Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/06/14/this-cast-iron-griddle-is-chea.html
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I have a ~20 year old Lodge 2 burner griddle. Great for pancakes, of course, but I also use it as a pizza stone on the grill. Wicked handy.
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Obligatory:
Though I abuse the hell out of mine. I use (deeper ones than this) for pizza, pie, corn bread, oven fried chicken. And the Lodge Dutch oven is great for bread and stews and chili.
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I read:
This cast iron griddle is cheap and plastic
and thought, “What the fuck…?”, and then I thought, “Oh, it must be Monday.”
But it’s Friday…
WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?!?!?!
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I have this one too. It is quite useful.
I wouldn’t count on a Lodge pan getting regular use to last generations. I had my first for years, but last year it cracked right down the middle.
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I’ve got one that lives on the left rear burner. My kids call it the toaster.
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This is going to sound horrible, but I had a Lodge that I used for years until I was gifted an older smoother cast iron, and it’s so much nicer. I then took my Lodge out to the garage, got out the vibratory sander and some zirconia paper, and went to town. Decided that a 150 grit surface was smooth enough, then re-seasoned it. It’s much nicer now.
For this price, I’m tempted to get the griddle and start off by resurfacing it…
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This doesn’t sound horrible at all.
Lodge is a great recommendation. American made and affordable. The finish on it isn’t quite as nice as some of the antique pans you can find at garage sales, but it’s a minor quibble that never really stopped me from cooking tons of stuff in mine.
Either this griddle or the big 2 burner reversible one are great options for making pancakes, toasting sandwiches, etc. If you haven’t already get the plastic scrapers from Lodge, they make clean up easier.
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It takes a little longer but it’s worth it. I never thought to plain ol toast bread in mine until I started roasting the insides of my grilled cheese bread (stands up better for stuffing gc with veggies and sauces) and now I do it all the time, soooo much better than the toaster which is now gone, and good riddance!
ETA: and also, making toast on the pizza stone is ridiculous, but awesome.
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Borderline indestructible, there’s little you can do to actively ruin even cheap off brand cast iron. That said if you want it to work well it requires some maintenance. But that maintenance is of the hit it with a hose, wipe it with a greasy rag type.
I’ve got lots of lodge stuff. Some of it coming up on 20 years old. Not one piece of it has chiped, cracked, or had any sort of problem at all. Even the best quality, most sell yer grandma level bests of the bests cast iron sometimes has flaws. And when you get right down to it it’s a pretty brittle material, so it can crack. More than a few people are using Lodge pans that are on their 2nd life time. Company is over 100 years old. They weren’t top tier stuff even back in the day, but vintage Lodge still sells at a premium over unmarked and some other brands.
Contact the company they don’t have a stated warranty, but from what I hear if its not a rusted out pan you bought 3rd hand they’ll replace it.
I haven’t used mine the last few years as I regained access to the family Griswold and weird no-name Canadian pans from well before anyone still walking was alive. But it was awesome for searing steaks. IIRC its a little lighter weight and thinner than the typical lodge skillets. We have some other round griddles floating around and this was the only one I liked.
Not so much horrible. Its all the rage with cast iron geeks. The lodges will smooth out over time, as the nooks and crannies wear down and fill with season. But sanding it down gets you further, faster.
They never get quite as smooth. But as an owner of both, it doesn’t have much practical effect. If I had to call something out I don’t think the new stuff holds season as well as the old. But even the old lodge products are slicker and hold season better. And they supposedly haven’t changed shit in 100 years. So I think it might just be that any old pans you run into are broken in as hell.
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Really? I need to hang out with cast iron geeks. I thought I was committing some sort of cast iron mortal sin by forcefully resurfacing it, but apparently I was being cool and trendy!
(sigh… apparently the only time I’m cool and trendy is unknowingly…)
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Oh no man. Cast iron geekery is full of weird theories about why the old stuff is so smooth. The most popular one is that old pans were “machined” to get a smooth surface. No detail as to what sort of machining. So smart guys said “hey, I can machine it with sand paper”.
Though the more recent thing seems to be claiming that the old foundries used hard molds instead of sand.
Actual word from the Cast Iron industry and history would seem to be that until 50 years ago most of these companies were based on specific beaches of the Great Lakes where the sand was finer. Leading to tighter molds and smoother surfaces. Plus a half century of abrasive use you get crazy smooth pan. But whatever the hell the history is, sanding that shit out turns out to be an awesome way to a slick pan.
These things are nearly indestructible. Its a lump of iron, and there’s almost no way you could sand away enough metal to risk the pan, so why not?
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You read things like I do. It’s annoying, but can be vastly entertaining at times.
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The rough surface on modern Lodge pans is there for the pre-seasoning they do in the factory, IIRC.
There’s a whole corner of YouTube full of cast iron seasoning videos. They are fun to watch, and really demystify the care, but geez, all I want to be able to do is fry an egg without sticking.
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Yea, this is my go to pan for frying pancakes and/or eggs. Incidentally, it was my only pan for a few weeks which made it my go to for all saute and baking jobs as well, I survived.
Lots of mornings of burning my pancake oil means this pan quickly got the best seasoning by far, 10/10 would recommend.
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I’m sure it helps. But from what I understand its a natural result of the coarse sand they use for casting. And the coarser sand is just what’s always been available where they are located. I’m sure they haven’t started sourcing finer material in part because it helps with the pre-seasoning and I doubt they would sell as well as bare cast iron.
i’ve heard if you put it on too small of a burner, that can happen.
I picked up an 8qt Lodge Dutch oven at Goodwill for $15. Best score so far.
