Rock Island Cast Iron

06/14/2025

Thank you, everyone! It's been a lot of fun!

Rock Island is officially closing shop.
I enjoyed creating a quality product that people really love, and learning a lot about starting a home business.

Two years ago, I stopped selling on Etsy because I had taken on a part-time job. That slowed sales to a very manageable pace.
At that point I also had no time for engaging on social media or promoting the business at all, really.
In fact, some of you might have been wondering whether Rock Island was still open!

However, as I now embark on a major change of direction in my life, there's no way I can be sure I'll have time to fill orders.
So I have to shut things down for real.

Thank you, again, to everyone who placed orders, followed/liked/shared, or supported me in any other way.
I'm very excited about the next thing, and grateful Rock Island was able to succeed the way it did!

Keep enjoying your cast iron!

07/01/2023

Do celebrity chefs make sure the cookware they endorse is actually high-quality?
Apparently they don't.

This is a piece sent to me by a customer - it's an Emeril Lagasse skillet, made in China.
The cook surface is so uneven, I couldn't even smooth some areas without creating excessively low spots.
I have never seen any piece from Lodge that is this uneven.
It was also rougher than most Lodge pans.
I don't know, but I doubt Emeril would want this pan in his kitchen.

Ree Drummond also has a line of cast iron. They are made in China, too, and feel awful, like a pumice stone. And she calls herself the "Pioneer Woman" no less.

So be aware that celebrity chefs don't appear to be concerned with the quality or place of origin when it comes to cast iron.
Lodge are not perfect, but they are made in the USA and their quality is pretty good and consistent.

06/27/2023

Question: Can a pan be ground too smooth?
Answer: Absolutely.

In order for polymerized oil (that's what layers of season are), to adhere properly to cast iron, there needs to be a certain degree of roughness on the surface of the iron. This roughness is less than what you can feel with your finger, but more than, say, polished chrome or a mirror.
If the surface is too smooth, the oil just can't grab onto it.

I've shared this before, but The King of Random has a good video showing what happens if you polish cast iron until it's too smooth:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id2GLt8Nd4s

05/15/2023

Great article in the WSJ this weekend.
Nothing really new for those who already love cast iron, but it's good info to pass along to your friends.

This quote sums up my feelings on nonstick cookware:
"Even if you are not worried about the safety of the various chemicals used for nonstick cookware, it seems odd to buy a pan knowing it will soon let you down."

It's true. Just stick with cookware that will last forever!

https://www.wsj.com/articles/its-time-to-ditch-your-supposedly-nonstick-pans-37ef6e29?st=7nxspa048ctx0jd&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Slick chemical coatings fade over time and have a toxic history. There’s a better way: cooking with old-fashioned pans that you’ve “seasoned.”

05/01/2023

Should you put mayo on the outside of your grilled cheese sandwich in cast iron?

So, at our house the new cool thing is to use mayo instead of butter to make a grilled cheese sandwich. Not sure who first heard of it, but my wife and kids think it's the actual best.
They love the golden brown exterior and apparently the flavor is good, too.

There are others who agree:
https://www.southernliving.com/food/dish/sandwich/grilled-cheese-with-mayo-or-butter

And those who would say it makes little difference:
https://www.americastestkitchen.com/cooksillustrated/how_tos/9570-the-mayo-advantage-for-grilled-cheese

But if you make your sandwiches in a cast iron pan or griddle, I have to recommend you don't use mayo.
Not because of anything to do with the sandwich results, though.
The problem I've noticed is that mayo leaves a shiny, sticky residue on the cook surface that is almost impossible to remove.

Now, you might think mayo would work great b/c it's made mostly of oil. Oil is what you use to season a pan, right?
Yes, but there is something about the formulation or content of mayo (the eggs, maybe?) that causes it to form this weird shiny coating.
And the shiny spots don't go away or harden fully with oven seasoning.
It doesn't exactly ruin the pan, but it's not great either.

Have you tried this, too?
What did you think?
Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I say stick with butter.

Both butter and mayonnaise produce grilled-cheese sandwiches with crisp, well-browned exteriors.

04/05/2023

Does acid really affect the season on cast iron very much?
Yes!

Our pans had a good season on them, so I thought it would probably be fine to make a pan-sauce that takes white wine-vinegar.
Well, the season that was glossy black now looks dull and blotchy.
In the photos you can see the how mottled it is.
The light gray areas are almost bare metal.
Looks like the moon, actually.

The good news is it's only a setback.
With a little stove-top seasoning and a few months of use, the surface will be looking good again.
Even now, it works fine - just not as forgiving as it was.

So, yes, please heed the advice to avoid cooking acidic foods in your cast iron!

02/01/2023

Preparing the cook surface with an onion?
Yes, it's a thing!

A customer posted this video of how to get your cast iron nice and slick - he's making crepes (with savory filling, I assume)!
This would work great for eggs, too.

Thank you to Hemant Trivedi for taking the time to do this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rsOj1z2h74

01/23/2023

How have Lodge skillets changed over the years?
This is a customer's 12" pan he thinks is about 20 years old or a tad more (turn of the century?).

Observe a few differences from the current design:
1. Prominent ridge on the bottom of the assist handle.
2. No branding on the top of the assist handle.
3. The underside logo is missing the number in the middle.
4. Noticeable lip around the rim of the skillet.

I'm not sure when Lodge made these changes - does anyone know?

12/22/2022

Question: I've heard grinding a pan leaves it vulnerable to warping. Is this true?

Answer: Grinding a pan as I do it will not hurt the pan.
I remove only about a millimeter of material from the pan. This is not nearly enough to affect the integrity of a Lodge skillet.
Lodge pans are very thick. They have even been accused of being too thick, because it makes them heavy.
So there is no shortage of iron left when I'm done smoothing.
Also, I watch carefully for pits that are too deep to remove.
I doubt removing these pits would make the pan dangerously thin, but it would produce noticeable low spots in the cooking surface.
These pits won't hinder the pan's performance, so I leave them alone to be completely safe and to keep the surface as flat as possible.

12/19/2022

Question: I live in Colorado Springs; can I buy a pan from you in person?

Answer: Absolutely!
Send me an email (see website), and we'll figure something out.

12/15/2022

Question: Can I send you my pan for you to smooth?

Answer: Yes!
You'll have to take care of shipping it to me, but it saves the cost of buying a new pan.
Pans larger than 12" are a little costly to ship, so you might not save much.
If your pan is 10.5" or smaller, you will likely save some money.
The biggest benefit, I think, is giving new life to an old pan, instead of adding another new product to our world.
Send me an email (see website); we'll work out the details and I'll give you some tips on shipping.

12/12/2022

Question: Can you smooth the sides or outside of the pan?

Answer: It's actually quite difficult to get the sides of the pan to grind nicely. The tools I use are designed for flat surfaces, so the curved shape of the sides makes it tough.
More importantly, though, you wouldn't get any real benefit from having the sides ground. If the bottom surface is smooth, that's all you really need.
I do not grind the outside of the pan because the factory coating from Lodge is great for rust prevention. It's best to leave it alone.