhelming simply because they don't know what they're doing.

I ran across just one person that explained cast iron the way it should be as far as it's conductivity of heat and heat retention.

My research, if I can trust the authors, says cold-pressed unrefined grapeseed oil, at a max of 410 degree in the indoor oven, gives the best bonding results. No time in the oven was given.

[Shule]

One nice way to season the interior of a cast-iron skillet (which may or may not work for the mirror finish; not sure) is to do it outside. First, inside, heat up the skillet as hot as it can get. Then turn the burner off. Get a spoonful of butter. Take the hot skillet outside. Shut the door. When the skillet cools just enough so the butter won't burst into flames (it shouldn't take long; maybe twenty to thirty seconds if you have a very hot burner), put the butter on the skillet and slide it around to coat the skillet as it smokes like crazy. After a while, pour the excess butter out, wait for it to stop smoking, and wipe it down inside and clean it off. The seasoning lasts for a long time, and is more resistant at people's attempts at unseasoning it than anything I've ever seasoned in the oven.

This would probably work even better with lard, I'm guessing. It's way faster than in the oven, and it doesn't smoke up your whole house. Using butter gets you a much smoother, more even seasoning than using oil with the same method. Oil reliably bursts into flames, too (so, another reason to avoid it with the super hot pan method; plus, when oil bursts into flames, that makes the seasoning even less even, too).

FYI: I'm not advocating butter for indoor seasoning. Every time I've tried that, the seasoning didn't take very well.

[Shule]

Here's my take on polishing the cast iron.
It's mostly a mistake because I can't get the seasoning to stick.
One skillet I had to scratch it up to get seasoning to stick.
What needs to happen after polishing out the skillet is to sand blast it to make the surface accept the seasoning.
Or acid etch it which is highly dangerous.


The other option is to just leave it alone and let it do it's own thing.
Maybe take out any bumps higher than the rest.
There are so many silly videos on YouTube about this that it's overwhelming simply because they don't know what they're doing.

I ran across just one person that explained cast iron the way it should be as far as it's conductivity of heat and heat retention.

My research, if I can trust the authors, says cold-pressed unrefined grapeseed oil, at a max of 410 degree in the indoor oven, gives the best bonding results. No time in the oven was given.

Yeah, they say grapeseed oil is the best. I haven't tried it personally for that purpose, yet. About the temperature, though, when seasoning in the oven, I tend to prefer to heat it at a hotter temperature than any temperature I'm planning to use the skillet at. That way, it doesn't smoke when I do (but it smokes plenty during the seasoning). So, if I know I'll use the pan at 450, I'll do it at at least 450. 500 is usually my preference for seasoning in the oven. Anyway, if you season at lower temperatures, it's a lot easier to get the seasoning off.

[zeuspaul]

The only thing I do to season my cast iron pans is to use them with olive oil. I once tried changing to grapeseed oil and it ended up stripping the seasoning so I went back to cooking with olive oil. The way I could tell was the pans became super clean and started to rust.

[Tormahto]

Today, I prepped the 15" Lodge for seasoning. Using an orbital detail sander, 80 grit sandpaper and the lowest speed, it took perhaps 1-2 minutes to smooth away the roughest spots. It is no where near a mirror finish, which I do not want. I'm aiming for a smoother than original finish that will still season properly. I took about 5 minutes each to hand sand all of the sharpness off of the dual handles. It'll likely be seasoned tomorrow.

Then cornbread, as it is presently purposed for cornbread only. Continually preheating this oiled skillet to 400 degrees before pouring in the batter, should get it into fine shape.

[Tormahto]

I'm going with grapeseed oil at 475 degrees for one hour. Yes it's going to smoke, but my oven is about three feet from an open screened window. The two times when opening the oven door, I'll be waiving a large towel to drive the heavy smoke out that window.

[worth1]

Star Gazer uses a blend of grape seed canola and sunflower oil to give their skillets the bronze color.
None of that color is going to last long with use.

[Tormahto]

My skillet looks like it came out just about perfect, a matte dark gray, other than the top edge in a few places that rested on the oven rack, while it was seasoned upside down. Those spots will be very lightly cleaned, and then oiled when I make the first cornbread. It looks like I will oil (a few teaspoons of grapeseed) and preheat the skillet at 400 degrees, then pour in the batter (which will use canola oil). With a big 15" skillet (really only about 13 3/4", with a estimated 1 3/4" high cornbread), although preheated, I don't know how the middle will bake. I also may experiment with preheating and baking at 410 to 415 degrees, in the future, if I'm not satisfied with the results at 400 degrees. I like a deep golden brown bottom crust, not golden and not brown.

I picked up some cracked corn (to be ground), course yellow corn meal and fine yellow corn meal. I'm not sure if I'll get some white corn meal. Next year, I hope to grow my own dent corn. At some point, I'll likely experiment with adding some fine buckwheat flour, almond flour, spelt, etc...

[Uncle_Feist]

Texas Gourdseed is one of the best white cornbread dents I have come across! Tennessee Red Cob is the second best. No flour needed in the mix.

Bloody butcher is another must have for cornbread.

[worth1]

I would have bet money I had a Lodge 15 in skillet but it's not on the wall.
Maybe I don't?
I have cast iron scattered everywhere.
Always one or two on the stove.
I have the next size down 13 3/4 and the 17 inch dual handle cast iron pan.
Years ago Lodge made one I think was 20 inches.
Cowboy Kent Rollins has or had one in his cast iron arsenal but he might not have it anymore.
One his place in New Mexico burned to the ground and he lost several pieces of cast iron that got warped.