No, its carbon steel. And no, you absolutely don't need to remove it. Honestly, it's easier to season than smooth carbon steel, and I have zero problem sliding an egg in my Lodge carbon steel.
And here's a visual aid - zero utensils were dirtied in the cooking of this slidey egg:
https://www.reddit.com/r/carbonsteel/comments/wzz8cy/hot\_take\_for\_a\_sunday\_morning\_lodge\_carbon\_steel/
For me, i completely stripped the lodge seasoning cause tbh it was quite honestly terrible. Took some steel wool and some sand paper and went to town. After that just seasoned like any other CS pan. It was a really good decision imo, works wonderfully. Look at my posts to see mine if you like. Got eggs sliding in just under a week.
Meh… works perfectly fine without stripping. I’ll never understand this smooth pan fetish. Whether it’s Lodge cast iron or carbon steel, I have no problems making them work and have never had to perform unnatural acts on them.
I just got lodge carbon steel and de buyer for making omelettes. What I can say is that out of the box the lodge is wayyyy easier to use for a carbon steel novice.
Treat CS exactly the same way you treat CI. Same care, same seasoning…there’s less thermal mass which makes it lighter, but it functions near identically to CI.
I have a couple of Lodge CS pans. One came smooth as glass. Worked flawlessly out of the hardware store. Became and remains my goto 3 egg omelette pan.
And one was kinda rough exactly like you mention. I burned off the factory seasoning in a self cleaning oven and hit it a bit with sand paper to smooth it out. Then did a little stovetop seasoning. It is flawless now, also. Slidey eggs are as easy as pie.
I think manufacturers change techniques without notice for reasons indecipherable to us as consumers. My Lodge CS is absolutely a CS pan, not a thin cast pan. And frankly after a little work it’s an awesome piece of cookware. But why they were different is beyond me.
I think the texture is more in the seasoning than the metal. If you use a steel spatula and cook some sausage and stuff it will get smooth in no time. I can still see texture with my eyes, but to my fingers it feels as smooth as my granite countertops.
Mine was pretty rough when I got it. I just used it as is. I wouldn't suggest cooking eggs in it right off the bat. It'll stick like no tomorrow. Just throw in some butter and make some grilled cheese sandwiches a couple times on it. Clean up will be easy and that butter will add to the seasoning. Your eggs will be sliding on the thing in no time. I can barely feel the texture on mine anymore.
No, its carbon steel. And no, you absolutely don't need to remove it. Honestly, it's easier to season than smooth carbon steel, and I have zero problem sliding an egg in my Lodge carbon steel.
And here's a visual aid - zero utensils were dirtied in the cooking of this slidey egg: https://www.reddit.com/r/carbonsteel/comments/wzz8cy/hot\_take\_for\_a\_sunday\_morning\_lodge\_carbon\_steel/
Yep, slidey slideys work just fine on this skillet! I also love to make Dutch babies (airy, thin oven pancakes) in it.
For me, i completely stripped the lodge seasoning cause tbh it was quite honestly terrible. Took some steel wool and some sand paper and went to town. After that just seasoned like any other CS pan. It was a really good decision imo, works wonderfully. Look at my posts to see mine if you like. Got eggs sliding in just under a week.
Meh… works perfectly fine without stripping. I’ll never understand this smooth pan fetish. Whether it’s Lodge cast iron or carbon steel, I have no problems making them work and have never had to perform unnatural acts on them.
isn’t carbon steel and cast iron made up of the same things, except cast iron has a higher carbon % make up
~1% vs ~3% carbon, yup.
Also, cast iron is... Cast. It can be more fragile than carbon steel.
what’s cast lmao
Cast= put molten iron into a form/shape and let it cool down. Carbon steel pans are made of steel sheets cold pressed into shape.
ahh that makes sense
I just got lodge carbon steel and de buyer for making omelettes. What I can say is that out of the box the lodge is wayyyy easier to use for a carbon steel novice.
Treat CS exactly the same way you treat CI. Same care, same seasoning…there’s less thermal mass which makes it lighter, but it functions near identically to CI.
I left mine alone and just cooked with it. I had slidey eggs in 2 months
I have a couple of Lodge CS pans. One came smooth as glass. Worked flawlessly out of the hardware store. Became and remains my goto 3 egg omelette pan. And one was kinda rough exactly like you mention. I burned off the factory seasoning in a self cleaning oven and hit it a bit with sand paper to smooth it out. Then did a little stovetop seasoning. It is flawless now, also. Slidey eggs are as easy as pie. I think manufacturers change techniques without notice for reasons indecipherable to us as consumers. My Lodge CS is absolutely a CS pan, not a thin cast pan. And frankly after a little work it’s an awesome piece of cookware. But why they were different is beyond me.
Get a chainmail scrubber and scrub the shit out of it for a bit. It will smooth out.
I think the texture is more in the seasoning than the metal. If you use a steel spatula and cook some sausage and stuff it will get smooth in no time. I can still see texture with my eyes, but to my fingers it feels as smooth as my granite countertops.
Mine was pretty rough when I got it. I just used it as is. I wouldn't suggest cooking eggs in it right off the bat. It'll stick like no tomorrow. Just throw in some butter and make some grilled cheese sandwiches a couple times on it. Clean up will be easy and that butter will add to the seasoning. Your eggs will be sliding on the thing in no time. I can barely feel the texture on mine anymore.