Jun 19 2015
I wasted a lot of money buying skillets over the 40 years I
have been cooking. Non-stick Teflon was popular and I used them but had to buy
new every year or two. My Mother-in-law gave me one of her old cast iron
skillets. I used it for a few years but then everything started sticking, not
sure if I gave it away or threw it out. I tried re-seasoning it but probably
didn’t do it right.
I paid $90 US for a scan pan coated with ceramic. It did a
great job for a few years then started sticking more. My next one was a
Green-Pan and the same thing it started sticking. Then they had one called
Orgreenic that was advertised on TV. My wife asked if I wanted one and I said
no. Then she came home with one and said it was only $17 so got it for you. To
my surprise it was nonstick and have been using it for over 3 years and it
still looks new. We use it mostly for frying a quick egg for breakfast.
I had a cast iron Dutch oven and a bean pot I used a lot and
liked them. I then got a Lodge 10 inch pre-seasoned and started using it a lot
and really got to love cooking in it. I had a large 12 inch old Lodge skillet
that I didn’t use much and gave it to my neighbor to use; he let his daughter
and husband use it for camping.
After he died his wife asked if I wanted it back so took it.
It was dirty and in bad shape so I read up on how to clean and re-season CI. I
cleaned it in my electric oven on self-cleaning mode and it came out like new. I
did a six step seasoning on it and came out great. I only use it for outdoor
cooking. I then bought and old Wapak hallow ware skillet. I had wanted one for
a long time since they were made here in Wapakoneta. It was a little over a
pound lighter than my new Lodge skillet. I cleaned and re-seasoned it and it
came out like new. It has a slight bow in the bottom so I don’t use it on my
glass top stove. I save it for baking cornbread.
Then Lodge came out with some carbon steel skillets. I
bought a 10 and 12 inch one; they were pre-seasoned and love them. They are my
everyday skillets that I use a lot.
A lot of the members of LTBBQ forum were buying De Buyers mineral
B carbon steel skillets. They are not cheap so I held out for a while but
finally had to have one. I got a 10 inch skillet for $60. They recommend just
one seasoning on the stove top before using so that’s the way I did it.
The only minus thing is it is heavy and the older I get that
becomes an important factor. It is a pound lighter than my Lodge 10 inch CI and
a pound heavier than my Lodge 10 inch CS skillets. I do like that it is deeper
than my Lodge CS. One other thing is my chief bottle washer, my wife, cannot
handle them to clean so I have to clean them! They all clean up pretty easy, a
quick brushing under hot water and a final scrub with a Scotch blue pad. Just
lately I discovered a chain mail for cleaning stuck on food.
The De Buyer skillet is a thing of beauty; well made. It did
not take on much color after seasoning. I used it for the first time; I did
three batches of jowl bacon in it and then sautéed some onions and garlic. It
cooked great and was easy to clean up. I was surprised it did not take on much
more color. It looks like it will take a while to develop a nice color and may
never get the nice black color of CI.
The new skillet
L to R Lodge CI 5.25 pounds
De Buyer CS 4.25 pounds
Lodge CS 3.25 pounds
After one seasoning
First cook
Cleaned after first cook
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