Lodge Cast Iron Skillet


 
RicardoL

RicardoL

TVWBB Fan
I was in Las Vegas with my wife and on the way back home we stopped at the William and Sonoma Outlet. The Lodge CI skillets were reduced by 30%.

Being the proud owner of my first CI, any suggestions as to what I could cook in it to starting seasoning it?


Thought about doing some chorizo and eggs in it, but might not be ready for something that sticky.
 
Lodge skillets come seasoned, cook some bacon then cook some eggs in the bacon fat delish.
 
I bought a couple used CI pans a few years ago at a garage sale. After spending some time cleaning them up and doing their initial seasoning I only cooked bacon the first few times in them. Now after a few cooks they are stick free and good for anything.
Just dont let other people clean your pans. My mother-in-law threw my brother-in-laws in the dishwasher after a thorough cleaning with a Brillo pad when she visited. I saw a grown man just about cry..
 
While true that Lodge CI does come pre-seasoned, it's only an initial seasoning. No where near enough and I'd steer away from eggs for a while. Stick with bacon first, even a few strips, then cook whatever in the bacon grease. Me, I prefer taters or veggies.
 
Smear it good with Crisco or some similar shortening or fat and put it in a 350 degree oven for an hour or two first. Take out while still warm and wipe off excess and then cook your bacon when you want.
Don't use soap or use extremely little of it if needed and just hot water and a stiff brush to clean up. I rarely need to use soap to clean up mine.
 
I only use hot water to clean my CIS. However, if I take a paper towel and rub it on the dry skillet after cleaning, I get a Grey / char on the paper towel. Is this normal, or does it mean my CIS is not truly clean?
 
I'm very leery of claims that you can simply use hot water and wipe clean. While I realize "they" have done it this way forever, "they" also used to make a poultice of chicken poo for sprains. :)

My CI is cleaned with hot water, soap, and a plastic scrubber followed by a thorough drying and a wipe with oil. According to Cooks Illustrated even a run through a commercial dishwasher didn't affect a properly seasoned pan.

Here's an article on the science of seasoning with Flaxseed oil. There's been a slew of posts to various forums disputing the chemical changes this author describes but the process itself is not questioned. I'm going to guess the type of oil isn't as important as the process used.

Heat your CI to 200 and wipe with oil.
Using a clean towel, remove all the oil you can.
When you think you've gotten all the oil off, wipe it one more time.
Bake at 450-500 for one hour a let it cool slowly with the oven door closed.
Repeat a minimum of 6 times.

I tried speeding up the process by using a heavier coat of oil and the resulting splotches required a brass scouring pad and a lot of scrubbing to remove. I had to work pretty hard to remove that one layer. There's no way a little soap and plastic scouring pad is going to hurt this pan.
 
I'm going to stir the skillet here.
First, congratulations on your new pan, I'll bet it won't be your last.
Next, don't be shy about using your pan. I use Cast Iron skillets exclusively, and I'm admittedly hard on them. I've had everything from eggs to baked cheesy potatoes in them, and from time to time I've had some things stick like concrete to them.
I'm not past soaking them in dish soap and water over night, scrubbing them with a copper scrubber, or even cleaning them in the dish washer.
One thing I always do no mater what, I rinse them in as hot of water will come out of the spigot and give them a spray with Pam.
A quick wipe down and back in the rack they go.
 
i'd season it in a 400 degree oven, and cook some steaks in it. I woudn't clean it in the dishwasher, that just ruins the seasoning of the pan. A little warm water, some soap, and I use a plastic scraper to clean between the raised grooves on my Lodge pan. Wipe it down and it's good to go and will keep getting better with every cook.
 
I will put some water in them and boil it on the stove top to break loose something that I can't get with just hot tap water, I have never had anything that would not take off. Then dry with a burner and wipe with some oil if needed.
 
Phil S said:
I'm very leery of claims that you can simply use hot water and wipe clean. While I realize "they" have done it this way forever, "they" also used to make a poultice of chicken poo for sprains. :)

seriously? Chicken poo is good for sprains? Good to know! ;)

My CI is cleaned with hot water, soap, and a plastic scrubber followed by a thorough drying and a wipe with oil. According to Cooks Illustrated even a run through a commercial dishwasher didn't affect a properly seasoned pan.

pan.
Click to expand...

just kidding , couldn't resist a chicken poo joke. Anyway , I clean my cast iron the same way. Little hot soapy water and a good scrub. Usually wipe it with a little veg oil after it's good n dry.
 
I have found the best way to clean CI is, once you are done cooking, leave the pan on the heat source and pour a glass of water in the pan. It will start to boil almost immediately. Use your utensil to scrap off any stuck on food partials. Basically you are "deglazing" the pan. It only take a minute or 2 and everything comes right up. Dump the water and wipe the pan out with a paper towel. Quick, easy and comes out perfect every time.
 
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