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The older cast iron skillets were thinner and lighter weight, also smooth as a baby's bottom. Modern ones are much heavier and for some reason unfathomed by cooks everywhere, they leave the interior surface rough like in a raw casting. I bought one couple years ago. Took me half hour with a flap type sanding disk in angle grinder to smooth it out. I honestly would paid $10 more for them to do this at the factory. Not that I would have trusted the factory "pre-seasoned" sure they use Chinese toxic waste to do it. Those bean counter types compromise on everything.
SOME of the modern ones are that way. Cheaper pans, like Lodges, are much heavier, and they are "sand cast", and that sand used to be removed in the production process. But many manufacturers have eliminated that step to be able to produce a pan or pot in 90 minutes, versus about three days.
I don't have any Lodge pans for that reason. They certainly will cook just as well, but the finish sucks and they are harder to clean (I can literally wipe my pans with a paper towel to clean it - great for camping!).
You can spend a few bucks and get a very very nice smooth pan today.
This looks to be a great pan, and honestly if I saw it in person I might be tempted to buy it. BUT, I would have to make sure it was completely flat and was a good weight. Hard to judge these pans online. https://www.ebay.com/itm/26556830824...sAAOSwNTRiGjsF
I got my pans in a thrift store years ago, in western VA. They were absolutely perfect and I think I paid about $25 each for them. It's probably unlikely to find one that cheaply that today, as they have become more popular and many people just collect them.
Last edited by ChessieMom; 03-05-2022 at 08:53 AM..
The heavier the pan the more it holds the heat. I frequently cook fried eggs in the small cast iron, because it is the perfect size.
I also pan sear chicken breasts in the cast iron.
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Anything you'd cook on a skillet or griddle, you can use a cast iron skillet, since what it is, is nothing more or less than a skillet. No recipes needed.
Yep, you can cook or bake anything in cast iron. I'm a collector and I have about 30 pieces of iron. I have several cheap Lodge pans that I use for day-to-day cooking. They're about 30 years old. I also have several old Wagners and a couple of Griswolds (more showpieces) that I found years ago for $10 or less. I stripped them, cleaned them and reseasoned them. They're beautiful.
I even bake layer cakes in 9-inch skillets. There is one trick: Low and slow on the heat. (About 300F). If you go 350F the outer edge of the cake will get hard and crispy and crunchy like cornbread. The lower heat stops that.
I love cornbread made in cast iron, too. When I'm feeling too lazy to make batter from scratch, I'll bake a box Jiffy Mix cornbread, using one of my Lodge cast iron bread pans instead of a skillet. It's the perfect size to make a small loaf of cornbread. It rises higher, too, and gives you more crust.
Banana bread comes out great in the cast iron bread pans too.
SOME of the modern ones are that way. Cheaper pans, like Lodges, are much heavier, and they are "sand cast", and that sand used to be removed in the production process. But many manufacturers have eliminated that step to be able to produce a pan or pot in 90 minutes, versus about three days.
I don't have any Lodge pans for that reason. They certainly will cook just as well, but the finish sucks and they are harder to clean (I can literally wipe my pans with a paper towel to clean it - great for camping!).
You can spend a few bucks and get a very very nice smooth pan today.
This looks to be a great pan, and honestly if I saw it in person I might be tempted to buy it. BUT, I would have to make sure it was completely flat and was a good weight. Hard to judge these pans online. https://www.ebay.com/itm/26556830824...sAAOSwNTRiGjsF
I got my pans in a thrift store years ago, in western VA. They were absolutely perfect and I think I paid about $25 each for them. It's probably unlikely to find one that cheaply that today, as they have become more popular and many people just collect them.
The point being it doesnt take $300 and 3 days to make a smooth skillet. My roughie was like $10 or $15 brand new couple or three years ago and took me half hour to make it baby bottom smooth (and shiny) with an angle grinder and sanding disk. Its annoying chore, but pretty brainless kind of work. Automated in factory this sanding would be 30 seconds tops and truly not add much to cost done in large volume. On production line it takes more time to put it into the box than to make a single skillet. They arent individually hand made by elves in the Black Forest. Heck even couple centuries ago they werent hand made. Its a factory made product and always has been. Course if you only make and sell a few to high standard and you have to charge more. The boutique brands cant sell for $15. You have to sell a LOT of skillets to do that. But a $300+ cast iron skillet in my kitchen, just not happening. Charge me $25 for a properly smoothed skillet, not a problem.
In addition to what hasn't been said - one of our favorite (non traditional) uses for our cast iron pan is reheating leftover pizza.
We do that all the time. Most of our pans are Griswolds that have been in the family for years.
Another use for our cast iron pan is cooking bacon on the grill. This avoids getting the house smelling of bacon grease, and bacon cooks great in the pan on the grill as it becomes uniformly hot - you are baking and frying at the same time.
Conductive heat properties of cast iron are greatly superior to thin steel pans. Mine heats really fast on our gas stove. But agree with the OP, It's not my go-to for frying eggs. Keep a non-stick for that purpose.
The point being it doesnt take $300 and 3 days to make a smooth skillet. My roughie was like $10 or $15 brand new couple or three years ago and took me half hour to make it baby bottom smooth (and shiny) with an angle grinder and sanding disk. Its annoying chore, but pretty brainless kind of work. Automated in factory this sanding would be 30 seconds tops and truly not add much to cost done in large volume. On production line it takes more time to put it into the box than to make a single skillet. They arent individually hand made by elves in the Black Forest. Heck even couple centuries ago they werent hand made. Its a factory made product and always has been. Course if you only make and sell a few to high standard and you have to charge more. The boutique brands cant sell for $15. You have to sell a LOT of skillets to do that. But a $300+ cast iron skillet in my kitchen, just not happening. Charge me $25 for a properly smoothed skillet, not a problem.
My BF did the same thing, bought a $14 lodge pan and ground down the finish (not as nicely as I would have but whatever) and I seasoned it, and we use it often. The point is - lots of people don't have the time or skills to accomplish that and they are willing to pay for it. Obviously no one HAS to make that choice.
But $25 for a polished skillet that is nice and flat, yeah not happening.
I was given a set of retired cast iron frying pans by my mother. She did not like them because they are too heavy for her. While I can handle them, my complaint is it takes a long time to heat them up. If I am gonna fry a couple of eggs, using a thin metal pan is much quicker. So I have not been using the cast iron pans either.
I googled and learnt that cast iron skillets retain heat and are great for searing meat. Besides that, is there any situation where a cast iron skillet has an advantage over the normal thin metal pans?
Particularly, among the set there is one skillet that is 6" in diameter. My steaks won't fit in it....
You can absolutely bake a cake in a cast iron skillet
What it's good for is smacking an intruder with (not knowing if anyone said so already).
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