/ck/ - Food & Cooking

[Anonymous No.4903566]

Are Lodge cast iron pans good? It's the only brand I can find in my country. Do I have to remove the seasoning that is already on it to apply my own seasoning?

And I have never done this before obviously, but after coating a pan in oil and heating it up in the oven, would the pan be sticky or have a rancid smell if it's just kept in storage? Would bacteria and weird odors accumulate on the pan if I just wipe it down with a cloth after cooking?

[Anonymous No.4903575]

yeah theyre pretty good, you dont have to remove the "pre-season", just put some oil in it over medium heat, wipe that oil out with a rag, repeat 2 more times(2-5 minutes each time), then put the pan in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes to an hour. Should have the nice non stick that you look for in a pan.

Their pre-season is good for breaded things like a pork chop or something, but for doing fish skin you want to season it yourself.

[Anonymous No.4903581]

They're good. Perhaps some old-school purists will whine that old brands may be better, but I own several lodge products and they're all great.

You don't have to remove the pre-seasoning.

>>would the pan be sticky or have a rancid smell
If this happens it means that you either used too much oil when you seasoned it, or you didn't wipe it out when you were done cooking. A properly seasoned iron skillet has a rock-hard shiny black coating on it. It should not be sticky or have any kind of smell.

>>Would bacteria and weird odors accumulate on the pan if I just wipe it down with a cloth after cooking?

No, this should be all the care the pan needs. Also, don't worry about bacteria: you'll be heating the pan up (thereby killing whatever might be on it) when you cook with it.

[Anonymous No.4903583]

>>4903566
Be prepared. They are heavy as hell and it takes awhile for it to build up the layers in order for it to be nonstick. You're still going to need oil or fat. For example, if you're using them for breakfast just cook the bacon first and then the egg.

[Anonymous No.4903585]

>>4903566
oils do seem to leave a bit of sticky residue. bacon fat does not as much.

[Anonymous No.4903602]

>>4903575
what are you repeating? letting the pan cool then heating it again?

[Anonymous No.4903613]

>>4903602

The whole process: applying oil, heating, cooling, wiping clean.

[Anonymous No.4903617]

>>4903566
I like mine, but all I literally do with it is cook steak

>500 degree oven for 20 minutes
>5 minutes on high heat on stove
>thickening layer of carbonized fat and shit as a result
>can't even scrape it off

I'm hoping i can eventually reach the levels of flavor present at local steakhouses

[Anonymous No.4903618]

>>4903575
>>4903581
How do you wash the rag that you use to wipe the oil anyway? I always have a problem with that
And what kind of oil should I season the pan with

[Anonymous No.4903619]

>>4903566
> It's the only brand I can find in my country.

>ITC there is no EBay.

[Anonymous No.4903624]

>>4903617
Wait what why did your pan turn out like that

[Anonymous No.4903627]

>>4903619
Shipping costs dude
Shit is heavy

[Anonymous No.4903629]

>>4903624
because i use high heat alot
tastes so good when i make grilled cheese

[Anonymous No.4903632]

>>4903629
i also never clean it

[Anonymous No.4903633]

>>4903629
Isn't the point of using a cast iron for that delicious high heat? Now I'm worried mines gonna end up like that too

[Anonymous No.4903636]

>>4903633
you're supposed to get a layer of shit
i'm just not maintaining mine right because it's a unitasker-ish

[Anonymous No.4903640]

>>4903566
you could always just heat the pan up on your stove until it burns off all the factory seasoning then let it cool and wash it real good and start the seasoning process by cooking yummy bacon!!!!! obviously its a win win situation

[Anonymous No.4903646]

>>4903640
How many pounds of bacon would I need

>>4903632
Well goddamnit sir

[Anonymous No.4903658]

>>4903646
it's also got bits of tender arm flesh from being clumsy with sad 500+ degree pan

[Anonymous No.4903659]

>>4903646
personally i would recommend 365 pounds a year for you personally but for your pan i recommend just cooking 4 or 6 half slices of bacon. just do not burn the bacon or else it will cause your cast iron pan to start letting food stick to it

[Anonymous No.4903660]

You're fine to use any non-animal-fat oils or lards OP.
Rapeseed and flaxseed oil are very good to season with, but crisco works if you don't have any.
You'll need to season it about 7-10 times if you remove factory seasoning before you have your own built up.
Don't use soap when washing unless you want to rust out your cast iron and remive your seasoning.
Best way to clean is fill with water after use and bring to a rolling boil, if seasoned properly, all the gunk should come off with that.

[Anonymous No.4903748]

Hi, after reading this thread i would also like to buy a cast iron pan. How do you Purchase one? what are the good brands i should look out for?
Thanks

[Anonymous No.4903901]

>>4903748
Griswold elitists will forget to mention Wagner Ware.

I don't know why?

[Anonymous No.4903903]

>>4903901

> Wagner Ware

[Anonymous No.4903926]

>>4903901
>Wagner Ware
they are no longer being manufactured? why are they so expensive?

[Anonymous No.4903946]

>>4903901
going to get lodge. is there a size recommendation?

[Anonymous No.4903968]

>>4903946
I try holding them and decide if its worth the cooking space and decided on 12
Planning to get a smaller one probably under 8

[Anonymous No.4904014]

>>4903946

I would go with a 12". You can cook a little food in a big pan but you cannot cook a lot of food in a small one. 12" is a good general purpose size that is great for cooking for 1-4 people. It can hold a single large fish, 3-4 hamburgers or chicken breasts, several eggs, etc. It's large enough that you can brown whole poultry up to the size of a large chicken, as well as a roast up to about 10 lbs or so. It has you covered for most things you'd be using an iron skillet for.

[Anonymous No.4904024]

>>4903618

>>how to wash the rag
Laundry machine works fine.

>>What kind of oil
There are a lot of differing opinions on this where some people belive that certain oils are better than others. I have not noticed this, and frankly it doesn't matter from a chemistry perspective. "Seasoning" is simply polyerizing the oil into a hard coating. It works the same way with any food safe oil. You can use vegetable oil, corn, canola, grapeseed, peanut, lard, tallow, etc, etc. Any food-safe oil or fat works great. I normally use lard (pig fat).

[Anonymous No.4904031]

>>4903926
>they are no longer being manufactured?

http://www.wagnerware.com/PLineMain.asp?Filter=PL&PLine=4

Seems pretty reasonable to me.

[Anonymous No.4904080]

>>4903926
>>4904031
Yeah, they're still making them. They seem pricey on ebay, but I find them at flea markets and such super cheap and in good condition all the time.

[Anonymous No.4904317]

>>4903575

put many salt. then many oil then potatoes and let it grill (burn in) for 30 minutes. no need oven or repeating anymore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl1cfy67cGk

after that just wipe it clean and your pan is read.

when with a time it gets way to dirty then burn it out in oven on maximum heat until ashes and get rid of some hard shit with cleaning soda or salt. (polish it away with few water) after do same potato/salt/oil seasoning again.

btw if the pot/pan is to heavy for you. try forged iron pot/pan instead.

[Anonymous No.4904328]

>>4904317
You're a good poster

[Anonymous No.4904363]

>>4903566

be careful don't buy you pans with that nose. its nice detail but you loose steam there and sometimes you need glass cover to see how your food is doing there.

back to hipsters. generally it doesn't matter what company does them.

its all about the quality of the product. the pan should have good and steady surface. it should be just iron no any special steel. and warning from my experiences: the brackets on both sides should be the same form. its minor details but different form makes the pan borders heating different. sometimes it is good when you like to turn you food around or put some of it into more hotter areas of the pan. but sometimes not. another thing be careful with pan which have drop off borders. such pans are made more for use in the oven than as ordinary pan. beside that you cant use different size of cover. or dive with spoon under your food to turn it over. (pancakes ad shit)

here shit i got for myself from amazon. you can use it for grilling eggs and backing pies in the oven. even like an asian wok, when doing asian food..

beside if you want such pans cheap look into second hand shops. iron pans have long life warranties and people drop them away just because they dont know how to clean them. if not try amazon or ebay.

one last thing for singles who live alone get 24 cm pan. for cooking for more people 28 or 32. pay attention to the size. your power bill will keep you happy then.

[Anonymous No.4904373]

>>4904363
The company makes their own lids too so those spouts shouldn't be a problem.

http://amzn.com/B00008GKDI

[Anonymous No.4904387]

>>4904373
>http://amzn.com/B00008GKDI

yah.. it is good when you have this cover. but like i said sometimes you need to see how your food is doing inside of the pan and use those cheap glass covers instead. this is where the nose is not really good.
i am not saying that your pan is bad because of those noses. it just then has less options.

sometimes it is really just having storage room question. i can use one cover for different pans and pots without to take out the original one.

[Anonymous No.4904398]

I bought the 12 inch lodge from amazon and it was great
until I moved back home and my family keeps fucking it up

If you live with people who dont know (or care) about dat cast iron, prepare to tear your hair out because they will treat it like a normal pan and fuck your shit up

[Anonymous No.4904410]

>>4904398
>until I moved back home and my family keeps fucking it up

hahaha. same here. i spend them 2 hour lesson how to use my kitchen stuff as a pro. put that "pro feeling " into it and they will respect you and your pans then.

[Anonymous No.4904841]

May sound stoopit, but how does seasoning differ from, you know, frying stuff?
The basic process seems the same:
> heat oil/fat
> fry stuff
> repeat

So... whats so special about seasoning? Dont you "season" the pan automatically?

[Anonymous No.4904879]

>>4904841
you can't do that for the sides and bottom of the pan

[Anonymous No.4904933]

http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/

Is this method of seasoning the best? And all the additional iron from cooking in cast iron wont have ill effects on health right?

[Anonymous No.4905139]

>>4904933

flax-oil, sesame oil, Sunflower oil, Canola .

Germans add potatoes and salt because it creates thicker layer.
i dunno. i always used german way and it was good for me.

[Anonymous No.4905440]

>>4905139
If I'm going to use flaxseed oil just for seasoning, wouldit be okay to use it past its expiry date?

[Anonymous No.4905511]

>>4905440

oil is oil you are not going to eat it.

[Anonymous No.4905576]

>>4903632
> wipe with paper towel.

Don't waste your time (or money) on pic related.

[Anonymous No.4905608]

>>4904879
you need to season the bottom of the pan??

[Anonymous No.4905612]

Did not know /ck/ got a hard dick for cast iron pans and needed some treatment ritual for them. We have one at the cottage (north ontario) that we use to cook over the fire. Once done we clean it off and leave a coat of oil on it to prevent rusting. Did not know they give a distinctive flavour.

[Anonymous No.4905615]

>>4905612
> Did not know they give a distinctive flavour.

They do this when you're a filthy neckbeard and you can't clean your shit. Like most of the cast iron sperg lords around here. Normal people clean their pans with soap after every use but then again, /ck/ is full of abnormal people which is why we worship masaokis, he makes us feel normal.

[Anonymous No.4905624]

>>4905615
>cleaning your cast iron with soap

There's more than one way to clean a pan, kimosabe.

[Anonymous No.4905625]

>>4905624
yes there are two. correctly and incorrectly.

[Anonymous No.4905626]

>>4905615
Well for what it's worth we cook the fatty foods on it before anything else to prevent sticking. What's the rundown on treating it? Maybe i'll try it out next time i'm up.

[Anonymous No.4905629]

>>4905625
you sound like an aussie

[Anonymous No.4905649]

>>4905629
murkin. want proof? I'm having sushi for lunch today.

[Anonymous No.4905652]

>>4905649
>worried about cleaning things with soap
>eating parasitic-filled raw fish

[Anonymous No.4905654]

>>4905576
So you're saying NOT to buy it?

[Anonymous No.4905659]

>>4905626
you prevent sticking by proper temperature control, not by dumping a half pound of lard under and around the food. cast iron is useful because of its heat retention, not because it's super duper nonstick. anyone suggesting that steel is bad because it sticks shouldn't be allowed near a stove.

[Anonymous No.4905720]

Holy shit, so I did what one of the links said and coated my pan with flaxseed oil and put it in the oven for an hour. I thought all I had to deal with was just the smell but the smoke coming from hot flaxseed oil is actually toxic fumes? How long does this shit last? Do I need to scrub out my oven?

[Anonymous No.4905734]

>>4905720

Why would you put oil in the oven set to a temperature higher than the oil's smoke point?

Anyway, no, you don't need to clean out your oven unless you put way too much oil on the pan and it made a mess inside. Just open some doors and ventilate to get rid of the smell/smoke.

[Anonymous No.4905762]

>>4905734
>The reason for the very hot oven is to be sure the temperature is above the oil’s smoke point, and to maximally accelerate the release of free radicals. Unrefined flaxseed oil actually has the lowest smoke point of any oil (see this table). But the higher the temperature the more it will smoke, and that’s good for seasoning (though bad for eating – do not let oils smoke during cooking).
This is the reasoning the author gave

Anyway, if I use a metal spatula when I cook, in addition to smoothing out the surface, wont it be scrapping the seasoning and mixing iron into the food as well? And after oiling the pan everytime after i cook, should I heat it up to bake the oil in or just leave it sticky then just heat it up the next day I cook?

[Anonymous No.4905786]

>>4905762

The author is a moron. It has nothing whatsoever to do with "free radicals". All "seasoning" is doing is polymerizing the oil into a hard coating.

He's right that the pan shouldn't be smoking during cooking, but there is no benefit whatsoever to smoking while seasoning the pan.

>>I use a metal spatula when I cook, in addition to smoothing out the surface, wont it be scrapping the seasoning and mixing iron into the food as well?

Not unless you're scraping like a steroid-pumped bodybuilder on crack. The seasoning layer is extremely hard, as is the iron itself. You would have to scrape it for hours on end using extreme force to remove the seasoning. The incidental contact when you flip food with a spatula won't do anything at all.

You don't need to oil the pan every time you cook. Just wipe or rinse the food out of it. That's all you need to do.

If the pan is "sticky" then you either didn't clean it properly or you didn't season it properly. A properly seasoned pan has a rock-hard shiny black coating on it. It should not be sticky in the slightest.

[Anonymous No.4905855]

>>4905720

thats why i gave you fucking oil+salt+potato trick moron. and if you do potato skin away it will not even do much smoke. beside that you should do seasoning with open kitchen windows.

[Anonymous No.4905857]

>>4905786
Thanks anon
How do you season your pan?

[Anonymous No.4905862]

>>4905855
I do think that's the easiest way. What better way to season than to deep fry stuff.

[Anonymous No.4905869]

>>4905855
It looks really good but I don't have a filter and all that oil will be all over my kitchen

[Anonymous No.4905875]

>>4905869

if you can get some camping gas fire from your friends and you can do it outside. be careful with hot oil. shit can burn like hell.

instead of filter just open wide the kitchen windows and let warm air flow out of the kitchen. you also can cover your pan with a cover. the point is to boil potatoes, salt and oil for 20-30 minutes in your pan. then just clean up the pan with some paper and everything else with soap or oil killer.

[Anonymous No.4905879]

>>4905875
Ahh good idea
What do you suggest I use as a cover for a 10" lodge pan? I didn't get the specific cover for it

[Anonymous No.4905886]

>>4905879

>any pot cover which fits. also recommend you to use wooden spatula.

[Anonymous No.4905890]

>>4905886
Okay thank you

[Anonymous No.4905906]

No mention of that magnetite bullshit for a change, thank Christ we don't have to listen to that argument all over again.

>>4904024
>"Seasoning" is simply polyerizing the oil into a hard coating. It works the same way with any food safe oil. You can use vegetable oil, corn, canola, grapeseed, peanut, lard, tallow, etc, etc.
This goddamnit.

>>4904031
I had no idea! Thanks a mil anon.

Those prices are dead reasonable if you want a pan of this type.

[Anonymous No.4905911]

>>4905906
Lodge is easier to find it seems.

[Anonymous No.4905915]

>>4905857

When the pans were new I scrubbed them with dish soap and hot water in the sink to remove any residue that might have been on there from manufacturing, shipping, etc. I dried them off with a dish towel, and I wiped it all over using a paper towel saturated with cooking oil. I used lard on my dutch oven and I used some random cooking oil I don't remember on my skillet. It could have been peanut, refined olive oil, or canola oil since those are the only oils I would have had on hand at the time. Sorry I don't remember the specifics, it was many years ago and I haven't had to re-season either one since. After oiling I put the pan in the oven set at around 400F for an hour or so--sorry, I don't remember exactly. For the first couple of uses of the cookware I made sure to cook food with a lot of fat, like bacon in the skillet or using the dutch oven to deep-fry chicken. Since then all I ever do is rinse them out immediately after use with hot water & a dish towel. Then I put them back on the range so the residual heat dries them off. I have never had to re-season them.

[Anonymous No.4905919]

>>4905915
Thanks, ill try using the deep frying method since putting my pan in the oven 6 times over 18 hours sounds too much of a bore

[Anonymous No.4905993]

>>4903660
Tell me if I'm wrong but after every use of my cast iron pan, I scrub it down with a little dawn, rinse and dry off with a towel. After it's dry I wipe it down with oil. So far I haven't had any issues but I'm wondering it it's bad for the pan.

[Anonymous No.4905999]

>>4903946
I agree with >>4904014
I bought a 12" and thought it was too big when I first started to use it but then realized that a 10" would be too crowded for my uses. You can cook a little or a lot. That's what's nice about the 12"

[Anonymous No.4906154]

>>4905608

To prevent rust, not to season

[Anonymous No.4906158]

They're fine. Treat it right, it will treat you right.

[Anonymous No.4906192]

>>4905993

It's not bad for the pan. A proper seasoning layer will not be harmed by soap so long as you don't go crazy with it. That being said, it's also overkill.

[Anonymous No.4906446]

>>4905993
>Tell me if I'm wrong but after every use of my cast iron pan, I scrub it down with a little dawn, rinse and dry off with a towel.
There's nothing outright bad with doing this, but you simply don't have to. There are loads of angsty writings online about how soap will ruin your seasoning and crap like that but it's mostly BS, the seasoning bonded to the metal is mucho tough. All washing does is strip oil out of the surface of the seasoning coating.

This can be replaced, either immediately by oiling before storage, or wiped on to the warmed pan before next cooking on it. By why give yourself the extra work if you don't need to? To clean cast iron perfectly well mostly you just need to remove any adhering food, which usually requires nothing more than hot water, a scrubbing brush and a bit of elbow grease.

For burnt-on gunk that requires a little more brute force one traditional method is to scrub with salt, but since it's not 1910 and we're not all living on some farm in Buttfuck, Idaho I think we can safely retire that and just use a nylon kitchen scourer and get the same result with a little more efficiency.

Now some people don't even do that, they just scrape the surface smooth with the edge of the spatula, wipe off with kitchen paper and call it done. Doing this you'll soon change a rough-cast modern pan to a very much smoother finish.

HIH

[Anonymous No.4906578]

Has somebody her a gräwe pan? Would you recommend them?

[Anonymous No.4907237]

>>4906578
I think >>4905139
already did bud

[Anonymous No.4908043]

>>4905440
Well "expiration" date is a bit of a misnomer. Most of them are conservative —some wildly so— so even way past its date it could be perfectly fine, depending on how it was stored and how much headspace there was in the bottle (because of the amount of air included to react with the oil).

Anyway, because you're chemically changing the oil into a polymer by the heating process it doesn't matter if it has gone rancid, it'll still work fine. Rancid oil is still edible, it's just that it doesn't taste very good.

>>4905625
Twat. Ignorant one at that. There are at least a half dozen ways to clean a pan properly, no one way for anything like this.

[Anonymous No.4908051]

>>4906578
I think the grooves are a gimmick and I'd be willing to bet money they have NO actual benefit over a smooth pan of the same metal, seasoned the same way.

Carbon steel or iron pans of this basic form though, definitely worth considering for the home cook. They're lighter than cast iron, from a little to a lot easier to handle in use and somewhat easier to care for.

I'm about to buy my first one of this type, I was hoping to get a Mineral B pan but they're too expensive locally (over 50 Euro).

[Anonymous No.4908585]

>>4908051
Well, they look good, what i heard is that some are not completely plane, since i don't cook with gas or induction that could be a problem. Any tips on that? Could i just beat it into shape?

[Anonymous No.4908639]

>>4908585
>since i don't cook with gas or induction that could be a problem. Any tips on that?
Sorry, tips on what exactly?

>Could i just beat it into shape?
Not really.

[Anonymous No.4908682]

>>4908639
Tips to keep the area of contact as big as possible, is there any way to keep it from warping aside from the obvious like using the right sized field.

[Anonymous No.4909023]

What about DeBuyer pans?

[Anonymous No.4909045]

Just be sure to develop the magnetite before you cook. Sheryl canter has a good article about it. You need flax seed oil.

[Anonymous No.4910297]

>>4908682
If the pan is well made this shouldn't be much of an issue.

>>4909023
Awesome. A little overpriced in some markets, a lot overpriced in other markets.

>>4909045
Oh you.

[Anonymous No.4910333]

>>4903619
holy shit are you joking
shipping for cast iron without flat-rate shipping would be INSANE

[Anonymous No.4910618]

>>4910333
>shipping for cast iron without flat-rate shipping would be INSANE
I can confirm this, it is. Last week or the week before I was putting through an order from a fantastic US supplier that has unbelievably low prices on lots of stuff, chopping cart included one carbon steel frying pan, so heavy but not cast-iron heavy.

Total order came to all of $17 and change.

Shipping brought it up to just under 80 bucks.

[Anonymous No.4911264]

bump

[Anonymous No.4911374]

>>4909023
Love my de buyer

Recommended one to my brother and he loves his too

[Anonymous No.4911381]

Watch videos on youtube on how to care for cast iron. Methods vary, but you'll get visuals and a good idea of what to look for.

[Anonymous No.4911391]

>>4910618
what US supplier would that be?

[Anonymous No.4911458]

Is it okay to deep fry food in iron cast skillets?

[Anonymous No.4911461]

>>4911374
Do you have the bee one?

[Anonymous No.4911493]

>>4911461
One with the bee on the surface?

Not that I recall, though if I did I wouldn't be able to see it now anyway with the patina I have.

[Anonymous No.4912008]

>>4911391
Should have plugged them shouldn't I? webstaurantstore.com

Re-reading my post I also didn' tmake it plain that this was shipping to Europe. I'm sure the shipping options for the US have much more reasonable rates.

As I said they have amazing prices on some stuff — under 9 bucks for the 12" carbon steel pan I was hoping to get. I can get something similar here locally but it's over twice this price.

[Anonymous No.4914751]

bump

[Anonymous No.4914830]

Damn you anon's you make me miss my families old cast iron set stuff went missing during are last move I mean shit it was over a hundred years

[Anonymous No.4914831]

>>4914830

Someone is washing your old cast iron with soap and steel wool, RIGHT NOW

[Anonymous No.4914847]

>>4914831
T_T

[NinjaStain No.4914871]

>>4910618
Lodge sells a Hibachi that weighs somewhere around 27.3 metric tons. Amazon PRIME SHIPS IT FREE. Spend the money or get the introductory offer for an Amazon prime membership and buy your lodge stuff at competitive prices with free shipping. Amazon offers 1 month of free Prime as a promotional offer. I bought a membership, and it paid for itself rapidly.

[Anonymous No.4916012]

I...I think my local Tuesday Morning sells cast iron

is that safe to buy?