The pan that I actually bought brand-new (many years ago) was a Wagner. Smooth milled, seriously DEEP chicken fryer 12" pan.
The other pans have been acquired via garage sales, etc; all of them smooth milled, that’s what I use. If they’ve got brand names stamped into the metal, I’d have to scrape and probe to find 'em. Haven’t noticed any.
Now you guys have me looking for Griswold stuff… Just found this listing on eBay that says both Griswold and Wagner Ware Griswold/Wagner. Any idea what’s up with that?
And this one which seems to be a newly-manufactured Griswold knock-off. Anyone heard of these?
My Lodge dutch oven works just fine for what I use it for (spaghetti sauce, bacon) but it seems like maybe I’d want a smoother product for doing things like pancakes, hence the interest in the vintage Griswold.
Well, I don’t own that stove, but my mother does, and it’s how I come to own my own cast iron. My mother didn’t want that sort of stove, but my father insisted because it looked easy to clean, and in the end my father “won”. My mother had to give up all her cast iron (and that was an unhappy thing for her, but my sister and I benefited), as well as much of her other cookware. They did end up buying a whole bunch of new pots and pans for cooking on that stove, because of the special top. This was several years ago, so maybe there have been advances in ceramic top making since then.
My issue is with the cast iron my mother gave me. I have a small sauce pan with lid that I’ve never used (so no idea if I have issues or not) and a skillet I used to use all the time, as did she. It worked well for her for years, and for me for awhile, and now has developed this odd blotch in the middle that is horrible and I hate using the pan now. I’ve never treated it any differently than she had, that I know of, except she’s an awesome cook and my skills are very poor. At this point I think I’m going to try taking it down to unseasoned, and starting from scratch, which makes me sad.
I have a glass top stove, and use cast iron pans. The big problem is that the bottom of the pan generally isn’t flat - it’s slightly convex, so only the middle of the pan makes contact with the heating element. I just let them preheat a long time (10-15 minutes) before putting anything in so the whole pan gets hot. If you don’t wait long enough, you get a hot spot in the middle of the pan, but the rest of the pan is still cool.
Also, you have to be careful not to slide or drag the pan across the cooktop to avoid scratches.
There’s really no call around here for using more than one cast iron skillet at a time, so I pulled out the 10-1/2" one that doesn’t get used much. I wasn’t thrilled with the seasoning that was on it, as it was not very even. I thought I’d take it off and start anew. Got down to the metal in some places, but it would take a wire brush to get the rest off. Later. I oiled it up and put it in the oven. Yesterday I decided I’d just cook with it. I roasted a leg of lamb. Afterward I put it on the stove and cooked the skillet at moderately high heat. I was preoccupied and eventually noticed the house ws filling with smoke. Good thing it was warm yesterday, as I opened the doors and got out a fan. I scraped off the crusty bits, and whaddya know? It doesn’t look half bad. I oiled it and put it on the still-hot, but turned off, stove coil. This morning I cooked four rashers of bacon in it. I think I’ll just keep cooking with it and build up the carbon layer.
I’ve got one, too (ceramic top). I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to use cast iron on them, so I do it all the time. The large front burner has a slightly visible oil-slick like sheen (not nearly so pronounced, though) with the “Lodge” logo in it that will not clean off using anything I’ve tried – I think I cooked with the cast iron pan once just after seasoning, when it was still a little “sticky” with oil on the bottom. I’m more careful to make sure the pan bottom is clean now, but I still cook with it constantly. I don’t notice the problem with uneven/slow heating, but that’s probably just a lucky combination of surface/pan.
My stove is about five years old, and if it’s possible to scratch that surface, I’m not sure how. I’m about as abusive to appliances as they come, and aside from the embossing above, that stove surface still looks new (at least after I clean it).
Great story! Yer lucky that she didn’t give you a token cliched bonk on your little noggin with the pan for that action.
Nothing to add technique wise here, it’s all been said so well. I love my cast iron pans, and Teflon pans just suck compared to a trusty cast iron one. I am just smiling here after reading the thread to see that so many SD folks, in this age of microwave food, get right on the ball with great advice and experience. Gives ya hope, yes indeed.
I actually had pretty good results with the old Foreman grills. You just have to use a little technique.
For example, I used to buy big 2-3 lb NY sirloins, cut them into 4-5 oz strips, and freeze them in plastic, exercising a little to make sure the two sides stayed flat and parallel. For a quick lunch, I’d let the Foreman preheat thoroughly, put 1 or 2 of the steaks on i, then put 2-4 lbs of weight on top. Then close the lids and don’t touch open of otherwise fiddle with them for 3-4 min, then fip them over, rotate them 45 degrees for a diamond pattern, and give them another 3-4 minutes (adjust riming to taste and thickness. Since the stakes start out frozen, you won’t squeeze all the juice out of them, and you can get a nice crust while still having a nice tasty medium-rare or medium interior. It’s as good a steak as you’ll get in 15 minutes including washup, and since they don’t require any attention, you can make veggies while they cook. I add custom seasoning or seasoned butter after cooking, but I suppose you could season/marinate them before freezing
Surprisingly, the smaller square Foreman grills that could barely fit two hamburger patties could handle two 4 oz frozen steak strips nicely. NY sirloin has a unearned rep for being pricey in some areas, so you may not want to “wreck it” by freezing, but look around. One major local chain has been selling it for years at $4/lb, vs $7-10 at the others) Besides, this doesn’t wreck it at ALL. I’ve also used this technique (with a little modification, and a larger Foreman) on bone-in ribeye, T-bone and porterhouse. It beats shoveling the snow off the deck in the winter.
For a perfect weight: ding the bottom of a coffee can until it fits/overhangs the sloping lid and stands stable. Fill with “pie beans” (any dried beans – used to weigh down blind-baked) Just as with blind baking, if you keep them in a dry airtight container, you can reuse them weights for years.
I have to agree that though I do like Lodge, I have been a bit disappointed with them in the past 7-10 years, for the reasons describes. However their big ridged grill pans are a definite winner (albeit sometimes a bit of pain to clean with salt) If you put burgers or steaks on a very hot ribbed pan, and immediately cover it (to avoid setting off the smoke detector) and turn off the heat, you will get a very nice smoky grilled flavor. Only cover them for a few minutes, though: it’s possible to get too much of a good thing, and you don’t want to trap moisture in the pan for very long. Finish the steaks/burgers at a more typical heat, uncovered.
Due to the sloping cast iron sides, the glass lids from other large pans will often fit nicely and let you keep an eye on on your steaks/burgers
Everything about the OP’s question has been answered here; I just wanted to add… cast iron has such a longevity.
My kids’ granny had her house burn down to the ground. The only thing to survive? You guessed it , her cast iron pans 
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My ex still has a small (3 qt) cast iron sauce pan which I’d give my eye teeth for. Perfect for frying okra or small batches of fish. And those big chicken fryers previously mentioned … nothing better for perfect fried chicken.
Apparently, Wagner bought Griswold around 1957. Apparently quality started declining soon after.
Thrift shops and garage sales/estate sales are still the best way to find quality cast iron cheap. Most people think it’s too heavy to use and price it for a song. That way you can get Great-Grandma’s chicken fryer for a buck.
My parents got a bunch of stuff for wedding presents, and one of those was a Griswold 669 frying pan. They thought “that’s a dumb thing to give for a wedding present.” Still have it, used daily, and I doubt anything else they received is still around.
You’re telling me. I have three cast-iron skillets that belonged to my great-great-great grandmother. Let me see, that makes me… the sixth generation to use them :eek:
Also apparently, I did not get enough sleep last night (Hello from Fanime, if anyone else is here) and I’m overusing the word. >.<
Speaking of… I talked with my Mother-in-Law about the pans she gave me. It turns out that they belonged to my Father-in-Law’s Grandmother (who came over from Italy with his father in the thirties), they had been my MIL’s garage for the last twenty years, which explaned the shape they were in.