zumwege McCoy

Just wanted to poke in a small message again -  I'm still lovin' my griddle!  A little while back I fried eggs on it.  I had my reservations; from my internet research, frying eggs on cast iron was sometimes seen as troublesome.  Let me also mention that my griddle is rather new, apparently with that not-smoothed, rough surface.  I would say I'd used it before that a handful of times at the most, and I never did any oven-seasoning routine.  But, like I said:  terrific results!

Oh, yeah!  I guess there might be a difference between being magnetized and being attractive to magnets! Thanks!

Just thought I'd add a little note...  I was (and still am) excited about the non-stick-ness of my rough, new cast iron griddle.  But I just thought I'd mention that I typically cook with bare(=non-coated) stainless steel.  Somebody who is used to non-stick coated cookware might not be as wowwed as I was....


zum Wege

Is all iron magnetic!?

Since you could flip it without picking it up, I assume you have one with a tall ring.  Were you using it over a normal electric burner?  How much distance is there between the burner and the "waffly part"?  I just have so much trouble thinking the waffle iron can work well when there is such a great distance between the waffly part and the heat source. 

(And if it's not too much trouble, could you try to stick a magnet to your waffle iron? Thanks!)

zum Wege

Yippee!!  Spatulas arrived yesterday!  We had pancakes for dinner!  It was kind of like a little family party!

As for the spatulas: I ordered them from a place that sells professional cooking equipment (and more) to restaurants, hotels, etc.  I have one that looks like a regular spatula, just "overgrown"  (like a "goliath" spatula).  The second spatula is one of this style:

http://www.edelstahl-in-bestform.de/messershop/eurocut-imbisspalette-von-dick.html

and I used it yesterday.

As for my experience with the griddle:  WOW!

I had my concerns.  Since pancake batter is a liquid, I was afraid it was going to seep down into the deeper spots, which cover that rough, new cooking surface, and just give me a mess.  Imagine my pleasant surprise, when the first pancake just willingly let itself be picked up and turned over!  Worked beautifully!!  So, I think we might do toasted cheese on it this evening, and maybe french toast next week.  Yippee!

Thanks for the reply!  Can you describe a little bit about your waffle maker, what you like and don't like about it, what you would recommend to someone who is buying one, etc.?

This is more or less my model:

http://www.lincat.co.uk/products/lynx-400/griddles/lgr2

So far I've cooked bacon on it.  One time.  I ordered a couple of spatulas: straight front edge, rounded corners, I hope.  But my order has had problems, apparently, because I have yet to see a spatula delivered!  So, I cooked my one package of bacon using a cheese slicer(!) (straight front edge, rounded corners  )as a spatula on the day my griddle arrived, and have been waiting with baited breath ever since for the real thing (spatula)! 

But as far as "stick" goes, I really don't expect much at the beginning.  The surface looked really rough.  I have planned pancakes, but I have my concerns.  I could plan other things, but, like I said, I'm waiting for a spatula!

----------------

And I would like to give you a big THANK YOU for your article, Paul, and for this forum!

zum Wege

On to the next topic...

Now I'm enamored of those beautiful, antique waffle irons. 

Paul wrote in his article about using a cast iron skillet, that the new cast iron is not machined smooth.  A waffle iron has these "nooks and crannies," so much of the surface won't be getting scraped with a metal spatula regularly, like a griddle would be.  So is there any hope of getting that nice, smooth surface?

Secondly... About those old waffle irons.  They often come with a ring underneath the waffle-iron  part.  I suppose this ring goes over the burner on the stove.  But what about a ceramic stovetop or induction?  And would you flip the waffle-iron part during cooking to cook the second side?

Our church had an event where we made waffles.  One lady had a particularly good (electric and not antique, to the best of my knowledge) waffle iron.  I don't know that it was cast iron, but I did notice a difference between her iron and others!  Made me think I'd want to get a "good" waffle iron...

Thanks!

zum Wege

Thanks for the replies!  Thought I'd fill y'all in on how things have turned out (thus far).  I ended up buying an electric griddle with a cast iron cooking surface.  That griddle is SO heavy!  Well, like you wrote in your artcle, Paul, the top is very rough; apparently not machine-smoothed, so I've got some work ahead of me!

I haven't solved the problem about 2" sides yet, but this griddle does have a little bit of an edge, higher in the back and on the sides.  If I could plug the drainage hole, I could perhaps cook with a thin layer of oil or other liquid.

Have a great day!

zum Wege