Cast Iron Heaven

[martym]

Spent the day at mom and dad's yesterday. Lately mom and dad have been talking wills and dividing property. It's rough coming to the understanding and realization that your parents are getting old.
Well, dad and I went to a sporting goods store, we're looking at the camping stuff, and I happened to mention that I had been looking for some old cast iron cookware like we had growing up. Mom called and we had to leave to get things for dinner.
At home, they both called me into the kitchen and mom had out a cast iron Dutch oven and a frying pan. They both have an 8 on them but nothing more. Mom said that she is pretty sure that the pan was her grandmother's and she's not sure of the history behind the Dutch oven but her mother gave her both.
They looked dry in the middle but when I heated them, they slicked up nicely. I fried an egg on each and there was no sticking. These will stay with me until I pass them to my children.
Thank you for your time.
Marty

 

[Wid]

A photo of the bottom might help in identifying the maker. They look great and you're very lucky to have inherited them.

 

[dpm802]

Its nice that you got these family heirlooms. And its a good thing that your parents are preparing for eventualities so far in advance.

You'll want to re-season these pieces before you get to cooking on them. Whatever oils and grease have accumulated in the porous metal have probably gone rancid long ago.

There are numerous methods to clean and refinish an old cast-iron piece. Mine is simply to fill it with water and boil it intensely for 15 minutes or so. Pour out the boiled water, being very careful not to splash any back on yourself. Repeat 3 times and your done with the cleaning. Then coat it with a high-temp oil like Peanut or Grapeseed, heat it up until the oil just begins to smoke, let it cool down, and repeat. Then you're ready to cook.

 

[Mick]

As Rick as asked, post a pic of the bottom of the pan and it might be possible to identify it even if it has no name on it.

there is nothing like good old well seasoned cast iron.

We have multiple compete sets (from #00 up to #14) from just about every manufacture of cast iron over the past 200 years

I have a #8 gate mark griddle that I keep on my stove and use it just about every time I cook. Was made sometime in the late 1700's to mid 1800's and I can tell you it has been around the block a few times. I would not be surprised or exaggerating to say it has been used hundreds of thousands of times before I ended up with it.

 

[martym]

I cooked a pot of beans in the Dutch oven. They are really good.
However, I decided to give the skillet a good cleaning and re-seasoning. That grease was deep and stubborn.
It doesn't look as good as the ones y'all have but it's a million times better than it was. I discovered there is a "Z" next to the "8" on the bottom of the skillet.
If it helps, my mom's family is from Hazard, Kentucky.
Momma is from further back in the sticks than I am.
Now I must find a griddle.
My wife has a small round one that we use for cooking tortillas. That one belonged to her grandmother.

 

[Wid]

I'd say it's a Birmingham Stove and Range.

 

[coonskinner]

My wife does most of her cooking in cast iron.

Congratulations on the family heirlooms!

 

[hawgsquatch]

Thank you for sharing your story and your heritage. treasures.

 

[martym]

So yesterday I baked cornbread in this skillet. It turned out great!
This morning I fried up bacon strips, emptied the grease into a container, scraped out the remaining pieces, melted butter, lowered the heat, and then fried up eggs and repeated the egg frying for a second time.
No sticking whatsoever.
And man was everything delicious.
I guess that all the years this skillet has been used has really seasoned it well beyond what I have done.

 

[Legion]

I cooked my first (indoor. Always used iron on fires in the bush) meal on a cast iron skillet tonight. Made a fry up. Bacon, eggs, French toast... The pan was new, but I seasoned it with a few applications of coconut oil in the oven. (that is what I had handy, and the all seeing interweb said that was a good option.)

Meal was good. Minimal sticking, crispy bacon, arteries hardening.

A lot of smoke, though. I'm waiting until my house mate comes home and hits the roof because she didn't leave a bacon flavoured house this morning. I was hoping to give myself heart issues doing this as a regular thing, but I may have to buy a BBQ and do it outdoors.

 

[oldbluelight]

I cooked my first (indoor. Always used iron on fires in the bush) meal on a cast iron skillet tonight. Made a fry up. Bacon, eggs, French toast... The pan was new, but I seasoned it with a few applications of coconut oil in the oven. (that is what I had handy, and the all seeing interweb said that was a good option.)

Meal was good. Minimal sticking, crispy bacon, arteries hardening.

A lot of smoke, though. I'm waiting until my house mate comes home and hits the roof because she didn't leave a bacon flavoured house this morning. I was hoping to give myself heart issues doing this as a regular thing, but I may have to buy a BBQ and do it outdoors.

I find that if I'm getting smoke before my bacon's done I'm cooking just a touch too high on the temp. I can get it plenty crisp a notch or two below medium; it just takes a little more time. I don't know how it would work upside down where you are.

 

[oc_in_fw]

I find that if I'm getting smoke before my bacon's done I'm cooking just a touch too high on the temp. I can get it plenty crisp a notch or two below medium; it just takes a little more time. I don't know how it would work upside down where you are.

Yep, you don't need as much heat with cast iron.

 

[Legion]

Roger. I blame my rubbish cooktop. It is either all or nothing.

 

[Talal]

Cast iron is beautiful . I have a griswold and Erie colllection myself.

Truly the finest made cookware ever

 

[Legion]

Cooked another nice meal in my skillet. Now that it is seasoned properly the non stick properties leave the cheap modern stuff for dead. And it doesn't put weird plastic stuff into my meal.

Quick question. I read that you should use metal spatulas in cast iron. The idea is, over the years it will kind of smooth out the bottom of the pan, and make it even better. But will that remove the seasoning? Logic tells me that the oils are impregnated into the steel, so it should be cool. But years of using non stick pans have ingrained the idea that metal tools on a pan will ruin them.

What do you guys think?

 

[martym]

I use only stainless spatulas. Never had a problem.

 

[Wid]

I use only stainless spatulas. Never had a problem.

Same here

 

[Alacrity59]

There you go. Metal burger flipper and now you've eliminated the bits of plastic from your diet too.

 

[Legion]

There you go. Metal burger flipper and now you've eliminated the bits of plastic from your diet too.

Plus I have an excuse to buy a new utensil!

 

[redrako]

What a special occasion to have your parents present family heirloom cast iron, congratulations.

I've heard the theory about using metal spatulas to smooth the cooking surface of the pan too. A more likely theory for me is that a long, slow seasoning process takes place with use as fat molecules bind with some of the iron molecules.

All of my cast iron are modern Lodge, from 3-5 years old. Lodge uses a sand casting process that is not finished as were some of the older pans. The result is a slightly rough surface, that smooths with regular use.