All well and in good fun Moose, I have a three Lodge Iron skillets and won't use them for anything but decoration and that is no joke

Cast ... what are you calling a smoke ring on the cast iron skillets/pots? I have some really old stuff passed down from my parents and think even some from my grandparents but never heard something called a smoke ring???

See the raised edge on the bottom of the skillet? That’s it but it’s usually a little inside the edge. Check out Chalet’s #8 skillet below, bottom pic, no name skillet with a smoke ring. It’s more traditional. There’s a couple more smoke rings in here too.

The deep one on the right and one below it are from my wife’s family.
We are at least 3rd generation cooking in then.
Bottom left #8 and the 6-1/2” I rescued from a dilapidated shed
on my family property. They were in bad shape but cleaned up
and seasoned well. We use them regularly.

I have one. I don't use it all the time but when it is an expensive piece of meat I do.

Almost forgot this one probably because it doesn’t get used near enough.
Left behind by previous owner of a home we bought.
12oz beverage container for size comparison only.

I now realize why I like our cast iron cookware so much.

None of it cost me a dime

Top to bottom.

1st. 12" skillet with homemade steel lid is prob my best treasure, it was my Grandma's chicken fryer. Not sure when or where she got it but I know she cooked for Bridwell Ranch back probably in the 30's, worked as a cook at ACISD and also farmwife for close to 60 years. Don't use it a whole lot, it stays in my chuck wagon and comes out on hunting trips. Only markings are a 12 on the bottom.

2nd is my Lodge Dutch Oven. Received as a gift about the time I finished college, so 20 years ago. Has seen many pots of chili, gumbo, pork and kraut, breakfast sausage and eggs, and critter fricasse. Even burned a few biscuits in it. It stays on chuck wagon duty also.

3rd. Some made in Taiwan wooden handled skillet my wife had when we dated. Pretty sure she was washing it with soap and water when we met. Used to use it a lot when we got married, not so much these days. It works pretty good.

4th. Little griddle that stays on my stove. Think I got it @ World Market 15-20 years ago. Made in China, see's fried egg duty almost daily. Zero complaints about function.

5th. Bayou Classic 12" square skillet I got last year, made in China. Center of it has humped a little bit but still works ok, stays in the oven mostly. Use it mainly for bacon as I don't like crowding bacon or making it fit right in a round skillet.

That's about it.

Bought this a couple years ago, don't use it as much as I like. Think its the 10 gallon King Cooker Jambalaya pot. Made in China but the price was right.

I like that cook pot. Nice find.

The three smaller Lodge were wedding gifts 24 years ago, the bigger one I picked up about 2 years ago. Will add a few more pieces when it is right.

thanks for the explanation!!! I have noticed the raised ring on the bottom but never knew it was called anything or had a purpose. Interesting!

Yeah it’s called a smoke ring but I imagine it’s more about an insulated air space to keep the skillet off the top of that hot wood burning stove.

1st they put an electric heating element on a cast iron skillet, next thing you know we got self driving automobiles and too much technology on airplanes....



Seriously though, neat skillet. Never have seen an electric one before. Is that factory or a home made job?

I too, did not know what that was called or its purpose. I have one with that. I kept my mom’s old cast iron skillets and I have a couple of my own.

Thanks for the insight!

Greg

Well I’ll be danged! I’ve never seen or heard of anything like that. If that thing still works, it could be valuable.

i've never heard it called a smoke ring, but i can say
that it's on older skillets for the purpose of holding them
in place on top of a wood cookstove when you remove
the lid from the eye on the top. the ring on the bottom
fits into the hole and prevents it from moving around.
that's where they got the numerical designation such as
#6 or #8 etc.instead of a measurement in inches like the
modern made skillets do.

Check this guys take on smoke rings -

Link

There’s some really big skillets with really big smoke rings. Bigger than the biggest hole in a wood stove top.

I was told that it is factory by my grandparents. It does work and I use it to do my double dip buttermilk fried chicken in it. My grandparents got it sometime in the fifties and they passed it down to me.

CAST you basically called me a liar so I felt compelled to take a pic of it and post it here.

You should demand an apology imho

I actually thought you were joking. All my years searching out cast iron and never ran across one. I love it! I was wr wr wro wro wro

I apologize.

You will give us more pics please?

Had a family member give me some cast iron last night.