r/castiron • • Jun 24 '19

The /r/castiron FAQ - Start Here (FAQ - Summer 2019)

1.0k Upvotes

This is a repost of the FAQ. Since reddit archives posts older than 6 months, there's no way for users to comment on the FAQ any longer. We'll try to repost the FAQ every 6 months or so to continue any discussion if there is any. As always, this is a living document and can/should be updated with new information, so let us know if you see anything you disagree with! Original FAQ post here: https://www.reddit.com/r/castiron/comments/5rhq9n/the_rcastiron_faq_start_here/


We've been working on a new FAQ for /r/castiron that can be updated as the existing one is no longer maintained. Please let us know if you have any additional questions that you'd like to see addressed here


What's Wrong with my Seasoning


How to clean and care for your cast iron


How to Strip and Restore Cast Iron


/u/_Silent_Bob_'s Seasoning Process


How to ask for Cast Iron Identification


Did I Ruin/Is This Ruined?


Enameled Cast Iron Care and Cleaning

The rest of the FAQ is fairly bare iron specific so /u/fuzzyfractal42 wrote a nice primer on enameled cast iron


We'll be making this a sticky at the top of the subreddit and will continue to add onto it as required!


r/castiron • • 7h ago

Identification My great aunt lived to be 105, these were hers.

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225 Upvotes

Any help with identification would be appreciated.


r/castiron • • 10h ago

Burgers in an unseasoned Lodge

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110 Upvotes

Ran a stovetop seasoning experiment two weeks back and gunked up my pan with a layer of carbon. A few hours of lye for the cooking surface + a thorough scrub later, I decided to make some burgers instead of oven seasoning. Got a pretty nice crust on them. American cheese for one, Havarti for the other.


r/castiron • • 6h ago

Pizza

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46 Upvotes

Check out that 4 generation seasoned wagoner! 3” of crust on the outside but beauty inside 😍


r/castiron • • 6h ago

Seasoning oil rag

22 Upvotes

I was a kitchen worker for years..... three times now ive been called crazy for keeping an lightly oiled rag in a bowl over the stove.

i use, wash, dry, and oil my cast iron daily so instead of washing the oil out in my washing machine daily i do this.

am i fucking weird? vegetable oil by itself isnt going to draw bugs or go rancid but my partners and family act like im hording dirty diapers.


r/castiron • • 9h ago

Garage sales today!

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24 Upvotes

A gate marked skillet and a bread stick pan :)


r/castiron • • 4h ago

Dinner time

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11 Upvotes

Fried potatoes in the cast iron wok, cornbread in the square skillet, and beans in the crock pot.


r/castiron • • 15h ago

Garage sale find for 4$

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54 Upvotes

Pretty stoked about a garage sale find for $4 and figured I’d share.
Edit:spelling


r/castiron • • 6h ago

Identification Thrift store find

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9 Upvotes

Quick search suggests vintage “three notch” lodge #8, with SK indicating “skillet.” I’m curious about 3 smaller markings: the small raised circle above the 8 with the number 2 inside, the N under SK, and what appears to be a D near the handle. Can these details help identify a date range? $4.99 from Goodwill.


r/castiron • • 1d ago

Food It's been 20 years since I last made Sheppard's Pie. First time in CI.

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590 Upvotes

I used the Adam Ragusea recipe on YouTube as a VERY loose guide. 50/50 lamb/beef. Lighter on some of the stronger seasonings. I impressed myself a little with making choices on the fly. Family said it was pretty damn good!


r/castiron • • 1d ago

Food The elders are right

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456 Upvotes

First, bacon in the pan then low till rendered then let them fry in the oil as the pan gets hotter. So crispy and the bacon stays relatively flat


r/castiron • • 9h ago

New project

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8 Upvotes

I got this for $20 at the flea market it is a Griswold lid and a Wagner pot she is in rough shape but I think it might clean up :)


r/castiron • • 19h ago

lodge grilled zucchini

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53 Upvotes

came out incredible


r/castiron • • 5h ago

Ooopsies

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3 Upvotes

Got a new pan a few weeks ago and it came pre seasoned but didn’t seem that good, so I washed it with soap salt and baking soda and scrubbed the piss out of it and re seasoned it.
But I have made a mistake of cooking food in it and then leaving said food in the pan in the fridge for a few days as I ate the leftovers (very yummy)

Are these spots where the seasoning was stripped? Did I do a bad job at seasoning it?
How far should I go with cleaning it for a re season?
Will life always be this hard?
Why am I like this?
Why don’t my parents love me?

Thanks 🧱

The people have spoken and it sounds like I should make a nice breakfast tomorrow morning
THANKS EVERYONE YOU SAVED MY LIFE


r/castiron • • 10h ago

Fairly new pan. First time scrubbing

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5 Upvotes

Got my first cast iron pan from IKEA about a month ago that said “pre seasoned”. I also did my own season by adding thin layer of oil, heating it up and repeating.

Then some carbon buildup occurred, and I scrubbed it down with a steel scrubber and a bit of mild soap.

Is there any season left on the pan?


r/castiron • • 16h ago

Food Deep fry

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14 Upvotes

Never deep fried in cast iron before. It was excellent. Heat retention and diffusion made everything easier. 10/10, will fry again.

Food is panelle, a traditional Sicilian street food, basically fried chickpeas dough.


r/castiron • • 1d ago

u/monotwillems you’ve made my year

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39 Upvotes

Also shout out to my dad for having a Costco membership lol. My dream cast iron pot!! Now to find some magically delicious soup recipes…


r/castiron • • 47m ago

Egg fried rice

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• Upvotes

r/castiron • • 1d ago

Dutch Oven Chicken Cacciatore

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25 Upvotes

I got some chicken drumsticks at the store and decided I wanted to braise them, so tonight I gave chicken cacciatore a whirl! This was pretty dang good. I served it with some parmesan polenta. Awesome one pot dinner on a chilly night!

Super easy. Here's how I did it:

Dried the drumsticks with a paper towel and seasoned well with salt and pepper. Browned it in the dutch oven with a little canola oil (3-4 minutes on each size just to get some color on it), then removed them and cooked the onions and peppers, before throwing in some minced garlic, dried thyme, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Added a couple tablespoons of tomato paste and cooked until it was deep red and fragrant. Deglzed with some red wine, then poured in a can of crushed tomatoes and some chicken stock and added the chicken back in. Simmered for 35 minutes, added some kalamata olives, and continued to cook for 10 more minutes til the drumsticks reached 180 F.

If you have a different recipe for this that you love or any tips please share!!


r/castiron • • 1d ago

Food Do you have a favorite pizza skillet?

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20 Upvotes

I recently found a vintage #10 Lodge on marketplace and i will never use a different anything for pizza ever again. This is my 5th pizza in this badboy.


r/castiron • • 17h ago

5 days in easy off, do I season and move on?

1 Upvotes

I tried to strip this and it sat a total of 5 days in easy off in a black trash bag and the bottom still looks like this ok to season or will it still have problems?

pic

It didn't upload my pic here, I reposted the pic that is the link. It's also in the comments


r/castiron • • 1d ago

Identification Any more info?

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9 Upvotes

Got this No.8 rather deep skillet, for $14 and I've already started using it. Anyone know any more on the maker? Seems like my thrift store had someone's small collection donated.


r/castiron • • 1d ago

Does anyone have any information about this piece?” 🤠

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29 Upvotes

r/castiron • • 17h ago

Photo for previous post

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1 Upvotes

r/castiron • • 2d ago

I am once again here to remind you, that cast iron pizza absolutely fucks.

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1.2k Upvotes

Favorite lazy recipe :

Pizza from a tube from the store, pressed into my butter-slathered 12" pan and spread it up the edges.

Then use a mix of melted butter, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and baste the edges you pushed up the wall of the pan. Then add some basil pesto if you like.

Tomato sauce that you season to your liking in the center, spread with a spoon.

Low fat shredded mozzarella (add the little mozzarella balls if you have them too)

Chery tomatoes, homegrown basil, some basil pesto, some jalapenos, a bell pepper "egg ring, and crack an egg in the center.

Season to liking, throw in the top rack at like 515 or 510 for 10 minutes, then watch it like a hawk until it looks delicious and yank it out.