Cast Iron Skillet?

[perferd]

Looking at buying one and need some assistance...

Can/Should I buy one at any of your local places like walmart/target/canadian tire? Or do I order something online like lodge or what have you?

Pre-seasoned ok? I ask cause on amazon.ca thats all I can find of lodge.

[teesquare]

Lost Arrow, Two Pockets and Capt Jack are all pretty big cast iron users I think....Maybe they will come along and offer advice soon.
T

[muebe]

Pre seasoned is fine and Lodge makes a great cast iron skillet.

[perferd]

just tried sears.ca and it shows an 8" online so at least I know they carry lodge. I will check out the local store and see what they have in stock...

Pre-seasoned do I still season it (even though I need to read up on how to lol) or do I just start cooking?

[Smokin Don]

Walmart carries Lodge and they are well made. I like their pre-seasoning, some don't and simply remove it and do it their own way. I have an 8 and a 10 inch Lodge carbon steel skillets I use almost daily on the stove top. They are also pre-seasoned and care is the same as cast iron. I like them since they are lighter and easier to handle than cast iron. I use my cast iron stuff on my smoker some. Don

[perferd]

Walmart.ca doesn't show lodge and target.ca is still in the making since its new here...

[drholly]

I have a variety (according to SWMBO - too LARGE a variety) of cast iron cookware. Most are Lodge and most of those were purchased new and pre-seasoned. I've found a few older Griswold pans at garage sales - they took some cleaning and re-seasoning, but are real champs.

I have found some great buys on Lodge at Fleet Farm (a chain in this area.) Look around you may find them in unexpected stores.

The pre-seasoning works -just be sure to clean them according to instructions and keep seasoning. One of the best things about cast iron is that the more you use them, the better they get. Some of my oldest most used pans are better than non-stick / Teflon.

And if you screw up - no worries - a good cleaning and re-seasoning will get you back on track.

IMHO short of finding an old Griswold the Lodge pre-seasoned is the best buy for cast iron. I do not suggest trying to save a dollar or two and ending up with a pitted, thin, unusable knock-off.

Good luck!

David

[drholly]

Another thought - until your pan has a really good base of seasoning (not a new pre-seasoned pan or even a re-seasoned pan) avoid cooking acid based foods - for example tomato sauces. Acid based sauces or foods eat your seasoning pretty quickly. An older, well used pan will be fine. But, a brand new, pre-seasoned pan will likely need to be scrubbed and re-seasoned (per the links that CaptJack provided.)

David

[TwoPockets]

If buying a new pan I would go with Lodge, it is the only cast iron cookware currently made in the USA. If you are at flea markets and antique stores and find cast iron marked simply USA, it is probably Lodge, they did not start putting the Lodge name on them till the 1990s. Most of what I have is Griswold and Wagner Ware, most of it is over 100 years old.

[deestafford]

I have a great deal of cast iron also.  Not on the quantity of Capt Jack or Two pockets.  One skillet has been in  the family for over three generations that I know of .  I had one older than that and dropped it on the kitchen floor and it busted in half. Academy Sports has an excellent selection of Lodge at a very good price. (I'm surprised TwoPockets didn't mention that )  If you happen to riding up I-24 north of Chattanooga, TN about 60 miles Lodge has an outlet store with cast iron cookware I didn't know existed. Dee

[smokeasaurus]

Camp Chef also has some nice cast iron skillets and dutch ovens..........

[sliding_billy]

I have a few Lodge skillets, a Dutch oven, a grill pan and a 2 burner reversible griddle.  I got at least one at Walmart (a 12" skillet I think) that I remember.  No issues with the preseason that I recall, but they have been in use for long enough that I don't really remember much about how well (or not) they were seasoned.

[Northshore]

I have found a lot of lodge, Wagner and Griswold at
Garage sales. Some was in very crusty condition. I found that most will clean up very well if you put them upside down on oven rack and run the auto clean cycle.  After cooling coat with oil and heat up to season. 

[Jaxon]

We have 10" CI skillets, but we use only one.  The other one doesn't lie flat on the glass top stove...it wobbles a lot and will spin around if you turn it.  PLUS, it just doesn't cook evenly.  Anything we can do about that? 

[LostArrow]

We have 10" CI skillets, but we use only one.  The other one doesn't lie flat on the glass top stove...it wobbles a lot and will spin around if you turn it.  PLUS, it just doesn't cook evenly.  Anything we can do about that?

Buy a gas stove