My RG approved cast iron pan review

[Dirtyhip]

I've spent hours seasoning this thing.  Veggies have been cooked and some meat.  Eggs are always my bain on a cast iron.  I made a scrambled egg in the pan yesterday.  It did not stick.  It seems that this pan just gets better evry day.   It was scrambled.  Next egg I try will be over easy.  That one is the tricky one in a new cast iron.  The surface of this this thing is more slick than any cast iron I have used and that includes my vintage Wagner.

Flax seed has been my seasoning of choice, mostly.  

<stoked>

[Further]

Thank You 

So you would buy it again?

[12string]

If that excellent review has convinced you to buy a cast iron frying pan, be sure to do it before they start putting computer chips in them so you can't get them

[Randomguy]

I am really glad you didn't say "Yes, let's spend enormously stupid money on something redefines the word' hideous' " on the finex POS.

[a bunch of numbers]

What did you get?

[Randomguy]

1 hour ago, Rick5234 said:

What did you get?

She got PRI, again.

[Randomguy]

2 hours ago, Rick5234 said:

What did you get?

I forget which one she bought, but it was fancy and good-looking.

[Dirtyhip]

5 hours ago, Further said:

Thank You 

So you would buy it again?

Yes.  I really want to get a 12", but a Field.  I heard the Field is very nice and lighter, and with a good surface as well.  I admit that the first few cooks you have to adda bit etra oil in a new CI pan.  It mostly seemed to stay in the pan, but this egg would be more fat laden than an egg in a non-stick pan.  

2 hours ago, Rick5234 said:

What did you get?

I bought the Stargazer 10.5.  It is such a nice size.  Not too big but perfect for a family of two.

 

4 hours ago, Randomguy said:

I am really glad you didn't say "Yes, let's spend enormously stupid money on something redefines the word' hideous' " on the finex POS.

It was only $115.  I do not think that is bad for a pan that should last beyond my own life.  I plan to will this to someone.   It is an heirloom piece. 

[Randomguy]

5 minutes ago, Dirtyhip said:

Yes.  I really want to get a 12", but a Field.  I heard the Field is very nice and lighter, and with a good surface as well.  I admit that the first few cooks you have to adda bit etra oil in a new CI pan.  It mostly seemed to stay in the pan, but this egg would be more fat laden than an egg in a non-stick pan.  

I bought the Stargazer 10.5.  It is such a nice size.  Not too big but perfect for a family of two.

 

It was only $115.  I do not think that is bad for a pan that should last beyond my own life.  I plan to will this to someone.   It is an heirloom piece. 

It did look like the prettiest one, and sounds like you will have many happy meals with this one!

[Wilbur ★]

The only cast iron I use is a Dutch oven.   I far prefer carbon steel for pretty much everything.  My arthritic wife can use them too. 

[Dirtyhip]

13 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

The only cast iron I use is a Dutch oven.   I far prefer carbon steel for pretty much everything.  My arthritic wife can use them too. 

This is why I want a Field for my 12"  

Yes, these pans are heavy.  CS is a new animal in my kitchen.  It is really seasoning well.  The weight is an added bonus for sure.  CS heats up fast too.  There may be a time that I have to gift these heavy pans.  For now, I can still enjoy them.  

[jsharr ★]

22 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

The only cast iron I use is a Dutch oven.   I far prefer carbon steel for pretty much everything.  My arthritic wife can use them too. 

I may just have to order the Lodge 12" carbon steel pan on Amazon.  $44 and preseasoned!  

[MickinMD ★]

23 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

I've spent hours seasoning this thing.  Veggies have been cooked and some meat.  Eggs are always my bain on a cast iron.  I made a scrambled egg in the pan yesterday.  It did not stick.  It seems that this pan just gets better evry day.   It was scrambled.  Next egg I try will be over easy.  That one is the tricky one in a new cast iron.  The surface of this this thing is more slick than any cast iron I have used and that includes my vintage Wagner.

Flax seed has been my seasoning of choice, mostly.  

<stoked>

Congratulations on a non-sticking egg in a cast iron pan!

I decided to try a big cast iron frying pan - once, several years back.  I seasoned it, baked it to get that black patina of carbonized oil and read all the guides I could find on use and care but it never quite did what I wanted.  Maybe I'll try it again one day now that I'm a more experienced cook.

Meanwhile, I decided I got all I wanted out non-stick pans except for very-high temperatures for fried rice.

[Dirtyhip]

8 minutes ago, MickinMD said:

Congratulations on a non-sticking egg in a cast iron pan!

I decided to try a big cast iron frying pan - once, several years back.  I seasoned it, baked it to get that black patina of carbonized oil and read all the guides I could find on use and care but it never quite did what I wanted.  Maybe I'll try it again one day now that I'm a more experienced cook.

Meanwhile, I decided I got all I wanted out non-stick pans except for very-high temperatures for fried rice.

This is not a pan that you can drop on a burner and crack and egg into right away.  

I bought this pan pre-seasoned.  Then, I added 3 more coats of seasoning via the oven method.  475 F upside down for an hour.  I repeated this method several times.  

To cook in this pan, pop the pan on a burner and begin to heat for about ten minutes. Test the pan with a little water.  That drop of water should dance on the hot surface.  Add oil to the pan, and then drop your egg.  Another tip:  I found the plastic spatula to be a bad choice.  Plastic seems to smear the egg and not get under it.   Use a metal spatula that has a sharper edge.  Just my opinion.   It does not perform well while cold.  

Non-stick is an easy pan to use.  It just will not brown food properly.  You can cheat the browning process with butter in a non-stick.  My husband loves non stick pans and is not a fan of my Stargazer.  He said he is afraid to use it and ruin my pan.  On second thought, maybe is actually afraid of me, and not really the pan so much.  He finds CI too fussy of a pan.  My husband is the type to pop a pan on high and put food in it immediately.  

[Razors Edge ★]

19 minutes ago, Dirtyhip said:

Non-stick is an easy pan to use.  It just will not brown food properly.  You can cheat the browning process with butter in a non-stick.  My husband loves non stick pans and is not a fan of my Stargazer.  He said he is afraid to use it and ruin my pan.  On second thought, maybe is actually afraid of me, and not really the pan so much.  He finds CI too fussy of a pan.  My husband is the type to pop a pan on high and put food in it immediately.  

My wife likes the Le Creuset, but not sure what the heck those are.  I think those brown things okay, but I also am in the non-stick "cook in a jiffy" camp for most things. I just avoid higher heat with the non stick pans, but WTF knows what the real risks around those things are.  Our current non-stick is ceramic coated, I think. Not sure how that compares to traditional non-stick either.  It's all a PITA trying to be "safe" but balancing it versus ease of use and cleaning.

[Dirtyhip]

3 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

My wife likes the Le Creuset, but not sure what the heck those are.  I think those brown things okay, but I also am in the non-stick "cook in a jiffy" camp for most things. I just avoid higher heat with the non stick pans, but WTF knows what the real risks around those things are.  Our current non-stick is ceramic coated, I think. Not sure how that compares to traditional non-stick either.  It's all a PITA trying to be "safe" but balancing it versus ease of use and cleaning.

I had bad luck with the Le C, ceramic coated pans.  Food stuck horribly to that thing.  It is possible that I bought a knock off.  You can not trust AMZN.

[12string]

We started switching to Cast Iron a few years ago, and it highlighted the need for better steel pans.  Settled on the All Clad 3 ply, so now we have the slow even cast iron and the quick to react clad.   It's just a matter of getting used to which style for which recipe

[Further]

I do most of my cooking on charcoal grill  using either a cast iron griddle or pan 

The cast iron holds up to the heat and gives the food a wonderful carmalized coating Much better than direct heat but still gets the smoky flavor