Lodge pre-season: love it or leave it?

M

Mike F

Member
OK so during my short tenure in this hobby I have spent time cooking with and getting somewhat accustomed to older cast iron as well as the more modern lodge pieces.

One aspect that I am curious about is the pre-seasoning that comes with the modern Lodge pieces. I am wondering if this seasoning is worth keeping and building upon or would it be better to strip the pre-seasoning coat and start from scratch? Is it even possible to build upon this coat of pre-seasoning?

I wonder this because I have noticed that the pre-seasoning coat is more fragile than one coat that I apply to bare iron using crisco and my oven. I have also noticed that this pre-seasoning can have a tendency to flake off, which I have seen on more than one new piece (which I have promptly returned).

Just wondering if folks here have experience with this.
 
Mike,
I really doubt that many, if any, of the folks here have bought or used preseasoned Lodge pans. Most of us would much rather use a smooth surfaced older pan.

As a precaution I always strip and reseason all the pans I acquire. But then again none of them are new, fresh from the factory. Even if they were I would strip and reseason before using.

Jack
 
When I bought my new Lodge #12 last summer all I did was rinse it off and start using it. Like any other newly seasoned pan you'll want to cook things that help build the seasoning and use a little extra oil at first. Use a stainless steel spatula, it'll help round out some of the rough peaks while the seasoning that naturally builds up with use fills in the valleys. It's nowhere near as smooth and its a lot heavier than a Wagner or Griswold, but vintage pans size 12 and up in decent shape are a bit of a rarity and I use it fairly often so I'm glad I have it.
 
I have a new Lodge Wok that I bought 3 months or so ago. When I got it, the seasoning was chipped off in a small spot at the bottom. I was impressed how thick their coat of seasoning was. I've left it in place and have been cooking on it with no issues.

I also have a Bobby Flay dutch oven that was bought for me a few years ago. I neglected it and the seasoning got pretty funky around where the lid contacted the top of the oven. So I threw it in the lye bath and went to work re-seasoning. The results were not nearly as nice as the factory finish. The surface is extremely course that the thin layers of seasoning didn't smooth out. Makes it a pain to cook in and even worse to clean. I've only used it once though.

Not sure if the Lodge stuff would be the same as Bobby Flay branded or not...
 
I didn't trust the Lodge seasoning 8 years ago, so I bought a naked skillet as I had the choice. Today I'd vote for buying an older used one on eBay rather than a new pre-seasoned one. I still don't trust that stuff.

Hilditch
 
W. Hilditch said:
I didn't trust the Lodge seasoning 8 years ago, so I bought a naked skillet as I had the choice. Today I'd vote for buying an older used one on eBay rather than a new pre-seasoned one. I still don't trust that stuff.

Hilditch
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I'd be worried about running into Adam's problem. My observation was that the factory seasoning was a little less nonstick than what I could do on my own but it was very thick and pretty darn tough.
 
My number 10 user is a newer lodge. I used it for about 3 years before I knew how to actually take care of cast iron. Beat the hell out of it. Once I have learned the proper way to take care of it it started to actually work as it was suppose to. I have seasoned it in the oven and cook on it all the time. Never stripped it. I have repaired the bad season pretty well and it is growing completely slick over most of the pan. Never had an issue with the preseasoning. I also would have a hard time believing if their was an issue with preseasoning we wouldnt know about it. They sell a ton of pans. And although most of us prefer older pans rather than newer lodges, they are still an outstanding company. They are "cast iron" people so I imagine a LOT of time and research went into their preseasoning. So in short, Ive used it, have had no issues, and trust it

---------- Post added at 07:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:41 AM ----------
Adam_R. said:
I have a new Lodge Wok that I bought 3 months or so ago. When I got it, the seasoning was chipped off in a small spot at the bottom. I was impressed how thick their coat of seasoning was. I've left it in place and have been cooking on it with no issues.

I also have a Bobby Flay dutch oven that was bought for me a few years ago. I neglected it and the seasoning got pretty funky around where the lid contacted the top of the oven. So I threw it in the lye bath and went to work re-seasoning. The results were not nearly as nice as the factory finish. The surface is extremely course that the thin layers of seasoning didn't smooth out. Makes it a pain to cook in and even worse to clean. I've only used it once though.

Not sure if the Lodge stuff would be the same as Bobby Flay branded or not...
Click to expand...

OMG where id you find your Wok?
 
wow, the woks are expensive off of eBay. I bought mine off of amazon, which at the time was $50 bucks, and had Prime shipping. Which was shocking cause the thing weighs a ton. It seems they are more expensive now, but I remember the price fluctuating quite a bit when I was debating getting it. You might be able to hold out for it to be cheaper.
 
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Holy cow. There's a $44 Lodge wok in almost new condition at a local consignment store that's been sitting there for at least 3 months now. I never gave it much of a thought because for some reason I thought a new one could be had for about $50. When did they stop making them?
 
I have 2 modern Lodge skillets that I keep up at the cabin, one that was stripped and re-seasoned, one that I left the original seasoning on. Both have been used a fair amount with equal results. I do not heat the cabin in the winter. When I returned in the spring, the skillet I re-seasoned was fine, but the one that I left original had rusted. I am not sure if this is typical, but those are my results.
 
Ty L. said:
Holy cow. There's a $44 Lodge wok in almost new condition at a local consignment store that's been sitting there for at least 3 months now. I never gave it much of a thought because for some reason I thought a new one could be had for about $50. When did they stop making them?
Click to expand...

I didn't realize they did stop making them. I bought mine new just a few months ago.
 
Adam_R. said:
I didn't realize they did stop making them. I bought mine new just a few months ago.
Click to expand...

Lodge doesn't have it on their website, although once upon a time I thought I saw it there. Amazon is asking $130 and has only 3 left in stock. Walmart is out of stock but still has it listed at $53. I looked up a few other retailers I know carry Lodge but none of them have it. Lodge must have discontinued it. All of a sudden that $44 price tag at the consignment store doesn't sound so bad.
 
Yeah I just looked around on the Internet as well. Supply does seem to be thin. I remember when I bought mine reading reviews that said there were supply issues and there was some very high prices through Amazon due to this. I wonder if the produce them sporadically?
 
Adam R
Call Reba Wooten at Lodge Mfg. 423/837-7181, customer service.
She will probably know the answers.

Jack
 
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Thanks for the feedback, guys. I'm gonna stick with the pre-seasoning and see how it goes.

FWIW I recently purchased a new lodge wok from Walmart (I think it was at a price point of ~$45). Prior to purchasing they had been out of stock for awhile, but I just kept checking every couple of days and pulled the trigger once the inventory showed up.
 
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