Polished Unseasoned Cast Iron - 8 Inch

I'm thrilled with this purchase. Try finding an unseasoned cast iron skillet with a smooth cooking surface that ISN'T this one. If you find one, I will practically guarantee you that it will cost over $150.00 and possibly close to $200.00 if not more. If you desire an old school smooth surface where your food touches---and you want to start with raw cast iron and do your own seasoning---this might be the only game in town. For the Amazon price, it's a steal. The quality of the cast iron appears to be good. Nice and heavy, with a handle that is long enough to make lifting the beast easier than some skillets with shorter handles. It's positioned nicely to make lifting and moving relatively easy. The cast iron is thick and even. As others have commented, the milling/smoothing of the cooking surface was not perfect. Especially where the sides meet the bottom, there was some circular scratching around the perimeter of the bottom of the pan. This had absolutely no bearing at all on the ability to cook with pleasure on this piece. In fact, I seasoned with Crisco and in those scratches/grooves, applied a heavier amount and it seemed to fill them in. I seasoned the pan three times with Crisco in a 375 degree oven----and then one last round of seasoning with Wesson Vegetable oil. My first frying was bacon, followed by burgers. What a great break-in. The food released nicely, burgers lifted perfectly for easy flipping. And speaking of the seasoning, I'm heavy handed with the Crisco and oils---and I know for many, that is a no-no. Even the manufacturers say to use almost invisible, thin coatings of Crisco or oil before putting in the oven. I guess I've had good success with slightly thicker applications, so that is how I roll. And yes, with a heavier coating, you might see dripping or bubbling---but you cook in it a couple times and it smooths out again and I believe with a better barrier. But that's the beauty of this raw cast iron---YOU get to decide YOUR way of seasoning it as opposed to a factory coating that might or might not perform as you want it too. The pan went from it's silvery finish to a brown finish after the 4 rounds of baking in the 375 degree oven. And after my first couple meals prepared, the cooking surface has a shiny bronze finish. I guess over time, it will all turn black, as my other cast iron has done. This product is absolutely a winner. An easy five stars for me because of the unique product positioning---really the only skillet of its kind and at a very affordable price. I might have gone 4 stars because of the imperfect machining----IF it was over $100.00. But at this price, my expectations were more than met. And yes, on a comparable Smitty cast iron pan, the machining will be close to perfect, superior to this. That's because the Made In USA Smitty has more labor hours buffing it out and they also spend time with some factory seasoning on each and every one. So if you want to spend around $160.00 and want a top of the line skillet, go for the American made Smitty, which has a terrific reputation. But if you are on a budget and don't mind an Asian (Chinese) import, this BlueBonnet piece will satisfy you for sure. In closing, I am concerned that BlueBonnet doesn't seem to be active anymore. I don't see an active website and at one time I believe they had one. I know BlueBonnet was founded by someone who wanted all of these elements in a cast iron skillet---the raw, unseasoned cast iron, the smooth finish on the cooking surface, like Great Grandma's, the long, useful, well designed handle, etc. So that person actually went through the trouble of going back and forth with a Chinese factory to get it just right---and make a run of them. I see a low quantity left and wonder if when they sell out, there will ever be any more of them. I sure hope so. But I also know that the way this thing is built, it will last forever. Still, I would love the option of buying another one, as a gift or a back-up. Or maybe a new size. I hope BlueBonnet remains active or comes back to continue this mission for all of us cast iron enthusiasts. A photo shows the seasoning/color change thus far.

I ordered this to try to get the smooth non-stick bottom of vintage cast iron skillets (they used to be routinely polished at the factory) I would not classify the finish on this skillet as polished. I've been trying to do this on my own, and mine looks better and I've only done 80 grit sanding flapper. There are big gouge/scratches near the edges of the bottom and there are circular lines from coarse grinding of the bottom.. It is less "bumpy" than a straight cast iron, and I'm seasoning it (with the "super" flax seed oil method) to see how well it works. I'm hoping the scratches will be inconsequential. I'll update the review when I'm done and have used it a while

A worthy contender. And the only modern one I know. If I could give 4.75 stars I would. Is it a Wagner/Griswold killer? No. The machining is almost perfect, but it has minor visible marks. Is it in the same class with Wagner with the machined surface? Yes, this is a heavy pan your great-grandmother would like. Next, this is raw cast iron. Read up on seasoning cookware if you haven't done it before. You actually cook on the seasoning's surface, not on the raw iron. If you don't season it, then it won't work. The two minor nit-picks I had that kept me from five stars were about the machined surface. First, the transition between the bottom and the sides is good, but not as refined as an antique Wagner. It feels fine to the touch, but you can see a few visible machining marks. Functionally it is fine, and as patina builds it may become indiscernible. Second, there is one very minor wave in the center of the machined surface - probably where the cutting tool starts or stops. I can't see the wave, but I can feel it by running my fingers across the surface. It makes absolutely no difference in the performance, which is just as good as my antique pans. My pan did not have any surface defects on the exterior that required filing or sanding. Perhaps I got a later casting. The exterior is pretty much like a Lodge pan you would find in Walmart. But the interior is as smooth as an old Wagner. Just like you would expect. I have been using it about 3 weeks now. Cooked my sausage and eggs for breakfast this morning. And I'll be cooking the sautéed Brussel Sprouts for dinner tonight in it. ---- I have had this pan about three months now. It is seasoned nicely, and it cooks superbly. Made myself a perfect medium rare pan fried ribeye steak for lunch with it today. For breakfast cooking the eggs will slide around just like my smooth bottom Griswold. This pan is the real deal. ———- I have revised my review to give this five stars. I have been using it in my kitchen about a year now. Maybe a bit longer. I see more and more cast iron in stores. And frankly none of it matches this polished finish pan. Yeah, it solid cast iron. And it requires seasoning just like your grandmother did it. There’s no pretending it has a “factory seasoning” on it. But after a year I have exactly zero complaints about this pan. Nothing else I see in Walmart or target comes close. It’s the real deal. —- Update time. I’ve been using this pan for four years now. Just sautéed mushrooms for the morning breakfast with it an hour ago. My opinion has not changed. It’s the real thing. A polished smooth unseasoned iron pan that seasons and cooks beautifully. Surface finish started out slick as glass, and it’s the same now four years later. I truly expect my great-grandchildren to be using this pan when they’re little old people.

I bought this since I was in the market for an 8" cast iron pan. I made the purchase hope for a similar quality pan as lodge but with a smooth surface. I realize this is a small company and they really want to make a good quality product that emulates the smooth surface of the old cast iron pans from Griswold and Wagner. The cooking surface is much smoother than any pan I normally see which I like. I am still in the process of breaking it in and developing the non stick surface (which I believe should be quite nice once I am done), so I don't know the end result. My main reason for putting 3 stars has to do with the weight of the pan and the very rough surface of the handle and underside of the pan. I had to use a file to remove some burrs off the handle and may grind it a bit smoother to ensure a nice experience using it over time. My hope is they continue to work on these and they get better over time. I would probably buy again if they do, otherwise I will continue to use this and wish for something a bit nicer. to summarize, if you are a fan of cooking with cast iron and don't mind a bit of sanding, this could be a great addition to your daily use pans. People expecting something that is ready to use right away should look for a used pre-seasoned one. I am really happy to see someone try to sell an affordable pan that is smooth, and will be watching what they do in the future. *************UPDATE***************** Ok, so I upgraded this to 4 stars based on the ease of seasoning... I originally wrote this review after seasoning the pan and cooking bacon. The bacon grease did stick and the pan was very hard to clean. This initially left me with the impression the pan wasn't very good and I would have to work very hard to season the pan. These are my efforts in seasoning: 1. So I seasoned the pan per the normal process, clean / heat, oil and throw it in the oven @ 350 for an hour or so. 2. Then I cooked bacon, I usually expect a bit of sticking, but it normally just takes a bit of salt and an old rag to clean at this point. 3. Cooked eggs (scrambled) and it stick really bad, ended up having to clean the pan with a scouring pad and hot water. (Salt and aggressive scrubbing had no effect. 4. Seasoned again using the normal process 5. Cooked two Ribeye steaks back to back with Ghee, salt and pepper. Made a wine sauce reduction which deglazed the pan. 6. The pan now has a nice patina and cleans up with no salt and just a terry cloth rag. 7. Next test will be a fried egg. I still think the exterior fit and finish could be smoother, but depending on who is buying this, I would consider this a deal. Included some new pics with a clean seasoned pan and the last steak I cooked in the pan...

Heavy, thick walled. I have some thin walled antique cast iron pans, and they take a long time to heat up. This pan must take a really really long time to heat up. I will not know, because I will not be using it. Very poor quality polishing, many scuff marks, not very smooth at all.. Do not reccommend.

Very poor quality finish. The machining/polishing was amateur at best. Very uneven and inconsistent, almost lumpy. The packaging was so poor the handle broke through the box. The pan was not damaged, though. I will probably give it away because I don't feel like lugging something so heavy to the post office.

Great skillet for the price, it's actually 9 inches including the sides and exactly eight inches the circumference of the cooking area only (without the sides of the skillet). The cooking area is very polished and the pan is heavy and looks just like in the Amazon image. It sits completely flat and doesn't wobble. Anything after this is the customer's responsibility and know how relating to how it's seasoned, how to cook in it and how to clean it so regarding the item and it's key selling points the manufacturer has delivered perfectly what is promised. UPDATE: When i received my cast iron pan I cleaned by rubbing it with the same oil I was going to season it with. I had heard flax seed oil was the best way to go and since I try to avoid cholesterol I bought "Nature's Bounty Flaxseed Oil" in capsules since they are 100% flax seed oil except the coloring of the capsule enclosure. I popped a few pills and started rubbing all over the pan including the handle and the bottom of the pan. I placed it on the stove-top since I don't have an oven on Medium until it started smoking, then I turned off the heat. I let it sit until it was cool to the touch and put it away. To my amazement today I cooked mushrooms, onions and red peppers with spinach added at the end and just the smell was amazing even before adding condiments. I first added enough olive oil to cover the bottom. When time came to clean the pan after cooling a bit, I used a bit of salt and water to lightly rub some stuck on areas. I don't think I let the pan heat up enough. I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed a tan glass like coating on the bottom of the pan after cleaning. I rubbed with a bit more oil and put it away. Might sound weird but I put my skillet away in a plastic bag just in case any bugs are attracted to the oils. This acquired shiny glassy seasoning on my new skillet gives me the confidence to try making some Bob's Redmill Multigrain pancakes this weekend. If you want to make them vegan then simply mash one half banana per suggested egg and add cinnamon and ginger for an amazing taste, water instead of milk. Add "Log Cabin Natural Syrup" pancake syrup on the bottom and in-between then top with raspberry preserves and banana slices. I use hazelnut oil to cook and 1 tsp of it in the mix. :D :D :D

I was cautious at first because there were mixed reviews, but I really wanted a cast iron skillet that was NOT pre-seasoned. I had also read about how old fashioned skillets were polished smooth, which I wanted because I had had bad experiences with a rough, modern skillet. After quite a bit of searching, I was excited to find this one. After washing with soap, I seasoned the skillet myself with coconut oil in my oven. After only two seasonings my skillet is absolutely perfect. I have been cooking omelettes in a small amount of butter or coconut oil and have had zero sticking - amazing! Every morning when I whip out a fresh set of omelettes I feel so happy! Honestly, I haven't cooked anything else yet, but eggs will probably be what I cook most. If I only used this for eggs in the morning, it would be worth every penny to me.