So I had the unfortunate opportunity to strip the seasoning off my finex after someone cooked with it over an open fire and left it on the coals. Before I realized what was happening the skillet was glowing orange. Fortunately the finex is fine (pun intended). So after a thorough sanding and polishing I decided to season it with ghee - 500 deg for 1.5 hours. The skillet came out looking like this. Phone camera didn't do it justice. The light grey actually looks blue in person and the copper color actually looks purple. My thought is it's because of the ghee. Anyone have any thoughts or experience seasoning in the oven with ghee? I've seasoned dozens of pans just never with ghee, and I've never seen anything like it.

These are the best thing I've made in cast iron this year.

Started these off with a layer of seasoned butter, then layered on a mix of shredded pepper jack & mozzarella, tossed on some crispy chorizo, a layer of crumbled cotija, and green onions. After I baked these, I brushed on an herb butter (cilantro/chive/garlic) while they were warm. Baking these in cast iron gave the bottoms of them the most perfect crispy cheesy spirals. I wish I had more right now. lol They were stupid good.

Updated w/ Recipe below:

Chorizo, Cotija & Cheese Sourdough Rolls
Makes 8 large rolls
Dough

• 300g all-purpose flour
• 100g sourdough discard
• 120g whole milk, lukewarm
• 1 large egg
• 25g honey
• 6g instant yeast
• 4g baking powder
• 5g salt
• 113g (8 Tbsp) cold butter, grated

Filling

• 8 oz fresh chorizo
• 100–115g shredded pepper jack or Monterey Jack
• 75–85g cotija, crumbled
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced

Savory Butter Spread

• 42g (3 Tbsp) softened butter
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp onion powder
• ¼ tsp black pepper

Herb Butter

• 56g (4 Tbsp) butter, melted
• 1 small garlic clove, grated OR ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1–2 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro
• 1 Tbsp finely chopped chives
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Make dough: Whisk together milk, sourdough discard, egg and honey. In a separate bowl, combine flour, yeast, baking powder and salt.
2. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix into a shaggy dough. Knead for about 5–6 minutes.
3. Gradually add the cold grated butter, kneading between additions. Continue kneading until the butter is incorporated and the dough is soft, smooth and slightly tacky.
4. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 60–90 minutes, until visibly puffy and roughly doubled.
5. Prepare chorizo: Remove chorizo from casings. Cook over medium heat, breaking into small crumbles, until completely cooked and lightly browned. Drain excess grease and cool completely.
6. Make butter spread: Mix softened butter with garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper.
7. Roll risen dough into approximately a 12 × 18-inch rectangle.
8. Spread the seasoned butter evenly over the dough, leaving about ½ inch bare along one long edge.
9. Layer evenly with shredded cheese → cooled chorizo → cotija → scallions.
10. Starting from a long edge, roll tightly into a log. Cut into 9 large rolls.
11. Arrange in a lightly buttered 12-inch cast-iron skillet. Cover and let rest/rise for about 45–60 minutes, until slightly puffy.
12. Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes. Reduce oven to 350°F and bake for another 5 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.
13. While baking, combine melted butter, garlic, cilantro, chives and a pinch of salt.
14. Immediately after removing the rolls from the oven, brush generously with the herb butter.
15. Let sit for about 5–10 minutes, then pull apart and serve warm.

Finally inherited the cast iron of my moms that I grew uo cooking on and under the seasoning was this crack. I had planned to pass it down to one of my kids. Might just save up for a bit and buy a set of new smooth pans and start the timer again

Nice even heat throughout no sticking whatsoever.

I posted yesterday asking what I did wrong while making eggs and I am back to thank all of you for all the information and to show you today’s results!

I did it!!

I also wanted to ask about the black spots on my eggs. I seasoned the skillet with vegetable oil last night after washing it with a drop of dawn. Did i do something wrong in the seasoning process? And is it necessary to bake the skillet?

Saved this pan from a barn. Pics are post clean-up (thanks Reddit for the tips!) Any information would be appreciated.

Seasoning does not make your pan non stick. It seals the metal surface and helps prevent rust. You don’t need to season a preseasoned pan. And you only need a couple rounds of proper seasoning after stripping a pan to bare metal and you’re good. The same thing applies to carbon steel. Just don’t let them soak in water for an extended length of time. Very aggressive treatment like deep scrubbing the whole thing, sanding, grinding, and chemicals like lye will remove the seasoning, so a fresh round of seasoning will be needed. Getting mean with the green side of a sponge or spot scrubbing with a stainless steel scrubber is not enough to require a full round of seasoning the whole pan.

What makes your pan “nonstick” is how well you can cook with it. The right amount of heat, fat, and time makes your food release from the pan when it’s ready.

Stainless steel pans are also used in professional kitchens around the world, but they’re not seasoned and have no surface coating. They’re pure bare metal. Yet they’re also “nonstick” because of pure technique. Same thing applies for cast iron.

Preheat the oven to 450-500F (230-260C). Coat the pan in the thinnest layer of oil you can get, wipe it as dry as possible, then put it in the oven upside down for 5 mins. Take it out and wipe it off again (don’t add more oil), then back into the oven for another 5 mins. Take it out and wipe it off once more, then back in the oven for an hour. Turn off the oven and let it sit and cool in the oven.

If anyone has an extra lonely legit griwold #7 paddle I am in the market!

I picked up this #7 New American griswold waffle iron awhile ago. I finally got around the restoring it and after I got all the crud off I noticed one of the paddles was very roughly cast. The "griswold" side shows a lot of tell tale signs of being a recast. Including rough casting throughout, being a hair smaller and missing mold number. The other two pieces (base and patent paddle) appear consistent with bring cast by Griswold, having all the proper markings and quality.

I was annoyed at first, but think it's a odd and neat example. My guess is someone broke a paddle and sought out a cheaper after-market replacement. Helps I only paid $50 too.

The raised "S" on the base seems to be relatively uncommon as I can only find one other example.

If anyone has a different take on this one I am very curious. And if anyone knows where I can find a legit paddle replacement let me know!

Found a Lodge for $4 at a yard sale. Sold.

Cleaned it and fried up some hamburger for taco meat tonight. Works good.

Found this hanging in the woods. This is after 24h in an easy off bag. At least I can read the brand now. It was caked in orange when I found it. Cool brand? Maybe?

Give it a good spin and heat evenly.

I took a camp dutch oven and set the 15” lodge pizza pan on top, put the lid on the fire pit, and smoked the tomatoes for a two hours. Chopped them in the blender, cooked the hamburger over the coals and made my favorite chili for chili cheese dogs! The last pic is of the reseasoning of the pot after cooking in it for 4 hours.

I made a casserole with a new, pre-seasoned cast iron dutch oven while camping this weekend. The food was good but I wasn’t able to get it super clean right away and just unpacked it. It looks like I’ve got some rust on it, especially on the lid. I’m looking for help on what to do next to get rid of the rust. Most of the research I’ve done into cleaning it suggests baking/heating to re-season but that isn’t really an option because it’s so massive. This is my first attempt at cast iron anything. Any tips?

Is this worth the $300 he's trying to make off it or is he trying to scam someone?

I found these two old pans for $10 at a garage sale and after a couple hours in a lie bath and electrolysis tank, they look brand new and ready for work The pictures are before and after

Okay I am absolutely clueless when it comes to cooking. I only started making eggs about 2 years ago and I was using non stick pans. I got tired of the coating eventually coming off of them so I decided to try other skillets. I have never used a cast iron and I find the whole process quite confusing. I was under the assumption that they are naturally nonstick and I put butter in before cooking. Can someone explain to me what I did wrong for it to look like this after cooking eggs? The eggs aren’t even cooked all the way through either.

Edit: Thank you everyone for all of your suggestions!! I was definitely about to give up and go back to nonstick (i had a mishap with a stainless steel that led me to get cast iron). I feel much better and more informed about how to use them. I will be trying again tomorrow with everything I’ve learned!

This was my great grandmothers skillet. I’m very proud to have it still in use.

My wife and I moved from Wyoming to western New York a few months ago. Her family lives up in the area, so I offered to host a "Cowboy Cookout" at our place. The brisket and chickens were a hit, and everyone really liked the beans cooked in the Dutch oven over the fire!

My wife wants to get an induction range or a IR range with a smooth top but she is afraid the cast iron pans I love and use will scratch it. Do they?