I was in Gander Mtn. this weekend and my wife picked me up a 12 inch cast iron skillet for fathers day. It was supposed to be pre seasoned, however I went ahead and oiled it and put it in my grill for about an hour. I haven't used it yet but have always wanted one. I know there is a learning curve but I am up for the challenge.

Your'e gonna love em I've got a full set of em that were from an ole rancher we usta hunt with when I was a kid....early1900 ventage. Season them several times and keep soap outta them. Running a steel spatula over the bottoms in the hot oil will also get small rough spots out!Enjoy them.
Dan

Ya can't beat bacon and eggs fried up in a cast iron skillet !
I hate these crappy non-stick teflon skillets now days.Enjoy !

Cast iron is the best there is and nothing else even comes close in my opinion. I use a plastic scrubbing pad and hot water for cleanup. Make sure the pan is dry and give it a light coat of oil and it will be ready to use again. I use my skillets for bacon, venison, chicken, fried potatoes, shrimp, and the best gravy you'll eat anywhere. I have a shallow square one I use for pizza and a rectangular as well as 2 round griddles for pancakes. I also have 2 dutch ovens that I use to make chili and baked beans. Dang, I'm hungry now.........lol

I was talking about my skillet this weekend and my grandfather told me he had 3 CI skillets from his mother. She died in 1940 so not sure how old they are. They had a bunch of build up on them on the bottom and outside. So much that I thought it was damage to the cast iron. I have been cleaning on them for a couple days. I have one small one seasoned and two more to go. It is amazing how slick the surface of this vintage stuff is compared to the newer stuff. Can't wait to get it all cleaned up and start using it.

..Oil ..Oil ..and more Oil,, Never water and soap,,Scour with plenty lard/ Oil. Burn -off clean in hot fire.

How things change in such a little time. Two weeks later and I now own 45 cast iron skillets. Only reason is that I found a guy who had some on craigslist. I was only going to get a couple but when I shot him a lo ball offer on his entire collection he took it. I am in the process of stripping them and re-seasoning them. After tons of research I am using Lye and I set up an electrolysis. Some people have luck with fires, self cleaning ovens, etc, however the people that do this for a living do not recommend those methods because they can cause warping and cracking. The lye and electrolysis is about as easy as it can get, and no chance of damage to the pieces.

I love cast iron but I am looking for a 20" to 25" do they even make them that big?
just did a peach cobbler in my small dutch oven turned out great...

Let the "seasoning" begin!

You can find them that large but they are going to cost you. If you look on Amazon there is a Chinese import company that makes one pretty big but I have heard nothing but bad reviews for them. As far as a name brand (Griswold etc.) in the 20 inch range I have seen them sell for $200-$1000. When I bought that large group of skillets I mentioned above it came with a large skillet however it is not cast, it is some type of steel. It has a tag on it and was made between 1950-1970. It is about 24 inches. I am waiting to clean it up like I did the others but it should be treated the same as cast iron, stripped down, seasoned, and then ready to use. Here is a link to the pics I took of the load I bought and how well they cleaned up.
PS they are for sale if anyone is interested.

http://s823.photobucket.com/albums/z...20restoration/