cast iron cooking

[Mambo Dave]

Originally Posted by Joe Shimano

I just got my Bayou Classic 16 qt Dutch oven. The lid is so warped it won't fit the pot and the lip around the inside of the lid appears to be broken in two places. It could be made this way, but I can't find a reason why. Finish is VERY rough. I'm not a happy camper.

I'll find out in the next day or so how their customer service is. This pot is going back.

Damn, man, sorry.

What was the shipping cost on that hunk of iron?

[Joe Shimano]

Originally Posted by Mambo Dave

Damn, man, sorry.

What was the shipping cost on that hunk of iron?

Free shipping to and from with Amazon. Got a replacement coming. I'll post up if the fit and finish is ok or not.

[Mambo Dave]

Originally Posted by Joe Shimano

Free shipping to and from with Amazon. Got a replacement coming. I'll post up if the fit and finish is ok or not.

Great!

Any chance you could post pics of the current one?

I mean, not to bad-mouth the company per se, as mistakes do happen, but in this day and age to have anything come that messed up is worth seeing, especially since it may be the first example of that brand of CI in this thread.

[Joe Shimano]

Originally Posted by Mambo Dave

Great!

Any chance you could post pics of the current one?

I mean, not to bad-mouth the company per se, as mistakes do happen, but in this day and age to have anything come that messed up is worth seeing, especially since it may be the first example of that brand of CI in this thread.

I will the replacement. This one is already boxed up for ups.

[1911fan]

I'm telling you, antique stores and garage sales are the best place to pick up cast iron. Brush up on Griswold and Wagner history and values first though.
I think my newest CI is from around 1934?


1911fan

[Joe Shimano]

Already got the replacement. Gotta love free shipping with Amazon. This one is 100% better than the first one. Fit and finish much better. The lid fits like it should and is not cracked. Got it washed and ready for the oven.





Happy Happy Happy


Now if I could catch about 50 crappie...

[ImaPoser]

Its there anything such as bad old cast iron ? Wife said she would like a set, and the older the better. I found a set at a pawn shop, but it's a mismatch set as one is marked Wagner, one says 7G3, and the rest are unmarked but all look and feel old. For $12 each, I figure it's worth buying them and let the wife decide. Am I wrong?

[Nailhead]

Originally Posted by ImaPoser

Its there anything such as bad old cast iron ? Wife said she would like a set, and the older the better. I found a set at a pawn shop, but it's a mismatch set as one is marked Wagner, one says 7G3, and the rest are unmarked but all look and feel old. For $12 each, I figure it's worth buying them and let the wife decide. Am I wrong?

If a skillet has a flat bottom (or not if you're cooking on a gas flame range), and rings when you strike it, it should be fine whatever brand (or not) it is.

As for old, I have an "ERIE" 8 skillet that cooks really well, and I think it dates from the late 1800's.

[Mambo Dave]

Nailhead hit a good part of it there - Cast Iron can be cracked, and then it wouldn't 'ring.'

Keep in mind that a whole one or two generations gave up on cast iron for cookware, and I'm sorta afraid quite a few were used afterward to melt tin and lead in for various purposes.

Pawn shops are nearly experts and valuing what they have on hand because they can easily make more money on ebay if something is collectable. "Looks and feel" old doesn't mean they are old. I read that for a while some CI was been imported from Asia.

But if your wife isn't a stickler for being able to prove it is old, probably any of it will work anyway. I have a totally unmarked skillet I use a lot, and with seasoning it's about as good as any other.

* This is just an opinion, but for modern day non-gas stove tops I tend to believe that while the CI skillets with heat rings are collectable, the flat-bottom ones work better with electric ranges. I have examples of both, and it's apparent that the electric heating coil's inner coils aren't touching the center area of the skillet that has a heat ring (because the heat ring is what is sitting on the outside area of the coil).

* If I had a gas stove, though, it hits me that the gas ring could help trap heat up under the skillet better.

* Disclaimer: I've never read any of that on any CI site, nor in any commentary, but it's just what I've been thinking as of late when I've seen the red-hot inner coils not effectively transferring heat to my heat-ring skillet.

[Nailhead]

Originally Posted by Mambo Dave

Keep in mind that a whole one or two generations gave up on cast iron for cookware, and I'm sorta afraid quite a few were used afterward to melt tin and lead in for various purposes.

A fear of residues from a skillet's former life is the primary reason I strip all my new CI acquisitions in a strong lye solution.

[Xeraux]

Ooh la la.

[H96669]

^^^^ Favorise le culottage......

[Nailhead]

Originally Posted by Xeraux

Ooh la la.

I'd run past a pallet of those marked "free-take one!" for a Griswold block-Erie 5 & lid, or just a lid for my Wagner 13.

The stamped-steel ones just don't have the appeal of cast iron to me, and I can't really say why.

[Xeraux]

Originally Posted by Nailhead

I'd run past a pallet of those marked "free-take one!" for a Griswold block-Erie 5 & lid, or just a lid for my Wagner 13.

The stamped-steel ones just don't have the appeal of cast iron to me, and I can't really say why.

If you find that pallet, point it out to me.

After following the initial seasoning instructions, I sauteed a crusted chicken breast and the following morning fried some eggs. Worked beautifully.

[Speedo66]

I inherited a bunch of Danish enameled cast iron pots and pans, Copco brand, when my parents passed. Heavy duty stuff with bright colors on the outside, orange, green, blue, and white inside.

Old as in 40-50 years or so, but very good quality.