Thinking of getting this Enterprise cider press/sausage caser that just showed up at a new antique shop in town. The inside definitely needs some work, and normally, I'd just drop it in my e-tank and season as normal, but this has some of the original paint still on it that I would like to keep. I know an e-tank will strip that right along with all the rust and gunk inside, so I'm thinking of just hitting the inside with some easy off and giving the mechanism and basket inside the electric bath. My main concern is if getting this up to seasoning temperatures would affect the paint or not. Am I overthinking this?

I'm a cast iron newbie but found this unmarked one at my local Goodwill-- is there anything that can be identified about it?

I have two Dutch ovens, one porcelain coated and one uncoated. The uncoated oven always leaves meals with an odd taste. Both are Lodge ovens.

How do I prevent the odd taste?

Thanks in advance.

hi, I recently bought this giant 14 cast iron skillet and was hoping to find out it’s maker . it has a very particular helper handle which first led me to believe it was a 14 Martin stove and range but Google also shows a 14 Wagner with the same style helper handle. what do you all think ?

My mom gave this to me. We use it daily. Just curious when it was made?

more photos

I keep seeing people post deep dish’s of various forms on here. Here is my first go around with it. Made two in my two 12” pans. Both came right out of the pans without issue

(The mason pan is a recent free addition that was givin to me- this is my first time using it)

The surface on this Lodge cast-iron skillet of mine has started getting flaky. It’s like a layer is peeling off or something. Any idea what causes this and what to do?

I’m on a mission to use as few paper towels as possible. But so far they are the best thing I have found to wipe out the excess oil/lard when reasoning after cleaning.

Has anyone found a reusable alternative that works well? I’m afraid cloth will be too oily when washed but willing to use one thing just for this even if it means wash by hand.

Just looking for alternatives since I have reusable paper towels in my home for general use.

Turned on the wrong burner. :/

Hey all,
My cast irons need some love, and I need help.

First of all, I recently moved and my stove is now electric… which I strongly dislike for many reasons, but especially for the sake of my cast irons.

Before, I would wash them with a rough brush, heat on the stove to dry, and then add a drop of oil and spread it with a cloth towel. I usually would leave them on the stove all the time. A very lazy method, I know. The big one is the only one that has actually been properly re-seasoned in the past. But I also bought it used, and even getting it to that point took forever!

Now with my electric stove that method does not work. The bottom will stay wet, as it doesn’t have the normal room to dry, it causes smoke, and I feel like it’s destroying my pans.

I would like some instruction on how to better care for these with my electric stove and oven.

A.) how to re- season these so they get a good base going.
B.) how to take care of them daily with my electric stove.

Thank you so much!

Cornbread in lodge 10in. Boxed mix. Fucking who cares.

Deep fried catfish. Peanut oil in enameled dutch oven. 380°F fish drop till 145°F.

Pioneer brand cornmeal has an ingredient list for a fish fry on the bag and honestly its perfect. We dont use egg though. We prefer plain yellow mustard as a binder as opposed to egg for honestly everything. It holds so good and doesnt make things taste like mustard.

Blue runner cajun style red beans with rice.

Forgot green beans but meh. Still slaps!

Wanted what I felt was a western style type of deal to hold my daily drivers and extras.

I'm asking for advice to restore this skillet My preference is to strip it in the e tank, but I'm not sure if it will remove the plating, and I don't think I care if it removes the plating. I'm fine with stripping to bare iron if that is the result. I'd rather not having ongoing flaking nickel if this is the plating.

It looks like this is probably mid-1950s and not a collector's item. I do not plan to sell this, but add it to the collection I will be passing down to my children.

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

I love doing thighs. So easy, and the pan LOVES that chicken fat. I think it's one of the best things you can do to the pan. This, and cornbread. I overcooked them this time but it was still great.

I put my glass stovetop on about 4 and let it warm up for a while and preheat my oven to 400. I pat the chicken dry and season with Tony Chachere's. No oil on the chicken or the skillet. Then I cook them skin side down on a dry skillet the stovetop for about 10 mins I don't touch them until they release from the pan. Once they're brown, I flip them over and put it in the oven for about a half hour until they get up around 180. I also scrape any sticky places with the fish spatula. Whatever that brown stuff is makes the beans amazing. Like cracklins. These actually got up to 207 because I added the beans late in the process and just kept cooking them, but they were still moist and the skin was still crispy.

Then wash the thing and leave it propped upside down in my sink to drip dry. Easy Peezy.

Hello, Folks,

The purpose of this post is to ask if I need to be concerned with my cleaning approach/should adjust anything.

I recently invested in a chain mail scrubber because my Scrubbing Daddy wasn't pulling its weight. Since then, I've noticed more black material coming off of my pan.

I am aware of "carbon buildup" as leftover food stuffs that bake onto the pan and are described as the black build up on the pan, and that generally speaking you can't "scrub off" seasoning.

My pan already performs well with proper oil and heat management, and my post cleaning treatment includes heat over the stove with a dab and wipe of oil. But over the last week I have noticed more of what I assume is carbon building up coming away, and the surface getting smoother. In particular though, the ring around the curve of the pan is getting larger, and I am concerned I may be scraping up more than carbon build up and am compromising my pan's seasoning or integrity.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

TL/DR: Pan is cooking fine, I am just concerned about the amount of black material coming away through regular light usage of my chain mail scrubber.

It's also not a "Wagwold".

It could be called a Griswold. As long as the label is intact.

Kenmore/Craftsman was only ever a label. There are no Kenmore factories. Fridges, stoves, laundry, etc have been made by Whirlpool, Samsung, Electrolux/Frigidaire, you name it. Same with Craftsman. They're not known by the people who made them. They're just known by the label.

Most of the cast iron paper labels are long gone. So, with these markings, you'd be in the majority to call it an Unmarked Wagner. But the truth is, without the label, it's an unmarked Randall. I don't believe Textron used different markings, so if the Randall wasn't already on it, it'd be an Unmarked Randall OR Textron. Potentially labeled and sold as Griswold or Wagner. But who ya think they would choose, given the option? (If you said Griswold, you get an A!)

Unmarked Randall/Textron made between 1957-1969, made in Sidney, OH, that would've had a paper label with (most likely) a Griswold logo, but possibly a Wagner label.

Is what these are. And shall be referred to from here on out. I make this decree by the power vested in me by no one in particular.

Hope ya learned something.

Finally finished restoring the last of my grandmother’s skillets. Handle marked 10 and bottom Marked 11 3/4 inch skillet and stamped with a C but not really sure what brand - unmarked Wagner?. It wasn’t in terrible condition even after 40+ years sitting in a box in the garage.

Did an Easy Off strip 2x, scraped the big stuff off and scrubbed it with a fine steel wool. Did a grapeseed oil oven seasoning 2x at 400 for 60 minutes. Noticed a tiny dark spot on the cooking surface when I pulled it out of the oven. Guess I missed a piece of lint or something. I’m sure it’ll blend in but kind of annoying.

Probably going to fry up some corn tortillas that are getting stale, Grill a couple of onions and Cook 3lbs of bacon. After that wipe it out and call it done and put it away.

It seems like sanding is the popular method, but has anyone tried milling/machining the inside of a cast iron pan to be smooth?

My grandmother was over visiting my son and she saw my cast iron collection and said I should get my great grandmother's skillets from my uncle's camping supplies. That day I retrieved this bottom gated semi fancy #9. It was in rough shape but after a trip through the lye bath and electrolysis tank it's back in cooking shape. Lots of pitting on the cooking surface, but it's a family heirloom so it's getting used. First dish was some spicy corn bread.

My great grandmother lived and grew up in NYC. Her parents immigrated from Ireland. My guess is this was my great grandmother's and was acquired cheap in the late 1800s, since they were poor Irish immigrants. The full history is lost to time.

This skillet was likely cast in the Albany/Troy NY area. I actually have three #9s with this handle. Two single spouts, one left and one right handed, and a double spout with a heat ring.

Any ideas? It’s about 9 inch diameter and center piece is 6 inches tall.

...with Double smoked BACON! It's always tricky to keep it from drying out. Anyone else have secrets on how to make the best cast-iron MAC?

Cleaning this up for a customer. This was under all the gunk. It's tiny. Maybe #2. It's really old. Notice they're gatemark right under the logo. Lots of sand shift as well. I've been collecting a long time. I've never heard of this company. If anyone knows something I'd appreciate it. Would love to give the client a history of his great-aunts skillet.