I thought I deeply loved my ozark trail pan, I knew it was cheap but my mom got it for me ‘fore she passed and it cooked good as far as I knew. Then I got ahold of my MIL’s heirloom cast iron and oh my gosh it was a whole new cooking experience. Can’t believe after years of dedicated use/seasoning I just stripped it bare and I’m sanding my baby smo-oo-oth!
I bought a 12" Ozark trail cast iron skillet about 3 years ago. It was the worst feeling cast iron I've ever felt. Very poor preseasoning, rough surface, and metallic feeling. After constant use and no sanding it is the smoothest cast iron i have. Almost glass like smooth. I will endorse Ozark trail. But i do recommend a few rounds of seasoning before use.
I like your style, no needless complaining and whining, just a true Southern gentleman. I bought a three piece set of these on sale for $15 but was horrified at the finish. This is just a guess on my part but I think the factory sprays a coating to fill in all of the pits and viods due to poor manufacturing processes. I'm going to try and smooth my pans out and see how it goes.
Thank you you are right the finish on new cast iron is the worst but with a little work I use mine every week end to cook bacon and eggs with no problems
Yeah the starting finish on ozark is about the worst, roughest, 1-2 hr burnt stain sticking thing you can get if someone has a 100 year old legacy mirror smooth cast iron, those are junk, but smoothing, at least to a ceramic or smooth pebble like surface only improves a cheap 10$ ozark from sticking 1-3 hr hell. To push lightly on a porcelain plate smooth, pop off sliding egg quality.
I got an ozark trail small skillet for $1 on clearance at Walmart. I spent about an hour sanding and polishing it, then seasoned it 5 times. And it’s the ultimate little egg cooker. It’s completely non stick. Works just as good as my smiths or old griswalds. Although it is thinner. After polishing and properly seasoning it it works great. It’s the small idk 6 or 8 inch one. If fits two eggs to fry them perfectly. You a get a whole set for camping or sometbing super cheap, just need to sand and polish them. It’s Impressive to me how insanely rough those cheap skillets are from the factory. Idk how you could cook on them without some resurfacing.
@@backwoodstech1972 we were just talking about this at my home! I've spent hundreds over the years trying to find the right fit. Still, the best pan I use is my grandmother's 8 inch cast iron pan from the 1940s So we nabbed the Ozark Trail 3 for $15 deal at Walmart. I seasoned a few of them 4 times and it seemed to smooth out the pores. I don't have the tools to sand it down... but I might purchase them to get the pre season off .
I have a 15" ozark skillet that was just horrible so i never bothered seasoning it. Well today i cleaned it till it turned out a silver color then heated it and it soaked up 10 coats of oil. Then i put it in the oven for an hour on 500° let it cool put more oil on and back in the oven for another hour and repeated 2 more times, now it looks better than my high dollar cast iron skillets. Fixing to cook some meat in it and see how it does.
I agree with the stripping of the factory (seasoning) and starting from scratch. Play it safe cuz the Prosses is simple and we don't know what was used in the manufacturing of it.
My son just bought a LANGOSTINA 10.25 skillet when it was on sale at Canadian Tire. His first cast-iron skillet. lt also has a rough cooking surface. BUT after seasoning it a couple of times and giving it a fried bacon spa treatment before frying some easy-over eggs in it, much to my surprise the eggs didn't stick and flipped easy as farting. That is just my observations on this one rough pan though. Your own experiences may vary. Great video BTW, eh?
The modern cast iron pans are typically seasoned with some kind of vegetable oil at the factory; rice bran oil, flax seed oil, grape seed oil, etc. Your vintage pans were typically seasoned with lard by the first owner, having shipped from the factory with a raw machined surface. Any saturated oil or fat with a high smoke point will work in a pinch. When heated for an hour and then permitted to cool naturally, any of these oils or fats will become a polymer bound to the surface of the pan. Repeated application forms a more resilient base, which turns black. Whether Ozark Trail uses lard or beef tallow in their factory seasoning, it isn't going to kill you. These are foods. I do appreciate the demonstration of how to smooth the surface. The objective is to sand it down till you get a pebble grain finish, but no where near a mirror surface. The seasoning will adhere to a textured surface well, but not one that is perfectly smooth. The big downside of the rough finishes on modern pans is simply that they are harder to clean up after use. They will pull lint off a tea towel or a paper towel.
I have a Lodge skillet that is so rough that it damages wooden tools. Since I have lots of pans, it has been put aside until I am bored and want to mess with it. I am disappointed to have this with Lodge and wish that Wagner was still around.
Appreciate you for posting this. I've already ordered a set (can't beat the price for two pans that can make a shallow dutch oven). I suspected they'd be rough cheap cast from china so at least now with your warning I won't be disappointed when they get here! Instead of sandpaper I'll use a grinder and hopefully it'll be a quick fix!
@@backwoodstech1972 Im gunna take 50g orbital and smooth out the bottom a bit :) I have a lodge that i absolutely love and the bottom is a bit rough.Eggs slide right out!
That polymerized something is called seasoning. Polymerization is the chemical process that happens if you season a skillet correctly. The oil turns into a polymer and bonds to the skillet. It's no longer oil. That's also why you can use modern dish soap like Dawn. It removes oil but not seasoning (like great grandma's lye based soap did).
Thank you ! just bought one (althought out here it's 40 bucks and not 7) and was very surprised at how rough it was, I guess I'm gonna have to get sanding this weekend! Any advice on how to season it properly without an oven ?
I don't trust any factory seasoning. The only reason it's there is to prevent rust while it sits on a shelf.Contrary to popular opinion, that's the primary reason for seasoning in the first place. The almost non-stick surface is just an additional benefit.
I just got a set of these and just used it but hated the rough texture. I don't have the machinery to sand it like that, could I sand it manually and have the same effect? I know it would take longer, but I wonder how it would turn out
I remember doing it by hand trying a variety from steel wool, sandpaper, knife sharpening whetstones and a common brick and a steel scourer by hand and a semi sturdyish 1$ steel throwaway spatula. I found the best results were to quickly get a rough coat with a smooth ended brick, with a dust and eye masked around, spinning it around lengthwise to get a quick rough coat down with water inside to smooth and catch the dust. It's to get a fast rough coat, and expect the pan to scrape the brick apart too. Then dump out the sludge after you think its been enough, and then I used a 1$ stainless steel scourer from the dollar store. Steel wool is too slow, the steel scourer noticeably smoothed it out and for the sides, but surprisingly a steel spatulas you don't mind wearing the edges down slightly smooths out as well. Just remember to wash well and re oil lightly between each washing and use high heat to deliberately smoke it for the seasoning to polymerize hard right.
I got a set of Ozark trail skillets as a gift. I seasoned and used it with no issues of sticking. Yes they are rough but with the right combination of seasoning and heat works great. The roughness will get knocked down with use.
i just got these bc, they were cheap and trust me the roughness is not normal, when you first buy a good cast iron skillet they have to be smooth, returning them to the store
Needs to be sanded a Lot more. Faster to use a high speed air sander. Then coat and bake on at least 6 layers of Flax seed oil till it's a black mirror.
Yes. Wagner, Griswold and vintage Lodge, etc were all factory sanded. I do have some vintage CI, but I also buy new Lodge which is actually made in China as well as other import CI. I just sand the heck out of them w/a high speed air sander then etch the metal in a vinegar/water soak then season w/ about 10 layers of Flax seed oil till it looks like a black mirror. It's a lot of work, but fun. I can make a $23.00 12" Lodge skillet as nice as a $140.00 Griswold.
People put to much thought into a pan. Just use it and it will be as good as any so called high end pan, which is just a marketing ploy to rip people off. Don’t get sucked in!!!!
Man I just got one and I'm not impressed my USA made lodge cast irons are way nicer I use mine to cook wild game and prime cuts of meat thus the only way I eat it but I feel like this is too much work for a cast iron pan but ohh well
you jokers who sand cast irons make me laugh.. it will be non stick without that... just season the pan. Rough surface doesn't mean it won't be non stick... my Lodge has rough surface, I can flip an egg easy on it.
Modern cast iron is nowhere as smooth as old cast iron so I will sand it to make it smooth but the joke is on the ones who think the pre seasoning is a good thing because I wouldn’t eat let alone cook with something that is a polymerized animal byproduct
These mass produced pieces are literally just rock tumbled after coming out of a sand cast pour, quenched, cleaned, and “seasoned” with animal byproduct (which turns rancid in the deep surface pits and makes your food taste nasty). Get your hands on an heirloom/vintage cast iron piece and I promise you it’ll look and feel like glass and it’s meals are going to be great.
They have a honest to God annoying learning curve, but so with smoothing and high heat to smoke point (stickiness comes from low heat.), you can actually get like a super indestructible pan that with some smoothing might not ever be as good as in scratched teflon. But can surprisingly get close with proper smoothing and a high heat coat that makes water and eggs slide like oiled teflon even under hot soapy water. Its a actual film at high heat smoke point, just like glass! And water slides off the previously rage inducing 1-3 hr sticks. Now it wipes off in 5-15 seconds and water slides right off my hand smoothed pan too like Teflon.
I thought I deeply loved my ozark trail pan, I knew it was cheap but my mom got it for me ‘fore she passed and it cooked good as far as I knew. Then I got ahold of my MIL’s heirloom cast iron and oh my gosh it was a whole new cooking experience. Can’t believe after years of dedicated use/seasoning I just stripped it bare and I’m sanding my baby smo-oo-oth!
The old cast is the best and just because something is cheap doesn’t mean junk
I bought a 12" Ozark trail cast iron skillet about 3 years ago. It was the worst feeling cast iron I've ever felt. Very poor preseasoning, rough surface, and metallic feeling. After constant use and no sanding it is the smoothest cast iron i have. Almost glass like smooth. I will endorse Ozark trail. But i do recommend a few rounds of seasoning before use.
Yet you could get a 30 dollar Lodge.
the rough surface allows the over time seasoning by use to stick very well
Please tell me how you seasoned it and how many times it took for you smooth finish
I like your style, no needless complaining and whining, just a true Southern gentleman. I bought a three piece set of these on sale for $15 but was horrified at the finish. This is just a guess on my part but I think the factory sprays a coating to fill in all of the pits and viods due to poor manufacturing processes. I'm going to try and smooth my pans out and see how it goes.
Thank you you are right the finish on new cast iron is the worst but with a little work I use mine every week end to cook bacon and eggs with no problems
Yeah the starting finish on ozark is about the worst, roughest, 1-2 hr burnt stain sticking thing you can get if someone has a 100 year old legacy mirror smooth cast iron, those are junk, but smoothing, at least to a ceramic or smooth pebble like surface only improves a cheap 10$ ozark from sticking 1-3 hr hell. To push lightly on a porcelain plate smooth, pop off sliding egg quality.
@@Notyouraveragename I totally agree
I got an ozark trail small skillet for $1 on clearance at Walmart. I spent about an hour sanding and polishing it, then seasoned it 5 times. And it’s the ultimate little egg cooker. It’s completely non stick. Works just as good as my smiths or old griswalds. Although it is thinner. After polishing and properly seasoning it it works great. It’s the small idk 6 or 8 inch one. If fits two eggs to fry them perfectly. You a get a whole set for camping or sometbing super cheap, just need to sand and polish them. It’s Impressive to me how insanely rough those cheap skillets are from the factory. Idk how you could cook on them without some resurfacing.
I seasoned them several times before use. I enjoy them since they're easy for my senior mother to handle as well
I agree it’s funny that I have used high tech cookware and have come full circle back to cast iron that was used when I was a kid
@@backwoodstech1972 we were just talking about this at my home! I've spent hundreds over the years trying to find the right fit. Still, the best pan I use is my grandmother's 8 inch cast iron pan from the 1940s
So we nabbed the Ozark Trail 3 for $15 deal at Walmart. I seasoned a few of them 4 times and it seemed to smooth out the pores. I don't have the tools to sand it down... but I might purchase them to get the pre season off .
@@spenglase The old ones are a lot smoother The ozark trail can be a good skillet I have gotten to where I use it every Sunday to cook breakfast
I just bought an 8 inch Ozark cast iron skillet for use on bbq grill and flat top grill I will follow the same steps as u just preformed
It works a lot better afterwards
I have a 15" ozark skillet that was just horrible so i never bothered seasoning it. Well today i cleaned it till it turned out a silver color then heated it and it soaked up 10 coats of oil. Then i put it in the oven for an hour on 500° let it cool put more oil on and back in the oven for another hour and repeated 2 more times, now it looks better than my high dollar cast iron skillets. Fixing to cook some meat in it and see how it does.
I agree with the stripping of the factory (seasoning) and starting from scratch. Play it safe cuz the Prosses is simple and we don't know what was used in the manufacturing of it.
My son just bought a LANGOSTINA 10.25 skillet when it was on sale at Canadian Tire. His first cast-iron skillet. lt also has a rough cooking surface.
BUT after seasoning it a couple of times and giving it a fried bacon spa treatment before frying some easy-over eggs in it, much to my surprise the eggs didn't stick and flipped easy as farting.
That is just my observations on this one rough pan though. Your own experiences may vary. Great video BTW, eh?
I tried cooking in it out of the box but everything stuck
The modern cast iron pans are typically seasoned with some kind of vegetable oil at the factory; rice bran oil, flax seed oil, grape seed oil, etc. Your vintage pans were typically seasoned with lard by the first owner, having shipped from the factory with a raw machined surface. Any saturated oil or fat with a high smoke point will work in a pinch.
When heated for an hour and then permitted to cool naturally, any of these oils or fats will become a polymer bound to the surface of the pan. Repeated application forms a more resilient base, which turns black.
Whether Ozark Trail uses lard or beef tallow in their factory seasoning, it isn't going to kill you. These are foods.
I do appreciate the demonstration of how to smooth the surface. The objective is to sand it down till you get a pebble grain finish, but no where near a mirror surface. The seasoning will adhere to a textured surface well, but not one that is perfectly smooth.
The big downside of the rough finishes on modern pans is simply that they are harder to clean up after use. They will pull lint off a tea towel or a paper towel.
Yep I agree It’s a shame the craftsmanship today is not like the times when pride was taken in manufacturing
I have a Lodge skillet that is so rough that it damages wooden tools. Since I have lots of pans, it has been put aside until I am bored and want to mess with it. I am disappointed to have this with Lodge and wish that Wagner was still around.
The only difference between cast iron these days is the manufacturers don’t bother to smooth it down anymore like the past
Appreciate you for posting this.
I've already ordered a set (can't beat the price for two pans that can make a shallow dutch oven). I suspected they'd be rough cheap cast from china so at least now with your warning I won't be disappointed when they get here!
Instead of sandpaper I'll use a grinder and hopefully it'll be a quick fix!
Once you smooth it out it works great I use mine to cook bacon and eggs every Sunday and have no problems
@@backwoodstech1972 Im gunna take 50g orbital and smooth out the bottom a bit :)
I have a lodge that i absolutely love and the bottom is a bit rough.Eggs slide right out!
got these today and the roughness bothers me a lot, i gess you get what you paid for, it's deff. going back to the store
Yep they are rough
That polymerized something is called seasoning. Polymerization is the chemical process that happens if you season a skillet correctly. The oil turns into a polymer and bonds to the skillet. It's no longer oil. That's also why you can use modern dish soap like Dawn. It removes oil but not seasoning (like great grandma's lye based soap did).
While the pan is still hot, water water and a brush would take the stuck on food off easy. The surface smooths out over time
Smooths out in 15 mins with 40 grit sand paper.
Thank you ! just bought one (althought out here it's 40 bucks and not 7) and was very surprised at how rough it was, I guess I'm gonna have to get sanding this weekend! Any advice on how to season it properly without an oven ?
Use can season it over the coals of a camp fire not the fire itself
I don't trust any factory seasoning. The only reason it's there is to prevent rust while it sits on a shelf.Contrary to popular opinion, that's the primary reason for seasoning in the first place. The almost non-stick surface is just an additional benefit.
I just got a set of these and just used it but hated the rough texture. I don't have the machinery to sand it like that, could I sand it manually and have the same effect? I know it would take longer, but I wonder how it would turn out
I remember doing it by hand trying a variety from steel wool, sandpaper, knife sharpening whetstones and a common brick and a steel scourer by hand and a semi sturdyish 1$ steel throwaway spatula.
I found the best results were to quickly get a rough coat with a smooth ended brick, with a dust and eye masked around, spinning it around lengthwise to get a quick rough coat down with water inside to smooth and catch the dust.
It's to get a fast rough coat, and expect the pan to scrape the brick apart too. Then dump out the sludge after you think its been enough, and then I used a 1$ stainless steel scourer from the dollar store. Steel wool is too slow, the steel scourer noticeably smoothed it out and for the sides, but surprisingly a steel spatulas you don't mind wearing the edges down slightly smooths out as well. Just remember to wash well and re oil lightly between each washing and use high heat to deliberately smoke it for the seasoning to polymerize hard right.
just got these, def. going back to the store
I got a set of Ozark trail skillets as a gift. I seasoned and used it with no issues of sticking. Yes they are rough but with the right combination of seasoning and heat works great. The roughness will get knocked down with use.
It is my first cast iron skillet, but yet I will get a 30 dollar Lodge next.
Ha
How in the world are you going to compare a pan that has been used for years and is seasoned, versus a pan that is pre-seasoned?
The comparison is the texture of the new pan vs the texture of the old pan not the seasoning of the pans
i just got these bc, they were cheap and trust me the roughness is not normal, when you first buy a good cast iron skillet they have to be smooth, returning them to the store
I would use an orbital and then resaeason it
That would work
what kind of sandpaper did you use sorry
50 grit or so
Needs to be sanded a Lot more. Faster to use a high speed air sander. Then coat and bake on at least 6 layers of Flax seed oil till it's a black mirror.
It could be a little smoother but I use every Sunday and it works great
I've never used metal utensils like thit'll tear up the Seasoning
does a rough skillet taste worse than a smooth skillet ?????
No
No but food sticks to it?????
Ha
I love cheap cast iron because I can turn a $15 pan into a $200 pan with minimal effort.
An Ozark Trail made in China may work better after some effort, but it will never be a $200 pan.
@@corndog2835 I don’t care how much it’s worth if it cooks my eggs like a $200 pan.
The old smooth ones are better.
I totally agree
Yes. Wagner, Griswold and vintage Lodge, etc were all factory sanded. I do have some vintage CI, but I also buy new Lodge which is actually made in China as well as other import CI. I just sand the heck out of them w/a high speed air sander then etch the metal in a vinegar/water soak then season w/ about 10 layers of Flax seed oil till it looks like a black mirror. It's a lot of work, but fun. I can make a $23.00 12" Lodge skillet as nice as a $140.00 Griswold.
@@garybiggs9010 i agree it just takes a little work
That’s is a night and day difference
Yes it is
People put to much thought into a pan. Just use it and it will be as good as any so called high end pan, which is just a marketing ploy to rip people off. Don’t get sucked in!!!!
Man I just got one and I'm not impressed my USA made lodge cast irons are way nicer I use mine to cook wild game and prime cuts of meat thus the only way I eat it but I feel like this is too much work for a cast iron pan but ohh well
I agree but it was just show you you can make poor cast iron good
you jokers who sand cast irons make me laugh.. it will be non stick without that... just season the pan. Rough surface doesn't mean it won't be non stick... my Lodge has rough surface, I can flip an egg easy on it.
Modern cast iron is nowhere as smooth as old cast iron so I will sand it to make it smooth but the joke is on the ones who think the pre seasoning is a good thing because I wouldn’t eat let alone cook with something that is a polymerized animal byproduct
@@backwoodstech1972 what do you mean?
These mass produced pieces are literally just rock tumbled after coming out of a sand cast pour, quenched, cleaned, and “seasoned” with animal byproduct (which turns rancid in the deep surface pits and makes your food taste nasty). Get your hands on an heirloom/vintage cast iron piece and I promise you it’ll look and feel like glass and it’s meals are going to be great.
@@Hannah-ke8ie you could not be more right and I totally agree
Trash your cast iron skillet, not worth the sticky mess.
Oh but they are
They have a honest to God annoying learning curve, but so with smoothing and high heat to smoke point (stickiness comes from low heat.), you can actually get like a super indestructible pan that with some smoothing might not ever be as good as in scratched teflon. But can surprisingly get close with proper smoothing and a high heat coat that makes water and eggs slide like oiled teflon even under hot soapy water. Its a actual film at high heat smoke point, just like glass! And water slides off the previously rage inducing 1-3 hr sticks. Now it wipes off in 5-15 seconds and water slides right off my hand smoothed pan too like Teflon.
Mine don't stick period. You do know that you must heat your skillet before putting anything in it right?