Season Lodge Cast Iron Skillets in Weber Grill?


 

ChangL

TVWBB Fan
I just bought 4 Lodge cast iron skillets from Walmart (they're on sale!), and am thinking about seasoning them in my charcoal Weber grill. Does anyone know if this would work? My only concern is the ash build up and how that might affect the seasoning process.
 
Lodge has been factory pre-seasoning their pans since 2002. There is no absolute requirement that they be manually seasoned further. Unless you can maintain your grill's temp at or near the smoke point of the oil you choose to manually season them with long enough to sufficiently polymerize the oil, you may end up in a position worse than having not done anything but just cooking with them as-purchased. The advice usually given for newly manually-seasoned pans is to just use a bit more cooking oil/fat than you normally would the first several cooks. That advice works for pre-seasoned pans as well.
 
I have a 13", 12" deep, and a 5qt double dutch oven that I need to season. I strip off all the seasoning inside the pan then use flap wheels and disks to smooth the interior. Then I take that smooth shiny surface and sand blast it so its frosted. If you leave it shiny then the seasoning doesn't have anything to stick too. I don't mess with doing the outside because you don't cook on it and lodges seasoning is pretty tough. I usuall use vegetable shorting, peanut oil, or bacon grease and use my oven because it can be controlled. If you over heat it the seasoning just burns and flakes off and you get to start over. Fall is an excellent time to season cast iron. You can have the windows open to vent the heat and smell out while not causing your AC to run all day.
 
he last Lodge cookware I bought I simply followed their own directions and I have never had an issue with them. As was mentioned they pre season them at the factory and IMO I don't think you're gonna do it better. My stuff has worked great
 
Seasoning on a charcoal grill might be tough to maintain the temps over a long period of time, without putting in more charcoal, etc. It's probably doable though. I've got a lodge skillet I'm trying to start over with myself. I've had it 15 years probably.
 
Thanks for the advice. I didn't realize that overheating the cast iron in a charcoal grill can backfire and damage the seasoning. I will simply start using them out of the box.
 
I've got a few cast iron skillets, one older smooth surfaced lodge, and one that's what they call an "ugly hammered cast iron" skillet that was my grandmother's. In all honestly, I've never noticed a big difference in how they cook vs. the rougher textured new stuff. Think of that seasoning that comes with it as a heat start and just start adding your own as you cook.
 
Yep I have an old CI skillet that was my grandmother's. I have had it many years she passed away way back in 1989 at 93 and I inherited the skillet a number of years before that as she had become too weak to use it. I don't know what brand it is (no markings) and I know she had from WAY before WWII perhaps even from the 20's AFAIK. Judging by how it's made it MAY be a Lodge or a Wagner but who really knows. It has a glass smooth surface and I remember her doing many things in it including Pineapple Upside Down cakes. Or as she called it Pinappla Upasidea Downa Cakea (thick Italian accent LOL). Funny thing with her though. She always scrubbed it with an SOS or Brillo pad. Yet even when I acquired it there was still a nice "patina" of seasoning on it. I still love it to this day. It's my go to CI pan as it's only a 10" and not quite as awkward as my larger Lodge 12" and not sure of size Chicken Fryer pan (I think it's 14") not sure. Anyway I guess from her past use good CI is pretty flexible
 
My mother passed away a few years ago. When my sibs & I were going through the farmhouse, my oldest niece & I'd gone down into the basement for something and found Mom's ancient cast iron fry pan. We both realized what it was, and Kristin started to reach for it. "Oh, no, darlin', that's going with me. At least, it's not getting past me, it'll be discussed with my brothers & sisters, but it's leaving with one of us. I'm more than happy to make sure your name gets put on it when I shuffle off this mortal coil."

It's an honest Griswold 8 fry pan, and I reach for it over practically every other piece I have. 2 12", 3 10", a 7" fry pans, a Dutch oven with a glass lid and a 12" square griddle. Shoot, that has to be an incomplete list. Just an incredibly versatile cooking material.
 

 

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