Using a $160 Cast Iron For 30 Days

“I hope this makes cooking really exciting”

If you're looking to get either of these cast iron pan, you can find them here:

Just so you know, we may collect a share of sales from the link above.

0:00 Intro
1:28 Unboxing
2:23 Day 1 - Caramelized onions and beef
3:50 Cleaning & seasoning
6:51 Day 7 - Tarte Tatin
9:00 Day 14 - Steak
11:08 Day 21 - Cheeseburgers
13:38 Day 30 - Ricotta Dutch baby pancake
16:26 Answer time

BTW! This video was first published to BuzzFeed's About To Eat channel—it now lives on BuzzFeed's Tasty channel where you can also find all the rest of the cooking videos from Inga, Alvin, Andrew, Rie, and Adam.

About To Eat: A new YouTube channel from your internet food friends.
About To Eat is the excitement of knowing something wonderful is coming.
-Inga, Andrew, Adam, Annie, Liza, Alvin, Rie, Jody (and more)

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MUSIC

Licensed via Audio Network
SFX Provided By AudioBlocks

[rebeccahenderson]

I really appreciate your transparency in telling us that ATE paid for the pan and that you all receive compensation if the viewers purchase it. It gets frustrating sometimes to watch videos with products like these and not know what the motives are, so thank you for letting us know!

[chcornell]

I am full time in an RV, 1 small burner over 1 small oven, I have two cast irons and I will ABSOLUTELY try all these recipes!! They all look amazing and, as you implied quite heavily, super satisfying!
Thank you for sharing!

[SBK_ALL_DAY]

great review, typically I just throw some water in the pan while it's still hot after burgers or steak and it cleans right up. I have only ever seasoned my pan once after I bought it and even eggs cook like a nonstick, just gotta have the temp right.

[franmidi]

That "satin finish" can be obtained with lots grinding & sanding. I have Lodge Cast Iron skillets & roasters. I used Avanti Pro sanding disks. It took about 3 days of work, but the Lodge skillet had an almost mirror-like finish. I seasoned it 3 times using flax seed oil. It's much easier to use. Nothing sticks to the bottom but the sides aren't as polished, so stuff sometimes sticks, but it's easy to clean....

[beginingssful]

Love how there was no bias with the provided pan. Alvin’s honesty was inspiring. Entertaining and educational as always!!

[louisenich]

Great vid but this should probably be renamed “using a cast iron for 5 days”. I was so surprised when you said you’d only be using it once a week…

[celitacantrill]

Cast iron is cast iron. You can reseason it with oil takes a moment. I love my cast iron, been used for 50 years.

[nickh]

First video I ever seen from you and this is exceptional and rich, the music, the vibes the way the words are places, well done and can't wait for more!

[markgleason]

I own a Lodge pan (Bought directly from the manufacturer's site to support the company better), and I love it. I cook with it 4-6 days a week.

One thing that IMMEDIATELY struck me, and WASN'T mentioned in the video, is that the demonstrated Smithey pan has a POLISHED INTERIOR.
This is like some of the highly sought-after Griswold or Wagner vintage pans, and two Wagner pans my partner and I inherited are ALSO polished smooth. The lodge pan I have works wonderfully, but doesn't have the polished interior, so I have to clean it intensely every time I cook with it.

After doing some research, I've learned that THAT is the reason why the classic pans are so prized, and I'm betting the extra effort that Smithey puts into making the interior smooth both contributes to the easier cleaning/scraping, as well as the higher price.

[pengwinz]

I appreciate you being transparent. Finding an old cast iron used and restoring is the way to go for sure. Great video

[kathyerickson]

Honestly, I have these Lodge scrapers and they work great...not only for cleaning my cast iron pan, but for cleaning all sorts of cookware. And now that you've experienced the joy of cooking with a 10" pan, why not buy a larger, less expensive cast iron? Thanks Alvin...as always, great video!

[veniersnitz]

Our close friend helps run the plant where these are made. I was given one as a gift and it is by far my favorite pan to cook with. I am able to cook a steak and then use the residual heat from the pan to cook fish or shrimp and they always turn out great. Yes the cost is high, but I promise the result is always amazing.

[aryagupta]

The video feels so honest and personalized.

[dereknova]

Should be titled. “What happens when someone who knows little to nothing about cast iron cooks in a new, lightly seasoned pan?” Price of the pan is irrelevant. Great video for that. Great for showing the diversity of iron and taking the fear out of it.

[FR-ozpx]

What I don’t like about cheap pans is their rough surface. It’s annoying when you want to season it, but the pan shreds your paper towel. I want to enjoy using a thing that’s supposed to last more than a lifetime.

[rfitzgerald]

I watch your cooking vids on your main channel and this is the first time I've heard your voice. You are just so perfect for video, I love the style of all of your videos, the tranquil background music, your voice is so clear and easy to understand. And of course the food looks incredible!

[OmegaManXis]

I have a $23 Lodge 10.5 cast iron and I love it. Actually I have all kinds and sizes by Lodge, so I am here to see if skillet you're cooking with is worth the price tag since I've been getting ads for it on Facebook.

[pisces]

Glad I found you again. Youtube is horrible at dropping my favorites. I LOVE the ones when you don't talk....AND I Love how you narrate this video AFTER you made the video. So soothing and really good audio

[jamesanthony]

If you apply the oil directly to the paper towel, you can get a thinner layer of oil on the pan with less to wipe away.

[SeanHendy]

Around this time of year (November December) one of the items you'll often find in certain supermarkets/stores in both the US and UK is a cast iron mini pan, sometimes paired with a cookie mix, or brownie mix, and the last time I saw them a few years back, they were just £5 or about $6. They are such fun little items, pretty well seasoned, though I seasoned mine several times (I got 3 of them) and they are great for small dishes, or entrees or side dishes and camping have been really useful. Best £5 (each) I have spent in a very long time.