Well, glad to here another cast fan! Re-seasoning is fairly easy, and there are a million different theories of doing it. As simple as it sounds, Pam seems to work the best for me. "But" I start out with a Crisco rub on them first then go to pam. Pam has Canola oils in it which is great for seasoning. There are Flax oil, bacon fat, Olive oil, straight Crisco, etc... I've even tried soaking them in Peanut oil and baking them off. Basically you want a high smoke point temp oil to get that patina turning black on your pan. Now, I've also heard a bunch of different temps to season at. "I" do not exceed 400 degrees, "no need to"! If you need to bring your pan over that you'll have food in it and will be baking or deep frying. The oil will start to settle in the cast micro porous about 350 just fine, and you'll have a lot less smoke in your house unless you do it outside on a grill. Just my opinions on this. I don't mean to sound critical but once you start doing a lot of cooking on some fine cast, you may "dispose" of your Chinese stuff...
This is the way American Skillet does their seasoning, two differences, I don't go to 500 degrees and I use Canola oil/Pam. *Note* the only reason I don't go to 500 is rarely will you ever need to bring that pan that hot, you fill the house full of smoke "and" If an old pan has any type of flaw, micro crack, warp, etc.. you "could" make it much worse. On the positive side of that, you'll find it if it's there! Re-seasoning - American Skillet Company
Not sure if this is the right way to season a cast iron pan or not but I use fresh bacon fat. I put a fair amount in the pan. Place it in the oven at 350°, let the fat melt real good and every 5 minutes pull it out and rub the fat up the inside sides of the pan. I do this for about 30 minutes. Then I wipe out all the excess with a clean rag, burn off the excess and wipe the inside with a thin coat of olive oil to store it. It seems to work well. Then the next time to clean it after I cook in it I just use water and a paper towel to clean out the inside, dry it real good with some heat then apply a thin coat of olive oil for storage. If I am doing something wrong please let me know!
Nope! What your doing is the same as "many" folks! I've used bacon fat also. It's a matter of getting to the end result and how fast you want to do it! I use my pans regularly and they get a lot of pam, butter, fats, etc.. so they stay seasoned well. The thing your trying to do is get them non-stick. A lot of use will do that as long as you don't "burn" or over heat the pan to bad. I've got pans as we speak sitting in storage, when I get them to use I just wipe and go! If you strip the full patina off, bare metal of a pan, then you have to go through the process of bringing back the good seasoning. If it's working, stay with it.
The only thing I don't like about bacon is that the cure almost always has a fair amount of sugar. I've used bacon fat and it seems to work okay, like the drippings don't get the sugar in it, but cooking bacon until it's crispy makes a mess in the pan. The carmelized sugar is a PITA to clean. I don't use bacon fat anymore. I use butter or a vegetable oil with always good results.
You know, maybe there's something to this. When I reseasoned our gigantic Griswold griddle, I had to do it on a big gas grill because it didn't fit in the oven, and it got a lot hotter than I normally would let it. My IR said it was pushing 600, which really worried me. It is by far the slickest piece I have. I have to be careful and sometimes use a fork or something to keep an egg or pancake from going over the edge when I flip.
Nor do I to season. It sounds like your griddle is sweet Jeff, And 600 for a short time wouldn't hurt, heck some people even throw them in fire to burn off the crud. The only thing I was saying is "I" don't take the chance! It's kinda like doing jumping jacks in a china shop, sometimes you get lucky, sometimes not!
Thanks. I will keep the chinese one. It's good for cooking over a hot fire and if it cracks...not the end of the world. My goal is to get a nice patina on the lodge and griswold. And...pick up a few more pans along the way.
Found 2 more wagner sidney -0- Number 3's this week Look to be in excellent condition One seems to be a good bit heavier than the other
Nice TD!! The #3's make a nice cornbread pan for the oven. The wife and I do it from time to time when it's just her and I home. When the Daughter is home I'll do a "big" batch, she'll eat it all in one day!
Tonight the wife wanted to do Cast iron baked chicken parmesan! "One of my favorites" The before pic, Broke out the old 1940's Lodge #10 for the occasion. Working on beverage skills while dinner cooks! I know theres some football on somewhere...
Damm WeldrDave, that looks delicious! Us men tend to give our wives the biggest pan possible in attempt to get the biggest meal in return!
And out of oven pics! I was a Gentleman, I did put it in the oven and take it out... That pan "IS" a heavy bugger!
No. Just some straight up burgers for lunch. I do have a question though. The one pan seems heavier than the other and also seems to get hotter. I cooked some home made hashbrowns yesterday also, same results. Any thoughts?
The heavi The heavier pan probably holds the heat better and it just seems hotter. If you are cooking on an electric stove, then that will do it for sure. When you add food to a pan it drops the temp of the pan. Thinner pan will lose its heat faster.
