New Lodge Cast Iron

We recently bought our first DO and added a trivet to the bottom to keep the meat off the direct bottom. First try was a whole chicken on the wire trivet with some potatoes. I found various recipes, cooking charts, suggestions and so. Told the DW to stand back, this is a man's job and proceeded. Did a couple loads of charcoal, per instructions, and never once lifted the lid (which drove the DW crazy). Consumed a few adult beverages and sat back waiting for the I told you so's. After the predetermined time removed the lid to reveal a perfectly golden chicken. Only glitch was that the bird was so tender, it was hard to get out of the DO. And taste? OMG Simply great. Only down side is, guess who has a new job when camping?
Also did a prime rib at home outside on the patio and it also was great.
Keep using it, keep it clean and it will smoothen.

Will it smooth out? Depends a lot on how you treat it. Keep tomato based recipes out of it for quite some time, never, never use soap in it, the more you fry with oil the quicker it will smooth over.
Soap or water? You need to retain the small amounts of oil that soak into the pores and that is by using water to clean it. How clean is that, water is the worlds best solvent and no matter how clean the pan eventually it will meet raw chicken. The high temperatures kill any initial bacteria in the chicken and do the same for the pan. After a good hot water bath or soaking scrub out the residue, dry it over heat and if it looks dry wipe oil on in to insure it's oiled. It will outlast both of us.
We do 90% of our cooking in CI and only have one T-Fal skillet. The skillet has lasted a long time, well over a decade, because we seldom use it.

You made a great purchase. Just keep using it, try to clean no soap, dry it and at the beginning rub a bit of oil in it after you wash it. It just gets better with age. Enjoy!

I also have a DO and a skillet that go camping with us. I purchased them new and have seasoned them & cooked in them enough so they've got the black non stick finish that cast iron is noted for. I use the DO to cook on charcoal and the skillet I use on the propane cook stove.

I have 2 other larger skillets passed down from my grandmother that I use at home and am contemplating another DO/skillet combo. I love my cast iron!

Congratulations on joining the Cast Iron Chef fraternity. The new cast iron has a rougher surface. Just wash and start using it. Don't be afraid to use metal spatulas or to scrub it. It's cast iron, it can take it. Mine is in fine shape from years of use and I do all of the above with it. I have a cast iron skillet and a dutch oven that goes camping with us every trip. It can be used on the campfire or the stove for making some great meals.

I don't know who you've heard say it's the devil's metal, but there's a very large cast iron aficionado group known as the International Dutch Oven Society that has regular meetings called Dutch Oven Gatherings. They use skillets and dutch ovens to create an entire menu for competition. The chefs are more than happy to share their techniques at these events and help you out.

You can search this forum and the internet for more info using Dutch Oven, cast iron, Dutch Oven Gatherings, DOG DOGs or D.O.G.

Stars101 wrote:
I just bought a new seasoned Lodge cast Iron skillet from Wally World.

It's working better than I thought it would. I'm impressed b/c based on some comments you'd think cast iron is the devil's metal LOL.

But it does seem really, really rough. Will it ever develop that smooth black surface I saw on my Grandmother's skillet?

Or is the new Lodge just rough? I've seen numerous You Tube videos about cast iron care/cleaning. And now I see that some people use a wire wheel on the new Lodge to smooth it out!

I know it will get more non-stick with use, but I don't see how use/seasoning is going to smooth out the rough surface.

I am so confused.... I'd never have thought I'd be looking at You Tube cast iron skillet videos at 2am - the internet is a curse sometimes :)

The more you use it the better it gets.
The cast iron is porous. The oils and greases will soak into the pores when heated. Fry beacon in it. Let it cool with the grease in it. Don't scrape or scour when cleaning. Months of this and you will have grandma's skillet.

I love my cast iron but it's too heavy for camping.

I first encountered those pans in a Flying J Dennys near Rawlins, WY. We had to hunker down a couple of days due to a storm. I don't really like Dennys food but they had a menu item of eggs, sausage, & potatoes with melted cheese cooked in a lodge pole pan. Brought to the table in the pan on the wood tray. Mighty tasty meal. Walmart doesn't have that style. I'm going to check out the internet.

Looked it up. Called Santa Fe Skillet.