Wok & Cast Iron Pans

[Shraggs]

I've been lucky enough to get some older pans and a couple pots from a step father in law. A couple wagners along with a BSR and a griswold. I have my original lodge from around 2000. It is good also. But I think for a new one I would sand down the surface, they are sure rough compared to the older ones.

I like the rough surface, the fill in nicely with carbon over time...

 

[hodgeman]

If you want a good quality cast iron skillet, you need to pick up an old one or pick up a Stargazer.

Not cheap, but the interior was smooth enough to fry eggs right out of the box. It's 4x the price of a Lodge, but the Lodge is much, much rougher. The Lodge won't be that smooth for 30 or 40 more years of daily use.

 

[Fatcamp]

The last set I cleaned up I used my ovens self cleaning setting and then scrubbed them with metal scrub pad. They got really clean.


In the end I wished I had spent some time polishing but have other priorities. My wife made quesadillas last night in the big one. She dug that one out of a pile of junk her dad had last summer. Cool find.

 

[MarlinMark]

Stargazer Cast Iron. You're welcome. And for any doubters, I have old Griswolds and Wagners as well. The two Stargazers (both sizes they offer) are right up there at the tops.

 

[echampion8]

I have not been able to dabble in cast iron restoration so I decided to get some Staub cast iron pieces. I love them and they have been serving me well for the past 3 years. I feel like they’re much easier to maintain than traditional.


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[one66stang]

find the old stuff at garage sales

 

[TxxAgg]

I got a new Lodge and sanded it down and reseasoned. I am now chasing eggs across the pan. Love it.

 

[def90]

Matfer Bourgeat and De Buyer

I couldn't tell you which one I prefer. They are both awesome.

The seasoning is good enough that I can cook scrambled eggs in them and they slide out. I can also deglaze a pan with a red wine and it doesn't ruin the seasoning.

I have a Matfer carbon steel pan as well, would love to be able to deglaze with wine for pan sauces but each time I have tried it now I end up having to strip everything down and restart the seasoning process, not sure what is going on with it.

On another note I bought myself a Field #8 cast iron for myself for xmas, great cast iron pan, thin, light and has a machined surface so it’s as smooth as a regular pan.

 

[tdot]

I have a Matfer carbon steel pan as well, would love to be able to deglaze with wine for pan sauces but each time I have tried it now I end up having to strip everything down and restart the seasoning process, not sure what is going on with it.

On another note I bought myself a Field #8 cast iron for myself for xmas, great cast iron pan, thin, light and has a machined surface so it’s as smooth as a regular pan.

A couple tricks that helped me... the pan needs to have a solid base seasoning to it. Mine were black before I could do it successfully (about 6 months of intermittent use after my last screw up). I also found that the layers all have to be very thin, any thick layer of seasoning will break down more easily. The other trick is to do a reasonably quick deglaze, don't allow it to sit there and simmer for too long.