How to Polish a New Cast Iron Pan New Cast Iron VS Old Cast Iron

Join us as We take a New Cast Iron Pan and Polish it and Do a Cooking Comparison with an Old Cast Iron Pan. If you Have tools and skills, this is for YOU. Old Cast Iron VS New Cast Iron

[@BackwoodsGourmetChannel]

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[@georginapowers8290]

Backwoods Gourmet Channel backwoods gourmet channel

[@smug8567]

Going to try this process on my wife.

[@fishgrubspinners6762]

Great video, this will be my next project.

[@MrMeddle2243]

before you start getting hate comments about sanding cast iron pans I wanted to say it turned out great, I do the same thing to my newer cast iron, I just don't like the texture of the pans, people just don't understand the older pans were smooth and lighter because the factores use to grind them smooth, they say they stopped doing it to help hold the seasoning on the pans but let's face it, they did it to cut cost in production, great job

[@andrewmcallister4151]

actually, if your surface is smooth then it will definitely be much more non stick, it will also look a lot better to not have all the texture.

[@dbstelly]

Yes. They sell pans by other companies that come sanded but the cost over $100!

[@hemidart7]

I'd agree with that 100% coming from a foundrymen casting is costly compared to just punched out pans.

[@hemidart7]

@@andrewmcallister4151 Actually smoothing it just gives more surface contact for it to stick more, I mean ya if it's ridiculously ruff then ya knock it down but I think if its a bit rough, then when you season it all the low spots will fill up to the tops of the high spot with seasoning. it will keep the seasoning intact longer. Smooth it all just sits on top easy for the spatula to just scrape it off. just my opinion

[@kevinlogiudice5458]

Mike Eddleman I grind mine down with a flap disc too. Even smoothed out, They hold a good seasoning. The more you use it, the better it gets.

[@MtnBadger]

This is a good video, thanks. I remember when Lodge sold GOOD products and not just their name. They actually machined the inside of their cookware and seasoning was a breeze. The new stuff is so rough, it takes for EVER to get a good layer of season to smooth it out. IF ever. I've been at this a long time. Learned to nurture cast iron from mom and her mom, who used to cook on cast for 14 people a day, three times a day, every day (on the farm) because it's all they had all those years ago and also from my time in the family restaurant and others where I worked. Here's a tip or two... If you don't want to use (or don't have) a grill, coat your cast iron with grape seed or peanut oil (high temp oils) and set your oven on 450 and let it go for two hours MINIMUM, then shut it off and let cool down WITHOUT opening the door until it's completely cooled. There will only be a bunch of smoke in the kitchen if you use too much oil or fat!! It only takes a very thin layer... And several of them. At least two for a brand new pan, preferably three if you can work it in when you start cooking. Then, do it one more time. LOL After the grapeseed/peanut oil sesons... The BEST seasoning is with rendered beef lard, (tallow), which is pure, thin and really melds into the pores. VERY thin coats of rendered fat won't smoke up the house and give an even, slick finish. When you cook steaks or burgers, etc. in your pan, after removing the food, get it HOT. If there is some sticky bits, use up to a teaspoon of SALT as an abrasive and scrub around with a WOODEN spatula/spoon, etc. and it won't take much scrubbing. Then just hit it with a quick spray of cold tap water and BAM!!! Your pan is clean. If you got all the sticky stuff clean with the salt scrub, that'll be it. And the salt won't remove or ruin the fresh seasoning job you just did. Then, just dry it with a towel or put on a warm burner for a bit and get it good and dry. What actually happens with a very well seasoned pan is that the natural polymers in the fats and oils will convert to a natural "plastic" type material. This is going to continue to build, layer after layer, until the bottom of the pan feels like a slick plastic instead of anything metal. It's pretty neat, actually. It's that natural polymer that makes it a truly non-stick pan. Once the pan has a few good layers of seasoning, you can wash it in the sink with as much hot, soapy water as you want. But you really won't need to... Once you get that slick, plastic type coating going, just add a little cooking oil be some butter, most of the time, after your bacon and eggs or a steak, it just wipes right out with a paper towel. I don't even wash it. There's nothing LEFT to wash and what residue is left behind just adds another layer of season. Especially if you fry a steak or some burgers or bacon. Other than a screaming infrared grill (that's what they use at a steak house) a really hot cast pan works best on a steak. The secret to a great steak is to finish it in the oven or indirect, high heat. Just sear your seasoned, room-temp steak on the first side for a couple of minutes, no more than three, then flip it and almost immediately transfer the pan into a 350 degree oven for a few minutes, depending on the thickness of the steak. Five minutes is good for a nice, thick rib eye or Porterhouse for med-rare. Less for thinner steaks, longer for more done, etc. You'll get the feel of it fast enough. Then you'll have a steakhouse-like steak and life is good! To finish, I'll de-glaze the hot pan with an ounce or two of red wine or balsamic vinegar (not so much vinegar), scrubbing up the sticky bits, throw in some sliced baby Portabella mushrooms, a good pat of butter and stir on med-high heat until it reduces, then pour that over top of your steak (which should be resting on a warm steak plate *grin*) and you can't tell it wasn't made at the best steakhouse in town. Use some Maitre'd butter (butter with herbs in it) for better results. Oh, and while you're making your sauce in the hot, cast pan, let a pat of that butter melt over your resting steak, as well. Umm.. ya. I know what I'm having for dinner tonight! LOL

[@stevenlaubach5947]

You have my mouth drooling!!!

[@RamJam21]

Probably one of the most informative and educational comments I've ever read..two thumbs up for taking the time to share your knowledge with us.👍👍

[@jamesgreene4879]

I got a #8 from my mom as a going away present when I was 18 and leaving the nest. I still have the pan. I'm 64 now.

[@DieGrinsekatze]

aaaw, thats really sweet ☺️

[@ellismidkiff6117]

And you can use it as a weapon if needed.

[@Al-Fiallos]

You're absolutely spot on. If you find an authentic old cast iron skillet at a flea market or yard sale, the old ones will be slick smooth on the bottom, and it makes a world of difference. Not only will your food cook better, you can handle it with a spatula and not leave food in the rough texture of the cast iron. Thanks for posting this. Regardless of how you like your surface finish, cast iron is healthier than eating chemical residue from Tefflon/non-stick cookware.

[@ScottysBackYardBBQ]

a lot of people who do not know about cast iron will say your wasting your time. but us old timers no better.. great job my friend

[@MrsAnnaDL]

I appreciate your thoughtfulness on the value of doing this! 5 years ago the older pan would have been better for me since I didn’t have the tools and I could find the old stuff. Today I have the tools and can’t find the old stuff! So the value has flipped for me! Great informative video. Thank you!

[@wwsuwannee7993]

Very good info. I did this last year to a new lodge skillet that my wife bought for us. It cooked as good as some of my Mothers iron that I inherited ( she got them from her Mother ) and that was just the first seasoning ( I fried eggs as a comparison ). Now after a year of use an egg slides around on it like Teflon. Yes indeed, if you have the tools, or money enough to get them, or borrow them, this technique really works well. Thanks for the vid Bud.

[@scottm5167]

I think I'll just use mine frequently and let the seasoning build up it's own. I've heard people say that it's not good to grind it down because it blocks all the pores and doesn't absorb oil like it should. Just going to use mine as is. Haven't had any issues with it, but I'm also not trying to use it like a Teflon pan either. It's a great product, and appreciate that it's made in the USA!

[@SuperLuckao]

Yeah do that. Thyre made to cook in and use. Not as a sanding project. Use with smooth and it down

[@eminusipi]

Liked the video especially your advice at the end. $15 pan, $350 in tools:) I have a lightly used 12" Lodge-really rough. I hand sanded it for a few minutes with 100 then 220 grit-that's all I had on hand. That did seem to remove the high points and I wasn't trying to remove the pits from casting. I'm going to season it in the oven with grape seed oil using the Field Company instructions. Wish me luck.

[@shane8037]

I had a rusty pan that had been neglected by me (had forgotten it was under the sink for several years lol) and I took a cheap angle grinder with a wire brush to it. Got it way better than it ever had been just with maybe ten minutes of that. I agree it ain't gotta be perfectly smooth, just an improvement over how it comes. Don't need a full machine shop to get something that'll work like it should.

[@takla3210]

How did the seasoning go?

[@eminusipi]

@@takla3210 It worked very well. All I did is remove the high spots(those that tend to grab) and left the rest of the seasoning on. I've since found that all I really needed to do was to lightly sand and do a stove top seasoning which saved a LOT of time and gas! It worked great after that.

[@harrymurphey2634]

My old (inherited) WagnerWare are very smooth ... my new Lodges are not. I thought about doing what you did w/ the Lodges ... thanks for the info ... but I'm a procrastinator. So my solution was Stainless Steel Spatulars and 4-5yrs of cooking and scrapping. You are so right, cast iron is soft ... and SS is harder. They are getting smoother by the day ... may take a few more years though ... I like your pan ... Good Job!!!

[@kenmitchell3355]

That what I do LOL!

[@davel8n]

Lodge could solve a lot of arguing between its customers, by making a smooth version and a porous version for people to buy what they want

[@BackwoodsGourmetChannel]

People would pay twice a much for a smooth version. Thanks for watching.

[@jayjdietrich]

@@BackwoodsGourmetChannel , people are paying five times as much for new, smooth cast iron right now. Why Lodge won't step up is beyond me!

[@robertkat]

what to do? Shave or not to shave for the next hot date?

[@lukewarmwater6412]

@@BackwoodsGourmetChannel I would!!

[@davel8n]

@@robertkat not to shave, that is the answer

[@seedsandarrowsfrontier9224]

That is impressive!! I never knew you needed to strip the store layer off. Thx for sharing.

[@danburch9989]

This is the final manufacturing step that most cast iron manufacturers don't do. They leave it to the customer. I think I would just do the bottom surface of the pan sinces that's where most of the cooking occurs. I don't have your patience or the artistic ability to do the sides. I have a flat cast iron griddle that I did this on. It's a major improvement. After seasoning, it's a much better non-stick surface than anything on the market.

[@MrStingray186]

Not hating so please don't take it like that. Overall your process is sound. As a professional metal buffer (Truck alum) you need to completely take the surface to the grit your working with before going to a finer grit. Anything you leave like pits, bumps or grinding marks will show and will be 10 times as hard to remove with a finer grit.

[@waynelybbert7586]

I enjoy you video's I do a bit of camp cooking this one is good for a northern favorite. Cranberry Chicken 2 lbs. chicken breasts 1 can cranberry sauce 1 cup A Salad Dressing(French is good, Italian is good, Russian is good) 1/2 package Onion soup mix 1 Tbsp corn starch Place ingredients in a baking dish and bake at 350 for 1 hour Serve over rice I cook this in a camp dutch oven

[@daledurbin2354]

Back in the day the factories shined up their castings much the same way, grind, sand and file all that iron until it was smooth. Today they pop it out of the mold slap a label on it and ship it. I've done the same to new iron cookware, makes for a much better cooking and cleaning surface.

[@mountainsriversandtrees1474]

You confirmed what I'd suspected I'd have to do to get the classic cast iron finish that the old pans are so well-known for. I've seen some people on KZbin go over their pans with sandpaper, but I never thought they looked smooth enough and using seasoning to make up for a rough finish just doesn't give the same results. I never did like the factory finish on the Lodge I bought new a few years ago. Gotta try this now. Thanks for the great video.

[@G5Hohn]

I strip and polish all my new Lodge. I’ve found that the flap discs dig in a bit to much because the abrasive is so much harder than the iron. What works better for me is a steel wire wheel. Get the twisted strand kind with the thick wires and it works great. Eye and ear protection! A flying broken wire can really hurt.

[@als1023]

I use the same method, wire wheels work very well, if used with appropriate safety protection. They are excellent in the bends and corners. They don't gum up when cleaning down old pans to refinish them.

[@willythomas584]

I like the smooth finish also. I might be wrong but you was trying to smooth the cast iron not grind out the pits, like others had said that’s the nature of cast iron in pouring it. I’m not sure why some of the viewers would think you needed to mess with trying to fill the pits? The seasoning will fill in the pits and you won’t even know it. You did a great job on showing us how to get that mirror like finish in a short time. God bless!

[@paulstovall3777]

FINALLY! Thank you Sir. Someone who understands how cast iron is supposed to be. The manufacturers used to produce a superior product but have become too cheap and lazy and would prefer to sell an inferior product. Thankfully, I inherited my grandmothers' 100 yr. old pans.

[@sethgerber2132]

@paulstovall3777 thank you, totally agree. My super old cast irons are all extremely slick inside and every thing slides and releases

[@matthewjohnson8867]

I am so grateful I found this channel. First I did you're squirrel recipe with my boys after their first hunt...the BOMB! Never squirrel could taste that good & be that tender...but then...I found this video. I've used cast iron for years...I've become so frustrated with the new ones as they're quality of smoothness was so inferior to that of my old ones but somehow I got the impression doing something like this was sacrilege...a cardinal sin of sorts...well buddy, I got the tools, I got me the skillets & me'z gonna go to town! Thanks for posting this and showing me how to make my CI even better! BIG THUMBS U!!

[@RICKYY1100]

Thanks for making a great video! After finding antique Griswold and Wagner pans in antique shops I realized why my Lodge pans were so hard to use. I have basically done the same thing you did to 12" and a 10" lodge skillets except I removed ALL of the pits from the bottom of the pans and did not polish the sides because I didn't think it was necessary. I don't see any need to go through the extensive "seasoning" process you did because if the pan surface is super smooth and you are using a good fat it will be totally non-stick. "Seasoning" is just the process of filling in the porous holes in the surface of the metal until it becomes smooth. No porous holes = no need for seasoning. I just grind/polish the bottom of the pan down to a mirror, wash it with hot water and soap, throw it on the stove, heat it up until it is good and dry, put a hunk of bacon fat in it and start cooking. Totally non-stick and if necessary I can wash them with soap and water because there is no "seasoning" to wash off. If I do need to wash a pan, just a coating of bacon fat is all that is needed after drying it off. I can take a Lodge skillet from the box to the stovetop in an hour. I have been using these pans for a couple of years and they have performed flawlessly. I have also polished a bunch for relatives and friends and they love them too.

[@brianmacdonald3292]

Don't stress too much on the pits left on the bottom. I picked up a used Lodge 14" pan. After removing the seasoning I found a 3/32 void in the bottom. Digging around in it to see how deep it was, I actually dug deep enough to make an .045 through hole. I could see light through it. After a couple seasonings, it filled and and just looks like a black spot. It doesn't leak and it's flush with the cooking surface. Great video. Thanks for sharing.

[@bclinguist]

I have no idea why people think they need to sand down the interior of a lodge skillet. The texture has nothing to do with whether the food sticks or not. I bought the exact same pan about two years ago and now I couldn't make food stick to the interior if I wanted to. Wash it in hot soapy water, put the initial cure on it, and then just take care of it. Simple.

[@DSMattitude]

I have a bunch of lodge stuff and the only one i REALLY think need polished are the griddle i use for pancakes and stuffn and the wok. Id like those two to be smoother. Everything else seems to work fine with good amount of seasoning.

[@timpope1221]

I've used Lodge cast Iron products for years and I don't have any issues with food sticking, when I get done using my frying pan i just wash it with hot water and NO ''dish detergent'' while the pan is still hot then dry it and coat it with a thin film of olive oil and she is good to go for the next cooking, but thanks for taking the time to make this video !

[@VanishingNomad]

Thats usually how I do it too. That or bacon grease. Then I let it season while I am cooking the next meal. I only do a formal seasoning if I do an extensive scrubbing and some of the seasoning comes off. Then I just oil it up and toss it in the fireplace once the fire is down to coals.

[@jyou5072]

To each their own, however soap does not do any damage to CI. That used to be the case but dish soap is not lye based any more so it does no damage to the seasoning.

[@timpope1221]

OK...here is the ingredients in dish washing liquid, water, sodium C14 olefin sulfonate, lauramine oxide, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium chloride, sodium xylenesulfonate, fragrance, citric acid, DI-ppg-2, myreth-10 adipate, styrene/acrlates, copolymer, phenoxyerhanol. methylisorgiazolinone, yellow 5 and red 33.....I will stick with just using hot water on a hot cast iron frying pan but thanks for your input !

[@jyou5072]

If I wanted an ingredient list I would go look at my bottle. All I know is I wash wish Dawn and hot water, and because of how well seasoned the piece is all it does is remove oils and flavor from what I cooked. And the water and everything just comes right off like a well waxed paint job. But like I said, to each their own.

[@ryanstreckfuss9590]

@@jyou5072 it's not about soap doing damage to cast iron which I assume is what you meant by "ci". Soap removes all the oils present on the cast iron surface. Then the metal dries and immediately begins to oxidize which leaves a rusted surface. The only way I know of to prevent the oxidation is to soak it in oil immediately causing a barrier between the iron and oxygen.

[@simpledj509chromo7]

Thanks for the video. I like your method of seasoning. I need to polish my newer junk so they cook as well as my old factory polished pans.

[@suzannemoyers6620]

Thanks so much for clearing up some confusion for us. My husband took the grinder to our Lodge skillet at the shop where he works. Glad I decided to use grape seed oil, like you recommended. We seasoned in our indoor oven, which took three times in the "recommended" temp of 325. Might have been better at a higher temp like you recommended. Who knew? Thanks for all your info!

[@marsattacks7071]

Sir, this is the 3rd video I see on that topic and by far, you reach the most beautiful results. Thanks !

[@darring.9161]

My thoughts as well.

[@men2dewy]

The rough surface on sand cast Lodge pan consists of peaks and valleys. If you don't have the time and equipment to remove that much metal just get off the sharp peaks and let the valleys fill in with seasoning. In time a metal spatula will glide across the surface much like a machined pan. I have a well conditioned Lodge pan that comes very close to performing like my Stargazer.

[@ranal7935]

yes , that is what i am talking about....good job... the pan looks good !.......my dad suggested i do this years ago , but i never got around to it....he showed me some of his old wagner , and other old pans , they were smooth as glass on the cooking surface , and weighed about half as much as the lodge.......i have aquired a lot of the new lodge cast iron cookware over the last few years and i think i will give them the ( backwoods gourmet ) treatment......i just came across your channel yesterday , so i have a lot of watching to do........thanks , allen.

[@BackwoodsGourmetChannel]

Welcome and thanks for watching. We have much more over on the channel page.

[@idaho2085]

All those saying that the lodge will "smooth out" with use has clearly never used one for a length of time, or not used a new one. The new ones are SOOOO gritty compared to the old stuff. NOTHING is like the old Wagnerware, Griswold, Butterpat, or even Ausion. (Yes I know the latter is a steel pan) My current wagner #9 from the 40's is like a glass surface. Things will literally slide off of it because it's so smooth. I took it down to metal and reseasoned it and it's SOOO much better than my 15 year old Lodge pan ever was. I put two new ones on the stove and put the lodge up in the cabinet.

[@michaelanderson1859]

c allen so sand your lodge and reseason it. I bought my Lodge 20 years ago and sanded it smooth about 15 years ago. Cooks right alongside my grannies 80 year old Wagner ware

[@sacredboswellia1443]

I'll take that lodge off you hands if you dont want it?!😂 Can always use another

[@LeaverAction]

Nice job of milling ! I'm going to re-do some of my modern pans to make them like my old pans. I use lard for seasoning.

[@uralbob1]

Thanks a million! I was wondering how to smooth out the bottom of a new dutch oven. Your method was what I had in mind, but I was unsure of disc type and grit!.

[@Xuevium]

Very nice work. Your finished product looks awesome. I just did this process on my new 12" Lodge as well and it turned out great. I used avacado oil.

[@rickmilasich7599]

Found some rudely cast pans at recycle. Pretty much took the same approach and worked out well. Thanks for confirming and encourage folk to search recycle

[@gregorycore9489]

Please check for lead in a “ find “

[@rickmilasich7599]

Thanks for that concern. I am familiar with the need to test. But a wise alert.

[@billybatesjr1837]

Yes I got the Skills & Tools an I cook with cast iron all the Time !! Grandma & my Mother Taught Me !!!!

[@michaeldoidge3537]

Home run, I'm impressed how well that skillet took seasoning. BTW, you just created the best of both worlds, a new skillet with thicker walls, yet having the polish, seasoning, and performance of the classics.

[@jaiadviento1686]

Excellent presentation Backwoods...was finally 'bout endeavor into something Wifey has been asking me to do for past 8yrs maybe more: Refinishing our skillets (Primariy the newer ones which were not sanded smooth prior to seasoning). Major thanks Sir to you and your instructional video because without trial and error, you provided me the precise sanding specs info that i needed to know, and to be honest, major contributing factor for the delay with respect to refinishing. Im now actually looking forward to doing this, Hi Ho Hi Ho, its off to Home-Depot I go!!

[@scotthenze5627]

I got a new lodge 10” pan. Will need to grind down the inside like you did in your video. Thanks for the vid that u did it will really help!

[@anthonydouglascontares3471]

Very thorough instructions, that was great, thankyou much. And by the way I have two medium cast iron woks That I purchased and plan follow your video to smooth and season them to improve cooking quality.

[@dav1099]

Looks perfect! I have been doing my new CI pans like this for quite awhile and I think it is time well spent. thanks for posting👍👍

[@alanlevine3984]

Nice job. Just purchased 1 12in and 1 grill skillet. 1st time using cast. Season both twice. Hopefully I will get caught up using them all time time.

[@wadebrinson8977]

I don't know why I subscribe to your channel! Every video of yours I watch makes me hungry!LOL! Wade

[@barbedstar6480]

Good video. I also prefer smooth and have more CI than I need, but that's another topic. What I do is when I am warming up my BBQ gas grill, I pick a few pans that need a tune up, give a micro oil and stick them in the cold grill, close it up and crank it up til ready to cook. Pull them out, pile on heat proof table and cover with folded blanket to cool slowly. Pile so no cooking surfaces are touching anything. Will leave some in if I can cook on one side and let them cool down right in the grill when done. Really spiffs them up.

[@ureasmith3049]

I did this several years ago to my Lodge pan. Made a big difference.

[@rstumbaugh43]

THANK YOU!!! Very informative, instructional, and entertaining!!

[@kenmitchell3355]

All cast iron pots & pans should come smooth like that; what are these companies thinking having porous cookware. Good job fixing it.

[@jhansen2509]

I am a cast iron pan junkie. I have polished many of these and find doing it using a drill press is the easiest way to control pressure and get an even polish. I had to make some mandrels out of long bolts that attach to the grinding tools. I hold the pan up against the tool for much of the process rather than lowering the drill chuck. Works "slick". Too easy to gouge the pans using an angle grinder and impossible in some deep pans like a dutch oven.

[@thedude4795]

i would recommend washing the pan between polishing and seasoning.

[@pamelabourque3869]

I So got the skills! Whoooot! Can't wait to get to it!

[@paulwomack5866]

From reading (too many) discussions around the web, it seems that there is a RIGHT degree of smoothness. Too smooth ("mirror") and the seasoning won't hold right, too rough ("as cast") and no amount of seasoning will stop food sticking (unless you cook at low temps with gallons 'o oil)

[@Jdww89]

Lightly run a fine wool pad over your skillet in between seasonings to give the new coat something to adhere to. Allows it to build up a nice thick layer of seasoning but also super slick.

[@jaylancaster5419]

To be honest...these new Lodge pans are pretty nonstick right off the shelf. Remove the sticker, wash & dry the pan, heat, oil, cook...an egg wont stick unless you're inexperienced at cooking eggs. It. At not slide around like on an ice rink, but it wont stick.

[@mjlh7079]

My great grandfather cast his own cast iron cookware & they were / still are smoother than babies behind on the inside. he had a special tool he used on them while they were still hot - I wish they were still made the 'old' way

[@FreedomTalkMedia]

If you are patient, your new lodge will eventually smooth itself out through use. Depending on how much you cook with it, it might take a year of regular cooking to get it glass smooth. My dutch ovens never et that smooth because they are only used once every several weeks but my fry pans have been mirror smooth for a long time.

[@jyou5072]

In my experience it's even much less than a year.

[@eugenemotes9921]

@@jyou5072 that's not even remotely true

[@jyou5072]

@@eugenemotes9921 it Al depends on how much you use it.

[@ArturoLedezma-jv3jo]

Greetings sir! I wasn’t surprised when I came across your video. After numerous seasonings I too wound up refinishing my 10” Lodge. I remember as a child, the pan we had, had a machined cooking surface and eggs slid like a dream. I think I’ll do some more refinishing on it since I didn’t remove as much pits as you did Question though…having gone through the effort of grinding it…how necessary would you say it was? I mean, was it worth it? Please rsvp…preciate it! God bless and Happy New Year!

[@kimberly1567]

First off, let me say I have watched every one of your vids and appreciate each and every one. I am a cast iron collector of approx 25 pieces of Griswold and Wagner. Cook with CI frequently, or have more in the past. I use my Lodge dutch oven camping frequently. With that said, I have recently been introduced to carbon steel. The properties of carbon so very close to CI but with carbon possessing a few positive features over cast iron. Reason for writing this is basically to voice opinion of Lodge current business practice in mftg an undesirable product. I know of no one that has any basic working knowledge of cooking that desires a rough bottom skillet. Lodge used to make a smooth bottom pan but their business continues to grow and demand exceeds production (they just completed an additional mftg facility) so Lodge has determined they will no longer smooth the bottoms, but rather, quickly make a rough bottom skillet leaving new skillet owner to do the sanding if they want a smooth bottom. I find it misleading for Lodge to claim they leave bottoms rough to help hold the factor seasoning. Again, who wants a rough bottom? Who wants to purchase the new item leaving new owner to smooth skillet, spend time sanding, etc? Look at all the many sanding video's on YT proving Lodge making an undesirable product. With my new desire to purchase a couple of carbon steel skillets and wishing to buy American I purchased Lodge. Terribly rough bottom that keeps me wondering why I purchased when America's Test Kitchen reviews and Kent Rollins type video's stating Lodge was way down in quality. There are several brands that costs approx $15.00 more but arrive with a totally smooth finish. As one CI lover to another, I strongly urge you to try a carbon steel skillet.out of curiosity. Same cooking techniques, same seasoning techniques, same maintenance techniques. If you by chance do try a carbon skillet, please don't purchase a Lodge you will be so greatly disappointed. I now use my CI for baking some cornbread and a few other sporadic items in my kitchen but 95% of time I have switched to carbon with happier results. I now know why majority of professional chefs choose carbon steel.

[@BackwoodsGourmetChannel]

I have heard a lot of negative comments on my channel about the Lodge Carbon steel products. Mostly concerning it warping. I will have to try it myself. Thanks for watching.

[@katzsteel]

To continue the comparison, I think you should buy another new pan pre seasoned and do nothing to it a cook eggs on both. Who is the winner? I think people would assume the sanded one, but I’d like to know before I go to all the trouble. Does smoother really equate to better non stick?

[@BackwoodsGourmetChannel]

I have done that here on this channel. See the channel page and subscribe.

[@katzsteel]

@@BackwoodsGourmetChannel Cool! Thx for the info!

[@rildn7]

love it ! do mine the same way with a random orbit till they look like a mirror then season 10 times...…. Teflon who ? cool channel man !

[@russbear31]

Lodge intentionally leaves the surface rough on new pans because it's easier for them to preseason the pan in the factory. A pan with a polished, smooth surface is actually more difficult to season and doesn't readily accept the oil like a rough surface with tiny pores.

[@dougg1075]

My job requires me to bring bare metal to mirror finish. Your approach was brutal as hell but I’m gonna do mine. I won’t worry about the sides because I rarely get stuff sticking to sides. Thanks

[@BackwoodsGourmetChannel]

A mirror finish doesn't work with this process. You need the fine scratches to help hold the seasoning, just like paint. Thanks for watching.

[@RM-wi2su]

I'd just like to congratulate you dude on 17K subscribers. I started watching your channel cause of your older fishing videos and kept watching, never even realize you surpassed 5K! Keep making great content!

[@ronmckickass5714]

The purpose of seasoning a pan is to give you a smooth surface, which results in a more "nonstick" surface in the end. The texture in the bottom of the pan is meant to hold the seasoning. Your basically just speeding up the process by grinding it smooth, so you dont have to season it 100 times to get a decent pan. Honestly, i only ever grind pans if something drastic happens or they rust.

[@ghw7192]

Good video. I have one Lodge skillet where the finish is so rough that it tears up wooden utensils. I look for old cast iron at flea markets and yard sales and currently have over 50 pieces.

[@JordanSince93]

I sanded a 10 inch lodge by hand. It took some time but can be done

[@27d95]

Hi may i know which sand paper you used? Any details on how you did it would be helpful. Many thanks

[@joeschmoe7952]

This is not a hater rant ,I respect your efforts of you videos to inform. First you failed by spending your money on a Lodge product. Although you showed and demonstrated the importance of a smooth cook surface, bravo! The casting process Lodge uses is too course of medium for two reasons. First a course medium (less dense ) requires less mass to produce the pan saving them money even though you highlighted new is thicker than old. Second less dense means more microscopic porosity resulting in uneven heat distribution, a ring test (sounding like a bell when struck) shows this from turn of the century product versus new. Section (cut in half) a new lodge and an old pan and examine the cross section youll see the quality difference. Thirdly not finishing the cook surface, that saves a lot of money in employees labor costs. Like another commentor has said you can not leave any tooling Mark's on the inside, aka scratches. Hand sand with progressive grits of sandpaper until you get a mirror finish, at least 1000 grit. Holy crap you say, well to get a non stick surface that's what it takes. Eggs are easy but dry a pork chop and see what the clean up is like. My Griswold is at 1500 grit and never gets hotter than 320°F using an Infrared gun to monitor and the naked on fat ring around the pork chops scraps off like hot butter with a THIN stainless steel scraper then it's a paper towel clean off.

[@FoulOwl2112]

I collect and use cast iron all the time. Some of my favorite pieces are well over 100 years old. I've probably seasoned 1000 pieces of iron. Yet I've never done it on my Weber. Why? BECAUSE I'M A FRIGGIN MORON I GUESS! It just never occurred to me. Thank's now I've got a new excuse to hang around outside around my grill and drink beer! My Weber won't stay lit without constant tending with a beer in my hand. It didn't say anything about that in the instructions... but it's true.

[@AnneJackson-v8l]

Off topic. I read a story about a B25 raid in WW2. They flew to a forward base in Luzon, PI on day 1 for a raid next day on a Japanese base in Formosa (Taiwan today). For breakfast before the mission, they were served pancakes. The grill was so hot that the pancakes were black on both sides, and when cut the middle ran out. I see that yours were much better than that.

[@inzguy]

I just got the 15” skillet, didn’t need to do any sanding. Not necessary, seasoned it a couple times and works great. It’s like trying to reinvent the wheel or toothbrush. ✌🏽

[@BackwoodsGourmetChannel]

I have the 15" Lodge pan, I've seasoned it 5 or 6 times. Still sticks on anything that doesn't have a lot of fat.

[@AereForst]

I used the Avanti Pro Quick strip disc, for use with a drill. It gets into the edges as well as the walls and bottom. I sanded a lodge wok into a glass like finish.

[@lindachandler2293]

I just posted this on a Lodge video. I love Lodge. If I buy new it will probably be Lodge. But I, for myself, never buy new Lodge, since that pebbled surface came out. No! It is not the same! The couple of new pieces I have, I took a fine grit grind stone and knocked the most of the bumps off. Eventually any uneven spots will fill in, I hope. They cook ok, but there is no comparison between the old and the new Lodge. Would I be considered an expert? Probably not, but I've used cast iron for over 60 years, so I know my way around it pretty good. I still use my mother's, my grandmother's and my mother-in-law's every day. I buy the occasional piece of unrecognizable cast iron at yard sales when I can get them for a couple of bucks. Expensive or cheap, I love my cast iron. I nearly cried when I had to buy a new piece where I worked and tried to cook on it 😢

[@TeachUBusiness]

I might do this if I bought a used one at a thrift shop but new, the sandy texture works fine. I do scrub off the factory seasoning and do my own.

[@DAWGnROADIE]

From an old grinder guy, a 4” grinder would have been easier to handle and done the job just fine. Also, an older flap whee is more forgiving.

[@AKBoostBBQ]

Nice. I'm going to make smooth my new Lodge. Thanks for the video.

[@AF-my3mz]

Great job smoothing out that Lodge surface. It looks like glass. I must be doing something wrong, cuz my new 12 inch pan has that same new texture but I scramble eggs every Saturday morning and they don't stick. I don't see and added value in grinding out the surface.

[@tacticoolfuddery6497]

They do it to make it look like the old stuff

[@jim1528]

Exacxtly! If it ain't broke, .....

[@GlassTopRX7]

Without the texture the scrapping sound isn't as obnoxious but cooking wise it make no difference, so if you use plastic they are the same.

[@xanthopoulos1825]

It’s the reason you can buy the pans so cheaply! It’s just a cast pan, there are other cast iron pans on the market that come polished only they cost about 5x more. If you were to ever bake a cake or cornbread in your cast iron you would want it like glass, they pop right out of the pan then. Unlike an unpolished pan

[@jyou5072]

@@xanthopoulos1825 I disagree, I bake in my modern unmodified lodge all the time and have absolutely no issues with sticking. The smooth surface is a personal preference but not necessary.

[@damacknificent151]

I know people complain about lodge finish, I didn't like it at first when I got into cast iron. But after putting seasoning on it and cooking a few times potatoes, stakes, chicken, bacon. The eggs slide off the pan. I use butter or olive oil. No issues. If I get another new lodge, I wouldn't mind that finish knowing what I know now. I know the smooth finish is nice. I have a 40s Wagner that finish is nice. But the lodge can do the same.

[@MarshRat]

Great job on the skillets. I got a 12" Lodge a few years back and it is my "go to" skillet. Thanks for sharing. BTW, I saw the natty in the background. Take care

[@tonyfremont]

How old do think the antique skillet is? I have one marked exactly the same on the bottom. It was completely rusted from flood waters. I sanded it down, then scrubbed it silly with SOS pads, soap and all. It was silver, so I heated it really hot and wiped it down. The first time I used it, I fried chicken in it so that the inside would be covered in hot peanut oil. Nothing stuck, and the whole thing is a beautiful, almost jet black color.

[@Shane-Singleton]

If you didn't grind it out how long would it take to get the new lodge pan to a nice state of use? It looks like it'd take a pretty long time given how pitted the casting is brand new.

[@BackwoodsGourmetChannel]

The entire process only takes 1/2 hour. If you don't do this is will take you about 8-12 months of regular use to build up enough seasoning to make it smooth.

[@Shane-Singleton]

@@BackwoodsGourmetChannel Roger that! Thanks!

[@rickdavis2235]

Shane Singleton Spend a weekend seasoning your pan. Use a good oil with a high smoke temp, coat it liberally inside and out and put it in your oven at 375 for 1 hour. Cool and repeat until you get it how you want it.

[@Shane-Singleton]

@@rickdavis2235 Thank ya, sir. HAven't purchased one yet. Just doing some pre-purchase research. Also probably going to be picking up at least 1-2 from my mom as she has many. some of which were my grandmother's

[@jasonmuller7074]

@@Shane-Singleton Contrary to what the poster above claims, you don't want a nice thick oil coat. You want as thin a coat as possible & to build up many such thin coats over time. Thick oil coats work somewhat but are prone to having pieces of seasoning flake off. Thin coats don't seem to have this problem.

[@danielprice5116]

That was very informative I can see from the stack of cast iron pans I have I've got about 3 days work cut out for me LOL

[@plainlogic]

I have 2 identical lodge pans I bought 10 years apart. The old one has 15 years of seasoning and the new one has 5 years of seasoning. I smoothed out the newest pan as you have and it is a much better cooking pan.

[@missionpreparedness1533]

I have modified a number of rough cast iron pans and griddles with super success using only 80 grit sand paper. The result was a smooth surface that can stand up to restaurant treatment. The 80 grit sanding leaves a tiny micro-texture to allow the seasoning to get established and not be lifted off by use. Even the Stargazer company realized they had better results by having a tiny micro-texture allowing seasoning to hold. You will love the results...God Bless.

[@upsidedowndog1256]

I just got a new Lodge pan like yours as a replacement for an older cracked one. Lodge sent it N/C, see my video. I have the tools and skills to polish mine but decided not to. A month of use later and it has naturally gotten as good as my 25 year old pan that cracked. At first it was a little tricky but got better with every use. Your method looks great and obviously works good but I would not discourage using the new pans as they come from Lodge.

[@BackwoodsGourmetChannel]

I agree. Our next video on this subject will compare this pan to a un-modified Lodge pan. See where I'm going....

[@upsidedowndog1256]

Backwoods Gourmet Channel Well then I am a new subscriber for your channel. Looking forward to seeing that.

[@BackwoodsGourmetChannel]

Welcome.

[@nancybarnett2832]

Upside down dog, I agree. I got a Lodge a year ago, I use it as it came from the factory, and it works great, never had a problem with it sticking. I can't see putting all that effort into sanding.

[@FoghornGreenhorn]

I think those lodge cast iron pans are rather low quality. Lots of huge pits...

[@jonlanier_]

I picked up 2 100 year old Wagner Pan's for $20 about 4 years ago. This past week I picked up an 1890's Wagner 20 inch griddle and Wagner -0- pan ... both for $30. Good old stuff is out there, you just need to be willing to look.

[@BackwoodsGourmetChannel]

Congrats on those finds. Mrs. Backwoods found a Wagner in an estate sale for $12 a while back. Love it.

[@plainlogic]

Chef, get you a Lamson slotted spatula. It's made in the USA and has the perfect angle for fry pans.

[@OperaBass3]

Potayto Vs potahto, as-cast Vs smooth, whatever floats your boat. As a metalworker in a family of fine cooks, I've doctored tons of kitchenware including cast iron pots and pans. My Aunt Merla had a huge skillet my Uncle Lyle stole from a CCC camp in the '30's. My dad worked it over 'way before power tools when I was a snoopy kid. He used a piece of broken file and just dressed of the surface roughness from the as-cast surface. He explained to me it was necessary to leave a sprinkling of the original surface "...about like you'd pepper a fried egg." His treatment must have worked because that humongous pan figured into every family gathering 'till I was in my '40's. Flocks of chickens, wagon loads of potatoes, eggs, onions, acres of pancakes, rafts of cornbread, herds of roasts, five moose, barrels of stew, oceans of sauce, etc were cooked in it for 50 years until Aunt Merla passed it down to my cousin who doesn"t cook much. She hangs it on the wall. What used to be a working tool feeding the generations is now a decoration. Tragic. We've had generations of new cooks come along in the family over the years and any new cast iron cookware seems to come to me for treatment. Using a random orbit sander, I dress off the as-cast surface to bare clean-up, working into the fillet and up the sidewall. Then, before oiling, I heat the freshly dressed pan dry to 450 F for an hour or two until a light brown oxide forms. Then I coat the pan with any oil that's handy, usually corn oil or peanut oil and return the pan to the oven for a couple more hours. It's smoky work I perform in my shop's welding rod oven. The seasoning is nothing more than vegetable oil polymerized by heat and oxygen from the air. When bonded to a pan's metal surface, it forms a non-stick surface provided an oil or fat film intervenes to prevent food from sticking. It's an oleophillic film that is for all practical purposes a pigmentless paint. According to family tradition, cast iron pots, pans, and skillets are never washed, merely wiped out. They may be wrinsed and lightly scoured to loosen crusts and build-up but never washed with soap except immediately prior to re-seasoning. That's what's worked for my extended family for many years. From this I draw a single conclusion: smoothed cast iron cookware wipes out cleaner than as-cast pans. Those of you with new cast iron pans faced with conflicting advice should be aware that purists lurk everywhere advocating their WAY as the ONLY WAY suggesting alternatives are for the weak-minded and the un-American. The cast iron cookware nut cases would have you believe your pan (possibly, your life) will be ruined if you don't use the oil from a sacred nut tree harvested at the full moon that grows only in Ceylon on the pan heated in an oven calibrated only in Centigrade. Baloney. If one way doesn't work for you, try another way. It's cast iron. It's durable. They make mining equipment, machine tools, and direct burial pipe from cast iron. Whatever you do to cast iron cookware can be undone with soap, water, and elbow grease. You can't screw it up unless you crack it. Another point is factory "polishing" - dressing smooth the as-cast cooking surfaces of an iron pan - adds to the cost. Marketers have a long history of claiming mythical advantages for cost-cutting decisions but in fact, cast iron pans dressed smooth perform better. It's significant that only low cost pans are offered as-cast whereas the higher end pans have long been polished, even machined. Lodge makes good cast iron cookwasre but it performs better whenthe rough cast surface is dressed smooth. Seasoning doesn't last forever in working pans; years sometimes but not forever. Those who would have you believe otherwise never worked their pans to full potential. If the seasoning fails, scour it out and re-season. Another point is, this is an imperfect world. You might stick an omlet. A batch of chili conqueso or spaghetti sauce may strip your seasoning. It's not the end of the world. It's business as usual with cast iron cookware. Cuss it, then fix it. Another tip: non-stick pans are delicate. Their non-stick properties fade with time until they are just another pan. The simplest solution is to figure on replacing them and send the old one to Vinnie's. A way to prolong their life is to treat them like cast iron: never wash them. Wipe them out and NEVER heat them to oil's smoke point (400 F). Do not use them to sear meat. I have a cheap non-stick omlet pan that I've never washed that must be three years old and it still releases runny, bubbly toasted cheese sandwiches.

[@Enonymouse_]

40/80 grit with a powered device like a metabo could easily chew right through the entire pan. I use those types of sanders to remove mill scale off welded surfaces, it's extremely easy to punch through the metal itself. Try a much higher grit such as 120 or even 200-ish.

[@dougg1075]

I use angle grinder from Harbor Freight for ( 15 bucks) with 50 grit on bad spots but mostly a air powered 3 inch DA sander with 320 grit then season a bunch of times in the oven with flax seed oil. I only use cast iron and nothing sticks. A drop or two of oil to coat and a little butter and omelettes slide around. Love it

[@Str8UPdyeabolick]

Just learn to properly heat and season cast iron as it comes from the factory. I never have a problem with my cast iron sticking. The rough surface of the cast iron help the seasoning stick and less of it will be scraped off because of the low spots. It is a shame that people resort to sanding cast iron smooth because they think it makes it more "non-stick".

[@MikeJones-jr5hb]

I agree Todd. One hour in a preheated oven @ 300 deg with a thin coating of crisco or canola oil. Then cook with oil & enjoy it. It aint rocket science.

[@xanthopoulos1825]

Mike Jones yeah... I’ll definitely take the advice from the guy saying you can season a pan with crisco

[@jyou5072]

@@xanthopoulos1825 Crisco is proven to be perfectly fine for seasoning cast iron, in fact is probably the most common oil used among cast iron enthusiasts and users all around the world.

[@Str8UPdyeabolick]

@@xanthopoulos1825 Crisco is all I use on all my cast iron cookware.

[@jyou5072]

@jubjub247 there is literally no difference in how a smooth surface and a little more rough surface cooks the food. Proper seasoning will also help food not stick. And as far as flavor, not sure how you came up with that.

[@sandersjones1577]

I got this man,It’s in the bag.Thanks for sharing

[@skippyjones2077]

Great information thank you very much...☮️

[@scottsmith2971]

Great video! I redid mine with sandpaper to 220 grit and seasoned with flax seed oil. Turned out well. Do you prefer grape seed to flax seed?

[@BackwoodsGourmetChannel]

I am going to try flax seed oil on my next one. So no opinion yet.

[@243wayne1]

He actually prefers Weed seed...

[@jackwatkins7382]

Well hell, nice trick on getting them smooth. All of my pans are smooth since they are probably 100 years old. I probably own over 20 cast iron pans and a couple pots. But some of them came from my mother, which actually come from her mother and my daddy's mama. A lot of my pans don't even have a name on them. Couple says Wagner's couple says Griswold, some of them have a little Diamond mark on them. Some have nothing except just the size like a five or six. I don't guess I'll ever have a new pan I've been cooking on most of these for probably 50 years. All I know is I never use soap, and cast iron and pork fat rule!

[@judsonkr]

Enjoy those pans. You are very fortunate.

[@jonlanier_]

I have 3 pans that are over 100 years old, and just got a Wagner Griddle from the 1890's. I need to clean it up and season it. Best thing about the old stuff is that it is so much lighter than today's lodge.

[@jackwatkins7382]

@@jonlanier_ yeah mister John, I like the old stuff to because of the weight of the pans. I'm not as Stout as I used to be so some of those are really too heavy to suit me. Good day

[@davej7458]

I have old unnamed cast iron pans, old Lodge cast iron pans, and new Lodge cast iron pans. The new Lodge pans, even though they come pre Seasoned they are not nearly ready to be used easily. I don't worry about any pre seasoning that they have done. FirstI get the inside bottom of the pan smooth. I retreat it myself with peanut oil. In addition to making the pan, non-stick treatment is a Rust Preventative. In humid areas, those pants can rust very easily. Also, avoid cooking tomatoes in a new pan. If you use tomatoes in a well sesond pan, clean and dry the pan immediately when you are done serving.

[@jyou5072]

No thanks, I'll use any lodge off the shelf with same results as my old Griswold or Wagner pieces. Knowing how to use cast iron is how you'll get good results. No need for a glass smooth surface

[@Tipi_Dan]

Modern off-the-shelf cast iron skillets are garbage. The old ones were sold ground smooth. Without this kind of remedial work you can't even properly fry an egg in a modern pan, or flip it with a thin flexible spatula.

[@michaelshelnutt3534]

J You so how to keep scrambled eggs from sticking?

[@jyou5072]

@@michaelshelnutt3534 the key is proper seasoning. Not just the lodge pre-seasoning. In addition to that, there has to be enough fats/oil used when cooking. I don't like my eggs frying in a bunch of oil, so I just use a small amount of canola spray. Another key is preheating the iron before oil, then eggs/other food. It's actually pretty easy. I have alot of new lodge pieces and would put em up against any of my old stuff. We use our new 12" skillet and new 10" chef skillet most often and never have issues with sticking. As far as seasoning I prefer a product I found called crisbee. It gives the best seasoning I've ever seen IMO. crisbee.org

[@jyou5072]

@jubjub247 it does no worse smells or smoke than any other oils as long as you wipe it enough just like any other seasoning method. As far as scented versions go, they are all food grade scents. Same that you'll find in foods almost everywhere. It's not just some harsh chemical that you'd be in taking into your body. I find it laughable that you could even think to imply that it would be unhealthy to use Crisbee.

[@jyou5072]

@jubjub247 definitely not a stock holder as their company is a small family business and I live thousands of miles away from them and came across their product online and gave it a try. Not doing damage control, just giving it straight how I see it with the results I get with their product. Carcinogens eh? You do realize that ALL the other oils you mentioned also release carcinogens don't you? And yes food grade scents, those and dyes are used is more foods than most people realize. So pretty much unless you eat strictly what you grow yourself, there are scents and dyes added to your food.

[@bulletproofpepper2]

I bought a Dutch oven cast iron pot and didn’t like the finish and used a die grinder with the scotch brite pads attachment. It took a while but it worked.

[@mystuff1405]

200 years from now. Here we have a classic antique Lodge skillet in excellent shape but someone ruined it by putting their name on the bottom. But wait....It’s the backwoods gourmet. That’s a real collector piece. Lol.

[@jasonminnix7891]

Sorry if I missed it, but did you apply oil after each time you put it in the Weber?

[@truth959]

You gotta grind these Lodge pans. I mean there's rough, and then there's too rough. Lodge pans are too rough.

[@richardwatson8822]

This is the video i been hunting for , I sure am glad you made this & showed how & what to do to new Cast iron , thanks a lot for all the work you done & not to drag it out for an hour. Great video ! Thanks again !!

[@BackwoodsGourmetChannel]

If it was shorter, KZbin would have never suggested it. All they care about is watchin' time these days, so short videos don't get promoted in this genre. Thanks for watching.