Thrift store cast iron skillet turned my eggs from sticky to slidey in one week

Picked up a rusty old Lodge skillet for $8 at Goodwill in Austin, spent 20 minutes scrubbing and reseasoned it with crisco. After 5 uses the surface got this dark non-stick shine, now my fried eggs slide right off. Anyone else notice old cast iron works better than new?

3 comments

3 Comments

park.robin21d ago

Hold up, 20 minutes? You scrubbed a rusty old skillet and had it reseasoned in 20 minutes? I've spent that long just trying to get the rust off a pan with steel wool and still had to chase it with vinegar. That sounds like some kind of magic trick or you got incredibly lucky with a light rust layer. Most of the time you gotta scrub for an hour and then do a full oven seasoning session that takes another hour. But yeah, you're right about old cast iron being better. The surface on those older pans is smoother from years of use, so the seasoning bonds way easier. New Lodge pans have that rough texture from the casting process, which makes them stick more until you really build up layers. Your $8 find is probably worth more than a $40 new one just from the time saved.

vera_murphy11d ago

Your $8 find is probably worth more than a $40 new one" - great, now I feel worse about the $60 I just spent.

the_logan21d ago

Hold up, you got it for $8 at Goodwill in Austin? That's wild. I've been looking for old cast iron in thrift stores around here for months and all I find is scratched up Teflon pans. I spent $40 on a brand new Lodge skillet last year and it still sticks sometimes no matter how much oil I use. Your 20 minute scrub job beating out a new pan just hurts my feelings honestly. Might have to start checking the Austin thrift stores next time I drive through.