Lodge cast iron cookware, is it worth the hefty price?

[hangnoose]

LODGE IN POST #28

16" wide & deep monster with ears instead of a handle will fit most anything 60$ at rural king & will last generations if not horribly abused. That & the ribbed 10" square for steaks does most everything for me. The wife can't lift the big one, it's hard for me, but love going from the stovetop to oven with it.

 

[bgrone]

Gander in Texas

Ringo,

Texas has something like 16 Gander Mtn. stores, and at least one has an indoor range!

Jim in Iowa

 

[Jessie]

Thanks, just ordered my Lodge set from Katom. Great price.

 

[sqhead]

the 5 piece set sells on ebay for 84.00 shipped,the price goes up from there a little at a time.
how do you season and how often? and is there a secret to cleaning a cast iron pan? can one be ruined with normal use somehow?
I never owned one and you guys got me thinking I need one.

 

[Jessie]

the 5 piece set sells on ebay for 84.00 shipped,the price goes up from there a little at a time.
how do you season and how often? and is there a secret to cleaning a cast iron pan? can one be ruined with normal use somehow?
I never owned one and you guys got me thinking I need one.

The 5 piece I just ordered is pre-seasoned.
Cleaning...Never use soap! Hot water and a plastic scrub pad works best. Then dry and oil it. Last forever
The Katom site has them for $67 plus $18 and change for my address for shipping.

 

[smokindog]

We've got a large collection, some inherited, some bought new, various brands. Most used are the skillets and the 7 qt dutch oven. I like the cactus and corn ear molds for making cornbread!!!! We have a griddle but I find the larger skillet to be utilitarian enough that it stays in the cabinet. If you wanted just one piece to start, I'd say the 9 inch skillet (single handle)!

Keep your eyes open and buy it piece at a time. Like someone said, damp cloth only. Once it's well seasoned, oil it like your guns!!!! Wipe on, wipe off.

Best non-stick stuff you'll ever own!!!

The Walmart prices are similar and you can get the pieces you want. I've seen this stuff in Lowes, Home Depot, ... Keep your eyes open. Estate sales too

cast iron cookware - Walmart.com

 

[the ringo kid]

For a real treat cook a sugared ham in a cast iron dutch oven....

We have Lodge, Griswold and some Erie pieces. My wife uses them all. They are a great investment. Hers were passed down to her from her grandmother and mother..they were both great cooks.

Thinking about that possibility makes me droollllll.........

 

[the ringo kid]

We use my wife's grandmother's frying pan three or four times a week. I usse my big frying pan I stole from my father. Good cast iron is 2nd or 3rd generation and is slipperier than teflon when properly seasoned. I have a dutch oven that I pot roast all kinds of stuff in as well as make gumbo and chili.
You absolutely need cast iron to make a good roux!

Im greatly looking forward to making pot roast. Once--decades ago--I regretted having to endure a pot roast--God--I love it so--now.

 

[the ringo kid]

Ringo:

I don't think you'll be sorry if you go with Lodge. As others have mentioned, off-shore products can be questionable when it comes to impurity issues as well as casting process. In fact, if you look at some of the foreign made cast-iron, you can see that the walls of the Dutch ovens aren't of a uniform thickness. Pretty sloppy casting.

I got my first Lodge Dutch oven, a 10-inch, 3-quart model, almost 45 years ago, back when you'd usually only find them in use in cow camps or sheep camps. I still remember what I paid for it...$8.50 at Innes Sporting Goods in Provo, Utah. I questioned if I could afford it at the time.

But, after countless stews, roasts, pies, cobblers, and dozens of sourdough biscuits, it has more than paid for itself.

Since that time, I've added another eight or nine Dutch ovens to the lineup and three or four cast-iron skillets. All Lodge.

They have survived regular home use as well as season after season of elk camps, deer camps, fish camps, horse camps, and backyard cookouts. They have fed literally hundreds of hungry people over the years and are still going strong.

Enjoy!!!

Thank you, im also greatly looking forwards to baking breads too. Im going to get that 5 piece Lodge set come April, and I found two cookbooks I want--one is Dutch Oven Cooking, the other was a book filled with receipes from famous folks singing or acting in Westerns.

 

[the ringo kid]

At Cracker Barrel?

No wonder you thought it was pricey!

I have a couple of restaurant-grade triple-ply stainless steel skillets for which I paid what, for me, was a pretty hefty price. I rarely use them.

My much-less-expensive Lodge cast iron does a better job (Caj is right about the roux).

I have an eight-inch skillet, brand unknown, that my mother gave me. It's been in use in my family for at least a hundred years, I use it only for baking cornbread, which it does superbly. As somebody noted above, it's lighter for its size than newer stuff, but I don't mind the weight of the Lodge.

Heh heh, thats what I figured coming from them. They did have something I thought was priced fairly--a meal consisting of 3 biscuits and gravy--for about $4.50.

 

[the ringo kid]

At Cracker Barrel?

No wonder you thought it was pricey!

I have a couple of restaurant-grade triple-ply stainless steel skillets for which I paid what, for me, was a pretty hefty price. I rarely use them.

My much-less-expensive Lodge cast iron does a better job (Caj is right about the roux).

I have an eight-inch skillet, brand unknown, that my mother gave me. It's been in use in my family for at least a hundred years, I use it only for baking cornbread, which it does superbly. As somebody noted above, it's lighter for its size than newer stuff, but I don't mind the weight of the Lodge.

Heh heh, thats what I figured coming from them. They did have something I thought was priced fairly--a meal consisting of 3 biscuits and gravy--for about $4.50. If I have the chance Sat, I think ill go by Macy's to see if they carry it as well? and see how over-priced they are.

 

[the ringo kid]

16" wide & deep monster with ears instead of a handle will fit most anything 60$ at rural king & will last generations if not horribly abused. That & the ribbed 10" square for steaks does most everything for me. The wife can't lift the big one, it's hard for me, but love going from the stovetop to oven with it.

I want each size available. I have only two fry pans thanks to theft by brother--but I liked using each for something different. Now all I have are two over-sized pans to cook eggs in.

 

[the ringo kid]

Ringo,

Texas has something like 16 Gander Mtn. stores, and at least one has an indoor range!

Jim in Iowa

I wonder how far the closest one is to Corpus? We dont have a Bass Pro or a Cabellas either.

 

[the ringo kid]

We've got a large collection, some inherited, some bought new, various brands. Most used are the skillets and the 7 qt dutch oven. I like the cactus and corn ear molds for making cornbread!!!! We have a griddle but I find the larger skillet to be utilitarian enough that it stays in the cabinet. If you wanted just one piece to start, I'd say the 9 inch skillet (single handle)!

Keep your eyes open and buy it piece at a time. Like someone said, damp cloth only. Once it's well seasoned, oil it like your guns!!!! Wipe on, wipe off.

Best non-stick stuff you'll ever own!!!

The Walmart prices are similar and you can get the pieces you want. I've seen this stuff in Lowes, Home Depot, ... Keep your eyes open. Estate sales too

cast iron cookware - Walmart.com

I got to go back to WM Sat and im curious? so need to see what they have to offer?

 

[smokindog]

Remember, you can order online and ship to store for free!!! You can even ship to their neighborhood market stores.

I got to go back to WM Sat and im curious? so need to see what they have to offer?

 

[kozmic]

We do homemade pizzas in our skillets all the time. Preheat the oven with skillet to 450*. A little oil on the bottom spread out the dough, load on the fixin' and shove it back in the oven. Superb! (Just can't easily cut it in the pan)

 

[charlie sherrill]

Lodge is good...if you can't find Griswold. Griswold hasn't made anything for the last 50 years but there's plenty of it still out there if you look for it. I had a couple of pieces of it when I was offered a 20 piece collection of it for $400.00. I kept what I didn't have or want and sold the rest of it for what I paid. Griswold is a little lighter and seems to cook more evenly. When looking around flea markets and yard sales don't let the rust scare you off as long as there are no cracks. Put them in the dishwasher, even if they aren't rusted, and then re-season them. Scrub the rust off with a scouring pad and wipe dry. Coat them with cooking oil and put them in a hot oven. After they cool, wipe them down and do this a couple of more times. After you do this start using them. When you get through cooking rinse them off with cold water and wipe them out with a cooking oil soaked rag. Don't scour them or put them in a dishwasher after you've cured them. There are a lot of rusty old skillets out there that can be rescued and used.

 

[L Pete]

I wonder how far the closest one is to Corpus? We dont have a Bass Pro or a Cabellas either.

Go to Academy....the one here carries a large line of Lodge cast iron cookware.....

 

[the ringo kid]

Remember, you can order online and ship to store for free!!! You can even ship to their neighborhood market stores.

I keep forgetting the internet offers more than email sometimes. . That would be great to get it from the WM I go to the most.

 

[the ringo kid]

We do homemade pizzas in our skillets all the time. Preheat the oven with skillet to 450*. A little oil on the bottom spread out the dough, load on the fixin' and shove it back in the oven. Superb! (Just can't easily cut it in the pan)

Ive never had it that way--and will soon as I get one in. I make a pretty and mean Pizza--but it doesnt hold the crust against DTrinas pizza.