Other than Lodge, what if any other current production cast iron stuff, specifically dutch ovens, are made in the USA?





We'd like to get another one to use both indoors and out, and don't want any chinese pot metal crap.





Thanks,


-Slice
 

Well, you have Lodge, then you have Lodge, and then there is Lodge,   If you don't like those then you could get Lodge.

After that you get offshore scrap metal castings that also make chevrolet brake drums and rotors because we can't do it ourselves anymore.

Well, crap.  That's what I was afraid of.  Is there any made in canada or europe?  Nothing against lodge, I just don't think they make what I'm looking for (16+qt)...




 

Why not go with a Lodge? <eta - answered while I was typing!>

Another might be Texsport.  I believe it is a Texas company but I don't know where their cast iron is produced...  <eta - they make Dutch Ovens up to 20 Qt. size >

Le Creuset makes great stuff but there are at least 2 reasons to avoid them...  1) the price and 2) it is a French company!

Your going to have to hit the Internet, thrift shops, antique stores to find other than lodge cast iron...


-Griswold––is supposedly making cast iron again, but I havent seen any...
-Excelsior Manufacturing Co.

etc

I know you said 'new', but you could always keep an eye out for older used American-made cast iron. I have my great-grandmother's cast iron skillet, in addition to the rest of our kitchen cast iron. It's a nice piece and doesn't look a day older than the new-bought pieces.

As far as I've ever seen, TexSport is made in China.  

I think the lodge enamel stuff is also imported.  

Good to hear the Griswald name is being resurrected.

You might also try doing some searching on the cast iron cooking websites..    Just like arfcom they have cast iron cooking sites.  If there is info out there on cast iron they'd probably be the better source.

I'd love to find some older stuff, but I was under the impression it both commanded a pretty high price and was hard to find.  I'll keep an eye out, though.



Thanks, guys.




 

Lodge is made here in Tennessee.

Except for the enameled cast iron stuff they're selling, that's made in China.

There is almost no market for cast iron cookware these days, it is very much misunderstood.

Around here is is very hard to find cast iron cookware but the nature of used items is that you could find what you are looking for tomorrow or 20 years could pass and still not find it; it's all a matter of how important it is to you.

I have heard from long time users that Lodge today is not as smooth as Lodge of the past as they skipped the steps of sanding the finish down. My new Lodge was a lot more textured than my very smooth made in Taiwan cast iron fry pan; still I have the Taiwan to a family member because I wanted to buy American as well as have cookware that had 100% of my use put into it like my 20+ year old Green River butcher knife I bought new.

Consider Le Creuset?

Mine have all been pretty rough, many of them I have sanded down.  If you choose to sand, scrub out the seasoning first or it'll just gum up your sandpaper.  I found that it didn't help much to sand completely to a smooth surface which took a tremendous amount of sanding;  a more modest amount of sanding that just took the high points of the texture off was almost as good and was just a tiny fraction of the work.

Did a quick search on ebay and there are over 1000 Lodge cast iron products of every size and description.

also hit the antique malls and stores, alot of the good old stuff at antique malls, and good prices and conditions.

Nah if you know what to look for it is cheap.  The skillet I use every day is ~175 years old and cost me $8 at a yard sale.  There were 5 others of the same size and various ages all pre 1900 at that sale.

Please explain...





 

I have had great success finding Griswold and other older cast iron items on Craigslist..just a thought. but it is hit and miss, you just have to keep checking and jump on it when you find it like everything else on Craigslist.......

Maca ovens might have what you are looking for. They have round and oval dutch ovens, some with dividers for multi-item cooking. I don't know how to hot link from my iPhone - but it is www.macaovens.com.

I am pretty sure they are American made, I think they are primarily a cast iron stove maker?

Just my two cents: ( Old Posted Info ).

" ..I have purchased several " older , well used " cast iron Dutch Ovens & Skillets, which includes a few ' Lodge / Wagner / Griswold / Skillets & Dutch Ovens ' .

Just an additional  ' FYI ' on cleaning & seasoning; Done my Way  

This is how most of my ' Flea Market Finds ' look!
I.E:
 
They are usually " Rusted " with lots of old burnt on " Cooking Grease & Soot "
 



I scrub them up a bit (scotch brite pads) to get some of the loose '  Rust & Residue '  off, & then place them inside my  ' BBQ ' (BIG GREEN EGG) to burn off all of the old grease @ '  Very High Heat ' (500++)
 

Let them cool & then placed inside of an old plastic ice chest, submerged with ' 50 % Vinegar / 50 % Water ' solution for a few days ( 1-2 ).
 

Removed and scrub again (Scotch Brite Pad & Wire Brush) to remove any / all ' Rust ' or unwanted scale, etc.
 
I then dry them over the stove & spray on a light coat of " PAM " , & rubbed in with a cloth, while its warm to the touch.
 

It's back on to the " BBQ " to cook for approx one hour @ 450- 475 degrees (under 500,on my BBQ Thermometer Reading), remove & spray on another coat of  ' Pam '..., to cook for approx 2 hrs.. or until its a ' Hard Dark Coat ', which almost looks & feels like a painted surface.

 
I just did this lid a few weekend ago, with two coats of ' Pam '.
 
My " Five dollar lid ", looks almost like new !!


 
A previous project


Here's a rusty old ' Griswold Waffle Iron ', I picked & reseasoned my way.














 

I try to pick up as many ' LIDS ', as they seem to be somewhat harder to find in my area.. I'll later try to fit ' Skillets & DO ', without lids.

 

 

You could do all of this inside of your kitchen Oven .. but make sure you can tolerate the ' Smoke ' from the '  Burning Grease, oil / Reseasoning ' process. My girlfriend can't stand the smell of ' Burning Grease / Oil '..or the ' Smoke Detectors '  going off !!  .. "

I'm currently only looking for unique piece's , and use everything in my small collection.

PAPI

Very nice!  My parents gave us an old Griswold pan.  We're just starting to cook on cast iron.  It's sometimes a pain to clean up as we don't have them seasoned well yet, but it's nice to cook 'old school'.

How does your "hard coat" wear when you're cooking?  Do you have to re-season a lot or just wipe it out and spray-Pam it again?

Emailed them.  Made in china...





 

TJ, I hate to say it, but I worked at a foundry when in college, and have been or worked in 5 others.  Most american foundry is after high value products- this can be because of high strength metal, dimentional control, surface finish,  features,etc.  Every foundry I worked at had commodity parts with no strict metalurgy requirements.  Espically those still running a cupula furnace, when bad metal came out you had to cast something- A foundry in birmingham allways kept patterns for the DISA machine on hand to make cookware-  When the metal went out of spec. the entire output of the furnace could go to the DISA to make frying pans.   I was there one time when they had to do it because they got a bunch of phosphrus in the scrap.   Our melt deck used induction melting furnaces and dual holding furnaces, so we could see problems before they contaminated the whole furnace. (plus we had 2 grades of metal, and could switch parts to the other grade)  Still we had cookware plates for the Hunter machine.  Plus we could cast starter blocks (1000 lb blocks used when the burnace was relined.

One time I was the only one on hand to approve a load of scrap, and  I wanted to make absolutely sure I didn't screw up-  I rode the crane into the truck and took a much more careful look than any of the supervisors would have.  I found a bunch of quick chills, a cup you pour iron in that contains (IIRC) tellurium which causes carbides to form.  this is done to test the metal, but I didn't know what would happen when they were diluted in 40 tons of iron.  Anyway I finally got the VP on the phone (having failed to get anyone else) and he said F–––– No, send it back, but save one.  Short story was the driver took it to another foundry, they melted it  (in a cupula) and noticed somethign was wrong in the iron-  So they started making fryign pans while the lab did a spectro.  Well a hard frying pan is a disaster- the rim cools quicker then the bottom, and then when the bottom cools, it wants the rim to be about 1% smaller in diameter.  This sets up enormous stresses in a hard object and some of these frying pans exploded as they cooled, others could be thrown onto concrete and shatter like glass.

 How does your "hard coat" wear when you're cooking? Do you have to re-season a lot or just wipe it out and spray-Pam it again? 

The ' Hard Coat ' is simply a ' Carbon Residue ', which could have been done with old fashion ' LARD ' ( No Salt ), but I don't cook much with lard anymore.

The coating will build up over time, as it's used.

I do get some food sticking, but scrub it off with a very stiiff brush ( Plastic / Natural Bristle) under hot water ( Sink ) , wipe dry, heat  & spray on another light coat of pan, before storing.

I've seen a small " Bamboo Fiber Brush " ( Asian Markets ) made for scrubbing out " WOKS ".. might work ? ?

1. I normally use large spoons made from wood or bamboo to cook / stir with, to avoid scratching the surface ( Carbon coating ).

2. After a hot water rinse, (cleaning ) , I always spray (Pam) it down & wipe off the excess.

3. I generally do a hot water rinse before cooking, heat & spray (Pam / Olive / Vegatable Oil ) a fresh coat.

4. The ' Pam / Lard ' will get rancid , if it's stored & not used for a long time !!

5. The only time I have to reseason,. If the pan get tooo hot & burns , the hard coat ( Carbon ) will start to peel & flake off.. Then I have to repeat the seasoning  process over again.  
So, I try to cook @ Low / Med-high heat.. ( under 500 deg) on the stove top or oven.

Here's a flan I made in the oven with a #8 Griswold Skillet.



Water bath technique.



No sticking to pan .


PAPI


 

Just about any junk shop or flea market will have original American cast iron.  The very early stuff is surprisingly lightweight- I've seen pots that were so finely cast that they weighed about as little as a sheet metal copper or tin pot or pan would.  Back when this stuff was first made in the US or the 13 colonies materials were expensive and labor was cheap- so extra work in making these things was no big deal.  As the 19th century progressed iron got cheaper and you get heavier and heavier- the pans were still made with a great attention to detail and had nicely smooth machined inner surfaces.  Later with the decline of the American Cast iron industry production is shipped overseas and despite a return to cheap labor the pans get more coarse, rough, and heavy. Blech! Yuck!

Casting methods evolved over time, some of the older stuff will have a straight "gate" across the bottom, they usually lack markings too, except maybe a number.  Don't turn your nose up at these pans though because they lack markings, they are usually American made or good quality European pans.  A straight gate  pan has a raised line on the bottom of the pan where the iron was poured in.

Here is an example of a pan with the straight gate on the bottom: http://www.ebay.com/itm/USED-8P-CAST-IRON-FRYING-PAN-WITH-HEAT-RING-9-1-2-WIDE-NO-NAME-ON-THE-PAN-/180861067458?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a1c28e0c2 note the lack of a manufacturer's mark- it is still a USA made pan, maybe mid 1800s. note too  hoe the handle has a recessed section and the # stands proud from that, that is pretty typical of pans of that era, it saves a little metal, makes the pan lighter.

Here is a similar though slightly later pan- I think it has a straight gate too but has had it machined off: http://www.ebay.com/itm/USED-5-CAST-IRON-FRYING-PAN-WITH-HEAT-RING-8-1-2-FROM-SPOUT-TO-SPOUT-/180861065760?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a1c28da20
Again it lacks a maker's mark but is definitely US made.

Anyway I'm not suggesting you buy those two examples themselves I just wanted to illustrate that type- no need to fear the fact they lack a maker's name or place of manufacture.  You can run across that type all day every day for cheap and they are generally great pans- maybe even used by your Civil War era relatives or something cool like that.

Hey! who made your Æbleskiver pan??  Thats cool, I think I have a Jøtul one somewhere.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86bleskiver

This is a tag!

http://blackirondude.blogspot.com/2008/05/old-cast-iron-vs-new-cast-iron.html That blog has some pics that nicely illustrate differences between vintage and newer cast iron.

Another good informational Links :

http://www.wag-society.org/links.php

PAPI

Slice, where are you located in Indiana???  I am in North Central Indiana, and the antique stores around here carry the older Griswold, Wagner, Lodge, and WoPack cast iron skillets and ovens.  Any particular size you are looking for in a Dutch oven???  Drop me an Email or IM as to what you are looking for will keep an eye out for you.  A lot of the stores up north around Amish land have some already pre-seasoned and ready to go.  specwar1  

HomeSlice, Like Specwar1 I am also in Northern IN and there is plenty of cast Iron to be found. Flea markets and antique stores are the best place to find them. Some know what it is worth and some don't. Griswold seams to be the most collected and then Wagner. If you ever get to Pigeon Forge area I would stop in the Lodge Outlet store they have minor blemished items for 50% of normal cost.

PAPI,  that is one of the best tutorials I have ever seen on how to recondition old cast ironware.  Job well done.

I've learned quite a bit in this thread, and I've been using cast iron for 20 or so years (longer if you count dutch ovens in Boy Scouts).  Thanks for sharing.

^^^^ Great stuff. Just really, really expensive. We got some as a wedding gift (because, dammit, at that price there was no way I was gonna be the one paying for it) and it is the one piece of cookware I use most. Not made in China, made in France....but, you know, I dislike the Chinese more than the French so Im cool with it.

Slice I work the yard sales. I try to look for the ads in the paper that say "moving" or that are in some of the older sections of, "town".
The moving sales are good when you have folks that have cleaned out their stuff and decided that the dusty, heavy and old cast iron that Grandma gave them and they never use can go somewhere other than with them. "Moving" also means they have a deadline to sell, they are not a monthly yard sale team that can hold off for top prices...they gotta sell 'cause they gotta go. The other ones....older homes...Grandma has passed and frankly a large number of these younger people have no clue of the value of good quality cast iron cookware.
My mother still volunteers at the thrift store and cast iron cookware is one of her standing "buy" orders, along with the old Corningware white coffee percolators ...when they get them they go within a day of being put for for sale if she doesn't get them.
I give them to friends for birthday gifts and such. We all camp and everyone wants one...or three.

You guys are awesome.  Off reading the links, this helps a lot –– thanks!






We' in SE IN, between Indy and Cincinnasty.  We're looking for a 10-12" deep side dutch oven w legs & recessed lid, and a great big mofo (16 qt+ if it exists) w/o legs...
 

Sorry...

Hey! who made your Æbleskiver pan?? Thats cool, I think I have a Jøtul one somewhere

Griswold # 962



My little corner example , of cooking utensil's.

PAPI, that is one of the best tutorials I have ever seen on how to recondition old cast ironware. Job well done.

Thanks.. However, I did leave out one very important step..!

After the final " Vinegar bath / Cleaning ",, there's sometimes a " Greasy Residue ", which requires a " Soap & Hot Water Scrub "..

I like to use " Dawn Dish Soap ", and a really good final rinse. . Then onto the stove top for final drying & first " Pam Rub "., before hitting the BBQ Grill.


PAPI

MADE IN USA

http://www.macaovens.com/22in.htm

A bit expensive $$$..

Although .. I'm going to get myself an " Oval Roaster " ,, one of these days !!!

" The oval shape and  large size is designed for a large Turkey.  It will perfectly cook a 20lb Turkey to perfection.
There is no divider option on this oven.  This Oven is easier to move around because of its oval design than a round oven of the same volume.

Details: 12 x 16 Oval Roaster

9" Deep

20 quart Volume

Weight  -  Cast Iron - 62 lbs

Elk Design on lid carved by local Utah Artist

Room for 20 Characters of Personalization "


PAPI

Those are pretty nice Papi.  SHipping is a killer, though.



They're good stuff?




 

Is Camp Chef made in the USA???  I see them at Cabela's all the time buy never thought to read any labels or look for a "made in..." tag.

So when you guys clean your cast iron––say, after cooking bacon––do you just do a wipe with paper towels, or do you rinse and brush?  Do you do this when it's still warm, or when it's cold and the grease has congealed?

I'm sorry––I hate to sound like a noob, but I really want to use my cast iron more.  The wife won't because she's afraid of ruining it, and I'm not sure I'm cleaning it right.  No soap, right?

Just how big a dutch oven do you need or want?

Here's a 45 quart version, made here in the USA - it weighs 160 lbs!:



From here:  Maca Ovens

Good luck!

That's a little on the big side



I am looking at that brand, though.  I've got a buddy that lives in Utah that might be headed this way soon.  it'd be cheaper for me to buy him a dutch oven than to pay shipping...
 

 So when you guys clean your cast iron––say, after cooking bacon––do you just do a wipe with paper towels, or do you rinse and brush? Do you do this when it's still warm, or when it's cold and the grease has congealed? 



I'm sorry––I hate to sound like a noob, but I really want to use my cast iron more. The wife won't because she's afraid of ruining it, and I'm not sure I'm cleaning it right. No soap, right? 

I do bacon almost every other weekend ..I love " BLT's ".. !

1. I wait until it cools ( warm ) a bit & decide " IF ", I'm going to use the bacon grease for any cooking i.e. " Baked Beans ".. .. Did a pot last weekend, for my Shooting Clubs's  Spring BBQ !

Hint: The bacon grease makes awesome.. " Refried Beans "

2. I pour ithe cooled liquid bacon grease,  into an old jar & toss it.

3. Wipe off the excess with paper towels, run it under very hot water (Sink) , for a minor brushing to lossen any stuck pieces... " NO SOAP "

4.  Wipe it dry , back to the stove top , to completely dry off  on low heat & spray on a light coat of " PAM/ LARD " , until next use .

I use my stuff weekly.. One large skillet  ( # 9 -  #8 : Two or more Servings ) & another smaller one ( #5 - #3 : Single servings).

Just my way of doing things..

PAPI

No way, man. That thing will hold an entire Pygmy! It would be perfect for anyone intending to eat their neighbors.

Ebay currently has the 8 inch Lodge skillet as a Deal of the Day for $13 shipped.

You saw the other sizes correct?  9" (smallest at 18 lbs.) to the 22" at 160lbs with four in between plus the oval sizes.

Good luck.

Thank you, Papi.  I'm going to try this.

Exactly what I do to my pans.  Black as the ace of spades and getting slicker by the day.

Good luck!