One is free to use any skillet one prefers. Cast iron is unique - it's not quite like anything else. I have different skillets/pots for different things. My favorite small frying pan is a cheap aluminum one from World Mkt that is the best I've ever had. I also have a large one I sometimes use. I also sometimes use my cast iron - totally depends on what I'm cooking.

Thank you both.

I've asked DH if he will have a go at the pan with his sander/grinder. We'll see how that turns out. But I'm still not in love with the upkeep a CI pan requires. Just my opinion, but I'm not happy with the idea of just wiping out a pan and not giving it a good scrub. I realize that would require a re-seasoning, but I have never achieved a "season" yet. Just hours of oiling and heating in the oven over and over again.

If my oven gets no hotter than 500 degrees, how hot could the stovetop (electric coil) get? Any idea?

donna, if the pan you've mentioned is mostly aluminum (in addition to whatever else) it won't conduct or hold heat as your CI will.

I know many will cringe, but I wash ours out (or DH does) if I cook proteins or liquids in it (but just wipe it for breads and cornbreads with is 'wet'). I don't always need to re-season it but do dry it immediately with a paper towel if it's washed. It's a newer Logde with the bumpy surface. I agree, they are heavy and cumbersome. But I love them!

Others may offer you better advice, but I just season mine in my oven at 450 F. I find 500 isn't necessary. Not sure about seasoning after sanding down. I've read that takes several seasonings.

Lars, any tips on what grit of sandpaper you used to grind your's down? Do you have problems keeping the seasoning on your new smooth CI (something I read).

I don't think there will be much cringing here. We have had several conversations re seasoning and washing cast iron. Yes, some people worry about damaged seasoning, but I know that annie1992 and others wash theirs in soap and water without issue. That includes me too although I just do a wipe out if it was just fried eggs or something. My seasoning isn't as good as annie's (I don't make enough donuts) or dcarch's, but it doesn't seem worse off for the washing. I do dry it on the stove which is an extra step; and last week I set the smoke alarm off when I forgot to turn it off. Maybe its better seasoned now...oops.

I believe I started with a 120 grit sandpaper and then I may have finished with 180 grit. I know I did not use a very coarse sandpaper at any time, but the surface got smooth very quickly. My pan was new and had not been seasoned, but if you sand a seasoned pan, you will have to re-season it. I have a couple of very shallow pans, a comal and a 15" diameter pizza pan that I use when making tortillas or pancakes. I prefer the shallow pans to the 1" deep pan. I have not sanded the pizza pan, and it is a bit pebbly, but pizza never sticks to it.

Ask for wet/dry silicone carbide sandpaper.

dcarch

I wash my CI with detergent when it needs it. If I’m cooking something messy in it, towards the end of the cooking time I boil the kettle and then when I’ve taken the food out of the CI I fill it with boiling water (never cool water into a hot CI pan or it will crack). By the time I’m ready to wash it, the most it might need is a bit of a scrub with one of those Scotch-brite type plastic scourers. Wipe it dry with a damp sponge and it’s good to go.

Sometimes I wipe, sometimes a quick hit with a tiny bit of Dawn and the ScotchBrite. I do have 5 pilot lights on my 1948 gas stove, so if I think it needs a bit of reseasoning, I just put in a bit of oil, and leave the pan in the stove for a day or two (or when I remember to remove it!. It's really pretty darned easy...

Buy a used CI skillet -- someone else has done the hard work. You can find them at estate sales and antiques stores.

I have a no name carbon steel skillet that I like much better than cast iron. It was a rummage sale find with no clue as to the manufacturer. The bottom is pretty thick, heats evenly and does a great sear. It's my go-to when I want to sear something.

I use baking soda to scour my cast iron, when it needs it, and hottest water to rinse. You can also use salt. Both are sanitizing, I believe.

Aluminum is actually a very good conductor of heat, compared to cast iron, which is actually pretty poor. (Copper and silver are the best) But to have the heat capacity or cast iron, it needs to be pretty thick. As lars suggested, I would want to know what the other 8 or 9 metals are -- and they will also alter the performance of the material.

For searing, another alternative is the Demeyere Searing Pan, available from SurLaTable. It's like a chopped down version of their highly regarded Proline pan.

As Chas mentioned, I wash my cast iron with soap and a soft plastic scrubbie, and I believe AnnT does also. I don't seem to compromise the seasoning at all by doing that, but I do make sure that it is well dried. When it needs "reseasoning", which is seldom, I make a batch of french fries or donuts in it. Works even better than the oven method. A couple of batches of fries and my seasoning is back to top notch.

For what it's worth, I have a couple of old Griswold and Wagner pans and they are far better (and lighter) than any of the newer cast iron. I understand they were made using a different process, and they are much smoother and don't weigh nearly as much as the new ones. It's worth it to me to seek out the old pans and buy those instead of the new stuff.

Not that I need any more pans...

Annie

If you doubt that a well seasoned pan can be washed in soap and water without removing the seasoning, may I suggest you remember how hard it to remove any polymerized drips of fat and oil that have run down the outside of a pan. My bad memory is of making several batches of popovers in a row and just wiping between batches, The drops of oil outside of the cups had to be steel wooled off.
And is Le Cruset still making fry pans? I have 4 or 5 and really love them!

I've heard all the anecdotes about how to clean a CI pan and how to season it. All of that isn't really relevant at this point because of the pebbly surface mine has. Mine spends more time in a hot oven than it ever spends on the cooktop. And it's not fun to clean.

Once DH is up and around, he's going to see about sanding it for me. In the meantime, I went ahead and ordered the pan this thread was supposed to be about, LOL. I found information that stated that an electric coil stove burner can reach about 375 degrees, so that won't be an issue. If anyone is interested, I can post my thoughts on it after I've used it a few times.

Thank you all for your assistance.

FWIW, 1 reason I avoid soap/detergent on my cast iron is because it picks up the taste of the soap.

donna, do let us know if you're happy with the new pan, if it sears and cooks steaks the way you like : ) I get that CI's are very heavy, not easy to clean. I hope I can continue to use mine for some time.

I took an angle grinder to two Lodge griddles and am very pleased with the results. There are numerous how-to videos on YouTube that may be helpful. I do want to mention that this is one of the dirtiest jobs I've undertaken. I had prepared by wearing a dust mask and eye protection, and heavy gloves, but I was entirely covered with greasy stuff that I had ground off the griddles.

"----I had prepared by wearing a dust mask and eye protection, and heavy gloves, ----"

I also recommend ear plugs. Angle grinder is very loud and can damage hearing.

dcarch

Search on youtube for cowboy kent rollins. He has great videos for quick and easy care for cast iron. As others mentioned, hot water on a hot pan and the crud steams right off. Or scrub with salt. Thats all you need to clean it, no soap or you’ll ruin your seasoning. Then re-season with oil when hot, and put it away for next time. Its almost as easy as cleaning a non-stick pan.

I wash mine, it doesn't ruin the seasoning! I just put it on a burner immediately after and turn it on to make sure it's totally dry then pour in a little bit of oil and rub that around with a paper towel and let it cool and put it away for next time...it's that simple.

I've always washed my cast iron skillet (basic Lodge 10 inch, had it about 14 years) in plain water, no soap, and scrubbed with a stiff natural bristle brush. I dry it on a rack if it's still warm enough after being cooked with, or in the oven by starting the preheat cycle for a few minutes.

There is a company making newly manufactured cast iron skillets with the old-fashioned smooth surface, lighter in weight and some other features that they say distinguishes it from the basic Lodge type... I'm intrigued, but can't really justify $80 when I already have a 10 inch cast iron pan. http://www.stargazercastiron.com/

I've always been told that soap ruins the seasoning? Seasoning is basically oil... and soap removes oil. You may have a "well seasoned" pan a light bit of soap doesn't phase it. I don't think you'd want to use soap on a new or lightly seasoned pan.

Steve: seasoning is not oil, it is polymerized oil; a different animal. Table salt is Sodium Chloride, that could be the product of reacting sodium with chlorine, but I suggest you not stick a piece of sodium in your mouth unless you want to reenact the bad guys opening the Ark in 'Raiders of the..,'