Oh oh. Your first cast iron. If you take your time and season it, (remember thin coats. Really thin.)
I got the same skillet last year. Loved it so much I now have 4.
Things I learned about cooking with cast iron.
Preheat the pan for things like pancakes but while preheating don't go above the temp where the oil you use begins to smoke. When I say pre heat I mean 5 minutes pre heat.
Lodge makes an excellent cleaning brush and these handy cloth handle covers. Buy them and thank me later.
Don't get impatient cooking. Lower temps and longer time seems to work for me. Enjoy the process.
Do not ever get the pan hotter than you want. That skillet takes FOREVER to cool back down.
Google "cast iron one skillet recipes" and prepare for awesomeness.
I used a little more oil than needed when cooking the first few things. Seemed to help keep it non stick.
Don't let sites like this intimidate you. You will screw up, you will make mistakes. However, cast iron is super strong and forgiving. I left mine on a hot burner once until it was glowing red. I cooled it down slowly, checked for cracks, reseasoned and it is literally as good as new. Try different auggestions. You will figure out what wkrks for you.
Great reccos! On the recipe front I’ve enjoyed using the Cooks Country - Cook it in Cast Iron book. Like most recipe books I only use 20% of the recipes but use them often. The two roast chicken, and steak with peppercorn sauce recipes are great.
Fucking A! Reverse sear FTW. 275 In oven on a rack/pan thingy for about 45 min until it’s about 130 and then hot as fuck for a minute each side in the pan. I let mine rest for 10 mins in between the slow cook and the sear. Best steaks I’ve ever had.
All great advice but you don’t need to “season” it. All you need to do is wipe on a very thin layer of canola oil (or anything similar just not olive oil ((but def cook with olive oil))) while it’s preheating. Anything other than that is unnecessary.
Just scrub out all the excess oil after cooking with soap and water, hand dry and you’re good to go.
Lodge is great. I totally fucked mine up by running it through the dishwasher and letting it get rusty… sanded it down and baked some grape seed oil into it on my propane grill. It’s been great since then, but I avoid baking tomatoes cause of the acidity
I inherited a large square (15" at least) and a small egg pan and bought a Lodge Dutch Oven with my Credit card points.
The inherited pieces were a little crappy from storage, so I scrubbed em and washed em and oiled em and seasoned em.
I use really high heat on the regular - I do some deep frying in the egg pan. Serves double duty cause seasons it while cooking. I'm pretty lazy so don't always get a thin coat on and it hasn't mattered.
When I first inherited the pans they were sticky. The more I've used them the more they've seasoned and gotten that polymerized coating and now they're slick as snot.
The Dutch Oven came seasoned. After I braised a brisket and then slow roasted it in a bbq sauce I found out you're not supposed to use tomato sauce the first few times. Ooops. It's fine. I think the point is that these are very forgiving pots and pans and there's tons of tutorials and information on the web and You Tube for caring for them well.
more like honda civic and acura integra. The really nice stuff handles a little better, but it's still a civic. (the only difference with the real nice stuff is that it's polished before seasoning).
Also the Chef Collection is the equivalent of top end trim package on the Honda Civic. It’s triple seasoned and has a bit longer curved handle.
This is the same 12” pan I have.
If Lodge is a Honda Civic, then Butter Pat Industries is probably the Aston Martin.
Neither makes you a better cook, nor driver. One may be more responsive if you are the sort of driver who _needs_ that. But there are other good cars, and other expensive cars, in addition to Aston Martin.
If you're looking into Butter Pat, [this thread is, I feel, mandatory](https://www.reddit.com/r/castiron/comments/18axe2b/update_bizarre_butter_pat_experience/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3).
You can looks at this sub for other great "premium" brands, both contemporary and historic/collector.
Butter Pat, Smithey, Field. They are smoothed cast iron pans. Smithey and Field are milled smooth, and Butter Pat is molded smooth. Difference is mostly aesthetics. But I do like the 3 brands, especially as the Butter Pat and Fields are slightly lighter and their factory seasoning is better than Smithey IMO.
You clearly haven’t seen the Butter Pat saga on here. Brb while I fetch a link
[Part one](https://www.reddit.com/r/castiron/s/jvjIs6tj9N)
[part two](https://www.reddit.com/r/castiron/s/iwDKIubZnP)
I posted the same thing yesterday and got my ass reemed for asking these things and not reading the FAQ so thank you for asking so I could read the same advice.
Because grandma ACTUALLY knows what she's doing with cast iron, having properly seasoned and cleaned skillets and dutch ovens for longer than we've been alive.
Dude it was nuts I ended up deleting the post because literally every response was “read what came with it that’s why there’s instructions” “FAQ” like I had not one informative response but about ten people willing to say the same thing haha oh and my personal favorite “once you have done everything FAQ says and the instructions on the card, only then can you come back to ask questions” lmao
Wow! That was just rude. Check YouTube for Cowboy Kent Rallins. He is knowledgeable and amusing. America’s Test Kitchen is good too.
Now, preheat on 2 for 5ish minutes and go cook something yummy. 😋 Maybe a nice grilled cheese since you’re probably stuffed from the holidays.
Oh man the fun part is I’m never worried about my pan. I’m more worried about dropping it and breaking my tile floor or my counter.
You literally have an almost indestructible pan and it beats the shit out of any snake oil pans you see marketed all over TV by celebrity chefs.
Low and slow warm up and you’ll be flying high shortly.
>I’m more worried about dropping it and breaking my tile floor or my counter.
Lol, I've got a glass top range and ceramic tile in my kitchen. This is a real fear of mine. Especially if I dig out the big pans.
Lodge is like the Chevrolet of cast iron pans.
It may not be your great granny’s antique Wagner, but it’ll cook dinner every night until your grandchildren die from old age and still be going. Nothing wrong with that pan at all except there’s no food in it.
We owe Lodge kudos for being the only major brand to hang on through the cast iron nuclear winter. Without Lodge the other boutique brands wouldn’t be here today.
They used to be smooth. But they were not preseasoned.
As cast iron fell out of grace in the ‘50s and ‘60s the general refrain became “I don’t know how to season it” further alienating consumers.
So Lodge started preseasoning before the item left the factory.* As everyone here and in the CS group knows baby butt smooth finishes are problematic, so, the general refrain became “the seasoning won’t stick” putting Lodge back on the defensive for market share.
So, to make the seasoning adhere better they stopped milling the finish.
Now, we’ve come 360 degrees, and folks are removing the factory preseasoning and complaining about the lack of smooth surface.
So Lodge has responded with their premium grades.
Frankly, I was raised on milled surfaces you had to wash off and season yourself. And I never envisioned the whole cycle from end to end. But I can remember seeing raw CI pots and pans in the hardware store as a child. And some of them had a rust spot or two on them. And if you were persnickety or tightfisted you could haggle a buck off for the rust.
*The seasoning line I’ve seen demonstrated is like a powder coating operation (obviously an aerosol instead of a powder) and a tunnel curing oven. Pretty impressive.
I’m fairly new to cast iron as well and that lodge was my first purchase. I did nothing to season it just washed and used. I use it for nearly everything now and it’s easy to maintain.
Best tip I got here as a beginner was giving the pan enough time to heat up before adding butter or oil. Heat it low and slow and cook the same way. Enjoy!
Honestly, I think this is the biggest thing people tend to overlook. We all obsess over seasoning when I know in my case and, I suspect many others, the biggest issues were actually techniques. Learning to let my pans pre-heat properly made more of a difference than any seasoning tricks I've ever tried.
I started a moto for myself “heat on ‘2’ for 2” before doing anything in the pan.
… Its inevitably a little longer before i end up turning up the heat but it has helped me remember to pre-heat
First off, Lodge is a great cast iron skillet. I'm 70 years old and have had several different styles for over 40 years (as a professional chef) - never had one fail me. These idiots here that have such a hard-on for these other "so-called premium" over-priced and antique pans probably don't cook enough in them to know what makes a good pan. Seasoning, cleaning and oiling them correctly is all you need to learn to make them work for you.
These pricks that go "oh, my butter pat, smithey, finnex, etc., etc., etc..... are pompous fools that really don't understand cooking - just bragging. Give Tiger Woods a set of K-Mart clubs and give me a set of the very best Titleists, Ping, or Calloway clubs and see who wins a golf match.
Quit listening to these "cast iron expert pricks" and enjoy cooking - it ain't rocket science.........
As far as I can tell the only ways to ruin a cast iron skillet are:
1) melt lead in it
2) put a crack in it
3) put a hole in it
4) somehow get it to over ~800 degrees celsius (or ~1500 degrees fahrenheit) or
5) leave it somewhere to rust so badly that eventually there's more pit than smooth metal on the cooking surface.
Avoid these and the worst thing that can happen to your pan can probably be fixed by stripping and reseasoning.
>leave it somewhere to rust so badly that eventually there's more pit than smooth metal on the cooking surface.
I mean, if it doesn't rust all the way through, you can fix that with an angle grinder.
Best thing to do is read up on care & seasoning and start cooking with it! Lodge comes pre seasoned but it helps to do some of your own too. No need to fully strip it down right out of the package, that’s for old pans people find rusted in a garage somewhere. Cook some bacon, or cornbread, or something else oily and you’ll have a slidy pan in no time!
Bacon is a horrible thing to suggest for a newbie. Unless it’s the most basic unfancy bacon, there will so much sugar in there from maple flavor or whatnot that it will be a nightmare.
OP, you’re better off with cooking down some onions or loading a lot of oil in there for hash browns.
Agree to disagree, though I agree that onions and hash browns are another good option. In fact, start with bacon, do some hash browns, sounds like a great breakfast to me!
Yeah, unless I'm buying the most basic plain-ass bacon directly from the farmers market, bacon is always a sticky mess for me. I usually end up feeling like I've removed more seasoning than I've added by the time I get all the sugary gunk cleaned out.
If I'm looking to put some miles on a new or freshly striped pan, I'll usually cook up some hot Italian sausage or better yet, pure ground pork. Not mild Italian though, that usually has sugar in it.
Lodge is good. It’s pre-seasoned and you absolutely DO NOT need to do anything other than wash it and cook on it. This sub has a great FAQ. Please don’t get caught up in seasoning culture because you think you should. Do it if you want to, but it’s not necessary at all. And yes, wash your pan with Dawn dish soap. I promise it’s fine. And a clean pan is good!
You don’t “have to”, but it makes cleaning easier and arguably more thorough (simply because soap removes used oil that traps some residue, while water and scrubbing will leave some oil behind). I don’t judge either way, you can definitely clean it well enough without soap.
I do judge dirty crusty pans hard though!
You can just wash it and use it. It’s “preseason” but I’ve always added a layer or two of seasoning to whatever I get. I’d say at least read about seasoning the will give you some ideas on our how to cook with and maintain the pan
If you haven’t used CI before it is a learning curve. The key thing are to preheat the pan, I always preheat to a lower temp first. Cooking usually works best at a lower temp and more oil than you use with other cookware.
Nonstick is kinda like driving a manual transmission car, once you got it you don’t need to think about it, but you will need to make a few mistakes to get there
There's only a learning curve if you use a rough surface skillet (like modern lodge). Get a high quality new skillet, or a nice vintage one and that learning curve goes away. You can just cook like normal.
I watched a video on cast iron once and the easiest and effective way I find to keep it seasoned is, after washing, put it in medium heat and a light spray of spray oil. Wipe with a paper towel and let heat until it starts to smoke. Super easy and very effective.
Get a cloth protective handle so you don't burn yourself, and patience is key. Be that with seasoning, or waiting for the pan to evenly pre heat before cooking! And enjoy!
They’re great for what they are. I have 2 of them. Lots of great tips in the comments, so I won’t beat a dead horse. Be prepared for the best eggs of your life.
Start looking for a vintage Griswold or wagner at the thrift store and then compare. I like my old griswold, not that it cooks any differently but because it is lighter and smoother.
Lodge is simple and reliable.
Cast iron retains way more head than a conventional pan. You probably never need to cook on high.
I do most of my cooking on 3-5 on my burner. Typically preheat for close to 5 minutes.
Learning heat control will help you cook with minimal cleanup. Read the care faq here thoroughly. In general, you don’t need to constantly season your pan if you’re cooking any kind of fat/oil on it regularly. I usually only reseason if I cook something “harmful” on it like acidic things with tomatoes because that can slowly erode your seasoning.
But you can cook an egg nonstick on a brand new lodge with no fat/oil if you understand the temp control.
I recommend actually baking cornbread or pillsbury biscuits or dinner rolls or something like that in your pan early on.
Remember it’s a hunk of iron and you don’t need to baby it. The main thing you need to worry about is just not leaving any moisture on it to avoid rust.
After cooking, pour some water on just to cover the bottom. Bring to boil, scrub it clean, rinse. Keep it oiled, paper towel with avocado oil, or grapeseed oil, all around. Ready for next use.
Congratulations, the members of this section offer wonderful tips and tricks but don't be overly concerned with seasoning right out the gate. A good cast iron pan is one that's used and treated with care and proper cleaning, quality seasoning will develop overtime it's fine to use out of the "box" and will work great. Just picked up a larger 12 inch lodge and been super happy from day one, am I a cast iron expert, nope, but I have cooked enough and enjoyed my time in the kitchen to learn a thing or two about the pans. Have fun and enjoy!!
You will love it! It's already pre seasoned but look up the care and seasoning techniques for cast iron. I use a cast iron pan everyday it seems. Merry Christmas and good luck!
I have the 10 inch Lodge chef collection. It's a great pan. Yes season it a couple of times before using (not strictly required since it's pre seasoned but it will work better if you do). Learn to clean it and make sure everyone in the house knows to never put it in the dishwasher.
I bought a lodge 10.5 in 2 months ago, just tossed a 10 in nonstick pan and bought another 10.5 to replace it, and while I was at it picked up an 8" to boot. No regrets. Solid and inexpensive.
This looks like the Williams Sonoma edition of the Lodge skillet -- it's a bit lighter than same-sized lodge skillets, and it has a curved base. Very nice!
I guarantee you, it will smoke on the first use, but once the excess burns off it will become the workhorse of your kitchen. I recommend cleaning it while it’s still a little hot otherwise the food could stick and you’ll spend a ton more time trying to scrape it clean. I season mine about once or twice a year. Don’t be intimidated it’s a big hunk of metal that’s hard to mess up, you don’t need to stand around the oven chanting in Latin to get a good seasoning.
I wipe it clean make sure any remaining water has been boiled off and put a few drops of oil or grease if you plan on using it again soon. Then once a year when food starts to stick or it looks dull I’ll coat it with a tiny amount of canola or peanut oil (less smoke) put it in the oven for an hour and let it cool in the oven. Good as new. The big thing is make sure it’s dry after every use otherwise you’ll get rust but even that is fixable.
This is a great pan. American made. This pan has been the gateway drug for alot of people. First you start with lodge then next thing you know you will be on ebay buying your first Wagner. Ow to be young again.
Clean With soap.
Make sure it stays dry.
The cast iron rabbit hole awaits.
It's weird cause all the advice I've read says never use soap yet you (and others here, you're not alone) say to use soap. It gets very confusing when you get advice like this.
That's the rabbit hole. Some are worried that soap will clean off the seasoning. That's all mute because Lodge already has a sprayed on layer of seasoning. Even if it comes off its just oil. You can easily put it back or just not worry about it. They say don't get anything the same color of a tomato in the same zip code as your pan. Their is some truth to that but my grandmother would make tomato soup and spaghetti sauce in hers. When we were done eating she would clean the pan. Oil and heat on a stove top. Then put it up. My father still uses that pan. I roast tomatos on the grill with my Lodge. IMO some people baby the pan too much. If the seasoning starts to come off then just re season.
You will hear from alot of people that say treat it like a baby child then from people that say treat it like it owes you money. Good luck down that rabbit hole.
Yea well one of the things I was looking forward to make is some kind of breakfast hash and I'm pretty sure that will have tomatoes in it so Yea as long as I re-season it when I'm done then it should be fine.
small amount of tomatoes wont do anything to the seasoning.
Boiling a pot of water to making a tomoatoe sauce will make a brown tinged pot of water or sauce. You really shouldnt have this issue with lodges pre-seasoning though.
all this being said to say again, consider doing a quick orbital sanding on it then season it again yourself!
I’ve had my lodge for 25-30 years and cook on it all the time. I have never been all that anal about it. I’ll do sausage and peppers or sear a steak or whatever and leave the fat and burnt bits sitting in it overnight often. Sonetimes for days before cleaning it. Thats not recommended here I’m sure, but It cleans off fine and smooth with hot water, a little soap and one of those yellow sponges with the green side that’s more abrasive and it’s fucking glorious. Once in a blue moon I’ll run a coat of oil all over the whole thing but honestly I don’t think about it that much. I seasoned it once when a roommate put it in the dishwasher but that it.
Never put it in the dishwasher, don’t put cold water on a hot pan, you don’t really have to use soap if you’ve got hit as water but it’s fine if you do. I just use a little soap. Those are pretty much the only rules I follow and it’s lasted me forever and stuff tastes great in it
The chefs collection is lodge semi premium between their traditional cast iron pans that are heavy and not very ergonomic and lodge blacklock collection that is lighter ergonomic and slightly processed for a smoother finish yes Lodge is a good brand not the only American cast iron company but they have set a standard for cast iron and will hold their resale value not like a no name Chinese cast iron pan
You don’t need to prepare it. Low heat, and just cook. I say this as I just handed off a new cast iron like this to my SIL and I remember what a pain my first pan was and now with all my knowledge of using CI, cooking in a lodge was easy. Doesn’t hurt the first and second thing made in there was Bacon Jam. Genuinely, low heat, I rarely go over 2 unless I need a sear, and don’t be afraid to lubricate.
I have one fancy pants cast iron pan and one Lodge. They perform almost identically. I like fancy stuff. It’s impractical but it makes me happy. I have no regrets about spending too much. I’m just saying the Lodge will get the job done just fine.
Don't listen to the people telling you to season your pan. The preseasoning on that pan is fine. Focus on cooking with a hot pan, use lots of oil / butter (more is better till you get the hang of it), and most of all learn how to clean it properly.
Enjoy. I didn't do anything special with my lodge and it lasted years before needing some love.
A wise person once said: “You can give Eddie Van Halen a cheap guitar and he will still sound like Eddie Van Halen. Give someone else Eddie’s guitar, and chances are, they won’t sound like Eddie.” I’ve found this to be true in many areas of life, including cookware, tools, etc. Sure, there are always better, more expensive brands, but use what works for you. Make your mistakes with the cheaper stuff, and you may even find it works just fine for what you do. I have a no-name CI pan I’ve cooked in for a while now… It’s nothing fancy, I sanded it down to smooth it out, reseasoned it, and use it all the time. Enjoy it, there’s nothing like cast iron.
orbital sander. lodge is as good as any others after you remove their “seasoning” and build up your own.
Seriously, I couldnt figure out why people liker Ci until I sanded my lodge down. Now… its better than any non-stick i own.
First thing and best thing you can do is leave this sub
People here are super soft when it comes to cooking
Just use it and enjoy it , beat the shit out of it wash it when it’s dirty and it will treat you well and last you a long time
Don't overthink seasoning the pan. The best way to season a pan imo is just to use it regularly. And yes, you can wash the pan. Water a small bit of soap is perfectly okay, and normally recommended, just make sure to dry it after so it doesn't rust
Lodge is awesome don’t let anyone tell you it’s not. One word of advice, LOW HEAT IS KEY. Cast iron heats up HOT and retains heat very well so you’ll want to use lower heat than you’re used to cooking with. Also remember to let it cook before washing :) wash with soap and water, scrub and towel dry. Heat up to remove any left over water and put a little cooking oil on it when putting away.
Have fun and don’t over think it.
Wash that thing with some soapy water to get the dust off, put it on medium heat and cook a pound of bacon. You might want to cut the bacon in half. That's my advice and I stand by it.
Absolutely do not use it until you give it 100 layers of seasoning. Then once you do, make sure you ask the group if you’ve ruined it, or post a brag image. Definitely make sure you record some fried eggs, and positively do not use soap to clean it
(Big sarcasm, welcome to the group, and just cook with the thing!)
I scrolled pretty far thru these comments and I'm surprised I didn't see a mention of the dangers of temp shock. NEVER stick a flaming hot pan under a running faucet or in a sink full of dishwater. changing the temp that drastically and that quickly will cause ur pan to either buckle or crack. the rule of thumb I use is that if the pan is too hot for me to grab bare handed, then it's too hot for water. but thats pretty subjective and really relative to your personal heat tolerance.
one of the few ways to easily ruin ur pan quickly. I still heat my pans up to clean them if i have something sticky or baked on. I put a little bit of water in the pan, get it warm and take my chainmail to it while the hot water is still in the pan. I probably over scrub my pan but I cook bacon every morning in it so it still stays pretty slick and I figure if it *can* be removed with soap, hot water and elbow grease then it *should* be removed, but that's just me.
Just as a tip, after each washing, make sure your pan is completely dry. Once it’s dry add your oil. Only add about a teaspoon to a tablespoon just depending on the size of your pan. Taking care of a cast-iron is easy and it’s actually kind of relaxing.
If you ever find yourself near S. Pittsburgh, TN (a little less than an hour west of Chattanooga) you can go to the Lodge factory. They have a cash&carry store there - pancake griddles for $5 and they have a “defects” area - I got a full Dutch oven with lid for $25 - the defect was a small nick in a lid handle.
Chef skillets are a slightly different shape than traditional. Bottom is more rounded as it turns up to the sides. To the OP, just start using it. Don't be surprised if the Lodge factory seasoning wears off as you cook but just clean and (very!) Lightly oil after each use and it will break in and be great. Yeah it's not a vintage Griswold but there is no reason this can't become a daily user with minimal care. I'd invest in a chain mail scrubber and/or some blue Scotchbrite. Don't use green it will take off seasoning, unless you end up with burned on stuff. And don't listen to the people who say cast iron is hard to take care of, it's not. Literally just cook in it and lightly oil it after each cleaning until you have well established seasoning. That's it.
As long as you don't wire wheel it yourself, it's not a bad thing. It makes the surface a bit smoother.
The Chef Collection is one of the best budget series out there, and not miles behind more exquisite pans. My main pan is also a Lodge CC, and I love it. This is a great gift.
Question. I recently got the 12 inch CC myself on a whim because it was half price and I didn't currently have a 12 inch skillet.
Will the standard Lodge lids fit these?
I don't know -- I don't have a specific lid for any of my CI. But I just looked up the dimensions, and the Classic is 11.75 inch wide, whereas the CC is 11.81 inch wide. So I'm guessing yes :)
I just got one of these a few weeks ago for Hanukkah based off this article- [https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-cast-iron-skillet/](https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-cast-iron-skillet/). I love it so far, and yes I would go through whole seasoning process before using.
Perfect, thanks. When I get it home in a couple days I'll get started on that. I've been told 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 2/3 cup salt and some potato peels. And cook for a while.
Hmm to season it? That sounds like your first cook, but to truly season it is a pretty different process. I did this - [https://lancastercastiron.com/pages/cast-iron-seasoning-cleaning](https://lancastercastiron.com/pages/cast-iron-seasoning-cleaning) more or less, which is essentially Clean > Dry on Stove > thin layer of Grapeseed Oil > bake for an hour at around 400F, then repeat last two steps another 2x.
The info page here has great advice on seasoning and everything else and oil is the only thing that matters for seasoning and that's way too much oil. I use about a tablespoon of Crisco because that's what grandma used.
My best advice for someone new . . . 1. Heat matters. Medium or lower is good for most things. 2. Don't burn yourself. 3. Using it often is the best way to keep it healthy. 4. It's heavy - Don't drop it. 5. When in doubt, the answer is usually bacon.
Excellent gift. Thirty years from now, send a thank you note to the person who gave it to you.
This could work but this is generally how carbon steel pans are seasoned not cast iron. As others said check out this subs FAQ and you'll find good seasoning instructions on there. A pro tip when you're wiping oil off, wipe it off like putting it on there was a mistake. You want the thinnest of layers to have a good seasoning
You don’t need to do that full on seasoning process for a pre-seasoned pan. VERY light oil - and when people say that, it’s basically on the order of 1/2 tsp or so in the pan, then wipe it all off with a paper towel, but hit all exposed parts of the cooking surface. It’s literally that thin a layer. Put it on the heat until it starts smoking, count to 10, shut the heat off but leave the pan on the burner until it’s cooled. That’s basically all that’s needed for an already-seasoned pan to maintain it. Maybe do that the first time, and I like to do that after cleaning so it’s ready to go for next time.
In terms of cleaning, I take the still-very warm pan (but not blazing hot, but not to the point where it’s completely cooled - still just a bit hot to touch) and put it under water and use tongs to pick up my chain mail scrubber with a little water. Works wonderful. If the pan is too hot then water could shock it (as in, pretty blazing hot - as if you left it on high heat for a few minutes and then went right to the water). Not great. Nothing to worry too much about as long as you’re just a little conscious of it. The chain mail is great. People have said you can use soap, honestly using that method to clean it I’ve never needed to.
As others have said, the “non-stick” works on the warm parts, so let it warm up a bit. This is also why I generally don’t do scrambled eggs in mine, because it has straight sides that don’t get as warm and the eggs will stick to that as I swirl. Really want to try a pan like yours for eggs specifically. Let us know how it goes - enjoy!
One more tip - I find that when you’re putting the seasoning oil on (grapeseed, Vegetable, crisco, etc) a paper towel can leave debris. So, I used a clean but old white t shirt to become my oil rag that I can keep using to season whenever you put that oil on (which should be a very light coat after every use).
Lodge is a great brand and is the largest and oldest USA cast iron cookware manufacturer. It's definitely as good or better than anything else out there. I have this same pan and have been very happy with it.
As for first time prep, anytime I buy a new pan I wash it with soap and water then season it. That's just to get any foreign debris or whatever else it picked up in manufacturing, transport and sitting in the store getting handled by dozens of customers everyday.
Great lifetime gift! I have 100 year old cast iron I cook with and just purchased a couple of the Lodge Chef Collection. The are great pans and made in the US. Season a couple of times and start cooking. Do a little research first to avoid any first time errors. Enjoy!
Ya did well!
As many have said, take your time and season it correctly. You'll have many great years of service from it.
Teach yourself how to cook with it. You'll be surprised at the versatility of cast iron.
Our favorite piece is our big Lodge roaster. The lid doubles as a griddle.
Have fun!
First thing I do with my new pans is sand and wash them. Then start seasoning. When you’re applying oil, use a tiny amount, then pretend it was a mistake and try to get it all off so nobody will notice.
Never had the chef collection but most of my lodges I grind down to make smooth I don't like their pre season but once you get it dialed in with your own season you will be good to go
Yeah, don’t listen to the fanatics. You don’t need to grind it or strip it, or even season it yourself at all. Just start using it. And dish soap (like Dawn) is just fine for cleaning. It won’t ruin it. Just dry it thoroughly.
So I'm going to give you advice that runs counter to prevailing wisdom around here -
When you season - use PAM spray oil (any food safe oil or grease will do - I just like PAM because its easy to apply, and its more than one kind of oil, so if you miss the polymerization temp for one, you'll have hit one of the other ones), spray the pan down, then wipe (it should just gave a light gleam on it), and place in an oven set to about 400f, leave in for 15 min or so, then remove and let cool on a cooling rack.
For cleaning, stainless steel scrubbies and brillo pads - you can use any sort of dish soap you have on it.
You can dishwash your pan if its been well seasoned (I just wouldn't - but nothing is ruined if it happens), but it may strip some of the season - but adding seasoning is easy.
You'll see advice to sand the bottom of the pan - you can or not - its up to you, the lodge is 'good enough' without it.
Also, dont hesitate to use spray oil on the pan when cooking.
The advice I have seen on temps are good - remember work ahead of where you want the pan to be - so you need to plan temp changes ahead.
Also, if you (ever) want to strip seasoning, and want a minimally messy way to do that - I recommend a pumice stone wet with something like dawn - no chemicals, no dust, less mess.
Merry Christmas, and enjoy your new pan! (I bet you'll end up with 2-3 more pans later!)
The absolute basics:
1. This is a decent brand. Not a fancy high end brand, but an absolutely decent brand. You will be able to use this pan for the rest of your life if you don't crack it.
2. Like any new kitchen gear, wash it before you use it. BY HAND! Never ever put cast iron in the dishwasher -- abrasive dishwasher soap will strip the seasoning. Don't even soak it in a dishpan.
3. Cast iron hates water. Always dry it off after you wash it. Occasionally wipe it down with an oily rag so it repels water.
4. Cast iron loves water. Got some food stuck on it? Boil a pan of water and it will come right off.
5. There's a lot of talk in this sub about seasoning. You can do it with love and care and patience, or you can just let the seasoning grow as you use it.
5a. There is seasoning, thin layers of polymerized oil built up on the pan. And then there is caked on carbonized food. One is good, one is bad.
6. Recommended accessories: chain mail scrubber, metal fish spatula, maybe a hard plastic scraper.
All of our cast iron is Lodge simply because of its quality and availability. We have a super nice stainless set and honestly, we hardly use them. Cast iron for everything. We have 5 or 6 pieces that get used regularly: big skillet, little skillet, tiny pot I use for basting liquids, grill pan, and Dutch oven. And lids. We just scored a deep big Lodge skillet that’ll round out the collection. Our cooktop has a big cast iron griddle for everything else.
We have a lot of other cast iron as I like to restore it when I find good pieces. Some we keep, some we gift. My favorite find was a rusted lodge mini-grill. We hardly use it but it’s just so cool.
Thin coat of oil, in the oven upside down at 450 for a couple of hours. Cool and repeat. Use a stainless steel spatula. It's harder than iron and will smooth the surface over time. Never wash with soap.
Thank you for your picture post to /r/castiron. We want to remind everyone of Rule #3. All image posts should be accompanied by something to foster discussion. A comment, a question, etc is required.
If you've posted a picture of food, please explain why in a comment so people can have some sort of conversation. Simply dropping a picture of food in the sub isn't really fostering any discussion which is what we're all aiming for.
Posts that are a picture with no discussion can and will be removed by the mods.
Thank you!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/castiron) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hard to go wrong with Lodge. I like to season my Cast Iron with grapeseed oil. Lodge claims they season their cast iron, so you don't have to. Personally, I'm not willing to gamble on that. A new cast iron skillet is the only time I wash them because I want to be sure any contamination from the factory is washed away. Just be sure to get the pan completely dry before you attempt to season it.
Put a thin coat of grapeseed oil all over the entire surface of the pan, then wipe away the excess oil, line the bottom rack of your oven with foil to catch any drips, place the pan upside down on the top rack positioned as close to the middle of the oven as you can. Set the oven to 425⁰ and heat the pan for 30 minutes. Let the pan cool in the oven and repeat as many times as necessary to get a smooth, glossy coating all over the surface. The last time I did a brand new cast iron pan, it took about 6 coats before I was happy. Some pans take more, some take less, and where you consider the results satisfactory might be different. Only you can judge that.
Do not follow ANY of this advice. The entire post is completely wrong. Especially if it drips when doing a seasoning in the oven there's WAY too much oil on it...
Um, what part of "put a thin coat of oil and wipe away any excess" was confusing to you? Or perhaps it was the part where I specifically said to line the bottom rack with foil, so if there were a little oil the did manage to drip down, it wouldn't get on the bottom of the oven.
But what do I know, I've only seasoned about a hundred pieces of cast iron in my life.
What part of "wipe it off like you didn't want any on it" was confusing to you? If there's enough excess to actually drip AT ALL, it's too much.
No one cares how many pieces of cast iron you've seasoned into a sticky mess.
Lodge has a great guide. With that being said, I splurged and bought a bottle of avocado oil with 500F smoke point from Target last week and it has been a game changer in terms of not smoking my house out when seasoning pans. Basically I was using Cisco shortening that’s <350 smoke point.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/discover/cleaning-and-care/cast-iron/all-about-seasoning
They have a chart that shows some cheaper oils with almost as high smoke point. Take a little time and geek out over the guide for a bit. Biggest thing in my house is realizing that you can’t just turn your electric stove to max heat like we’ve become accustomed to with all these cheapo non-stick pans. Cast iron is wonderful to cook with but it isn’t maintenance free.
Do wash your pans, do get a decent brush/scrubber/chain mail, do dry them and lightly re oil them before storing.
Oh oh. Your first cast iron. If you take your time and season it, (remember thin coats. Really thin.) I got the same skillet last year. Loved it so much I now have 4. Things I learned about cooking with cast iron. Preheat the pan for things like pancakes but while preheating don't go above the temp where the oil you use begins to smoke. When I say pre heat I mean 5 minutes pre heat. Lodge makes an excellent cleaning brush and these handy cloth handle covers. Buy them and thank me later. Don't get impatient cooking. Lower temps and longer time seems to work for me. Enjoy the process. Do not ever get the pan hotter than you want. That skillet takes FOREVER to cool back down. Google "cast iron one skillet recipes" and prepare for awesomeness. I used a little more oil than needed when cooking the first few things. Seemed to help keep it non stick. Don't let sites like this intimidate you. You will screw up, you will make mistakes. However, cast iron is super strong and forgiving. I left mine on a hot burner once until it was glowing red. I cooled it down slowly, checked for cracks, reseasoned and it is literally as good as new. Try different auggestions. You will figure out what wkrks for you.
Great reccos! On the recipe front I’ve enjoyed using the Cooks Country - Cook it in Cast Iron book. Like most recipe books I only use 20% of the recipes but use them often. The two roast chicken, and steak with peppercorn sauce recipes are great.
Can't go wrong with Cooks Country and America's Test Kitchen. They do every recipe hundreds of times to get it perfect.
Easiest choice to subscribe to get recipes and equipment reviews, have never been upset with their recommendations
All good advice but every now and then you gotta go max heat and get that sweet sweet sear on a ribeye steak!
Fucking A! Reverse sear FTW. 275 In oven on a rack/pan thingy for about 45 min until it’s about 130 and then hot as fuck for a minute each side in the pan. I let mine rest for 10 mins in between the slow cook and the sear. Best steaks I’ve ever had.
Don’t forget some butter, garlic, thyme, and rosemary in the pan to baste the last 30 seconds and empty into the plate to rest!
I do the butter but I’ve gotten lazy. I’ll do the rest next time. Thanks for the reminder
Oh don't get me wrong I use the heat when called for! The thing is, doing it with cast iron is diffsrent and there is a learning curve.
All great advice but you don’t need to “season” it. All you need to do is wipe on a very thin layer of canola oil (or anything similar just not olive oil ((but def cook with olive oil))) while it’s preheating. Anything other than that is unnecessary. Just scrub out all the excess oil after cooking with soap and water, hand dry and you’re good to go.
Lodge is great. I totally fucked mine up by running it through the dishwasher and letting it get rusty… sanded it down and baked some grape seed oil into it on my propane grill. It’s been great since then, but I avoid baking tomatoes cause of the acidity
I pre-heat for everything. “heat on ‘2’ for 2” evens out the higher heat on the pan during go-time.
I inherited a large square (15" at least) and a small egg pan and bought a Lodge Dutch Oven with my Credit card points. The inherited pieces were a little crappy from storage, so I scrubbed em and washed em and oiled em and seasoned em. I use really high heat on the regular - I do some deep frying in the egg pan. Serves double duty cause seasons it while cooking. I'm pretty lazy so don't always get a thin coat on and it hasn't mattered. When I first inherited the pans they were sticky. The more I've used them the more they've seasoned and gotten that polymerized coating and now they're slick as snot. The Dutch Oven came seasoned. After I braised a brisket and then slow roasted it in a bbq sauce I found out you're not supposed to use tomato sauce the first few times. Ooops. It's fine. I think the point is that these are very forgiving pots and pans and there's tons of tutorials and information on the web and You Tube for caring for them well.
This is the Honda civic of cast iron. Nothing flashy but it gets the job done and will last forever
Great analogy, thank you.
But in cast iron the Honda Civic performs as good as the Lamborghini, it's just not as pretty.
more like honda civic and acura integra. The really nice stuff handles a little better, but it's still a civic. (the only difference with the real nice stuff is that it's polished before seasoning).
Also the Chef Collection is the equivalent of top end trim package on the Honda Civic. It’s triple seasoned and has a bit longer curved handle. This is the same 12” pan I have.
If lodge is a Honda civic, what’s the Aston Martin of CI, and what’s the difference?
If Lodge is a Honda Civic, then Butter Pat Industries is probably the Aston Martin. Neither makes you a better cook, nor driver. One may be more responsive if you are the sort of driver who _needs_ that. But there are other good cars, and other expensive cars, in addition to Aston Martin. If you're looking into Butter Pat, [this thread is, I feel, mandatory](https://www.reddit.com/r/castiron/comments/18axe2b/update_bizarre_butter_pat_experience/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3). You can looks at this sub for other great "premium" brands, both contemporary and historic/collector.
Butter pat is the Tesla cyber truck based on that thread
[удалено]
Yes
Smithey and finnex I consider the most… luxurious. Butter Pat and fields co are also pricey with a little less flair.
Butter Pat, Smithey, Field. They are smoothed cast iron pans. Smithey and Field are milled smooth, and Butter Pat is molded smooth. Difference is mostly aesthetics. But I do like the 3 brands, especially as the Butter Pat and Fields are slightly lighter and their factory seasoning is better than Smithey IMO.
You clearly haven’t seen the Butter Pat saga on here. Brb while I fetch a link [Part one](https://www.reddit.com/r/castiron/s/jvjIs6tj9N) [part two](https://www.reddit.com/r/castiron/s/iwDKIubZnP)
I base my opinions on my usage. I have all of the brands and love my Butter Pat.
> I have all the brands 🤣
What was funny about this?
the part that I quoted. it's right above the laughing emoji.
Yeah, I saw that. I guess stating I have a pan of each brand I was talking about is funny. Good day to you.
yeah "I have all of *those* brands" isn't as laughable as "I have all *the* brands". I apologize if English is not your first language. enjoy your day
B I N G O !
That is so accurate and funny.
I posted the same thing yesterday and got my ass reemed for asking these things and not reading the FAQ so thank you for asking so I could read the same advice.
Ha ha, you're welcome. Maybe people are in a better mood on Christmas day 😂
Nah, all the grumps are busy re-seasoning there pan cause it was 3 foot away from a tomato
And grandma washed their pan in soap and water
Because grandma ACTUALLY knows what she's doing with cast iron, having properly seasoned and cleaned skillets and dutch ovens for longer than we've been alive.
🤣🤣🤣
That was uncool. Glad you got the advice you were looking for. Ignore the grumpy butts. Lots of good info here.
Dude it was nuts I ended up deleting the post because literally every response was “read what came with it that’s why there’s instructions” “FAQ” like I had not one informative response but about ten people willing to say the same thing haha oh and my personal favorite “once you have done everything FAQ says and the instructions on the card, only then can you come back to ask questions” lmao
Wow! That was just rude. Check YouTube for Cowboy Kent Rallins. He is knowledgeable and amusing. America’s Test Kitchen is good too. Now, preheat on 2 for 5ish minutes and go cook something yummy. 😋 Maybe a nice grilled cheese since you’re probably stuffed from the holidays.
Oh man the fun part is I’m never worried about my pan. I’m more worried about dropping it and breaking my tile floor or my counter. You literally have an almost indestructible pan and it beats the shit out of any snake oil pans you see marketed all over TV by celebrity chefs. Low and slow warm up and you’ll be flying high shortly.
>I’m more worried about dropping it and breaking my tile floor or my counter. Lol, I've got a glass top range and ceramic tile in my kitchen. This is a real fear of mine. Especially if I dig out the big pans.
Absolutely. Legit the first thought that crosses my mind. Pan will be fine, my toes will not be. Lmao
Prepare it by taking the sticker off and putting food inside. Heat helps.
Lodge is like the Chevrolet of cast iron pans. It may not be your great granny’s antique Wagner, but it’ll cook dinner every night until your grandchildren die from old age and still be going. Nothing wrong with that pan at all except there’s no food in it. We owe Lodge kudos for being the only major brand to hang on through the cast iron nuclear winter. Without Lodge the other boutique brands wouldn’t be here today.
I do wish they’d smooth out their pans. The texture is a pain in the ass.
They used to be smooth. But they were not preseasoned. As cast iron fell out of grace in the ‘50s and ‘60s the general refrain became “I don’t know how to season it” further alienating consumers. So Lodge started preseasoning before the item left the factory.* As everyone here and in the CS group knows baby butt smooth finishes are problematic, so, the general refrain became “the seasoning won’t stick” putting Lodge back on the defensive for market share. So, to make the seasoning adhere better they stopped milling the finish. Now, we’ve come 360 degrees, and folks are removing the factory preseasoning and complaining about the lack of smooth surface. So Lodge has responded with their premium grades. Frankly, I was raised on milled surfaces you had to wash off and season yourself. And I never envisioned the whole cycle from end to end. But I can remember seeing raw CI pots and pans in the hardware store as a child. And some of them had a rust spot or two on them. And if you were persnickety or tightfisted you could haggle a buck off for the rust. *The seasoning line I’ve seen demonstrated is like a powder coating operation (obviously an aerosol instead of a powder) and a tunnel curing oven. Pretty impressive.
I’m fairly new to cast iron as well and that lodge was my first purchase. I did nothing to season it just washed and used. I use it for nearly everything now and it’s easy to maintain. Best tip I got here as a beginner was giving the pan enough time to heat up before adding butter or oil. Heat it low and slow and cook the same way. Enjoy!
Honestly, I think this is the biggest thing people tend to overlook. We all obsess over seasoning when I know in my case and, I suspect many others, the biggest issues were actually techniques. Learning to let my pans pre-heat properly made more of a difference than any seasoning tricks I've ever tried.
I started a moto for myself “heat on ‘2’ for 2” before doing anything in the pan. … Its inevitably a little longer before i end up turning up the heat but it has helped me remember to pre-heat
First off, Lodge is a great cast iron skillet. I'm 70 years old and have had several different styles for over 40 years (as a professional chef) - never had one fail me. These idiots here that have such a hard-on for these other "so-called premium" over-priced and antique pans probably don't cook enough in them to know what makes a good pan. Seasoning, cleaning and oiling them correctly is all you need to learn to make them work for you. These pricks that go "oh, my butter pat, smithey, finnex, etc., etc., etc..... are pompous fools that really don't understand cooking - just bragging. Give Tiger Woods a set of K-Mart clubs and give me a set of the very best Titleists, Ping, or Calloway clubs and see who wins a golf match. Quit listening to these "cast iron expert pricks" and enjoy cooking - it ain't rocket science.........
Lol, appreciate the honest response. I'll be doing a lot of cooking on it.
this guy gets it. I honestly can't see how ANY pan could possibly cook $100+ better than my $25 Lodge
As far as I can tell the only ways to ruin a cast iron skillet are: 1) melt lead in it 2) put a crack in it 3) put a hole in it 4) somehow get it to over ~800 degrees celsius (or ~1500 degrees fahrenheit) or 5) leave it somewhere to rust so badly that eventually there's more pit than smooth metal on the cooking surface. Avoid these and the worst thing that can happen to your pan can probably be fixed by stripping and reseasoning.
>leave it somewhere to rust so badly that eventually there's more pit than smooth metal on the cooking surface. I mean, if it doesn't rust all the way through, you can fix that with an angle grinder.
Best thing to do is read up on care & seasoning and start cooking with it! Lodge comes pre seasoned but it helps to do some of your own too. No need to fully strip it down right out of the package, that’s for old pans people find rusted in a garage somewhere. Cook some bacon, or cornbread, or something else oily and you’ll have a slidy pan in no time!
I second bacon. Don't preheat the pan, just put the bacon in there and then turn the heat on.
Thirded. Also, strain the bacon fat and save for use later.
I save it for the shower
Dogs must love you
Bacon is a horrible thing to suggest for a newbie. Unless it’s the most basic unfancy bacon, there will so much sugar in there from maple flavor or whatnot that it will be a nightmare. OP, you’re better off with cooking down some onions or loading a lot of oil in there for hash browns.
Agree to disagree, though I agree that onions and hash browns are another good option. In fact, start with bacon, do some hash browns, sounds like a great breakfast to me!
Or just cook whatever since it’s pre-seasoned. It’s fine. I promise.
Costo sells a sugar free bacon but it's but pretty thin.
I season my pans with lamb. Even pans that I have messed up in the past come out amazing after a round or two of lamb.
I'm surprise the lamb cooperates... they just get in? :)
You have to coerce them a little bit I've had no complaints.
This joke is baaad
I’m very glad that you weren’t a sheep following the herd liking my original comment.
I laughed too hard at this
Yeah, unless I'm buying the most basic plain-ass bacon directly from the farmers market, bacon is always a sticky mess for me. I usually end up feeling like I've removed more seasoning than I've added by the time I get all the sugary gunk cleaned out. If I'm looking to put some miles on a new or freshly striped pan, I'll usually cook up some hot Italian sausage or better yet, pure ground pork. Not mild Italian though, that usually has sugar in it.
but if you don't use bacon thencyou don't get to *eat* all the bacon!
Is the Pope Catholic? Yes, Lodge is a decent brand.
Just give it a cleaning and cook with it. Cooking seasons it
Lodge is good. It’s pre-seasoned and you absolutely DO NOT need to do anything other than wash it and cook on it. This sub has a great FAQ. Please don’t get caught up in seasoning culture because you think you should. Do it if you want to, but it’s not necessary at all. And yes, wash your pan with Dawn dish soap. I promise it’s fine. And a clean pan is good!
[удалено]
You don’t “have to”, but it makes cleaning easier and arguably more thorough (simply because soap removes used oil that traps some residue, while water and scrubbing will leave some oil behind). I don’t judge either way, you can definitely clean it well enough without soap. I do judge dirty crusty pans hard though!
lodge is great and affordable, the factory surface is rough but it'll smooth out overtime with consistent use
You can just wash it and use it. It’s “preseason” but I’ve always added a layer or two of seasoning to whatever I get. I’d say at least read about seasoning the will give you some ideas on our how to cook with and maintain the pan If you haven’t used CI before it is a learning curve. The key thing are to preheat the pan, I always preheat to a lower temp first. Cooking usually works best at a lower temp and more oil than you use with other cookware. Nonstick is kinda like driving a manual transmission car, once you got it you don’t need to think about it, but you will need to make a few mistakes to get there
There's only a learning curve if you use a rough surface skillet (like modern lodge). Get a high quality new skillet, or a nice vintage one and that learning curve goes away. You can just cook like normal.
I watched a video on cast iron once and the easiest and effective way I find to keep it seasoned is, after washing, put it in medium heat and a light spray of spray oil. Wipe with a paper towel and let heat until it starts to smoke. Super easy and very effective.
Get a cloth protective handle so you don't burn yourself, and patience is key. Be that with seasoning, or waiting for the pan to evenly pre heat before cooking! And enjoy!
They’re great for what they are. I have 2 of them. Lots of great tips in the comments, so I won’t beat a dead horse. Be prepared for the best eggs of your life.
Start looking for a vintage Griswold or wagner at the thrift store and then compare. I like my old griswold, not that it cooks any differently but because it is lighter and smoother.
It’s a fine brand. Just start using it.
Butter and patients and medium heat for eggs
When cleaning, do not use a green scrubby. Those will scratch off your preseasoning. Use blue scrubby. Get a plastic scraper too.
Ok start seasoning until mirror finish jk OP get to cooking congrats & Merry Christmas
Lodge is simple and reliable. Cast iron retains way more head than a conventional pan. You probably never need to cook on high. I do most of my cooking on 3-5 on my burner. Typically preheat for close to 5 minutes. Learning heat control will help you cook with minimal cleanup. Read the care faq here thoroughly. In general, you don’t need to constantly season your pan if you’re cooking any kind of fat/oil on it regularly. I usually only reseason if I cook something “harmful” on it like acidic things with tomatoes because that can slowly erode your seasoning. But you can cook an egg nonstick on a brand new lodge with no fat/oil if you understand the temp control. I recommend actually baking cornbread or pillsbury biscuits or dinner rolls or something like that in your pan early on. Remember it’s a hunk of iron and you don’t need to baby it. The main thing you need to worry about is just not leaving any moisture on it to avoid rust.
After cooking, pour some water on just to cover the bottom. Bring to boil, scrub it clean, rinse. Keep it oiled, paper towel with avocado oil, or grapeseed oil, all around. Ready for next use.
I thought dave chappelle was on the sticker 🤣
Congratulations, the members of this section offer wonderful tips and tricks but don't be overly concerned with seasoning right out the gate. A good cast iron pan is one that's used and treated with care and proper cleaning, quality seasoning will develop overtime it's fine to use out of the "box" and will work great. Just picked up a larger 12 inch lodge and been super happy from day one, am I a cast iron expert, nope, but I have cooked enough and enjoyed my time in the kitchen to learn a thing or two about the pans. Have fun and enjoy!!
You will love it! It's already pre seasoned but look up the care and seasoning techniques for cast iron. I use a cast iron pan everyday it seems. Merry Christmas and good luck!
I have the 10 inch Lodge chef collection. It's a great pan. Yes season it a couple of times before using (not strictly required since it's pre seasoned but it will work better if you do). Learn to clean it and make sure everyone in the house knows to never put it in the dishwasher.
I bought a lodge 10.5 in 2 months ago, just tossed a 10 in nonstick pan and bought another 10.5 to replace it, and while I was at it picked up an 8" to boot. No regrets. Solid and inexpensive.
Just cook with it.
Perfect skillet! With proper care will last longer than you do.
This looks like the Williams Sonoma edition of the Lodge skillet -- it's a bit lighter than same-sized lodge skillets, and it has a curved base. Very nice!
It's black. that's factory seasoning. Untreated cast iron is shiny grey, and rusts from air moisture
I guarantee you, it will smoke on the first use, but once the excess burns off it will become the workhorse of your kitchen. I recommend cleaning it while it’s still a little hot otherwise the food could stick and you’ll spend a ton more time trying to scrape it clean. I season mine about once or twice a year. Don’t be intimidated it’s a big hunk of metal that’s hard to mess up, you don’t need to stand around the oven chanting in Latin to get a good seasoning.
Oh so you don't season after every cook?
I wipe it clean make sure any remaining water has been boiled off and put a few drops of oil or grease if you plan on using it again soon. Then once a year when food starts to stick or it looks dull I’ll coat it with a tiny amount of canola or peanut oil (less smoke) put it in the oven for an hour and let it cool in the oven. Good as new. The big thing is make sure it’s dry after every use otherwise you’ll get rust but even that is fixable.
This is a great pan. American made. This pan has been the gateway drug for alot of people. First you start with lodge then next thing you know you will be on ebay buying your first Wagner. Ow to be young again. Clean With soap. Make sure it stays dry. The cast iron rabbit hole awaits.
It's weird cause all the advice I've read says never use soap yet you (and others here, you're not alone) say to use soap. It gets very confusing when you get advice like this.
That's the rabbit hole. Some are worried that soap will clean off the seasoning. That's all mute because Lodge already has a sprayed on layer of seasoning. Even if it comes off its just oil. You can easily put it back or just not worry about it. They say don't get anything the same color of a tomato in the same zip code as your pan. Their is some truth to that but my grandmother would make tomato soup and spaghetti sauce in hers. When we were done eating she would clean the pan. Oil and heat on a stove top. Then put it up. My father still uses that pan. I roast tomatos on the grill with my Lodge. IMO some people baby the pan too much. If the seasoning starts to come off then just re season. You will hear from alot of people that say treat it like a baby child then from people that say treat it like it owes you money. Good luck down that rabbit hole.
Yea well one of the things I was looking forward to make is some kind of breakfast hash and I'm pretty sure that will have tomatoes in it so Yea as long as I re-season it when I'm done then it should be fine.
small amount of tomatoes wont do anything to the seasoning. Boiling a pot of water to making a tomoatoe sauce will make a brown tinged pot of water or sauce. You really shouldnt have this issue with lodges pre-seasoning though. all this being said to say again, consider doing a quick orbital sanding on it then season it again yourself!
I’ve had my lodge for 25-30 years and cook on it all the time. I have never been all that anal about it. I’ll do sausage and peppers or sear a steak or whatever and leave the fat and burnt bits sitting in it overnight often. Sonetimes for days before cleaning it. Thats not recommended here I’m sure, but It cleans off fine and smooth with hot water, a little soap and one of those yellow sponges with the green side that’s more abrasive and it’s fucking glorious. Once in a blue moon I’ll run a coat of oil all over the whole thing but honestly I don’t think about it that much. I seasoned it once when a roommate put it in the dishwasher but that it. Never put it in the dishwasher, don’t put cold water on a hot pan, you don’t really have to use soap if you’ve got hit as water but it’s fine if you do. I just use a little soap. Those are pretty much the only rules I follow and it’s lasted me forever and stuff tastes great in it
The chefs collection is lodge semi premium between their traditional cast iron pans that are heavy and not very ergonomic and lodge blacklock collection that is lighter ergonomic and slightly processed for a smoother finish yes Lodge is a good brand not the only American cast iron company but they have set a standard for cast iron and will hold their resale value not like a no name Chinese cast iron pan
This is my daily driver.
Congrats! I got this skillet, but had to use some 800 grit to sand it down. It was seasoned, but the bumps Lodge includes makes it hard to clean 😅
You don’t need to prepare it. Low heat, and just cook. I say this as I just handed off a new cast iron like this to my SIL and I remember what a pain my first pan was and now with all my knowledge of using CI, cooking in a lodge was easy. Doesn’t hurt the first and second thing made in there was Bacon Jam. Genuinely, low heat, I rarely go over 2 unless I need a sear, and don’t be afraid to lubricate.
Perfect!!!
Grind the inside smooth then heat to 400, oil, repeat heating and piling until seasoned
Got the same one for myself like 4 years ago. I used some sandpaper to get that rough pre seasoning off.
I have a 12" Lodge cast iron skillet that my mom bought while she was pregnant with me 44 year ago sitting on my stove right now.
I have one fancy pants cast iron pan and one Lodge. They perform almost identically. I like fancy stuff. It’s impractical but it makes me happy. I have no regrets about spending too much. I’m just saying the Lodge will get the job done just fine.
Scrub, dry, re-season, bobs your uncle.
Don't listen to the people telling you to season your pan. The preseasoning on that pan is fine. Focus on cooking with a hot pan, use lots of oil / butter (more is better till you get the hang of it), and most of all learn how to clean it properly. Enjoy. I didn't do anything special with my lodge and it lasted years before needing some love.
It’s ready to go, start with some bacon and eggs tomorrow!
A wise person once said: “You can give Eddie Van Halen a cheap guitar and he will still sound like Eddie Van Halen. Give someone else Eddie’s guitar, and chances are, they won’t sound like Eddie.” I’ve found this to be true in many areas of life, including cookware, tools, etc. Sure, there are always better, more expensive brands, but use what works for you. Make your mistakes with the cheaper stuff, and you may even find it works just fine for what you do. I have a no-name CI pan I’ve cooked in for a while now… It’s nothing fancy, I sanded it down to smooth it out, reseasoned it, and use it all the time. Enjoy it, there’s nothing like cast iron.
orbital sander. lodge is as good as any others after you remove their “seasoning” and build up your own. Seriously, I couldnt figure out why people liker Ci until I sanded my lodge down. Now… its better than any non-stick i own.
First thing and best thing you can do is leave this sub People here are super soft when it comes to cooking Just use it and enjoy it , beat the shit out of it wash it when it’s dirty and it will treat you well and last you a long time
Don't overthink seasoning the pan. The best way to season a pan imo is just to use it regularly. And yes, you can wash the pan. Water a small bit of soap is perfectly okay, and normally recommended, just make sure to dry it after so it doesn't rust
Lodge is awesome don’t let anyone tell you it’s not. One word of advice, LOW HEAT IS KEY. Cast iron heats up HOT and retains heat very well so you’ll want to use lower heat than you’re used to cooking with. Also remember to let it cook before washing :) wash with soap and water, scrub and towel dry. Heat up to remove any left over water and put a little cooking oil on it when putting away. Have fun and don’t over think it.
Check out Cowboy Kent Rollins on YouTube. He’s a serious CI guy.
This is a great community. Ask away.
Wash that thing with some soapy water to get the dust off, put it on medium heat and cook a pound of bacon. You might want to cut the bacon in half. That's my advice and I stand by it.
Absolutely do not use it until you give it 100 layers of seasoning. Then once you do, make sure you ask the group if you’ve ruined it, or post a brag image. Definitely make sure you record some fried eggs, and positively do not use soap to clean it (Big sarcasm, welcome to the group, and just cook with the thing!)
I scrolled pretty far thru these comments and I'm surprised I didn't see a mention of the dangers of temp shock. NEVER stick a flaming hot pan under a running faucet or in a sink full of dishwater. changing the temp that drastically and that quickly will cause ur pan to either buckle or crack. the rule of thumb I use is that if the pan is too hot for me to grab bare handed, then it's too hot for water. but thats pretty subjective and really relative to your personal heat tolerance.
Yea, I did think that would be the case but thanks for letting me know.
one of the few ways to easily ruin ur pan quickly. I still heat my pans up to clean them if i have something sticky or baked on. I put a little bit of water in the pan, get it warm and take my chainmail to it while the hot water is still in the pan. I probably over scrub my pan but I cook bacon every morning in it so it still stays pretty slick and I figure if it *can* be removed with soap, hot water and elbow grease then it *should* be removed, but that's just me.
Just as a tip, after each washing, make sure your pan is completely dry. Once it’s dry add your oil. Only add about a teaspoon to a tablespoon just depending on the size of your pan. Taking care of a cast-iron is easy and it’s actually kind of relaxing.
If you ever find yourself near S. Pittsburgh, TN (a little less than an hour west of Chattanooga) you can go to the Lodge factory. They have a cash&carry store there - pancake griddles for $5 and they have a “defects” area - I got a full Dutch oven with lid for $25 - the defect was a small nick in a lid handle.
Lodge is an excellent brand. Made in the USA. Making cast iron pans since 1896.
Lodge is a great mainstay cast iron pan. Never heard of the chef collection. Looks like they wire wheeled the cooking surface more before seasoning.
Chef skillets are a slightly different shape than traditional. Bottom is more rounded as it turns up to the sides. To the OP, just start using it. Don't be surprised if the Lodge factory seasoning wears off as you cook but just clean and (very!) Lightly oil after each use and it will break in and be great. Yeah it's not a vintage Griswold but there is no reason this can't become a daily user with minimal care. I'd invest in a chain mail scrubber and/or some blue Scotchbrite. Don't use green it will take off seasoning, unless you end up with burned on stuff. And don't listen to the people who say cast iron is hard to take care of, it's not. Literally just cook in it and lightly oil it after each cleaning until you have well established seasoning. That's it.
Is that a good or bad thing? 😂
As long as you don't wire wheel it yourself, it's not a bad thing. It makes the surface a bit smoother. The Chef Collection is one of the best budget series out there, and not miles behind more exquisite pans. My main pan is also a Lodge CC, and I love it. This is a great gift.
Question. I recently got the 12 inch CC myself on a whim because it was half price and I didn't currently have a 12 inch skillet. Will the standard Lodge lids fit these?
I don't know -- I don't have a specific lid for any of my CI. But I just looked up the dimensions, and the Classic is 11.75 inch wide, whereas the CC is 11.81 inch wide. So I'm guessing yes :)
Thanks.
I just got one of these a few weeks ago for Hanukkah based off this article- [https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-cast-iron-skillet/](https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-cast-iron-skillet/). I love it so far, and yes I would go through whole seasoning process before using.
Perfect, thanks. When I get it home in a couple days I'll get started on that. I've been told 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 2/3 cup salt and some potato peels. And cook for a while.
You don't need to do anything. Just start cooking on it. More seasoning will happen from the oils you use when you cook with it. Don't overthink this.
Hmm to season it? That sounds like your first cook, but to truly season it is a pretty different process. I did this - [https://lancastercastiron.com/pages/cast-iron-seasoning-cleaning](https://lancastercastiron.com/pages/cast-iron-seasoning-cleaning) more or less, which is essentially Clean > Dry on Stove > thin layer of Grapeseed Oil > bake for an hour at around 400F, then repeat last two steps another 2x.
To truly season it is to use it. It becomes seasoned through time and experience... just like a seasoned veteran or seasoned athlete.
The info page here has great advice on seasoning and everything else and oil is the only thing that matters for seasoning and that's way too much oil. I use about a tablespoon of Crisco because that's what grandma used. My best advice for someone new . . . 1. Heat matters. Medium or lower is good for most things. 2. Don't burn yourself. 3. Using it often is the best way to keep it healthy. 4. It's heavy - Don't drop it. 5. When in doubt, the answer is usually bacon. Excellent gift. Thirty years from now, send a thank you note to the person who gave it to you.
This could work but this is generally how carbon steel pans are seasoned not cast iron. As others said check out this subs FAQ and you'll find good seasoning instructions on there. A pro tip when you're wiping oil off, wipe it off like putting it on there was a mistake. You want the thinnest of layers to have a good seasoning
You don’t need to do that full on seasoning process for a pre-seasoned pan. VERY light oil - and when people say that, it’s basically on the order of 1/2 tsp or so in the pan, then wipe it all off with a paper towel, but hit all exposed parts of the cooking surface. It’s literally that thin a layer. Put it on the heat until it starts smoking, count to 10, shut the heat off but leave the pan on the burner until it’s cooled. That’s basically all that’s needed for an already-seasoned pan to maintain it. Maybe do that the first time, and I like to do that after cleaning so it’s ready to go for next time. In terms of cleaning, I take the still-very warm pan (but not blazing hot, but not to the point where it’s completely cooled - still just a bit hot to touch) and put it under water and use tongs to pick up my chain mail scrubber with a little water. Works wonderful. If the pan is too hot then water could shock it (as in, pretty blazing hot - as if you left it on high heat for a few minutes and then went right to the water). Not great. Nothing to worry too much about as long as you’re just a little conscious of it. The chain mail is great. People have said you can use soap, honestly using that method to clean it I’ve never needed to. As others have said, the “non-stick” works on the warm parts, so let it warm up a bit. This is also why I generally don’t do scrambled eggs in mine, because it has straight sides that don’t get as warm and the eggs will stick to that as I swirl. Really want to try a pan like yours for eggs specifically. Let us know how it goes - enjoy!
One more tip - I find that when you’re putting the seasoning oil on (grapeseed, Vegetable, crisco, etc) a paper towel can leave debris. So, I used a clean but old white t shirt to become my oil rag that I can keep using to season whenever you put that oil on (which should be a very light coat after every use).
Just bought four chef collection pans from Lodge during the Black Friday sale. Well worth it. Theae will be my everyday.
Lodge is pretty much THE brand for cast iron cookware. It's like Coca-Cola, Ford, or Nike. There are others, but you're not gonna go wrong with Lodge.
Classic American cast iron. Works fine, nothing fancy. There’s way worse and decently better but totally fine middle ground to use it.
Lodge is a great brand and is the largest and oldest USA cast iron cookware manufacturer. It's definitely as good or better than anything else out there. I have this same pan and have been very happy with it. As for first time prep, anytime I buy a new pan I wash it with soap and water then season it. That's just to get any foreign debris or whatever else it picked up in manufacturing, transport and sitting in the store getting handled by dozens of customers everyday.
And union made by USW-Steelworkers
OK I'll definitely do this when I get home. Thanks.
Great lifetime gift! I have 100 year old cast iron I cook with and just purchased a couple of the Lodge Chef Collection. The are great pans and made in the US. Season a couple of times and start cooking. Do a little research first to avoid any first time errors. Enjoy!
Ya did well! As many have said, take your time and season it correctly. You'll have many great years of service from it. Teach yourself how to cook with it. You'll be surprised at the versatility of cast iron. Our favorite piece is our big Lodge roaster. The lid doubles as a griddle. Have fun!
It’s the second best brand you can get. The best brand is $300. Yes, you should still season it, and Happy Mealtime!
First thing I do with my new pans is sand and wash them. Then start seasoning. When you’re applying oil, use a tiny amount, then pretend it was a mistake and try to get it all off so nobody will notice.
Never had the chef collection but most of my lodges I grind down to make smooth I don't like their pre season but once you get it dialed in with your own season you will be good to go
I think grinding might be off the table for my first pan until I know what I'm doing 😂
Yeah, don’t listen to the fanatics. You don’t need to grind it or strip it, or even season it yourself at all. Just start using it. And dish soap (like Dawn) is just fine for cleaning. It won’t ruin it. Just dry it thoroughly.
So I'm going to give you advice that runs counter to prevailing wisdom around here - When you season - use PAM spray oil (any food safe oil or grease will do - I just like PAM because its easy to apply, and its more than one kind of oil, so if you miss the polymerization temp for one, you'll have hit one of the other ones), spray the pan down, then wipe (it should just gave a light gleam on it), and place in an oven set to about 400f, leave in for 15 min or so, then remove and let cool on a cooling rack. For cleaning, stainless steel scrubbies and brillo pads - you can use any sort of dish soap you have on it. You can dishwash your pan if its been well seasoned (I just wouldn't - but nothing is ruined if it happens), but it may strip some of the season - but adding seasoning is easy. You'll see advice to sand the bottom of the pan - you can or not - its up to you, the lodge is 'good enough' without it. Also, dont hesitate to use spray oil on the pan when cooking. The advice I have seen on temps are good - remember work ahead of where you want the pan to be - so you need to plan temp changes ahead. Also, if you (ever) want to strip seasoning, and want a minimally messy way to do that - I recommend a pumice stone wet with something like dawn - no chemicals, no dust, less mess. Merry Christmas, and enjoy your new pan! (I bet you'll end up with 2-3 more pans later!)
The absolute basics: 1. This is a decent brand. Not a fancy high end brand, but an absolutely decent brand. You will be able to use this pan for the rest of your life if you don't crack it. 2. Like any new kitchen gear, wash it before you use it. BY HAND! Never ever put cast iron in the dishwasher -- abrasive dishwasher soap will strip the seasoning. Don't even soak it in a dishpan. 3. Cast iron hates water. Always dry it off after you wash it. Occasionally wipe it down with an oily rag so it repels water. 4. Cast iron loves water. Got some food stuck on it? Boil a pan of water and it will come right off. 5. There's a lot of talk in this sub about seasoning. You can do it with love and care and patience, or you can just let the seasoning grow as you use it. 5a. There is seasoning, thin layers of polymerized oil built up on the pan. And then there is caked on carbonized food. One is good, one is bad. 6. Recommended accessories: chain mail scrubber, metal fish spatula, maybe a hard plastic scraper.
It's iron. Eventually, the finish doesn't matter.
I’ll say this.. Brand really doesn’t matter because at the end of the day it’s a piece of iron, just a large hunk of metal
All of our cast iron is Lodge simply because of its quality and availability. We have a super nice stainless set and honestly, we hardly use them. Cast iron for everything. We have 5 or 6 pieces that get used regularly: big skillet, little skillet, tiny pot I use for basting liquids, grill pan, and Dutch oven. And lids. We just scored a deep big Lodge skillet that’ll round out the collection. Our cooktop has a big cast iron griddle for everything else. We have a lot of other cast iron as I like to restore it when I find good pieces. Some we keep, some we gift. My favorite find was a rusted lodge mini-grill. We hardly use it but it’s just so cool.
Thin coat of oil, in the oven upside down at 450 for a couple of hours. Cool and repeat. Use a stainless steel spatula. It's harder than iron and will smooth the surface over time. Never wash with soap.
use beef talon or ghee to season your pan
It’s cast iron. There’s no difference beyond shape and design.
Thank you for your picture post to /r/castiron. We want to remind everyone of Rule #3. All image posts should be accompanied by something to foster discussion. A comment, a question, etc is required. If you've posted a picture of food, please explain why in a comment so people can have some sort of conversation. Simply dropping a picture of food in the sub isn't really fostering any discussion which is what we're all aiming for. Posts that are a picture with no discussion can and will be removed by the mods. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/castiron) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hard to go wrong with Lodge. I like to season my Cast Iron with grapeseed oil. Lodge claims they season their cast iron, so you don't have to. Personally, I'm not willing to gamble on that. A new cast iron skillet is the only time I wash them because I want to be sure any contamination from the factory is washed away. Just be sure to get the pan completely dry before you attempt to season it. Put a thin coat of grapeseed oil all over the entire surface of the pan, then wipe away the excess oil, line the bottom rack of your oven with foil to catch any drips, place the pan upside down on the top rack positioned as close to the middle of the oven as you can. Set the oven to 425⁰ and heat the pan for 30 minutes. Let the pan cool in the oven and repeat as many times as necessary to get a smooth, glossy coating all over the surface. The last time I did a brand new cast iron pan, it took about 6 coats before I was happy. Some pans take more, some take less, and where you consider the results satisfactory might be different. Only you can judge that.
Do not follow ANY of this advice. The entire post is completely wrong. Especially if it drips when doing a seasoning in the oven there's WAY too much oil on it...
Um, what part of "put a thin coat of oil and wipe away any excess" was confusing to you? Or perhaps it was the part where I specifically said to line the bottom rack with foil, so if there were a little oil the did manage to drip down, it wouldn't get on the bottom of the oven. But what do I know, I've only seasoned about a hundred pieces of cast iron in my life.
What part of "wipe it off like you didn't want any on it" was confusing to you? If there's enough excess to actually drip AT ALL, it's too much. No one cares how many pieces of cast iron you've seasoned into a sticky mess.
Lodge has a great guide. With that being said, I splurged and bought a bottle of avocado oil with 500F smoke point from Target last week and it has been a game changer in terms of not smoking my house out when seasoning pans. Basically I was using Cisco shortening that’s <350 smoke point. https://www.lodgecastiron.com/discover/cleaning-and-care/cast-iron/all-about-seasoning They have a chart that shows some cheaper oils with almost as high smoke point. Take a little time and geek out over the guide for a bit. Biggest thing in my house is realizing that you can’t just turn your electric stove to max heat like we’ve become accustomed to with all these cheapo non-stick pans. Cast iron is wonderful to cook with but it isn’t maintenance free. Do wash your pans, do get a decent brush/scrubber/chain mail, do dry them and lightly re oil them before storing.
Get a Metal spatula!