Cast iron expert needed. Noob questions. Bought used one and "fixing".

[roylt]

Don't have a before shot. Thought I did but nope. Anyway, Sanded it up and wire wheeled it some then polished a bit with scotch brite. Wasn't bad to begin with but did have a couple rust spots. So now what? Looking for best option for a beginner. Easy to do and understand please. And yes I could google but thought maybe there would be an expert on here to help out.

My goal is to bake a deep dish pizza in there!!! My girlfriend make very good dough and brings it over to share then I roll and add sauce / toppings. The plan is to make deep pizza like when we were kids at Pizza Hut.

Thanks everyone and I hope your day is going well.

 

[Gator89]

https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/foo...rials/a63361250/how-to-season-cast-iron-pans/

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Ken Rawlings knows more about cast iron and cast iron cooking than any of us will ever know. He has a video of restoring a cast iron skillet.
https://kentrollins.com/
https://video.search.yahoo.com/sear...5909c6d702fa8bdd8eb94ccfab1df9e6&action=click

 

[RoninPA]

You did a good job cleaning it up. Now to do a good seasoning. Use either of the above videos (or better yet watch both). One hint, when you're done using it, wash it with hot water only! No soap. Then while it is hot, put some vegetable oil in it and use a paper towel to rub the oil all around. Let it sit for a bit, wipe out the excess oil and put it away for the next time.

 

[Yaworski]

That looks fairly deep. If it is, it is a "chicken fryer." I believe that is an "unmarked Wagner".

To season mine, I used canola oil because that's what I have. Rub a thin coat of oil on it, very thin, and put into a 350 F oven for about an hour. Repeat. Repeat. If the oil is sticky, leave it in the oven for a longer time.

I use my chicken fryer for everything. Chili. Pasta sauce. Stew. I usually make cornbread in a smaller skillet. I make a baked tuna dish that goes into a cast iron skillet.

I clean it with hot water and a plastic mesh scrubbie. Detergent won't hurt it but hot water and the scrubbie take care of most issues.

My Wagner chicken fryer is about 100 years old. I have a similar vintage griddle.

For a lid for my chicken fryer and large skillet, I use a RevereWare lid that I found at Goodwill. You can find cast iron lids.

ETA: I remove rust with hot white vinegar and a copper scrubbie. Remove the rust and then reseason immediately.

 

[roylt]

In the time to type this and check out the links provided, I went back to find I must of got a drip of water on it as I dried my hands earlier. Rusted. I washed it with soap and water, dried it, put it on the burner for a few seconds to dry it a bit, wiped with canola oil (because that is what I had) and baked at 400 for an hour. It is still in oven cooling.

Thanks for the replies.
P.S. From my googling I agree it is an unmarked Wagner from post 1960. Got at a garage / church sale for cheap and should work well for me.

 

[sfhogman]

Look up Jim Leahy's No Knead Bread. 10 minutes work for really terrific crusty Italian bread.

 

[Ethang]

Do you think our ancestors asked questions or fretted about how to season their cast iron pans... they cooked in them.. that is how you season them.. cook in them... I suggest bacon and potatoes...

 

[eisenhower]

I used to season my cast iron skillets in the oven but it is actually much faster to do them (preferably outside) on a little burner stove. The trick is to get the pan to the smoke point of whatever oil you're using. In my case, I just use vegetable oil, and it smokes at approx. 400-degrees. So I wipe a thin layer on the skillet (removing most of it with a towel) then onto the burner until it smokes. I let it smoke 2-3 minutes then turn the burner off, cooling to the ambient temp. Then I do it again - three or four times. By reaching the smoke point, you are polymerizing that oil into, essentially, a thin layer of "plastic" on your skillet (same principle as the plastic on a non-stick pan, but with natural oil, not chemicals.) That's 3-4 seasoning layers in the time it takes to do one in the oven.

Again, better to do this outside, or you're going to have that smoke in your house.

Then, as mentioned, NEVER get soap in there. All the cleaning I do is with boiling water and a scraper. That's all you need. By using boiling water to clean it, the water flashes off 100% dry. Then a little oil in the skillet to prevent rust, and she's clean. Some folks like to then put it on their burner just until the oil smokes a bit (thus providing yet another seasoning layer) but it's not necessary if you plan on using it again soon.

 

[Timbo23]

I'm not a cast iron expert but a cast iron user. I season my pans & skillets by using them. While I cook chili and spaghetti sauce in them and while tomato sauce does erode the seasoning (tomatoes are acidic) it's no big deal. Cooking bacon and sausages help bring it back.

 

[Busterswoodshop]

Just about everything cooked in our house is done on cast iron.
We still use a cast iron set that was given to us when we got married ( 45 years ago ).
We do have other pans , but don't use them much.

Disclaimer : when I say we , I mean my wife.

 

[roylt]

Well what do you think? Does this look ok? This is just one oven cook. Are those brown oily marks ok? Or did I do it wrong? I thought I had it wiped out good after oiling.

 

[eisenhower]

Looks fine. "Amber" is kind of the first layer of seasoning polymerized. You can do as many as you'd like. And as others have said, cooking in it will further the seasoning process. Some might come off, but it's never going to be "perfect" - you just want a good base layer protecting the iron.

 

[Jim Walsh]

Why is there a slotted screw on the underside of the handle?

 

[roylt]

Why is there a slotted screw on the underside of the handle?

Google leads me to conclude it is a casting mark. It isn't really a screw, just a head stamp.

Thanks everyone. Going to try to make a pizza tomorrow!!

 

[Yaworski]

P.S. From my googling I agree it is an unmarked Wagner from post 1960. Got at a garage / church sale for cheap and should work well for me.

That will last you a zillion years. Old cast iron is usually stupidly cheap. Foolish but good for us.

One thing, never heat it up quickly on the stove top. That can warp the bottom. Low heat until it warms up and then increase slowly.

If you read about old cast iron online, you'll find people talking about "wobble" and "spin." That's all caused by a warped bottom.

 

[vito]

Cleaning up a cast iron pan sometimes results in hard to remove bits. I know not to use soap, but have used coarse salt and hot water, then dried the pan thoroughly with paper towels. My wife says to not even use water most of the time, just wipe out the pan with dry paper towels and put the cast iron pan back in the cabinet. My wife says she uses her two cast iron fry pans more than all of the other cookware we own combined.

 

[4896worker]

Caring for cast iron is second only to caliber wars. Remember it’s cast iron not china . The Webb has lots different ways of taking care of cast iron and the thing they have in common is they all work. Do research find what works for you and the argue that it is the only way.

 

[WendyZXZ]

We were both lucky here, the cast iron here are not decades old, but generations old, and well seasoned and used. :)

 

[Yaworski]

Then, as mentioned, NEVER get soap in there.

Modern detergent does little, if any, damage to the seasoning.

 

[Ethang]

Modern detergent does little, if any, damage to the seasoning.

exactly..maybe Lye soap might damage it but I have never had an issue.. that said.. Mine is a 15 year old Lodge and I followed all the internet BS on seasoning it..then just gave up and started cooking in it.. now it wipes out with a cloth.. it's rare I have to do more than hit it with some hot water and a scrubby... so much internet BS...

 

[Yaworski]

15 years? That's just a baby. :p

When I was very young, I'd clean mine with Dawn or Ajax or Palmolive, usually because I'd let it sit and get dry and crusty. I honestly can't remember the last time that I've needed or used detergent on cast iron.

GE gas ranges come with a cast iron griddle. Not long ago, a customer came to me wanting to order a new griddle. I asked why? He told me that he had scratched the "coating" on his and it was ruined. I had to explain the concept of seasoning and how to reseason his griddle.

 

[eisenhower]

Modern detergent does little, if any, damage to the seasoning.

Not worried about it damaging the seasoning; worried about getting soap deposits in the pores of the very porous cast iron and that soap imparting an off taste to the food cooked.

 

[Yaworski]

Not worried about it damaging the seasoning; worried about getting soap deposits in the pores of the very porous cast iron and that soap imparting an off taste to the food cooked.

Never had that happen but I'm a fanatic about rinsing things.

 

[roylt]

Put it to the test tonight. My girlfriend is so nice to me and brought over two doughballs for pizza!!!

We made one in the pan and one regular on the pizzazz.

Came out real thick but was good. We might tweak it a bit next time but I'd eat it every time.

Pre and post cook below.
Dough, little mozzarella cheese, sauce, more mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, and topped with a little cheddar cheese to hold the pepperoni in place.

.

 

[Kevin]

I absolutely love cast iron deep dish pizza. Bread seems to be a good thing to cook in cast iron, cornbread, pizza, biscuits etc.

@Wyandot Jim is right about Ken Rawlings. You can find lots of good videos on YouTube about how to season cast iron or refinishing old crusty pans.

The second debate is cast iron vs carbon steel. I like Carbon Steel pans better. They are lighter weight and they seem to be more “non stick” than cast iron.

Good luck.

 

[Kevin]

View attachment 76438View attachment 76439

Don't have a before shot. Thought I did but nope. Anyway, Sanded it up and wire wheeled it some then polished a bit with scotch brite. Wasn't bad to begin with but did have a couple rust spots. So now what? Looking for best option for a beginner. Easy to do and understand please. And yes I could google but thought maybe there would be an expert on here to help out.

My goal is to bake a deep dish pizza in there!!! My girlfriend make very good dough and brings it over to share then I roll and add sauce / toppings. The plan is to make deep pizza like when we were kids at Pizza Hut.

Thanks everyone and I hope your day is going well.

That pan is pretty awesome by the way.

 

[fiasconva]

That pizza looks good. Next time try some good ole cornbread. Nothing cooks better than cast iron for corn bread.

 

[wheelgun1958]

We were both lucky here, the cast iron here are not decades old, but generations old, and well seasoned and used. :)

I absolutely love cast iron deep dish pizza. Bread seems to be a good thing to cook in cast iron, cornbread, pizza, biscuits etc.

@Wyandot Jim is right about Ken Rawlings. You can find lots of good videos on YouTube about how to season cast iron or refinishing old crusty pans.

The second debate is cast iron vs carbon steel. I like Carbon Steel pans better. They are lighter weight and they seem to be more "non stick" than cast iron.

Good luck.

I use my Lodge carbon steel pans more than the cast.

 

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