Pretty much like the title says. Please excuse the dirty stove. This is my A team. I've used them all at least once this week.
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#8 Wagner (lower right), still rocking the vintage seasoning I bought it with. It just needed a little chain mail to get some crusties off.
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#8 unsigned, single notch Lodge (Lower left). This is my number one guy. Perfectly flat, just the right texture, and the seasoning turned out absolutely perfect on it. So non-stick. I have a slide-y egg video of it somewhere. And it's just Crisco, nothing fancy.
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#10 unsigned Wagner (Center). The big guy, 11 3/4". My man for big tasks. Frying chicken tenders, cooking two steaks at once, searing a whole tenderloin. Seasoned with canola oil.
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#3 unsigned Wagner (Upper left). The only pan I have left that was seasoned with flaxseed oil. That was really big on the cast iron subreddit for a while, but this is the only pan I used it on that did not completely flake off. No idea why this one worked, but it's still in good shape so far. Perfect for skillet cookies, tiny cornbread, or just for melting a whole stick of butter quickly.
I also have a nice deep #5 Griswold in the backlog waiting for seasoning, and a couple of camping dutch ovens. Then, there's my enamel dutch ovens. One of which is my oval 7 qt Le Creuset which is my all-time favorite Christmas gift from my wife. But these guys are my work horses. My best pan boys. I tell them how good they are when I wash them. Tell them that they are good pan boys when I rub them down. After they are clean and dry, they get to spend the rest of the evening out on the stove for admiration before they go back in their drawer.
Damn you're well equipped. I wish I had such a wide stove and quality pans. Stuff is hard to find here. I may import the pans, but for the stove....
Thanks! Most of my pans were rusty flea market finds. I feel like there has been a cast iron resurgence in the last few years, it's getting harder to find cheap, good quality pieces anymore. I think I paid $20 for the big Wagner Ware. And $5 for the little #3. Both of those are $50-60 in good condition. You just have to know what to look for in rescue pieces. Make sure the bottom is nice and flat, check everywhere for cracks. It's a good idea to do a lead test if there's a possibility of someone having used it to cast bullets.
The stove is 30" (0.76m) wide, a standard width for over here. One of my coworkers, who is really into cooking, has an actual 48" (1.22m) commercial range in his house. 8 burners. Dual ovens. His range hood alone cost more than my stove and fridge combined. That's a guy that likes to cook!
I would definitely get a good use out of a heavy duty stove like that. Thanks for the advice wrt pans, much appreciated.
Casting bullets, lmao. I assume you're from the US 😂 It definitely wouldn't be a concern around here. But I learned something !