Making the jump in to the cast iron world and was curious on opinions of the best size to start with.

Have been leaning towards a 12" enough size to cook steaks, but not too big.

aren't they like $20 a piece? get a couple different sizes.

you can get lodge brands at target for around $20 each

12" is a good all purpose size.

Additionally, as is mentioned above, cast iron is really cheap so if you find 12inch too big or small just go and get the proper size

I find I use my 10 in griddle far more often than I use a skillet. I would start with one of each and go from there.

we have a 8, 10 and a 12 and use them all (lodge)

8" pan, 12" pan and my 10" round griddle are the ones i use significantly more than an other. Pretty sure those are the sizes anyway. The 10" griddle may be a 12", really couldn't tell you for sure though.

Slicer97 said:

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I find I use my 10 in griddle far more often than I use a skillet. I would start with one of each and go from there.

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Interesting. I don't even own a griddle. I've considered the big rectangular ones that cover two burners, but I'm curious about the advantages of the griddle vs the skillet of comparable size.

I just find it easier for flipping pancakes, omelettes, steaks, etc.

Unless I'm frying something that doesn't need Dutch oven depth, I hardly ever pull the skillet out. As cheap as they are, I'd get a 10 inch griddle, a 10 or 12 inch skillet, and a 5 qt Dutch oven. The lid for the 5 qt will also fit the 10 inch skillet.

I got my two Lodges at Bucee's.

Already have a griddle(double burner) but can't exactly transfer that from cooktop to the oven.

Just got a 15" to go with the set. Pretty sweet I must say!

I have a 15 (Academy brand) and a 10 (Griswold) and the 15 is my go-to for everyday skillet meals for a family of 4. It also gets used for bacon, cornbread, and steaks failry often. I actually don't use the Griswold much at all, but it was an antique store find and pretty cheap so I went ahead and got it.

I have a couple different sizes and the griddle. The griddle is only for use on the grill because we have a glass cooktop and that thing is pretty heavy, and a pain to clean. I would recommend just going with the regular pans. If you get cast iron I definitely recommend getting one of these, best thing ever for cleaning up anything that's difficult.
https://www.amazon.com/Ringer-Original-Stainless-Cleaner-Patented/dp/B00FKBR1ZG/ref=lp_9180633011_1_1?srs=9180633011&ie=UTF8&qid=1484953333&sr=8-1

biobioprof said:

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Slicer97 said:

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I find I use my 10 in griddle far more often than I use a skillet. I would start with one of each and go from there.

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Interesting. I don't even own a griddle. I've considered the big rectangular ones that cover two burners, but I'm curious about the advantages of the griddle vs the skillet of comparable size.

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I use my griddle for pancakes, grill cheeses and I can cook about 8 sausage patties on it without the grease overflowing. Can't do much bacon on it.

Just bought a 12" skillet, looking forward to putting it to use.

We are new to using a cast iron skillet though; any advice for newbies?

My best advice would be to do 2-4 deep fry's in it before anything else.

I bought a 12" and a 10" at the same time and right away fried French fries several times in the smaller pan. It developed a MUCH better seasoning.

We are planning on trying Alton Brown's southern fried chicken this week. Not expecting the same results, though.

Electrical_Ag said:

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We are new to using a cast iron skillet though; any advice for newbies?

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In my experience, lard does the best job of seasoning cast iron. I've never tried flax-seed oil.... many people claim that it is the best, but you can't buy it at walmart. I think you have to get it from a pharmacy.

FWIW,

According to the food lab, unsaturated fats (like canola and vegetable) are best for seasoning cast iron for some scientific reason I cant remember.

I have only seasoned a single cast iron pan (and I used vegetable and canola oils) so I don't really have anything to compare to, but the vegetable and canola oil seasoning seems to have worked very well so far.

Shelton98 said:

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Electrical_Ag said:

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We are new to using a cast iron skillet though; any advice for newbies?

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In my experience, lard does the best job of seasoning cast iron. I've never tried flax-seed oil.... many people claim that it is the best, but you can't buy it at walmart. I think you have to get it from a pharmacy.

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I picked up some flax seed oil for mine at HEB.

I put my skillet/griddle in the oven on the self cleaning cycle to remove the old seasoning.


Once it's cool enough to handle, apply a thin coat of oil and then wipe with paper towel until it looks dry. Place in a cold oven and set it to 500 degrees. Once it reaches temperature, leave it for 1 hour, then turn the oven off. Let it cool in the oven on its own. Repeat this 5 to 7 times, and you'll have a really good seasoning on it.

Slicer97 said:

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Shelton98 said:

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Electrical_Ag said:

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We are new to using a cast iron skillet though; any advice for newbies?

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In my experience, lard does the best job of seasoning cast iron. I've never tried flax-seed oil.... many people claim that it is the best, but you can't buy it at walmart. I think you have to get it from a pharmacy.

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I picked up some flax seed oil for mine at HEB.

I put my skillet/griddle in the oven on the self cleaning cycle to remove the old seasoning.


Once it's cool enough to handle, apply a thin coat of oil and then wipe with paper towel until it looks dry. Place in a cold oven and set it to 500 degrees. Once it reaches temperature, leave it for 1 hour, then turn the oven off. Let it cool in the oven on its own. Repeat this 5 to 7 times, and you'll have a really good seasoning on it.

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did this with a couple of pans I received as gifts and they turned out brown but very slick.

I have no idea why they stayed brown, but they work just fine.

I do similar - except I start at 200 degrees and warm the pan up a little, then apply the oil, and wipe off. I move it to 300 for 20 minutes, take pan back out, wipe off one last time. Back in at 500 for an hour. It usually takes several hours to cool off.

The two that I use are slick as can be.

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what's the best way to strip some old grime and seasoning if I do not have a self clean cycle on the oven?

Chipotlemonger said:

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what's the best way to strip some old grime and seasoning if I do not have a self clean cycle on the oven?

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warn water and a sos pad if you don't want to do strip the seasoning.

If you want to start over then get some of the commercial easy off (not the fume free version) and coat the pan, then wrap in a plastic bag and place in a warm area for 24 hours.

Power sander is the easiest way.

Fire pit works too.

Chicken tasted great, but a little burned on the skin. I had difficulty getting the internal temp up to 180 F like he recommended before the exterior went too far. Not terribly burned, just a tad much. My kids ate it, so I am pleased overall. Cast iron cook #1 was a success.