Modern Cast Iron

[Isaac]

I wanted to piggy back onto this thread, rather than open a new one.

Ive been cooking with cast iron for twenty plus years. All of my pieces are vintage Griswold. Im certainly not a novice to all things cast iron. That being said, I decided to try a Smithey 12" flat griddle. I had a cheap china made 10" flat griddle, that i found didnt have enough surface area for English Muffins, or tortilla production. So I ended up splurging.

This is my first smooth milled pan, and boy does the seasoning suck. The factor seasoning came off after the first cook. That was gonna drive me crazy. I stripped the pan and did 4 seasoning sessions using Crisbee. Crisbee is my seasoning of choice and has always worked well for me. This morning, i took this glorious, dark hued rust colored pan to range. After one session of bacon, anywhere that food was in contact, the fininsh came off. I suppose that is the nature of the beast with modern smooth milled pans. The uneven seasoning will bug the heck out of me, but i suppose there is nothing to be done.

 

[Elliot]

Since this, I have used the Butter Pat several times and quite happy, albeit a bit splotchy as it re-seasons. Doesn’t bother me.
I got a Smithey carbon steel wok and it’s quite good other than size. It’s not very big for a wok, but great to sauté veg.

 

[kelbro]

I wanted to piggy back onto this thread, rather than open a new one.

Ive been cooking with cast iron for twenty plus years. All of my pieces are vintage Griswold. Im certainly not a novice to all things cast iron. That being said, I decided to try a Smithey 12" flat griddle. I had a cheap china made 10" flat griddle, that i found didnt have enough surface area for English Muffins, or tortilla production. So I ended up splurging.

This is my first smooth milled pan, and boy does the seasoning suck. The factor seasoning came off after the first cook. That was gonna drive me crazy. I stripped the pan and did 4 seasoning sessions using Crisbee. Crisbee is my seasoning of choice and has always worked well for me. This morning, i took this glorious, dark hued rust colored pan to range. After one session of bacon, anywhere that food was in contact, the fininsh came off. I suppose that is the nature of the beast with modern smooth milled pans. The uneven seasoning will bug the heck out of me, but i suppose there is nothing to be done.

I have an old Griswold that is super slick and will not hold a 'traditional' seasoning. It took a little time but eventually I was able to achieve a thin carbonized fat layer and it now works well.

It just required a 'post-cook' seasoning each time I used it.

After each use, I scrubbed it down with a scotch-brite pad, dried it and put it on the burner set on med-high. Put a drop of grapeseed oil in the middle and rubeed the surface down completely with a paper towel until it started smoking and then cut the burner off and let it cool. It's non-stick but has never achieved the black finish.

Non-stick is largely a function of temp control. Stainless or iron, I get the pan hot, then add the fat, and let the fat get hot before adding the food. I seldom, if ever get past 3 or 4 on the dial unless I'm searing a protein.

 

[Isaac]

I have an old Griswold that is super slick and will not hold a 'traditional' seasoning. It took a little time but eventually I was able to achieve a thin carbonized fat layer and it now works well.

It just required a 'post-cook' seasoning each time I used it.

After each use, I scrubbed it down with a scotch-brite pad, dried it and put it on the burner set on med-high. Put a drop of grapeseed oil in the middle and rubeed the surface down completely with a paper towel until it started smoking and then cut the burner off and let it cool. It's non-stick but has never achieved the black finish.

Non-stick is largely a function of temp control. Stainless or iron, I get the pan hot, then add the fat, and let the fat get hot before adding the food. I seldom, if ever get past 3 or 4 on the dial unless I'm searing a protein.

I’m doing something similar now. Basically every morning I cook my bacon or sausage. But I don’t clean the pan for two days. But when I do I do a light seasoning after the cook with crisbee