Cast iron skillets @ Wallyworld...worth the price?

Like others have said, the best bet is yard sales ,2nd hand stores,ect. Down here you can't sling a dead cat without running into cast iron pans,ect at a yard sale. We have a trade days once a month at a local state park. I have bought a lot of our cast iron there for about 18-22 bux a piece. Less for the smaller pans.These are the old,heavy pans/dutch ovens that yer grandma used to use. Gunked up ones for next to nothing that I put in the bead blaster. They come out looking like brand new. I only use pure lard or strained bacon grease to season with. We do have a brand new set of Lodge cookware out in one of the sheds that is there for "just in case". Bought Sass a chicken fryin skillet at the trade days a couple years back. It's 12"x3" and I think I gave a twenty for it.

 

I bought some cast iron at a yard sale. The pan seems really rough on the inside. I used a paper towel to grease it and the p. towel fibers all stuck to the inside of the pan. I am considering sandpaper. I have never had this happen.

 

China has been getting pretty good through the years, it wouldn't make sense to put out junk in a highly competitive market.
Especially in a single part product (no moving parts)
My criteria however in buying any thing new like that is having lids. Lids make a big difference cooking keeping the juices in, and keeping contaminants out while cooking. also keeps the spatter down as well .
Almost all cooking pots and pans I use have lids, its simply better all around in doors and out .
So far as the seasoning take nothing for granted and plan on doing it your self ,,as an important process owning any thing.
15 bucks for one pan is a pretty good deal . I've paid that for Tfall pans .
I've got very old cast iron that will need seasoning they have set in the weather so long (neglect in storage)
I've got an old pot that's cracked ,debating as to whether to fix it or not. It may never actually be serviceable any way .
Every thing is a learning curve.
If your willing to make the investment in an education ,it becomes experience under you belt, good for the future.

 

Personally Id spend the money to get quality.

Another good place to check is TJMaxx & Ross in the kitchen section.
Ive gotten a huge amount of Le Cruset Cast iron & bakeware at the TK Maxx over here (UK branch of TJMaxx) for 50-80% off the list price. I LOVE LeCreuset & it will last forever (OK,,, the stoneware ramikins dont if you bounce them of the tile floor a few times... but you know what I mean)

"Pre-seasoned with natural plant oil" .....99% sure thats gonna mean Soy. Dunno about you but I avoid that crap like the plauge

 

For the used, rusty pans I buy, I use a power sander. A standard 4" square vibrating sander will do wonders where it will fit. Start with 36 or 60 grit, depending on how bad it is, I usually stop at 120, but you could work up to 180 or 220 or higher depending on how smooth you want it. Just wash it out real good once done, then reseason it. The key is using quality sandpaper. I like Diablo from the depot.

 

A good salt scrub will do wonders on cast iron.

 

Finish roughness is my issue with new pans. I'm still working on a brand new Lodge pan at work. Like all the other new pans I've seen on the market it has a rough sand cast finish that I could not get seasoned so it was non-stick. I will eventually sand it as smooth on the inside as all of my vintage Lodge and Wagner pans. They are all glass smooth on the inside. They're a breeze to maintain and nothing sticks.

There has to be more to the old pans than just a heavy build up of seasoning. They simply start out better.

 

NOPE
NOPE
NOPE

Go find some LODGE cast iron and pay for it.
Your ONE TIME purchase price will last longer than you do if cared for.

I am cooking almost daily with QUALITY cast iron that belonged to my grandmother's mother.

 

I have to say go with quality also. You will waste more time and effort, perhaps food, too, trying to get a poorly cast item to season. Casting voids are more common in cheap pieces and affect cooking temps in that area...if they don't structurally compromise the item.

 

My mom had once bought the cheap ones from Wally-world, She noted it had left a strange taste in the food!
Come to find out that the Chinese had seasoned the pans with motor oil!

 

Look for the older stuff. You can pick up some nice Griswold and Wagner skillets for $25 - $40 at antique stores. Finding them at estate sales and garage sales is even better. Much higher quality and will last forever. I have some 75 and 100 year old skillets that we cook on everyday!

 

FYI -
Restaurant supply retailers USUALLY have some neat stuff at low prices.

Like QUALITY cast iron.......
Cast Iron Skillets and Pots

 

Same here, I got Dad's cast iron, and in fact all their cooking stuff. My sister doesn't cook. Seems "the men" tend to be the real cooks in our family. Mom once washed Dad's prized castiron fry pan. Boy, was he PO'd! Had to reseason it. It makes the best cornbread!
Lodge used to be The Best for cast iron, but I have read lately they import some of their products from China.
The Chinese CAN make good stuff, but the US company MUST hold them to tight QC standards, else they will cut corners and cheap out.

 

Cast Iron is only as good as the cook wielding it. The worst cast iron in an actual's cook's hand is probably better than all the "Wonder Pans" in the hands of those that were never meant to cook. JMHO.

 

I have several cast iron pans I picked up over the years that serve me well, and I am a pretty fair cook.. At least the dog thinks so...

 

It's been my experience around the campfire & in the Service that anyone questioning the cook's ability or equipment prior to finishing thier meal, might pickup the moniker of "Starvin Marvin". But feeding chow hounds in need of 10K calories a day ain't the most difficult of tasks as long as you got more than enough.
Now at hunting camp, when the garlic is cut with a razor so as to be translucent prior to adding the potatoes, and proper etiquette must be applied to a ring of red while caramelizing onions, ain't even discussed shaving the Canadian bacon. Got you curious yet Yard Dart?
Yup, ain't had anyone complain for quite some time. ( Last complainer, I had to rescue out of his Blueberry Pancakes prior to drowning) LOL
As long as you properly season and maintain it, even the least expensive of cast iron cookware will produce excellent vittles.