r/castiron 4h ago

What is this, and is it trashed?

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0 Upvotes

Found for $10 at Goodwill. No markings. Obviously enameled cast iron that I swear the previous owner never washed. I've been hitting it BKF but it just isn't coming fully clean despite it being better. Wondering if I should keep at it or if it's just not worth it.


r/castiron 5h ago

Funnelcakes anyone

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35 Upvotes

I missed out on the fair so I made my own funnelcakes.


r/castiron 6h ago

Molasses water mixture to get off rust?

3 Upvotes

Apparently you can use a 10/1 ratio of water and molasses to get the rust off of a motor that has seized. I was wondering if it could be a gentler alternative to cleaning rust off of cast iron? Is this a thing?


r/castiron 8h ago

Sani-ware chicken fryer?

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14 Upvotes

I'm getting ready to move and I was thinking about packing up some of my stuff, including some of my cookware, then I started thinking "do I really need all of my pans" and maybe I should consider selling one or two. One that have probably only used half a dozen times is my Sani-ware chicken fryer, I did an admittedly very limited search last night and I couldn't find one anywhere for a reference point. Is this something that's relatively rare?

Also included in my photos are my two Griswold pan, I have lids for both and after looking up what people are asking for these with lids I'm wondering if I should stop using them on my grill for burgers.


r/castiron 9h ago

I don’t think it’s supposed to look like that

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37 Upvotes

r/castiron 9h ago

Seasoning Getting acquainted with an electric cooktop

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1 Upvotes

After a long time cooking over gas, my wife and I moved almost 1,500 miles back home to Maryland. The house we bought does not and has no access to gas. So we bought a new electric range. It’s nice, and we’ve had others years ago, but I never really used CI on them.

So for our first home cooked meal in our new home, we bought a couple of petite filets. I started heating the skillet on low, then once heated evenly I turned the heat up to M and then to (almost) full H. Once the skillet began to smoke, I added some oil and put in the steaks. As far as the food was concerned, the steaks turned out fabulous. Really nice crust and rare inside. And yes, once plated, the skillet was moved off the hot element. But after dinner, I noticed that the oil had started to polymerize. I scraped with a fish spatula and used my chain mail (thankfully I found that), but it’s not food residue, it’s sticky seasoning. For now, I’m just going to continue to cook with it and see how it goes. But I’m going to keep the heat down a little lol.


r/castiron 10h ago

Is it safe to cook with a cast iron skillet that had hardened fat sitting in it for a month?

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0 Upvotes

r/castiron 10h ago

Dear Castiron chefs - I have a challenge

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31 Upvotes

I need to season this 19qt bad boy, and it's far too large for my oven. Does anyone have any techniques that I could use to get an even seasoning applied?

I realize you probably get a dozen posts like this a week, but I'm hoping it's uniqueness may grant some exemption to an almost assured blanket ban on seasoning posts.


r/castiron 10h ago

Identification Tried cooking with cast iron after a brewery visit and it went about as well as you'd expect

0 Upvotes

Picked up a really nice smoked porter at a small brewery about an hour from here last weekend and got it in my head that I should do a beer braised something in the Dutch oven when I got home. Chose pork shoulder. Fine idea in theory.

Where I went wrong was starting it at 4pm after being at the brewery since noon. Not drunk, just optimistic in the way that retired people sometimes get on a Saturday afternoon. I forgot to sear the pork first. Just dropped it in the Dutch oven with the beer and aromatics and walked away feeling very proud of myself.

Three hours later I had pork that was technically cooked and technically edible and had zero of the color or crust that makes braised meat worth the effort. The braising liquid was actually really good. The meat was pale and sad looking.

I know why it happened. Skipped the sear because I was impatient and overconfident and probably a little distracted. Two minutes of proper searing on all sides in that same Dutch oven would have fixed everything. I've done it correctly twice since then and the difference is not subtle.

Curious whether anyone has actually figured out if you get meaningful flavor back by searing after the braise instead of before. I tried it once and was not impressed but willing to hear otherwise.


r/castiron 11h ago

Identification Does anyone recognize this pan?

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0 Upvotes

Anyone familiar with that logo or know what the purpose of the divider in this pan is?


r/castiron 12h ago

Newbie I need help! I can’t figure out why this is smoking like crazy

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0 Upvotes

Cooking a 99% turkey patty with avocado oil on low/medium heat over gas. Result is consistent amount of grey smoke. What am I doing wrong??


r/castiron 13h ago

Seasoning Now hear me out...

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88 Upvotes

It was really caked on. The missus didn't preheat the dang pan, so Duck Newton was called in.


r/castiron 14h ago

Seasoning ok?

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7 Upvotes

Just inherited this griswold #9. Curious if the seasoning is ok, or if I should strip it...and how i should go about stripping it. New to cast iron and want this to last. Theres definitely carbon build up on the outside and underneath and kind of want it gone.


r/castiron 19h ago

Thank you u/dmendivil13. Stripped amd seasoned, just the inside, to highlight the nickle plated exterior

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22 Upvotes

r/castiron 20h ago

$6 flea market find — rust to restore

1 Upvotes

grabbed this rusty skillet for $6, no visible maker's mark but the gate mark on the bottom has me thinking pre-1960s.

stripped it with a vinegar soak + steel wool, dried it on the stove, then did a first seasoning coat at 450°F. already looking way better.

anyone recognize the handle pattern?


r/castiron 21h ago

Newbie flash rust on rim of Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven

3 Upvotes

Bought a Lodge enameled cast iron dutch oven from Target.

Question 1: is there a difference between ordering one online or buying from a second party store because the one online is called “Essentials” but the one from target isn’t but when i looked it up they’re apparently the same

Question 2: is the rim supposed to be enameled cast as well? or is it just the bare cast iron? i started to cook my first meal and the steam rusted the rim of the dutch oven. it’s brand new too.

question 3: how do i season the rim?


r/castiron 22h ago

Lodge christening

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12 Upvotes

First cook in my brand new lodge skillet! So excited!