After the usual disclaimer of not being in any way affiliated, Woot.com has cast iron cookware at good prices. It is Jim Beam branded, but I am sure they are not the manufacturer. For those like me that like to cook in cast iron.

Cast iron,properly seasoned and maintained, is just about as good as non-stick coatings, plus I understand it provides iron to those who eat food cooked within it.

Good at home, but heavy on the trail.

Good for cooking over any form of heat, durable and healthy. I have packed one in a backpack before, but it is not preferred.

Just curious ... is there any safety concern associated with lesser known brands of foreign-made cast iron??

Warping, cracking, rough finish (you won't get non-stick no matter how well you try to season it) ... those are some of the downsides of non-USA-made cast iron.

If you want inexpensive, try Lodge brand. It's everywhere. It's not high end, but at least it's USA-made. You may have to smooth the insides with an orbital sander and re-season it to make it perform well however.

https://youtu.be/UXCGiRsUwLQ

https://youtu.be/ljSQrSoSYAE

https://youtu.be/a5NbQwzwUTw

Search Google for "youtube cowboy kent rollins cast iron". This guy knows his cast iron and has created many videos on just about every aspect of it. Buying it, seasoning it, cleaning it, removing rust, etc.

Great for whomping cougars, though. Just add a lanyard.

a lot of Lodge products claim factory pre-seasoning right out of the box, although doubtless it must be renewed periodically.

I don't have any Lodge brand, but the issue that I've read about is that their pre-seasoning is not smooth. So that defeats the purpose. You want a smooth finish for stick-free cooking, which is what the seasoning gets you. So you end up having to remove the poor pre-seasoning done by Lodge in order to apply a good seasoning of your own. Their pre-seasoning is supposed to save you time, but it apparently does just the opposite. Once you have removed their pre-seasoning and done the job correctly yourself, then reportedly it's good cookware. Again, I don't own any Lodge, but that's what I've read about it.

Considering how much cheaper Lodge is than other higher end cast iron, I would not hesitate to try it someday. Just with the thought in the back of my mind that I may need to do a little prep work on it. Not really a big deal - probably 30 minutes or less to smooth, then a couple of hours to season from scratch (most of that time sitting around waiting on it to bake in the oven).

I have lots of Lodge cast iron products. Skillets, flat-bottomed dutch ovens (for oven use), camp dutch ovens (for use with charcoal), griddles, and a few other speciality items.

I've cooked with them for years and enjoy them. Sometimes searing meat will leave crud on the bottom, but I just add hot water and boil it up to soften the crud before scraping it off, cleaning the surface (with chainmail scrubber, paper towel, crumpled foil, or course salt). I use plastic and metal spatulas - so long as it isn't pointy or real sharp. I really don't pamper the cast iron.

I do always clean and wipe with vegetable oil while warm (not hot! ... always inside, sometimes inside & outside) and then heat the oil a bit before storing away.

There are lots of online sources of how to cook with and care for cast iron.

Here is a review that looked as several brands of skillets:

https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-cast-iron-skillet/

Oh, but I still prefer/use a teflon pan when making scrambled eggs.

+1 to Haertig, both on american made and videos.


I used a similar approach when I bought a used cast iron skillet; thought I used a paint stripper head instead of a sander, and took a rusted pan to bare metal in 10 minutes...

I like food grade linseed (flaxseed) oil for seasoning, it creates a great surface.

Next time I see a rusted cast iron pan at a yard sale, I’m going to get it and try some evaporust on it. That stuff works pretty well.