Got them for $20, they both cook good. Here’s them complete.
Test them for lead.
I didn’t think of that, I will have to look into that. These are from the era you would expect lead.
Some people use these pans to melt and cast lead fishing weights and/or bullets.
Wild that we still put lead in bullets… Especially for hunters that then eat their kill.
It is, but it’s tough because it’s really an amazing metal for the job. Lead alloys are unbelievably good at transmitting the kenetic energy from one thing to another, especially at the price.
Feels a lot like how asbestos is genuinely amazing at its job. But, you know… mesothelioma.
Ah that explains it! No lead would survive the initial casting but using it for that after the fact makes sense.
They should have lead with that /s
Metal salts are often water soluble, but a characteristic of lead salts is that they are especially water soluble. So heating up the pan with water should get rid of most of it. Boil water, pour it off, repeat a couple of times. If you’re worried, use acidic water - it’s going to mess up your pan but you’ve already proven that you know how to fix that, sir.
If you’re curious, you can test for lead by doing the following first. Use distilled water and instead of boiling it, heat it to about 70 C. Keep it there for a couple of minutes while stirring gently. That should get most of the lead, if there is any, into the aqueous phase, while leaving behind any other metal salts that could theoretically be present.
Pour off the water into a different container. Let it cool down.
Take a portion of it to a borosilicate vial and a few drops of HCl (hydrochloric acid). If a white precipitate is formed, it may indicate lead. Together with the fact that your cations were soluble in hot water, the evidence is quite strong.
If you really want to be sure and want to do some real cation analysis, this page has a flowchart which, if you follow it, will let you know which oxidative state your lead was in and therefore help you infer what anion you have. I’d skip that part unless you want to do it for the sake of whimsy.
You scrubbed off the seasoning! /s
!castiron@lemmy.world would love this
This is some GOOD POSTING 🙌
Apshh, there goes all the flavor.
If you put a mess of elbow grease in and polish those smooth and reseaon them, you will be so satisfied.
Yeah I bought some 80 grit sand paper for removing the rust and some 1500 grit sandpaper for polishing. I also have a griddle that I didn’t get around to doing yet. I’m going to need a wire wheel for it but the nearest hardware store is a solid 30 minute drive from where I’m at.
I polished an 8” Lodge skillet a few years back and decided to work smarter. Took my random orbit 5” sander, taped some weight on the top palm rest, put on a 120 grit mesh, placed it in the pan and turned it on a low speed. It worked like a roomba hitting the sides and spinning over the pan. I needed more control as it was spiraling. I tied off the power cord to a nearby bench so the cord was fully taught at the far side of the pan. Now the sander could swing side to side without spinning. Whenever I was home I turned it on. Changed to a finer grit after the first 8 or so hours and again after another 8-10hrs.
All told that ran for 6 days, maybe 30 hours total. Got a finish as fine as my Griswold now.
Pics?
Remember, cast iron isn’t land fill, it is an heirloom.
One of my favorite things to do with a cast iron is to preheat it on the stove and also preheat the oven, sear a steak on one side, then flip the steak and put the pan into the oven.
Easier than butter basting, but not much of a step down in quality.
I assume you put some oil on the steak.
Also, times and temps?
Yeah, oil the pan with a neutral, high smoke point oil. Salt the steak, but don’t use pepper unless you like the bitter, acrid taste of burnt pepper. I usually go medium to medium high on the stove, but set the oven lower, like 300F. Another nice thing about cast iron is that it can handle really high temps without much issue, and it can hold that heat. So you’re searing that second side at probably like 400-450 while the other 5 sides are getting a more gentle cook. And while that heat transfers from pan to steak, it gradually comes down to that 300ish to end up being pretty even.
As for timing, it really depends on the thickness of the steak and your preference for doneness. I like a thick, medium rare ribeye best. Probably like 60-90 seconds on the first side, then flip and throw in the oven for like 3-5 minutes? When in doubt, temp your food. But it will probably rest up like 10 degrees, so keep that in mind.
This is why I’m fine with pulling my chicken out of the oven in the 155-160 range since I know it’ll cross the 165 it needs to be safe while it rests. If you wait for 165 before pulling it, it’s gonna hit like 175-180 and start drying out.
The steak sounds great and chicken breast, but for dark chicken I like to cook longer to break down more of the internal tissues, the meat pulls apart and it’s still moist. At least for me I go longer, especially skin-on pieces, the meat pulls away from the ends when it’s ready, like ribs do, and it’s sizzling good!
Using a temp probe for some things is nice to see how fast the temp is increasing. You can see the slope of the line, rate of temp change/minute and estimate when it will reach the target temperature, and how much it rises while resting, depending on weight and other factors. I want to try the steak now!
I’m usually aiming for around 140 internal.
With this method, you might try oiling the steak surface and not the pan. It lets you use less, and you didn’t have oil in the own getting super hot.
i promise i'm not [just] being an asshole, but cook it to internal meat temperature, not any specific time
I usually sous vide steaks. Amount for times and temps is a reflex.
I was mainly curious about the oven temp.
I mean it depends on the cut abs the thickness. I usually do a reverse sear on mine. Smoker/oven @ 225-275F until 125F, then give it a quick sear (1-2 minutes a side) on high direct heat. If it’s in the oven, use the broiler. If it’s on the smoker, open all the vents fully and pray there isn’t wind). A tri-tip takes maybe an hour and a half at 225F.
Nicely done, dull man.
Doing gods work
for all the children.
Nice!
