Big Iron: Cast Iron & Carbon Steel Pans

Here's tonight corned beef as it went into my old cast iron dutch oven. This one is unnamed but made in USA and milled in the interior. The little points inside the lid drip condensation on the meat the whole time it's cooking. Magic happens inside this pan. It's awesome for pot roasts and other beef roasts.

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Here are the ones that stay in the kitchen and get the most use. The big one was my mother's and dates to at least the 1950s. It's also no-name made in USA. The lid is sand cast Lodge that I bought 10 years ago. It does the same magic as the lid for the dutch oven.

The 4 on the right are all Wagner Ware. The griddle in front was my mother's and I've used it for many decades. The griddle and fry pan on the right get used very often. The low walled griddle is awesome. It gives your spatula such great access to the pan. The little Wagner Ware corn bread pan is great but the corn bread comes out looking like turds.
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Here are the camp dutch ovens and waffle irons. Sticking from the top of the stack is a lid lifter carved of vine maple.
The larger of the cast iron waffle makers is Wagner Ware. The other one is a Jotul. It makes little heart -shaped waffles. My granddaughter loves them.
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The last photo is some of my granite ware.
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Square_peg said:
Here's tonight corned beef as it went into my old cast iron dutch oven. This one is unnamed but made in USA and milled in the interior. The little points inside the lid drip condensation on the meat the whole time it's cooking. Magic happens inside this pan. It's awesome for pot roasts and other beef roasts.

10%22%20Dutch.jpg
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The old drip drop roaster!!! Amazing collection sir. Corned beef looks like it’ll probably make me slap a mama! (Not mine, she’s nice. And can probably still kick my ass🤣). Great post.
 
Ain't got any big iron. But this small griddle like pan is mighty handy to butter fry an egg when making an egg sandwich. Inside bottom diameter is 4.5". Shown with it is a tiny link chainmail scrubber I ordered off of Amazon that works well on my stainless uncoated pans. But the little cast iron pan is so nonstick that I virtually never use the chainmail scrubber on it. A quick swipe with a stiff nylon scrubby pad (not Scotch Brite) cleans it up pronto. The pan was originally part of a cookie making kit and came with a bag of cookie dough mix. Only marking is the year 2020 cast into the bottom.

Chainmail tip from the internet:
When the inside of your thermos gets coffee stained, put your chainmail scrubber in it with a bit of soapy water and put the lid on it. Now shake the s**t out of it!! The scrubber will scour clean the inside of the thermos.
 

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I only use carbon steel and cast iron. This large Matfer gets the most use. It's been bomb-proof for a few months now after 'Cook Culture' Youtube seasoning lessons. I used to post-cook season these pans, but a few months ago stopped, and they've been fine.

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Square_peg said:
I pull the handle off of my carbon steel wok and season it the same as I would cast iron. It makes for a durable non-stick finish.

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I was told to stick with seed oils and to avoid avocado and olive oils. I have a seasoning wax I made up from beeswax and flax seed oil, with a little avocado because I ran out of flax seed, and there haven't been any ill effects; however, I only cook with grapeseed oil now.
 
I tried grape seed oil and found the avocado oil to produce a more durable finish. Any high temperature oil will do fine. Avocado oil has a smoking point of 475*F.
My parents used Crisco shortening.
 
Square_peg said:
I tried grape seed oil and found the avocado oil to produce a more durable finish. Any high temperature oil will do fine. Avocado oil has a smoking point of 475*F.
My parents used Crisco shortening.
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I doubt many people would notice any big differences between Avocado, Olive or grapeseed when seasoning or cooking. The recommendation to stick with seed oils had to do with 'bad stuff' created by avocado oil during cooking and the seasoning process. This was based on recommendations by Jed at Cook Culture, and he's an expert at working with carbon steel. But it's not worth arguing over, so I'll shut up - sharing thoughts on this stuff is great.

Jed's even more avidly against using Teflon, and while I agree with his concerns, my girlfriend only cooks with Teflon (I won't let her touch my CS or Cast Iron), and I have no major concerns in that area either.
 
runscott said:
I doubt many people would notice any big differences between Avocado, Olive or grapeseed when seasoning or cooking. The recommendation to stick with seed oils had to do with 'bad stuff' created by avocado oil during cooking and the seasoning process. This was based on recommendations by Jed at Cook Culture, and he's an expert at working with carbon steel. But it's not worth arguing over, so I'll shut up - sharing thoughts on this stuff is great.

Jed's even more avidly against using Teflon, and while I agree with his concerns, my girlfriend only cooks with Teflon (I won't let her touch my CS or Cast Iron), and I have no major concerns in that area either.
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I would say use what works for you, because you will find plenty of "experts" who say use one and not the other. For example some believe the high levels of polyunsaturated fats in grapeseed oil produce toxic chemicals when heated and avocado oil is better having higher levels of mono fats. I wouldn't necessarily put all my faith on what one guy says.
 
chalby said:
I would say use what works for you, because you will find plenty of "experts" who say use one and not the other. For example some believe the high levels of polyunsaturated fats in grapeseed oil produce toxic chemicals when heated and avocado oil is better having higher levels of mono fats. I wouldn't necessarily put all my faith on what one guy says.
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I've made my decisions based on research and listening to the opinions of people who make this sort of thing their livelihood. Any time I get interested in something I tend to go down the rabbithole searching for information.

But when it comes to cooking, I've found that no one is in complete agreement in discussion forums. We had a carbon steel discussion in another 'man toy' forum where you had guys swearing by Teflon, others who used nothing but SS and only a handful like myself who only use cast iron and carbon steel. It got to the point where some of the guys were getting kind of insulting toward those who did not agree on their choice of steel. I had to leave, because....I was the only one who was right! 🥳
 
runscott said:
I've made my decisions based on research and listening to the opinions of people who make this sort of thing their livelihood. Any time I get interested in something I tend to go down the rabbithole searching for information.

But when it comes to cooking, I've found that no one is in complete agreement in discussion forums. We had a carbon steel discussion in another 'man toy' forum where you had guys swearing by Teflon, others who used nothing but SS and only a handful like myself who only use cast iron and carbon steel. It got to the point where some of the guys were getting kind of insulting toward those who did not agree on their choice of steel. I had to leave, because....I was the only one who was right! 🥳
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I hate it when I'm the only one that can see that I'm right and they're wrong 😂

I will say though that even the ones who are in the industry like pro chefs and even the manufacturers aren't always on top of the science. Honestly though my feeling is that the health risks of using one oil to season over another is probably way overblown.
 
chalby said:
I hate it when I'm the only one that can see that I'm right and they're wrong 😂
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Yeah, but often in discussion forums you really are the only one who is right, so just enjoy it!

chalby said:
I will say though that even the ones who are in the industry like pro chefs and even the manufacturers aren't always on top of the science. Honestly though my feeling is that the health risks of using one oil to season over another is probably way overblown.
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Yes, I've noticed the same thing - some pro chefs will only use SS, others only use coated; however, I think that's for efficiency on the line. I bet if they were at home cooking for a few friends, they'd use better stuff. Agreed on overblown health risks; however, when such things are discussed, I'm glad I'm hearing the detailed reasons, even if it's no big deal, as it's good to understand what's happening.
 
Cooking at my friend's sister's and husband's house in the woods of NH.
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The sad part is I don't think they use them. But they do make their own maple syrup. In their backyard and raise pigs.
 
Very good.

Would also be interested in a description of the pig roast and accompaniments, if it's convenient.
 
runscott said:
Yeah, but often in discussion forums you really are the only one who is right, so just enjoy it!



Yes, I've noticed the same thing - some pro chefs will only use SS, others only use coated; however, I think that's for efficiency on the line. I bet if they were at home cooking for a few friends, they'd use better stuff. Agreed on overblown health risks; however, when such things are discussed, I'm glad I'm hearing the detailed reasons, even if it's no big deal, as it's good to understand what's happening.
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There are local health department codes that could be influencing pro chefs.
 
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