cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker??

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (edwmax)

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 13:18:42 GMT

Most 'low cost' CI pans can be as good as the high price pans. The difference is usually because the inside of these pans have a rough surface due to lack of finishing by the manufacture. So if one sanded or used an emery cloth the smooth the inside surface and then season. The pan will have smooth non-stick CI surface just like the high-price name brand pans.

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (mar52)

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 12:45:07 GMT

I have a Lodge I bought new many, many years ago and it's never achieved the patina on the Wagner I purchased at a garage sale for a couple of bucks.

What a difference that smooth surface makes!

Another way to season your cast iron is to throw (place) it in your grill and let it cook for awhile. Gas - charcoal, it doesn't matter.

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (Foodbme)

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 02:48:54 GMT

Authentic Griswold products are collector items and have a high value besides doing a great job of cooking. I have a skillet and it's fantastic. Here's the history if you're interested:
http://www.griswoldcookware.com/history.htm

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (baileysoriginal)

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:56:40 GMT

We also throw our cast iron cookware into one of the big bonfires we make with all the fallen limbs and logs from the property - and then reseason them. The only piece I don't like to use is the skillet grill pan - it cooks great but cleaning it is a nightmare. My favorite is the Dutch Oven - great for pot roasts and soups and stews.

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (edwmax)

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:51:16 GMT

sundancer,

I do that too, the hot fire will remove the buildup of the carbon char on the sides & bottom of the pan and improve the heat transfer during cooking. Usually there is nothing wrong with the inside of the pan, but the outside that has the buildup.
Anyway, re seasoning the pan is not a problem for continued use. This is a really an very easy way to clean a good pan.

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (bartl)

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:54:56 GMT

CCinNJ
Was the demo at Chef Central?

Paramus, not Hartsdale, but yes. It was Maria, not Jim, although Jim was there.

Bart

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (Sundancer7)

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 19:28:48 GMT

My mother, (Mamaw Smith) who resides next door gave me a 14 inch Lodge skillet that her mother gave her. Mamaw Smith is 90 and since her mother gave it to her, I have no idea of the age of it. Several years ago we were burning wood debris that gathers on the lake. We do this annually and will do so again in about two-three weeks. Mamaw comes down and throws the skillet on the huge fire we have going on the beach. It was a hot fire and huge and I really questioned what she was doing. She comes down the next day, picks up the skillet, wipes it off, covers it in oil, sticks it in the over to season it and now I am using it several times a week. It appears the Lodge cast iron products are indestructible???

I also have several other lodge prducts such as a smaller skillet and two bacon presses which can be used for other things.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (CCinNJ)

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:21:13 GMT

Was the demo at Chef Central?

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (bartl)

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:36:03 GMT

I paid about $50 for mine (I bought a cast iron double griddle from Macy's for $10, and it cracked on the third try; luckily, Macy's is good on refunds and I'm good about keeping receipts). I had some problem with smoking, until I saw a demo chef at a local kitchen supply store making small burgers on one, with no smoke at all. I asked her how she did it, and she told me the "secret": Heat the skillet on medium flames, but then reduce the flame to low; even a medium flame is too high for the skillet while cooking.

Bart

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (douginvirginia)

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 07:58:25 GMT

You must re-season it periodically, and of course, never scrub vigorously with soap and water.
While Lodge is a good product, you'll never get the slick surface that a Griswold provides. Those were finely milled, a process which is not followed today.

Still, a great deal for 2 bucks!

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (kevincad)

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:26:27 GMT

Thatchairlady

What if I periodically relube the surface while using in an alternative mode? When I first found it, cleaned it up and stored it on oven. Figured it would do fine sitting in there, even when other things were baking or roasting. I started to develop some minor rust in there... moisture from whatever was cookiing above it, I guess?

I'd re-season it.

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (plb)

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 12:47:05 GMT

My wife recently got a Lodge cast iron wok that she really likes.

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (Thatchairlady)

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 23:17:51 GMT

What if I periodically relube the surface while using in an alternative mode? When I first found it, cleaned it up and stored it on oven. Figured it would do fine sitting in there, even when other things were baking or roasting. I started to develop some minor rust in there... moisture from whatever was cookiing above it, I guess?

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (rjb)

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:27:15 GMT

If you're using this griddle as a flame tamer or equivalent and putting pots on it, you're quickly going to destroy any seasoning and it will rust. Also when/if you do decide to use it as intended, i.e., to cook food directly, things will likely stick.

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (Thatchairlady)

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:16:19 GMT

Griswold! That's what the 3rd skillet was. One of the reasons I even bought the cruddy things was their "name". Once cleaned up & well used, CI is some of my favorite things.

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (CCinNJ)

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 20:43:29 GMT

Griswold is a big big score if you find it at a garage sale. That's a very very good day!!!

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (Thatchairlady)

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 20:21:46 GMT

Have been a BIG fan of cast iron since getting reunited with it a few years ago... Lodge, Wagner & ... what's the other big name? Three different sized skillets from a yard sale... maybe $1 each. Totally crusty, but cleaned up and reseasoned great. Since then always have eyes open for something new to add to collection. Have an unusual, little diamond shaped Lodge skillet that's marked 1 egg (or something like that) on the bottom.

I think key to getting the most out of cast iron is to USE IT and USE IT as often as possible. Think that grill/griddle will stay right on top of stove for a while.

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (Phishmonger)

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 10:51:06 GMT

This got me scrambling into a little-visited closet near the sink, where I re-discovered a Lodge Grill Pan, purchased new some years back at a factory outlet store in the Massachusetts wilderness, and a CI dutch oven, not used for many moons. I've gotta get these out, clean them up and get with more CI cooking (I do use a CI skillet for corn bread and occasional fried whatever). Coincidentally, I see that, on a bookshelf, I have a cookbook titled "Cooking in Cast Iron" (wonder if I ever even opened this book). I must get off this computer and get creative in the kitchen.

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (edwmax)

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 10:07:06 GMT

It turns the two stove burners into a 'flat top' where two or three pots (small) can be keep warm or simmering from one burner. ... I can't get my wife interested in using ours that way. Also, a stove that have a 'flat grill' could be used as a 'flat top' with pots.

Re:cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (CCinNJ)

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 22:58:23 GMT

Excellent TCL!!

It's difficult to pass by Lodge at a garage sale...when the price is right.

I picked up a Lodge corn (I guess stick) pan for $1 last year. So...I will pull it out soon....and make something!!

Spontaneous fun of the garage sale purchases!!!

cast iron grill/griddle... multi-tasker?? (Thatchairlady)

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 22:35:12 GMT

Found a Lodge, 2-burner, grill/griddle at a yard sale a while back... maybe $2-3. Didn't NEED it... just WANTED it. It sat in its "storage" area (between washer and drier) along with baking sheets, until a week or so ago. Hadda pull them all out and noticed rust on bottom edge of CI. Sure it's from lack of use and proximity to washer?? Clean-up was easy enough. It has been living on top of my stove since then. I KNOW one of the things about getting the best use out of CI s to USE IT... and often. Well, I rarely need that kinda cooking area. Then had a brainstorm!?! Though I don't know for a fact, imagine that most flat-top cooking surfaces (diners, steak shops, etc) are just a slab of well used metal over a gas flame.

Since the grill/griddle has been on stove top, have cooked ON TOP of it in pots/pans a few times. Today had some shrimp I wanted to boil up. Just put pot with shrimp and hefty dose of Old Bay on top of griddle side and turned on gas. Was thinking I might have some smoke issues... but none. Wasn't fast... thinking CI acted like one of those "flame-tamer" trivet-y thingies. Know I'd have to do something crazy to remotely damage this slab-o-iron. Gonna alternate burners (rarely need all 4) and rotate/flip grill/griddle.