/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>13625667
I used to think cast iron was a meme and everything would stick for me until i bought an old griswold, thing was smooth as glass. Ive since fucked it up a little but smooth is the way to go.

>>13625667
If you are asking about this, don't fuck with it. You don't know what you're doing.

Unless you are ready to probably ruin your cast iron to learn something. Then go ahead.

>>13625696
Lol you can't ruin cast iron just from a bit of sanding.
>>13625667
Don't bother, your seasoning should form a smooth layer eventually and at that point it'll be stronger since it has more surface area to cling to.

just use the damn thing

>>13625696
Exactly how will sanding a rough metal surface ruin the metal surface?
Seems like you know alot less about this stuff than anyone
>>13625701
>should forma a smooth layer eventually
in what, like 25 years?
>>13625709
Looking real smooth there buddy, is this brand new too, or have you actually been building up the seasoning for how many years?

>>13625730
>in what, like 25 years?
Like a month of real use?

>>13625795
I’m gonna call bullshit on that one.

>>13625730
the griddle is new the skillet is 60+ yes old

>>13625878
Disgusting pig.
Everyone who's a cast iron fanboi has a kitchen covered in splatter.
Because cast iron cooking is all about everything that splatters grease and aerosolizes it so everything in the room has a sticky greasy film and stinks.
Not in my house.

>>13625892
Can I eat your pussy?

>>13625892
apartments. I'll get a propane stove to use outside soon enough. thanks for your blog post

>>13625878
So you haven’t put a months worth of REEL USE on it to get it smooth like >>13625795 stated?

Sanding is for fags. Put that sucker on your knee mill and take a few thou off of it.

>>13625918
it worked fine the day it came out of its box, bud.

>>13625949
I dont have that shit i sell software

>>13625966
But it will never become smooth and you know it.

you can sand it, but if it works, what's the point?
not having a smooth surface is fine

>>13626018
>not having a smooth surface is fine
Yeah I doubt it will make a big difference. And if you do want to sand it down get an angle grinder with a coarse grit flapper disc. If you work with computers for a living I assume you dont want to lay the foundation for early onset arthritis in your wrists and fingers by sanding it for hours by hand.

>>13626014
why do I care about smooth. I care about non stick and bonb proof

>>13626018
I hear smooth surface builds a better non-stick seasoning faster and it makes sense because there is less surface area for the food to stick to and haven't come acros a single argument telling why a rough surface would be better in any way. Some say that seasoning sticks better to a rough surface, but I'd imagine it's more of an issue of heat rather than the surface being sandy. Oil doesn't care about things like that and cast iron has a shit ton of pores anyway even if you'd sand the surface so that it would feel smooth agains your finger. I mainly only hear that a rough surface "doesn't really matter" but I don't see why it should be like that if a smooth surface would be better in every way.
And I'm willing to bet my asshole that a new and rough cast iron will NEVER build a 2mm thick seasoning so that it would turn smooth as glass like all of the old cast irons are.
>>13626070
Nobody asked what you care about and that was never the issue.

>>13626052
I'm not the one working with computers, but I ain't exactly looking for a mirror finish. Just buffing off the small pebble like shit on there with something like 60-80 grit by hand.
Shouldn't take more than 10 minutes.

The rough finish that comes on things like Lodge won't have any effect on non-stick properties. I sanded mine smooth because I don't like the feel of a spatula on a rough surface. Takes 10 minutes with a drill and some sanding pads.

>>13626122
yeah in theory smoother should be better
if you have the time and the tools then go for it (it's not that hard of a job)
I've done it with 80 grit manually once and it went pretty quickly
80 grit was 'smooth' enough for me so I left it at that
now that I've used it for a while and it's properly seasoned, it's pretty smooth
in the beginning I used to salt scrub it pretty often as well (to clean it), which I'm sure helped to make it smoother

>>13625667
https://youtu.be/ljSQrSoSYAE check this out if you plan to sand it.
It's better to sand it level with no bumps but don't go crazy with the grit.
You need only 60-120 grit if you go to smooth it will not hold the seasoning easily and it will flake off unlike a rougher pan.
You can just leave it alone but it's gonna take a lot more time.

>>13625667
> old cast iron pans used to be sanded smooth.

Machinist here, and the inside and bottom of the pans weren’t sanded, they were milled smooth.

> Should I sand down and re-season my new cast iron?

I wouldn’t bother but if you really feel the need, sandpaper won’t do the job so you might want to consider getting a puck style sharpening stone.

>>13625696
Why do people act like cast iron is so valuable. Maybe if you're spending 80 plus dollars per pan, but I use Lodge from Walmart. It's between 8 and 12 dollars per pan and they work fine. Not a huge loss at all if you fuck something up.

Any one know how cast iron pan's go on big wok burners that are 10 times more powerful than a stove.
Do they warp or flake and do they sear steaks better or just burn them.

>>13626666
The beauty of cast iron has been lost on a lot of people.

Expensive cast iron has more work done to it so that it can be lighter and smoother, but the cheap shit works just as well if you don't need to lift it around a lot, or don't mind.

I use it, wash it with regular dishwashing soap, then heat it dry, oil it and leave it be. I've used it on the gas stove, thrown it into a fire, and used it with hot coals. No issues, because at the end of the day, it's an oiled lump of metal.

Then there's the "don't wash it, treat it like a baby crowd. Those people make it seem like a fucking chore. If cast iron was treated that way, it wouldn't have been used in the frontier. It wouldn't have been used and abused the world over for centuries.

Cast iron will always be good enough to cook on, no matter how you treat it, as long as it's cleaned and lightly oiled.

You can also sand the fuck out of it if you want, so long as afterwards it's cleaned and lightly oiled.

>>13626660
You claim to be a professional machinist, yet claim sand paper wont bite something as smooth as cast iron?
Are you on some illegal substances?

>>13626710
Why would you need soap to wash it?

>>13626660
idiot

I sanded some cheap unmarked skillet just yesterday to 2000 grit and put 2 seasonings on it so far, hopefully i don't get a mouthful of mercury from it when i use it.

>>13626874
Because soap makes it easier, and only gets rid of seasoning if 1) you seasoned it badly or 2) you're using some 1800's soap that's still alkaline.

>>13626888
there is nothing easier than cleaning a cast iron with water I promise you
use salt if you really need to scrub it

>>13626908
I clean mine with soap, too.

>>13626918
For no good reason.

>>13626122
seek therapy

Kind of ridiculous how rough it was at first. I basically just knocked all of the sharp peaks off and that was all the effort I could muster.

>>13625667
I've had a 12" lodge with a stock surface for 8 years now and I've never desired a smoother more non-stick surface. I'd say it's unnecessary to the point that it would be only aesthetic

I found a cast iron skillet in my yard when gardening a few years ago. I took to the shop, ran it through the parts cleaner, and cleaned it up with a dewalt with the wire wheel.

>>13625816
????
It's not perfectly flat but it's far more smooth than when I got it. I went on a bit of a cooking binge and made literally everything in it that first month so it's got a heavy seasoning on it now.

>>13626414
>metal utensils on cast iron

>>13626414
wtf thats a pretty looking egg, how no stick?

>>13628398
If you know a machinist, get them to smooth it out.

>>13625667
If you're patient you can just season it and cook fatty meats and season it over a lifetime and eventually it will fill in.

If you're impatient you can get a cup brush and a power tool and scrub that shit flat, although don't be fooled by the shiny finish that gives you at first, that's mostly metal worn off from the brush and will need to be cleaned off.

>>13625667
season it. flaxseed oil or vegetable oil or whatever. one light coat at a time, put it in the oven at 500F for 30 minutes, take out, let it cool, repeat seven times. the cast surface will smooth out. it won't be mirror flat but it doesn't need to be. just use it.

(yes this process will produce smoke and yes it will stink)

>>13629493
seasoned pan and some olive oil or butter works just fine for eggs

>>13629897
this

Related question
I have a carbon steel wok with a wooden handle. How do I season it assuming that I probably shouldn’t put that handle in a 500F oven

>>13630132
sell it and buy a cast iron Dutch oven

>>13629838
If you read this thread properly, you’ll discover that machinists are fucking retarded and as you can clearly see, my pan has already been sanded (with sand paper) and has a single layer of seasoning on.
I’d rather not ask retards for help or advice.

>>13629271
Post a picture of it.

>>13625878
what the fuck, clean your fucking kitchen mongoloid

>>13629483
jesus fucking christ, that's one of the few times TO use metal you fucking retard
actually kill yourself alt right child fixated cringeposter

>>13630311
why are you posting on 4chan while your kitchen is in thsi fucking STATE

Re-seasoning my sanded cast iron with lard boys.
My kitchen smells like a pigs asshole.

>>13630389
>>13630481
I'm gonna clean on my days off you drama queen. you are rude online

>>13630481
sorry pal didn't mean to tag you

3rd seasoning done boys.
Off to buy some bacon and potatoes.

>>13625667
Try to get vintage cast if you can, it's 1,000,000 times better

>>13629483
Are you retarded? It's not Teflon. Metal is fine unless you're literally using your skillet as a cutting board

>>13631271
Iron is a base element, it's not 1,000 times better than a 60 year old pan. It's just less reasoned.

>>13630311
I’m not falling for the cast iron meme. I still need the wok anyway

All done bros.
Now would I recommend someone doing this?
100% yes
A little bit of sand paper and some elbow grease can get the job done in no time.
Now I don’t feel like I’m sanding stuff off of my spatula anymore and it works fucking great.

>>13631357
the very worst kind of stove anon

>>13631366
You'd be surprised at how profficent I've become in turning the heat down few minutes before I actually need it to go down.

>>13625693
Even a shitty cast iron pan that has been shittily seasoned should still be nonstick. The griswold meme is so fucking retarded.

>be me
>buy a few shittiest of shit castirons from walmart
>season in half assedly drunkj
>can cook literally anything on it with only a little bit of oil and it doesn't stick

>>13629493
Literally just use a teflon pan and some coconut oil

>>13630393
>rent free

Haven't any of you people heard of stainless steel?

>>13632132
different pans for uses my nigga