Bentley,
I noticed you fried it in an aluminum pan.  Not sure if that might have affected the flavor?  Best for pan frying is cast iron.  You can pick up a Lodge at Walmart fairly inexpensively.  They are handy to have for frying other things.  My wife and I fry everything that needs frying in that now.
Z

If you buy a lodge CI frying pan, use a grinder to remove the pebble finish on the frying surface.  Get it to as smooth of a finish as you can.  Then re-season it.

If you buy a lodge CI frying pan, use a grinder to remove the pebble finish on the frying surface.  Get it to as smooth of a finish as you can.  Then re-season it.

What does that accomplish?  I'm curious.  I am guessing gives a flatter surface for browning, but seems like you have a great reason to go through the effort.

If you buy a lodge CI frying pan, use a grinder to remove the pebble finish on the frying surface.  Get it to as smooth of a finish as you can.  Then re-season it.

What does that accomplish?  I'm curious.  I am guessing gives a flatter surface for browning, but seems like you have a great reason to go through the effort.

I can't speak for anyone else but for us, when we have used Lodge we had trouble with sticking, we were instructed to grind it smooth and it really did help with that, not as good as some of our other cast iron but definitely better.

Yeah, it seasons better, it browns better, and the non-stick is better.

The high-end manufacturers lavish time on the frying surface.  End-users pay dearly for that.  So some consumers buy the low-end CI and spent their own time refining it.

Yeah, it seasons better, it browns better, and the non-stick is better.

The high-end manufacturers lavish time on the frying surface.  End-users pay dearly for that.  So some consumers buy the low-end CI and spent their own time refining it.

Would you also smooth the sides too if you intended to use it to bake something in?

Would you also smooth the sides too if you intended to use it to bake something in?

I wouldn't do it because it would be much more difficult.  It might be done with some kind of rotary grinding tool with a large grinding cylinder.  A person could sit and watch TV while doing it by hand (for hours).  My father once stood at the kitchen sink and used a series of hand-held carborundum stones to grind all of the teeth off of a round German file.  That was before we had a TV.  I guess he just meditated.

I still have it.  It made a fine butcher's steel.  It was his pride and joy.

If you buy a lodge CI frying pan, use a grinder to remove the pebble finish on the frying surface.  Get it to as smooth of a finish as you can.  Then re-season it.

Not sure I want to go through the effort since my stock Lodge seems to work well - but what type of grinder and method would you suggest for smoothing it?

Here are 4 youtube videos:

video 1.

video 2.

video 3.

video 4.

Maybe we need a new thread for cast iron?

 I have a lot of cast iron and found new pans need time to properly season. What and how the food is cooked and how the  C I is cleaned and maintained has a great deal to do with seasoning..

 A slightly pebbled finish, the hills and valleys, help with seasoning development as valley's give the seasoning a place to anchor. The best thing I found is to knock off any high pieces that may exist , or

carefully tap them down. They are rare but do exist. Next using a power drill and wire brush, go over the bottom and sides to "soften" the tops of the hills. Pushing hard on the drill is required...After a proper

cleaning is a must. The best way I have found is to use Washing soda, hot water and a scrubber. DO NOT try to dry a hot pan at this point as it will flash rust: While still wet, turn on the cold water to cool the

C I, then towel dry. Into a 200º oven for a good 15 Min. to final dry prior to seasoning... Oils: Choose one and stick with it until the C I gets well seasoned. The reason is some oils aren't compatible. That is, one

may dissolve an other.

Now that we're on the subject of seasoning.

My mother taught us to season CI with Crisco and I used it for years.  Now, I prefer flax seed oil available from stores that sell vitamins and supplements.  I think it makes a smoother seasoning.

Edible flax seed oil is called...you guessed it...flax seed oil.  Flax seed oil that isn't suitable for human consumption is called linseed oil.  Go figure.

My wife takes care of the seasoning between cooks using coconut nut oil from Costco. Seems to work well. Have not really had any issues with food sticking. She uses it quite a few times per week. I am thinking of doing a streak in it. Maybe use my Pro with the high end Direct Flame setting. Chef’s claim cast iron is the way to go for steak.

I am thinking it would be fun to do a blind taste test at the Royal next year. Have a group of Guinea Pigs tell us which steak they like best. Pan fried or seared on my Pro at 600-650.

Z

We have a top line Sears Kenmore Ceramic coated pot and pan set with a 11 or 12 inch fry pan.  They all have the steel bottom to make them induction capable.  The smooth ceramic coatings on the cooking surfaces, require little or no precook lubrication. I can easily do steaks and get Mailard effect on the entire steak surfaces.  Sooo--why is cast iron desirable?  (they are heavy, and a lot of work to prepare and maintain)  True, they are much cheaper to obtain and can last forever if well maintained. But?

Now that we're on the subject of seasoning.

My mother taught us to season CI with Crisco and I used it for years.  Now, I prefer flax seed oil available from stores that sell vitamins and supplements.  I think it makes a smoother seasoning.

Edible flax seed oil is called...you guessed it...flax seed oil.  Flax seed oil that isn't suitable for human consumption is called linseed oil.  Go figure.

Here is another vote for flax seed oil. I have used cast iron for a long time and never payed much attention to what I seasoned the pans with. Once they have a good base coat, it usually doesn't take much to keep them seasoned. A friend of mine gave me a 20" pan that he poured at his shop. It was a beautiful pan, but it was hard to get a good base coat that would stick. When he gave it to me he told me he had seasoned it with PAM, which I think was the cause for much of the problem. Finally had a friend sandblast the old coating and started over from the ground up.

Initially I put the pan in the oven on self clean overnight, that got rid of any residue. Cleaned and wiped it out with water and dried it on the oven burner. When the pan was warm and dry, I coated the pan with flax seed oil, wiped as much oil off as I could and put it back in the oven. It was baked it at 500 for an hour and then the oven was turned off as it sat in there for two hours cooling. It was the best coating I have ever seen on a pan. It almost looked like teflon. I repeated the heat, coat, wipe, bake, and cool process several times and was very pleased with the results.

As was previously mentioned, flax seed oil has the same chemical make-up as linseed oil, which is used to harden oil based paints. I will never use anything else to get a good base coat for a CI pan again.