New member from Michigan here, been lurking for a while, trying to absorb all the info I can find.
Spending a week with an uncles cabin deer hunting in the U.P. Of Michigan started my interest in cast iron. The venison steaks he made were awesome! I immediately wanted some. The mother in law bought me a set for Christmas, Basic Essentials brand made in China. Having no experience with cast iron I researched and thought I knew what was going on. I seasoned the already preseasoned pans and if season with little is good, I figured more is better. I ended up with sticky surfaces and struggled a bit. I left them stacked unused in the cupboard with paper towel between each for a while not used, they developed a little rust, don't know how. Meanwhile my mom gave me another CI skillet, needed very mild clean up, and seasoned good, and wow was the inside smooth, never knew they could be so smooth. Have been frying fish in that one ever since. Fast forward to last week, my great uncle passed away and I inquired about cast iron, there was one, a Wagner Ware -O- #8. Very smooth and cleaned up nice, but is slightly warped. Researching this pan led me to this site, so I soaked the Wagner, and the 3 Basic essentials pans in 50/50 vinegar and then scrubbed with stainless brushes and finished with 0000 steel wool, and then seasoned per this site. I actually used the middle sized basic essentials pan tonight and made some eggs, no problems at all. And that warped Wagner pan, made some excellent corn bread!
Sorry so long winded, but that's what led me to this site. It sparked me to clean up my pans and start using again, and now I have more questions for all the experts!
Spending a week with an uncles cabin deer hunting in the U.P. Of Michigan started my interest in cast iron. The venison steaks he made were awesome! I immediately wanted some. The mother in law bought me a set for Christmas, Basic Essentials brand made in China. Having no experience with cast iron I researched and thought I knew what was going on. I seasoned the already preseasoned pans and if season with little is good, I figured more is better. I ended up with sticky surfaces and struggled a bit. I left them stacked unused in the cupboard with paper towel between each for a while not used, they developed a little rust, don't know how. Meanwhile my mom gave me another CI skillet, needed very mild clean up, and seasoned good, and wow was the inside smooth, never knew they could be so smooth. Have been frying fish in that one ever since. Fast forward to last week, my great uncle passed away and I inquired about cast iron, there was one, a Wagner Ware -O- #8. Very smooth and cleaned up nice, but is slightly warped. Researching this pan led me to this site, so I soaked the Wagner, and the 3 Basic essentials pans in 50/50 vinegar and then scrubbed with stainless brushes and finished with 0000 steel wool, and then seasoned per this site. I actually used the middle sized basic essentials pan tonight and made some eggs, no problems at all. And that warped Wagner pan, made some excellent corn bread!
Sorry so long winded, but that's what led me to this site. It sparked me to clean up my pans and start using again, and now I have more questions for all the experts!