Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Cast iron skillet ??

Bought Lodge deep skillet and shallow skillet that can be a lid/top .

It was already lightly seasoned , used per directions and they wouldn't get slick black like my Grannys old pans .

Did some research - more than one innerwebber expert said grind off old seasoning - went to lowes depot got grinding wheel - ground down inside to bare metal and smooth seasoned it - put in oven per directions - came out -ok- .
Used it cleaned it according to directions , starts getting black/well seasoned then seasoning peels here and there . Do more research ''always use solid'' like lard they mean -had been using olive oil .
Used crisco lard to season the damn thing 2-3 times a week --fighting it -- I bought the things to cut down on dishwashing -why am I fighting these skillets .

Not heating it up too hot or too fast . not getting them wet - no soap of coarse .

I have them in the oven right now on 375* waiting for the hour to pass - any help/advise to keep me from turning them into steel shooting plates .

I got my great grandmothers skillet. It has not been used for years. I rinsed it off and heated it up. I did not take off the old seasoning. I used bacon grease to cook eggs. It worked like grandma had just put it away.

kwg

Use and patience.....they'll come around.

Just go get a few pounds of bacon and have a feast.

It will get there just takes some time with them.

After a few cooks it gets better.
If you do wash it don't dry with a towel put it on the stove top burner on high heat and flame dry.

Get a good supply of bacon, start eating it as often as possible and just wiping out and scraping the skillet when you use it...even if it takes a while to season this way, at least you'll have the bacon.

This, all of grandmas skillets were seasoned by years of meals

You're overthinking it.....................use with oil or grease; when done wipe it out with paper towel to remove excess, add water, heat on burner, lightly scrape any remaining residue with spatula, rinse, wipe & put away until you need it again.

MM

Ol Mike,

Have you seen this site. This is their drop down on seasoning. If youve seen it just disregard.

Good luck

http://www.castironcollector.com/seasoning.php

Shoot it,go find an old one at a flea mrkt or yard sale.Got a dz "user's" here,some from my Gmas,a few picked up here and there.The best,which DON'T have to be a "label"....are so slick you can see your reflection in the bttms,NO JOKE.

If you leave olive oil in the skillet overnight after cooking a steak will that mess the skillet up ?
Should they always be wiped out immediately ?

That's the only thing I can think of that might make it peel , I've been using it for a year ??

need meat fat not vag oil

Pure hog lard or bacon drippins' all I ever use.

I've cooked bacon in it 50 times or more , -more time ?

Besides using it as much as possible, use flaxseed oil after it’s clean and dried over a burner while it’s still hot. Then bake it at 400 degrees for an hour. Then after it cools off, coat it again and go another hour on 400. Keep doing that until it gets nice and black to where you’re happy with it. Flaxseed oil is a drying type oil that doesn’t get sticky like vegetable oil. Oh, and while you’re baking it, turn them bottom side up. The easy way to strip a piece of cast iron is in the oven on self clean.

That won't hurt it..............it's Cast Iron, it doesn't need to be babied too much.

MM

The only thing a new Lodge is good for is baking potatoes and deep frying.

My experience is to keep using them and wash them when needed or wipe them out if only greasy. If something sticks like steak or sausage I just scrape it with the turning tool and cook it on the other side. Sometime s we clean them up with soap and water and Scotchbrite pads and grease the pan. After a while they season up ok. I don't understand how people cook without cast iron.

Bacon fat in ours whenever we leave the place.

i use crisco coating then into hot outdoor grill high temps cover closed. Cool down, wipe off , then same process two more times.

After use rinse out with water, wipe off on to burner a few minutes after spray with pam. Cool down, wipe off and put away.Took about 2 months of use to get the seasoning I wanted. Great stuff, much better than the non stick pans for cooking, baking and lasts forever if cared for.

Butter works as well or better than bacon grease.

Once it is seasoned, cleanup is hot water and a chore pad. don't overdo the chore pad. wipe dry while warm. sometimes I will put a very light wipe of butter or grease on it after.

Our remote cabin cast-iron can go years between uses. I always leave it with a good coat of grease or Crisco on it, then wash before use again. No telling how many voles or shrews might have peed in it......