about this. I'm assuming it made in China, right?

The old Griswold off of eBay is the way to go, I bought a few Lodge, and they suck compared to the old Griswold.

Or Wagner. The old stuff is best but Lodge will work just fine once it is broken in.

pawn shops are a good place to look for cast iron.....where ive found most of ours.....also have some Lodge, not bad but course its not like the old broke in ones you can find in pawn shops, often for much cheaper....

Just Googled it and it is China made. Go with the better USA stuff. I have yet to see China made cast iron cook ware that heated evenly.

Lodge is made in S. Pittsburg, TN. on the Eastside of Monteagle Mtn.on I-24, just West of Chatt. Stop by S. Pittsburg in the Spring for the Cornbread Fest. that Lodge sponsers. Also tour the foundry to see how the cookware is made. They have a store at the foundry that has discounts during the weekend of the Cornbread Fest.

Lodge is good once you get it smoothed and seasoned properly. I have some from my grandmother we still use that has no name on it and a couple from Korea that I am not sure where I acquired them.

The stuff we use regularly is about twice as slick as any new "non stick" pan you can buy. Almost impossible to make an egg stick in.

I recently bought a 15" Lodge skillet to use at our deer lease. I decided to make sure it cooked ok before I took it so I bought a pound of thick sliced bacon to break it in with. It said on the box that the skillet was already seasoned but as a precaution I put some peanut oil in it to make sure it didn't stick. When I put some bacon in it the bacon literally welded itself to the skillet. I had to use a metal spatula to scrape the bacon out and then I fininshed cooking it in a teflon skillet. I used a brass brush to scrub the bacon out and then heated it with some water in it and added some peanut oil in it while it was still hot after I dried it. I'm afraid to use it again. Would it help to actually polish the inside of the skillet smooth and then season it?

Yes it would, that is exactly what I did to the large one we bought in TN. Went after it with a small orbital sander till it was baby bottom smooth then baked lard into it. Slicker than a hen house floor on a Monday morning now.

Thanks! I'll give it a try.

If you happen to have a glass top stove, use none of the above. Cast will scratch the heck out of glass. Ask my cousin.

What he said.

Ya, but one shouldn't have to go to those lengths.

No you should not. But if you buy new it is Lodge of China. I will buy Lodge. My orbital sander is ready to go to work.

You can "instantly season" your cast iron in just a couple hours. Polishing the bottom of the pan first will, of course, make the seasoning more effective.

Scrub the cast iron very well, even with steel wool if needed. Dry it well and then coat it thoroughly inside and out with lard or shortening. Then turn it upside down in an oven and bake at 350 degrees for a couple of hours.

This will leave a thin "paint like" coating all over the pan, almost like teflon, which will resist sticking and keep it from rusting.

It is nothing like real seasoning which comes from years of exposure to cooking oils and saturates the iron. And this temporary seasoning can be scraped away.

But it will make the pan useable when new, because it will never attain real seasoning if you can't use it.

It took years to teach my lovely wife to not abuse my favorite cast iron skillet. But never fear, if some one does wreck your cast iron, it is easy to restore.

Setting a pan down in the coals of a campfire for several hours is the absolute best way to remove all traces of abuse and return the cast iron to "as manufactured" condition. But I usually run mine through a clean cycle in the oven. Then start over with the seasoning process.

After 29 years Momma must be nearly trained. I have not needed to retreat my frying pan in several years.