BECAUSE PO CAMPO COOKED BEANS IN A DUTCH OVEN BECAUSE HIS WIFE WAS IN HELL (WHERE HE SENT HER)!

So, within the last week, I got bit by the bug, and went from a single BSR 10 5/8" skillet, which I obtained somewhere between HS graduation and numerous post-college roommates (it could have even been a family passdown, but I honestly don't know), to about 10 vintage pieces scavenged from family, a roadside junk shop (although an extremely rusty Taiwan #5 snuck in with them), and Goodwill. Another extremely crusty (old seasoning) #5 of unknown origin (markings are obscured by years of crap on the bottom) is currently soaking in the electrolysis tank, and I'll be doing a mass seasoning of 5-6 skillets of various sizes (3 through 8) within the next few days. Wagner's, a BSR #3, a vintage 3-notch Lodge #3, and a few that are TDB.

Anyone else? Or am I the only one with a bit of culture on the OB? Didn't want to go to the food board, lest I get laughed out for not using a Finex/Stargazer/Smithey.

That's all I cook with. The Griswold 8" skillet in my camp box is over one hundred years old now. I have a mix of Griswold, Wagner and Lodge pieces. Mrs. Ledbetter makes blackberry cobbler in the Dutch oven over coals when we're at the coast. We pick them fresh of the vine.

It's about all I cook with. Inherited a bunch of my grandfather's and after it sitting in the garage for a few years, finally got around to cleaning and re-seasoning.

Took a wire wheel on my angle grinder and got all of the rust, old seasoning and leftover crap on there off and got it down to bare metal. Then took my orbital sander and sanded the cooking surface with various grits of sandpaper - ended up with 220 I think and it was hell for smooth after that. Re-seasoned with flax seed oil - 3 or 4 layers of that (heat oven to 200, put pan in for an hour - take flax seed oil and douse some on a paper towel, rub the surface down, back in the oven at 450-500 for 2 hours, turn oven off and let cool overnight), then started cooking. A good smooth seasoning is on up there with non stick when it comes to cooking.

Make sure you get your skillet/pan hot first, then add your fat and let it heat up too - then start cooking your food. Amazing how little ends up sticking when you follow these two steps. Throw food on before everything heats up and crap will stick all over the place.

Tip: Wash your cookware. The old addage that you don't wash cast iron is outdated and not applicable. Old high caustic lye soap would strip seasoning - but modern dish soaps don't. Wash your pots and pans when you are done. A heavy crust is not seasoning - it's a heavy crust that both inhibits consistent cooking and shows that you aren't one that thinks sanitation is important. Don't use metal if possible (I fail miserably at this personally) - use wood utensils. Keeps from nicking or chipping a good seasoning.

Another tidbit:

Vintage cast iron is no better than modern cast iron, especially if you need to strip and re-season. The only drawback to newer stuff (Lodge especially) is the lack of a good smooth finish on their surfaces. Which is easy to fix.

Also - you don't know what the old cast iron was used for. I know that cast iron was popular for lead casting back when aluminum pots became all the rage and cast iron became a cast aside item. My great grandmother had a pan that was used as an oil (vehicle) pan for years.

Don't get me wrong, an old Wagner or Griswold that is in good shape is a great piece of equipment, but just because it says Wagner or Griswold over Lodge or whatever doesn't mean it's somehow better at what it does.

I'll just soap and water if I have something stuck on, but generally a good scrub with a scrub brush gets everything off.

Need to check out Kent Rollins. He has a couple camps every year where he shows folks how to really cook on cast iron. He is a friend of the family (so i am kinda biased) and cooks out of a chuckwagon with tons of cast iron. If anything he has some great stories and the man knows his stuff better than anyone i have every listened to or watched.

Website is Kentrollins.com

Cast iron reproduces like guns or camera lenses for me. Every time I look away and then look back, there are more of them.

How else am I supposed to get wicked good sears on all my sous vide deliciousness?

Likeke98 said:

---

Since I started using our Lodge pan about 6 months ago I don't think any other pan has come out of the cupboard.
I am not the best at seasoning cast iron. Any tips?

---

if you are starting from raw iron

1) make sure its clean
2) warm in 200* oven
3) apply very thin coat of flax seed oil
4) wipe away excess oil (have a dedicated cotton cloth for this step)
5) put pan back in oven and increase heat to 500* (or hotter if available)
6) once oven is at 500* cook for 1 hour
7) turn off oven and leave pan inside for 2-4 hours (until cool enough to handle)
8) repeat steps 3-7 3-5 more times

Both my grandmothers used Crisco therefore I use Crisco