You can use a much lower heat setting with cast iron than any other pan because of heat retention. Start the heat lower than what you think you need. Let the pan warm on the stove for several minutes before adding oil or butter.For eggs I much prefer butter. If the heat is too low you can always turn it up. If your butter melts and browns in a minute or less your too hot turn the heat down wipe out the pan and start over. For eggs I never have the pan hot enough to brown the butter.

When seasoning use just a drop or two of oil. A good seasoning is built with many coats of a tiny bit of oil over a long period of time. I have a handi wipe cloth that has been used over and over. There's enough oil in the cloth to season a pan by just wiping the cloth around in a warm pan I rarely need to add any oil to the pan. I left my 10" Finex pan on the stove with the heat on the other morning after making scrambled eggs. Baked what was left in the pan hard on the bottom of the pan. Let it soak in hot water for ten minutes and most of it lifted right off. Had to do a little scrubbing and lost a bit of seasoning. Plan of shallow frying some fish in it soon and that will get it back to where it was. Deep frying is really good for a cast iron pan much better than just frying bacon.

Cast iron cooking is not always easy but it's always worth it.

Well...in ANY discussion involving cast iron, I always have to post my go-to video:

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:
True for pans like Lodge but for Stargazer and other high end cast iron pans, their seasoning is top notch quality.

I think we're pretty well set on cast iron stuff now, but if we have need of anything else that I can't find a nice vintage example of, I'll keep Stargazer in mind. Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:
True for pans like Lodge but for Stargazer and other high end cast iron pans, their seasoning is top notch quality.

I think we're pretty well set on cast iron stuff now, but if we have need of anything else that I can't find a nice vintage example of, I'll keep Stargazer in mind. Thanks.

Lots of discussion here on the forum about them. Search: Stargazer

I have refinished several old pans, even using electrolysis to take them down to bare iron before building a new seasoning on them. My research showed me that low flashpoint oils polymerized at lower temperatures to allow a sturdy seasoning to be built up and recommended Flax or grape seed oils to be used initially. Bare cast iron, wiped with a very thin layer of these, heated to 450 or 500 in the oven (wiping out the excess oil after about 15 minutes) for an hour and then allowing to cool. Repeat at least twice and a strong seasoning layer will progressively develop. The more you cook, the better it will become. I took a 100+ year old Dutch oven to bare iron and repeated this cycle 4 times, and it is a slick as can be. Has stood up to countless washings with soap without problems. I always dry my cast iron in a low heat oven (280-300) to prevent any rusting.
I do have a wonderful Smithey 14” dual handle skillet. It did come with a decent base seasoning which I did not try to build specifically, we just cook with it when we need such a large skillet. Unfortunately, last week my wife cooked a chicken dish that then added canned tomatoes to the pan in it. The acidic cook turned the pan back to basically bare iron. I had to clean it up and quickly re-season to prevent significant rust from damaging it. I will put it through my full seasoning regimen now, but a bit disappointed that the base Smithey started didn’t stand up to the acidic cook. I have two Lodge pans that I sanded smooth and seasoned that have cooked tomatoes in without any issue (hence not blaming my wife for using the pan), just have studiously built a sturdy non-stick finish on them.

I have several Lodge pans. After multiple tries seasoning them, I popped a sanding wheel on my angle grinder and sanded them smooth. I seasoned three timed with beef tallow on my gas grill, upside down at 450 for an hour each.
Now, the pans get better each time I use them.
I use olive oil, butter, bacon grease, and beef tallow to cook. The last two for higher temp.
Eggs slide in the butter, and steaks come out close to perfect!

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
I'm sure someone will tell me I'm wrong, but I tend to think the seasoning they put on cast iron pans is only good for keeping them from rusting until you can put your own on. I would, and I have stripped that stuff off and started fresh with my own and done a few layers before I cook anything on it. Starting with bacon will give you a great foundation. Going straight to the eggs was a gamble.

Lodge, made right here in good old Tennessee!
It's not the seasoning that is rough, it is the actual casting of the iron due to the texture of the casting sand they use and the lack of machining. I have toured the Lodge factory during the Annual Corn Bread Festival and I pulled the tour guide aside and grilled him about how rough their pans are compared to some others. He said it was "intentional" and it helped the seasoning adhere. At most all you need to do is smooth off the very roughest texture of the pan... or just let it wear smooth. It works fine.

Lodge uses one layer of Flax-seed / grape-seed. I watched them doing it assembly line style, in big ovens... looked just like a production power-coating operation if you ever saw that done.

I put butter in the pan the times I cooked the eggs and made sure the surface was covered by the melted butter.

It’s a Lodge 10 1/4 inch skillet.

After the last disaster I cleaned it with hot water and sponge. Then I coated the surface with olive oil and let it sit on the range on low for about an hour.

Any additional tips are appreciated

Simple answer... BUTTER.

works for me no matter the condition of the pan.

quote:

Originally posted by ryan81986:
If you bought a Lodge they have some weird "pre-seasoning" coating that they put in which is texturized almost like truck bed liner. I always take a palm sander to mine with 60 grit and sand it off. Then I re-season it myself. Watch this video:

[FLASH_VIDEO]<iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ljSQrSoSYAE" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>[/FLASH_VIDEO]

This is what I plan to do if I ever have to buy a new piece.

Cook eggs in butter and watch your burner temp... I scramble eggs on 3.5-4 out of 10. Maybe a bit higher to fry.

I have both Lodge cast iron and carbon steel. Both started rough but having used them for several years, they are well seasoned and non-stick. They are not functionally lacking in anyway compared to the smooth from factory carbon steel I have. They all work well.

I have always wondered which was better for seasoning - low or high temp oils. I started with crisco. Then moved to avocado, thinking high smoke point oils would lead to higher smoke point seasoning. I think this may be a fallacy though - it may be that all seasoning is basically the same - burnt carbon or something.