What cast iron brands are you using?

[NEED-A-VETTE]

All my cast iron has been given to me. I never was a fan of it before. Not sure why because I watched my mom and grandmother cook in cast iron religiously.

Anyhow, now I find use it a lot, especially in winter for dishes that I start on the stove and finish in the oven. I use it on the grill, as well.

Long story short, it’s probably about time I invest in a good set. I’ve seen folks trying to track down older cast iron on eBay and such. In reading reviews, many die hard fans say that nothing “modern made” is any good.

I figure one pan and one dutch oven would be good.

What are you all using or what do you recommend?

[Thunder22]

All of mine are Lodge

[Stevedore]

We have a couple of Lodge frying pans. My wife uses one for a vegan "frittata" that starts on the stovetop & finishes in the oven.

We also have a CI griddle for our grill that we use for grilled vegetables.

CI takes a liittle more maintenance in my experience; a wipe with some oil after cleaning, occasional re-seasoning.

[NEED-A-VETTE]

Originally Posted by Thunder22

All of mine are Lodge

Originally Posted by Stevedore

We have a couple of Lodge frying pans. My wife uses one for a vegan "frittata" that starts on the stovetop & finishes in the oven.

We also have a CI griddle for our grill that we use for grilled vegetables.

CI takes a liittle more maintenance in my experience; a wipe with some oil after cleaning, occasional re-seasoning.

Thanks! I have a lodge frying pan. My Dutch oven says wenzel 1887. I think the wenzel is Chinese made.

I mean, it gets the job done. I don’t mind the upkeep.

Maybe I’m just caught up in wanting to be one of the cool kids with vintage cast iron. There are surprisingly a lot of cast iron snobs on the Internet.

[ZipZap]

Not a huge fan of straight cast iron, but I have some old stuff that I hold on to. My new favorite for this type of cooking is Le Creuset. The problem is that it's pricey, so it took me a few years to build up a collection. It has the weight of cast iron with an enamel finish, so you can use it in similar applications and actually just throw it in the dishwasher. Cioppino!

[Black94lt1]

If you are talking old cast iron, I have one Piqua skillet and my family has a lot of Wapak and Piqua as both foundries were close to where my grandparents lived

[RonC5]

all of mine are Lodge.

[NEED-A-VETTE]

Originally Posted by ZipZap

Not a huge fan of straight cast iron, but I have some old stuff that I hold on to. My new favorite for this type of cooking is Le Creuset. The problem is that it's pricey, so it took me a few years to build up a collection. It has the weight of cast iron with an enamel finish, so you can use it in similar applications and actually just throw it in the dishwasher. Cioppino!

I was looking at that brand, as well. It consistently comes up when I search for info on cast iron.

It is a little pricey...but I’ve already been swapping out my pots and pans with All-Clad so it’s not shockingly high.

Originally Posted by Black94lt1

If you are talking old cast iron, I have one Piqua skillet and my family has a lot of Wapak and Piqua as both foundries were close to where my grandparents lived

Thanks! I’ll check it out.

Originally Posted by RonC5

all of mine are Lodge.

[Mike Mercury]

The Expert's Guide to Restoring a Rusted Cast-Iron Pan
https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifes...ore-cast-iron/

[NEED-A-VETTE]

Originally Posted by Mike Mercury

The Expert's Guide to Restoring a Rusted Cast-Iron Pan
https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifes...ore-cast-iron/

I was literally just looking at the link this morning.

Great minds think alike.

[04 commemorative]

The small one is for one egg
I have one that is a little bigger and works great for two eggs,Super Storm Sandy took my little one that was over 90 years old so my sister bought me a replacement at Cracker Barrel
our two large ones are from Costco and are Tramontinas....When I bought them if I realized they were made in Chinaaaa... I would have left them there but....they're really pretty good. I might replace them one day with a USA brand

[mrvette]

wife cooks on the aluminum/coated polycan'tprouncit covered pans.....once in a great while the iron comes out,.....but maybe once a month these daze....

[ZipZap]

Originally Posted by NEED-A-VETTE

I was looking at that brand, as well. It consistently comes up when I search for info on cast iron.

It is a little pricey...but I’ve already been swapping out my pots and pans with All-Clad so it’s not shockingly high.

I keep the cast iron for when I do things on the grill. So a couple versions of a cast iron skillet are enough. The Le Creuset pieces are really great for moving back and forth from the stove to the oven. So if you like to do a sear, followed by a deglaze and a braise, they're great

[NEED-A-VETTE]

Originally Posted by 04 commemorative

The small one is for one egg
I have one that is a little bigger and works great for two eggs,Super Storm Sandy took my little one that was over 90 years old so my sister bought me a replacement at Cracker Barrel
our two large ones are from Costco and are Tramontinas....When I bought them if I realized they were made in Chinaaaa... I would have left them there but....they're really pretty good. I might replace them one day with a USA brand

I love those little ones. I always think about getting one but I don’t really like eggs. 🍳 I can’t think of anything else it’d be used for.

Originally Posted by mrvette

wife cooks on the aluminum/coated polycan'tprouncit covered pans.....once in a great while the iron comes out,.....but maybe once a month these daze....

I cook a lot in mine on the weekends. I do a lot of food prep (for the following week) in them. I’m making Dublin Coddle in my Dutch oven now.

[Mick]

Originally Posted by Mike Mercury

I'm not sure if you are serious, but if you are, it is designed to cook a single egg. It works great too.

Most of our cast iron pans are "Wagner's", the ones my wife and I bought are the "Wagner's 1891" pans, that were manufactured in the early '90s. Good pans, but not "antique" or "cool" in any way. We have a few (including the single egg pan) that we got from my wife's parents that are older, but I doubt they are from the 19th century.

Honestly, I like them, and use them. But if I am going to start a piece of meat on the stove-top, and finish it in the oven, I am more likely to grab one of our "All-Clad" pans to do that than a cast iron pan. YMMV.

[NEED-A-VETTE]

Originally Posted by Mick

I'm not sure if you are serious, but if you are, it is designed to cook a single egg. It works great too.

Most of our cast iron pans are "Wagner's", the ones my wife and I bought are the "Wagner's 1891" pans, that were manufactured in the early '90s. Good pans, but not "antique" or "cool" in any way. We have a few (including the single egg pan) that we got from my wife's parents that are older, but I doubt they are from the 19th century.

Honestly, I like them, and use them. But if I am going to start a piece of meat on the stove-top, and finish it in the oven, I am more likely to grab one of our "All-Clad" pans to do that than a cast iron pan. YMMV.

I do love my All-Clad. I’ve been slowly swapping out and retiring all my other pots and pans for All-Clad.

[Aerovette]

Mine came from Academy. Probably cheap crap but I can't tell because I have no point of reference. Since I never had a quality cast iron skillet, I have no idea if I am missing out on anything. It gets stuff hot and "done" and that's what I use it for.

[Aerovette]

Originally Posted by Mike Mercury

The Expert's Guide to Restoring a Rusted Cast-Iron Pan
https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifes...ore-cast-iron/

That little one makes good brownies. I've used it for an egg too, but you need to like them sunny side up. I haven't found anything small enough to flip and egg without destroying it.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by 04 commemorative

The small one is for one egg
I have one that is a little bigger and works great for two eggs,Super Storm Sandy took my little one that was over 90 years old so my sister bought me a replacement at Cracker Barrel
our two large ones are from Costco and are Tramontinas....When I bought them if I realized they were made in Chinaaaa... I would have left them there but....they're really pretty good. I might replace them one day with a USA brand

Tramontina makes some really nice machetes, from Brazil....uh, for choppin' stuffs.

[JRD77VET]

I have older ones that were hand me downs . Griswold and Wagner.

If you get second hand pans, you might luck out with a pan with acceptable seasoning. I picked up a small cast iron pan for eggs and whoever used it previously had shitty tasting food

I built a good fire and got a 4" or 5" bed of coals. I stuck it in the coals and dug it back out two days later ( let it cool buried in the ash so it doesn't crack).

I re-seasoned it and it works great now.