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Posted: 4/5/2016 1:13:35 AM EDT
[#1]
Quoted:
I like cast iron skillets. I do not like spending lots of money on cookware. Is Lodge a good enough quality skillet? I have several pieces from Lodge, and I have no complaints. |
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Posted: 4/5/2016 2:19:32 AM EDT
[#2]
Yes.
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Posted: 4/5/2016 2:26:47 AM EDT
[#3]
They're alright.
Dig around flea markets and thrift stores and you can sometimes find vintage stuff though. (Wagner and Griswald) A member here that bought a lodge skillet took a sanding disc to his and smoothed it out and it looked like it worked great! The surface of modern stuff like lodge is a lot rougher than vintage stuff. |
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Posted: 4/5/2016 4:43:15 AM EDT
[#4]
A good quality cast iron anything would be a Le Creuset.
Nothing better. |
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Posted: 4/5/2016 4:48:38 AM EDT
[#5]
Nothing wrong with lodge, but I'd recommend a carbon steel pan instead.
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_163/1832005_Carbon_Steel_vs_Cast_Iron__pans_.html |
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Posted: 4/5/2016 5:34:17 AM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I have several pieces from Lodge, and I have no complaints. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
I like cast iron skillets. I do not like spending lots of money on cookware. Is Lodge a good enough quality skillet? I have several pieces from Lodge, and I have no complaints. I have a create of lodge cast iron no complaints here. |
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Posted: 4/5/2016 5:49:23 AM EDT
[#7]
What Madcap said. Flea markets and yard sales. The older, the better. My best cast iron pan is an O'Brien. Two things make it superior to Lodge; it is old as hell. Thin by comparison, smooth as a baby's bottom, and best of all, not being a Griswold, only $4.
If you want instant gratification - go ahead and get the Lodge. It'll work great. |
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Posted: 4/5/2016 6:03:27 AM EDT
[#8]
If you do go with a lodge, make sure if nothing else you scrub off that terrible "pre-seasoned" stuff they coat them with to keep them from rusting.
When I rehabbed some old ones that were passed down, I just put a thin coat of olive oil on bare metal, ran it up over the smoke point and turned the oven off, let it cool, re-coated in a thin coat (to keep the smoke manageable) and repeated a few times, then started cooking nachos in it. Having been using a pair for a little over a year now, I'm starting to get why older generations never clean the damn things and let them build up gunk. It's not that they necessarily work better, it's just that they don't work worse.  When cool, hot water and a scrub brush, paper towel dry, re-coat light with olive oil... bam, done. I'm sure another year from now I'll be down to just paper toweling them out. I had been super fastidious, and scraping them out to keep everything just jet black and dead flat. Now.... meeeeh! |
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Posted: 4/5/2016 7:01:39 AM EDT
[#9]
I've heard that if you buy from a flea market or resale store you need to test for lead. Apparently it's common practice for bubba to melt fishing weights in cast iron cookware.
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Posted: 4/5/2016 7:07:36 AM EDT
[#10]
My wife has had lodge skillets for 10 years, my grandmother has an off brand skillet shes had for 42 +/- years. It's all about how you take care of it after your done. Never use dishwashing soap because it has chemicals in it to cut grease and you want the grease to remain in the pores of your skillet, that's your "seasoning." Just scrub down with water and a brush and dry before putting it away. My grandmother had always lined her pans with paper towels while in storage.
So to answer your question, lodge is worth the money but not absolutely necessary. |
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Posted: 4/5/2016 8:42:38 AM EDT
[#11]
One of the best and they have been making them for years.
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Posted: 4/5/2016 8:48:04 AM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
A good quality cast iron anything would be a Le Creuset. Nothing better. Hey, let's pretend for a moment that I don't have 200 bucks to spend on a skillet. Everyone else, thank you! I think I will get a Lodge or two, and keep my eyes open at the thrift stores and yard sales. |
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Posted: 4/5/2016 9:22:38 AM EDT
[#13]
I have a big Lodge #14 that i use to cook bacon...it's finally getting smooth...I've had it for around 10 years...5 of those I didn't really understand how to use and care for cast iron.
I've moved on to Griswold/Wagner/Favorite/other vintage cast iron. I probably won't buy another lodge piece unless it's vintage. |
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Posted: 4/5/2016 2:40:46 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Hey, let's pretend for a moment that I don't have 200 bucks to spend on a skillet. Everyone else, thank you! I think I will get a Lodge or two, and keep my eyes open at the thrift stores and yard sales. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: A good quality cast iron anything would be a Le Creuset. Nothing better. Hey, let's pretend for a moment that I don't have 200 bucks to spend on a skillet. Everyone else, thank you! I think I will get a Lodge or two, and keep my eyes open at the thrift stores and yard sales.  |
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Posted: 4/5/2016 3:55:06 PM EDT
[#15]
Bad thing about the newer Lodge products is they are very heavy.
My old #8 Wagner is about half the weight of a new Lodge. They all work just fine if you know how to use and care for them. |
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Posted: 4/5/2016 8:37:44 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Bad thing about the newer Lodge products is they are very heavy. My old #8 Wagner is about half the weight of a new Lodge. They all work just fine if you know how to use and care for them. I agree here, they are pretty heavy. I have a 12, 8, 6, and square grill pan from lodge and they all work great. Like the above poster said, they key to any cast iron piece is treating them and cleaning them with care. |
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Posted: 4/7/2016 9:30:29 PM EDT
[#17]
I guess I didn't realize that heavy was a bad thing in cast iron pans.
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Posted: 4/7/2016 10:13:15 PM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I guess I didn't realize that heavy was a bad thing in cast iron pans. If you're backpacking it might be a problem, but I don't see what the big deal is. I love my lodge stuff. |
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Posted: 4/7/2016 10:55:07 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I guess I didn't realize that heavy was a bad thing in cast iron pans. Heavy pans take much longer to heat up and do not respond to changes of heat the way thinner, lighter pans do. If you are cooking over a fire or on an old wood stove, heavy can be better. If you are cooking on a modern stove, lighter/thinner is better. |
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Posted: 4/8/2016 1:52:54 AM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Nothing wrong with lodge, but I'd recommend a carbon steel pan instead. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_163/1832005_Carbon_Steel_vs_Cast_Iron__pans_.html +1 I have yet to hear of anyone giving carbon steel a shot being disappointed.....All those Chinese people can't be wrong? |
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Posted: 4/8/2016 6:46:54 AM EDT
[#21]
You can cook a great pizza in a 12in lodge cast iron skillet....
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Posted: 4/8/2016 12:07:27 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
+1 I have yet to hear of anyone giving carbon steel a shot being disappointed.....All those Chinese people can't be wrong? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Nothing wrong with lodge, but I'd recommend a carbon steel pan instead. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_163/1832005_Carbon_Steel_vs_Cast_Iron__pans_.html +1 I have yet to hear of anyone giving carbon steel a shot being disappointed.....All those Chinese people can't be wrong? I have a carbon steel de buyer pan that I love. It will never replace my cast iron though. Each has their own job to do and they both do it well. |
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Posted: 4/9/2016 12:03:15 AM EDT
[#23]
Cast iron fan and newly converted carbon steel fan here. So much that we replaced a $1200 glass cooktop with a $1600 Viking gas cooktop and $250 for a new gas line.
Cracked one Lodge, older but not an antique, probably by thermal shock. It happens and a brand new identical replacement would be $20 No hot pans to cold water Never use soap I like the idea of sanding a newer one down first If you do, and you will, ruin the seasoning, re-season it. Oil smoking is good for seasoning but never for cooking. Keep acidic stuff out, use stainless or non-stick Nothing residential can get hot enough to hurt it. Seasoning is an artform. When in doubt, wash it and re-season it. Recent convert to flaxseed oil. After using basically everything from lard, bacon, olive, avacado, etc. oils, tbe flaxseed seems to just work. |
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Posted: 4/9/2016 1:00:20 AM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Cast iron fan and newly converted carbon steel fan here. So much that we replaced a $1200 glass cooktop with a $1600 Viking gas cooktop and $250 for a new gas line. Cracked one Lodge, older but not an antique, probably by thermal shock. It happens and a brand new identical replacement would be $20 No hot pans to cold water Never use soap I like the idea of sanding a newer one down first If you do, and you will, ruin the seasoning, re-season it. Oil smoking is good for seasoning but never for cooking. Keep acidic stuff out, use stainless or non-stick Nothing residential can get hot enough to hurt it. Seasoning is an artform. When in doubt, wash it and re-season it. Recent convert to flaxseed oil. After using basically everything from lard, bacon, olive, avacado, etc. oils, tbe flaxseed seems to just work. I agree 100% with everything cept for the flaxseed oil. Just my personal experience. It worked fine but not noticeably better than any other oil. I put my CI and CS pans through a seasoning or two every few months. Get pan hot and dry, super light coat of oil/lard/shortening, in oven at around 500 for an hour or two then oven off till pan is cool. I mostly do this when I notice a pan has a dark residue when cleaning with paper towels. |
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Posted: 4/9/2016 11:22:20 PM EDT
[#25]
OP ,Walmart has great prices on the few skillets they sell (12" for less then 20 bucks), as does Academy Sports and academy has free shipping on orders over 25 bucks on most things.
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Posted: 4/14/2016 8:32:55 AM EDT
[#26]
I sanded down my Lodge 12" after I bought it, I prefer the smooth surface.
That pan and a Dexter spatula will take you far for $25. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Posted: 4/24/2016 11:36:24 AM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
+1 I have yet to hear of anyone giving carbon steel a shot being disappointed.....All those Chinese people can't be wrong? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Nothing wrong with lodge, but I'd recommend a carbon steel pan instead. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_163/1832005_Carbon_Steel_vs_Cast_Iron__pans_.html +1 I have yet to hear of anyone giving carbon steel a shot being disappointed.....All those Chinese people can't be wrong? I have a carbon steel wok. It's half seasoned. The center and lower walls are a deep seasoned brown. The upper edges that don't see the heat or cooking action are greyish with some light browning. I wouldn't feel bad having a frying pan the same. I have 2 cast frying pans, a cast grill pan, a cast chicken fryer, and several dutch ovens. I'm not changing over for the sake of changing over. |
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