Don't Buy a Cast Iron Skillet Without Watching This! Which Cast Iron Brand is Right for You?

are you getting overwhelmed with all the information there is out there about cast iron on the internet there's way too much I'm telling you we're going to make it easy and we're going to make it simple for you to pick out what Skillet you need to fit your cooking needs and your budget [Music] hey thank you all for stopping by the barn and hey y'all have seen us do a lot of cast iron reviews and hey I want you to be sure and check every one of them out but folks I've been getting a lot of questions what's your favorite one which one do you use the most which one is your go-to Skillet and the point of this video is going to be to help you choose which Skillet that you think would do you the best job in your kitchen or outside the Skillets that I'm going to demonstrate today the ones that I use the most in our house whether it be here or at the wagon is the field the Stargazer the lodge the Marquette and the finex and the categories that we're going to be discussing today are design seasoning weight and price now y'all have seen me use a lot of old cast iron and still my favorite pieces are Wagners and Griswolds but also folks we need to talk about what's readily available that you can buy today new and uh that is what we've got here listed now these are all companies that are made in America and that's the number one thing that we stand for so let's just jump right into design okay right off the bat and the first one is field I'm just going to pick this field Skillet up and when I picked it up the very first time out of the box the thing that I liked about it was it was similar to the design of old authentic cast iron folks this is a pretty good lightweight skill it's sort of like the old stuff was made but while we're talking about it here you see this little deal right here it is to help you like when the pan is really full or you want to dump something now I would love to see this a little bit longer I would because it's hard to get a cup towel on that if you got gravy in it and not get the cup towel in the gravy also one thing that really is sort of I don't think it would hurt you if you was just using it here there in Yonder but you can see on this handle as you zoom in here if this was rounded off right here a little more to me it would be a little more ergonomically friendly to your hand it would but one thing that is missing that I really love in the skillet and I think it's got to have to be a true performing cast iron skillet and that is a pour spout all right now moving on to our number two contestant here is the Stargazer now folks right off the bat when I looked at this the very first time I'm thinking whoa I love the design of this handle because look how far I can stand away from the Heat and this thing is rounded to where it really don't hurt your hands when you grab a hold of it and it's got this v-notch in here which is going to keep it somewhat cooler than just a regular flat handle coming out there but here look at here a two-handle deal I really like this deal I do but one other thing that I really liked about it from the start when I first seen it was the depth that it had I think this thing right here you could put a lot of gravy in there folks and that'd be some fine dining and if y'all can see in here and you think well that don't look very well seasoned in here folks we have done this on purpose because if you will stick around and keep watching our videos in the future on cast iron I am going to show you a video on why is my cast iron flaking but if we you have to get back to something else too about this there's no pour spouts here I mean it is a beveled Edge you can see where this is beveled coming off of here and you can pour out of it without it running down the side of your Skillet all the time to where this is just a flat edge with just a little bit of bevel coming up here now moving on I think we're going to go to the cast iron that is probably more readily known than any cast iron out there and that is Lodge now Lodge has been in business in South Pittsburg Tennessee forever and ever they have this handle that I really like but of course also folks it's good to hang a skillet if you've got something on the wall like that but look here two poor spouts but one thing I've always thought about Lodge and some of their old stuff wasn't as bad this way this corner is pretty Sharp now if I was going to use this every every day I know what had happened to it I'd take a grinder to it and I would I would smooth it down a little so but if you'll look at this Skillet and the Stargazer the depth in these is about the same moving right along we come to the Marquette and y'all seen a review on this not too long ago now when I first picked this up right out of the box I'm thinking feels like a Wagner or a Griswold into me just the way it sort of felt it's got a light weight to it and look here right off the bat two poor spouts now I really do like that I do and you notice it is quite a bit shallower depth wise than the lodge and the Stargazer but when you move it down here to the field there's not that much difference this handle too notice the v in here too but this one's going to stay a little bit cooler and I love the way that they've got this rounded off on both sides here it fits your hand really well it does but I sure would like to see one more little handle right here on the inside of it and finally fine X that sort of goes together don't it's in finally fine X now folks when I first seen this Skillet and they sent me some pictures of it before I ever got one of them it was the design and I'm thinking I don't know about this thing but when I got it and I got to see any folks this thing to me is what I call the perfect thing to make cornbread in or pie in but also it will do anything else at any of the rest of these Skillets but look at this handle right off the bat I'm thinking a little different it is different but it's going to be cooler because it's got these coils and they're going to release some of that heat before it gets back to your finger also they do have a little handle on here going back over here to Lodge look at the depth they are the same as this is and folks that makes a difference all the time to me it is a great piece of cast iron to me really if you're sitting on the table full of something to eat and you want to make a statement and you set this out there that is a statement piece it is My overall pick for just best in design is I'm gonna have to go with the Marquette just because of the way it feels in my hand and the way that I know it performs and the two poor spouts but I think folks we should have a pretty close runner-up if not a tie on just classic design what you think of when you think of cast iron skillet and that would be launch but let's talk about handles because I think we need to rate some handles I really do now if we had to pick a winner on a handle that was most comfortable to your hand it would be the Marquette if I had to pick one that I think hey this is the best design for me to cook outside but also in the house it gives you some really good length on a handle that's going to keep you away from the Heat and it's going to be cooler now the next category we're going to go into is seasoning and it's the one that people probably have the most trouble with but all of these Skillets come pre-seasoned now you can order some of them unseasoned or what we call bare but folks we'll just start back down here at field this is a machine finished Skillet which is very smooth on the bottom when I first got it it has a pre-finished coating to it and it accepted seasoning pretty well now we're pretty hard on Skillets here it may be over a tremendous amount of heat at the wagon or it may be in the house but it's totally different heat than what you might see everyday use with in the kitchen it holds seasoning but if you're not careful you'll lose some of that if you don't re-season every time every time every time so let's talk about stargazer and remember me telling you that flaking is due to me when this Skillet come to me and I pull it out of the box it was a bronze color really pretty had a nice slick glossy finish to it already it accepted seasoning fairly well in the beginning it did but you got to be really careful I think when you're having a skillet that is that slick that you don't try to over season all at one time and then you end up with some of this gumminess so all in all the skillet performed well and it's seasoned well so next we'll move to Lodge and we'll talk about seasoning rough finish this is their pre-seasoning that they put on is when you season rough iron eventually over time with more seasoning and more seasoning and more seasoning you're going to build up a slick glossy finish they say it's going to help Bond now I like to take a little piece of sandpaper sand this till it's smooth not down to Bare but just till it's smooth and then start now of all the Skillets here the one that probably disappoints me the most in seasoning the way it comes to you or the way you buy it out of the store is Lodge with that rough finish on it they've got this large logic and it is a little it is pre-seasoned and it is a little smoother than this to start out with next we're going to go to Marquette this review not long ago to me this was the smoothest Skillet coming to me of anyone that I got out of the bunch now this thing when I first started seasoning or it just took a hold they seasoned with a light coat of flaxseed oil which we don't like to use but it bonded well we went ahead and reseasoned this thing many times and it's got a good slick glossy finish to it it'll season well it'll keep well next is finex to me when it came it was smooth but maybe not as smooth as the Marquette nor the Stargazer but something that it did do was it bonded seasoning really well first trip but folks it always takes seasoning back to it it always holds it well and it always performs well so my overall winner for seasoning is eeny meeny miny mo is going to be the Marquette because to me it had the smoothest glossiest finish when I got it and accepted seasoning the easiest well I think something that's really important about cast iron and people need to know it and that is weight you know cast iron has notoriously been blamed for it's too heavy you know but folks cast iron was built so many years ago for one reason uh to cook with but also heaviness is heat retention I'm not saying that a lighter weight Skillet ain't going to provide you enough heat but folks cast iron was built that way for heat retention and that's what is performed as so we have arranged these from lightest to heaviest first Marquette field Lodge Stargazer and finance well when you go back over here to these two I think they are probably more predominantly made closest to some of the old vintage cast iron now when you get to the lodge and the Stargazer first of all let's think if the stargazer's handle wasn't as long as it is would it not would it maybe change places and go over here well folks this Skillet is made where it's a little more heavier but sometimes I want to show you this too these Skillets are pretty similar in weight they are but a shorter handle means it's heavier for you to pick up you ain't got the leverage that you might have over here with this Skillet so that longer handle does help you out some on the weight that it's got well we have rearranged again we have and folks this is very important because it's that deal when you see it and you see that price tag that you either go oh or you go oh wait a minute so we're going to start off right here with Lodge and we're going from cheapest to highest start gazer field finex and Marquette now remember I've always told you that cast iron is an investment it's going to outlast everything else you got each one of these Skillets if you take care of it will last you a lifetime and you can pass down from generation to generation to generation so really just consider your budget as to what you're wanting to spend now I know the folks at Stargazer still give a military discount but I do recommend also that you sign up for each and every one of them's email newsletter deal they'll be giving you all kind of promos and discounts to where you can get this stuff maybe a cheaper rate than you could have just buying it off the shelf or at a store now I do want to back up and go through with what I think stands out of these skillets in each company so let's talk about Lodge and folks accessibility is number one because you see it everywhere and it's in stock all the time you ain't gonna have to wait and they have so many different pieces of Lodge cast iron that you can buy whether it's a skillet a griddle a dutch oven they have you covered on all of it so folks I think the thing that stands out to me about the Stargazer sure it's it's a great design but also really is their customer relations that they build with people in their customer service the good folks uh Peter and them over at Stargazer they've always been there if we had a question if we had anything and we get so many emails from people say oh they were so nice to talk to they were so nice to visit with and folks that makes a lot of difference when you get a product and you think well I need to call them and ask them about this or ask them about this you can get a hold of these folks they are there now moving right along getting on down the field I think the thing that really impressed me the most about it was the weight sure but they had such a good machine finish on there to it and folks like say it may not be as accessible as what you can find some of these other pieces especially Lodge so be sure if you're wanting one to make sure that it's in stock if you can't find it in a store just go directly to their website so getting on down here to find next folks and like I say you want to make a statement this is the piece I mean a great different unique design that I've never seen on a piece of cast iron and the handle I mean it is the talking point of the kitchen but also the dining table because this thing is fancy enough to serve right out of it is and finally we get down to the Marquette to me the thing that really just stood out most of all to me what is the closest resemblance to the old cast iron I'm talking Griswolds and Wagner's to me it was the closest design to it and had this finish that was just like they used to have on them well I hope this helped you make up your mind what is the best skillet for you be sure and check out all our cast iron reviews they're up there and they're easy to find and if you need any help with cast iron be sure and click on our cast iron playlist as always and it is with great honor pride and privilege that I tip my hat to all our service men and women and all the veterans that have kept that flag of flying back there the rest of you come on in here get in here come on come on come on I'm not going to hit you with iron I'm going to give you a big old hug God bless you each and every one and I'll see you down the cast iron Trail [Music] foreign

Channel: Cowboy Kent Rollins

Views: 480,410

Keywords: cast iron skillet, cast iron skillet seasoning, what is the best cast iron skillet, buy cast iron cookware, cast iron cooking over fire, cast iron review, cast iron seasoning, cast iron care, cast iron camp cooking, stargazer cast iron, stargazer cast iron skillet, field cast iron, field company cast iron skillet, lodge cast iron, lodge cast iron review, marquette castings, marquette castings review, marquette cast iron skillet, finex cast iron, finex cast iron review

Id: B9_LlrCYpRQ

Length: 15min 16sec (916 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 19 2023