Lodge p14 W3 14 pre-seasoned Cast Iron Wok

Sometimes you buy something where you wonder, 'why did I not get one of these sooner' This is the third Wok I have owned(in 40 years of cooking), that last two being pretty decent non-stick coated types. When the last one started to lose it's non-stick properties after about 16 years (yes...quite impressive) I had a look online and noticed that if you get a very good cast iron wok and treat it well, then you can basically buy a heirloom WOK that will last for a lifetime, regardless of how much it is used. This LODGE cast iron WOK is one of those lifetime purchases! I have cooked Chile, many stir fry dishes, curries, even special fried rice, and NONE have stuck to this wok. The one tip I would give is to get a very rigid 'stirring stick' to make sure you remove as much food as it starts to stick without giving it a chance to glue itself. The quality of this wok gives a decent margin of error to minimise the chances of this happening. Do not expect miracles if you leave it for any more that 30 seconds if the ingredients are dry. The point is, you do not have to worry about damage caused by the possible rigorous stirring and scraping as it is made of cast iron, and not non-stick coating that has been getting a bad reputation in the last few years. There was some sticking of sauces, higher up the sides, but simply rinsing it or soaking depending on the dish, and this wok continues to impress. I have wiped it with vegetable oil after every use, and it amazes me every time how all the sticking just disappears whilst cooking, as long as there is moisture either coming out of the veggies or the meat. If it starts sticking, just look to add some moisture or oil, it is as simple as that. A class act that is getting more used the longer I cook with it. OUTSTANDING!

Heavy weight so heat distributed equally. Good quality. One time investment for those who looking for a great wok

Lots of details went into the design. There are lots of cast iron woks for sale out there. Most of them are made overseas and you have no idea what type of metals got melted into their cast iron. Lodge has been making cast iron pots, pans, griddles, and Dutch ovens forever and they make them in Tenessee. A few details distinguish these from others. 1) lies flat upside down. The handles of a lot of woks stick up. This makes them tilt while upside down. They also will not hang nicely on a wall hook [if that's how you want to store it. Also, when you want to cover it with a lid that is perhaps too large, it won't work because of the handles sticking up. The Lodge handles are on the same plane as the top of the wok. They are also big enough to get your fingers around them. [Use heatproof gloves when hot]. They are integrated, i.e. cast in place, not riveted, so they won't break off. 2) Large disc on base to keep wok stable and retain heat at the sweet spot. Most wok cooking is done at the concave bottom portion [about 1 cup of oil's worth]. This area needs to be as hot as possible. The Lodge has a thick plate there to retain heat so that when you put the food inside, it doesn't lower the heat [like what happens with thin carbon-steel woks]. This disc also makes it possble to use this wok on electric stoves. Try to concentrate the gas on this center area. This means you might put the wok over a smaller burner than the large one that has a huge spreader disc [which makes the flames bypass the bottom of the wok and heat only the sides - this is counterproductive]. 3) Preseasoned with vegetable oil and ready to use. Many foreign-made woks are shipped slathered in machine oil to prevent rusting. They've been on a boat for months and this is necessary. Vegetable oil would have gone bad (rancid). This is why they use machine oil. The first thing you need to do with machine-oil preserved woks is to give it a soapy bath to remove all the machine oil. Now it's prone to rust! You will then have to do several "seasoning" rounds of drying, rubbing with thin layer of oil, and baking in an oven 350 for an hour. Repeat until you have a nice patina that won't stick. Much frustration happens when this seasoning is washed off and the wok rusts. Since the Lodge is preseasoned with vegetable oil, a gentle rinsing is all that's needed before using. Still, I washed it mildly, then applied a thin layer [with my fingers] of flaxseed oil or you can use olive oil [don't use a paper towel with flaxseed oil]. It should feel like rubbing in sunscreen in that you are not trying to have any runs or drips. Preheat oven to 350 and bake upside down [good thing it lies flat] on the rack for an hour. 4) Now you're ready to cook! Because the Lodge retains heat, make sure all your ingredients are lined up. You'll have to go fast and remove the food fast. Turning off the flame will not cool it immediately. After scooping out the food, put water inside and let it cool. 5) To preserve the seasoning, don't use soap. Just scrub off any particles and rinse well. Dry it, and apply a very thin layer of olive oil [no dripping]. Set it on the stovetop and heat it up only enough to evaporate any water vapor. Then let it cool naturally before putting it away. 6) If your wok gets rusty, do not throw it away. You can rehabilitate it [watch Lodge video] or if you don't care to do so, donate it so someone else can use it for the next 100 years. Final note: the food I cooked tasted better than with my carbon steel wok. This is because I drizzled the sauce down the hot sides and kept flipping the food until the sauce kind of got dried into the meat and veggies. After scooping it out, I was left with an almost clean wok! It also cooked faster so you get that Wok Hei, or Wok Chi. Because it heats more evenly than a carbon steel wok, I did not get as much oil smoking and burning because I didn't need to wait super long for the oil to heat up in the center [where it would burn on the sides]. This product is full of American ingenuity as it takes a centuries old product and improved it with these design details.

Works great on induction as the flat bottom provided a firm and stable base. It also heats up quite fast with induction. Only thing is it's too heavy to do hand toss

compra 100% acertada, el wok es perfecto, tiene capacidad suficiente para poder saltear la comida. Hay que secarlo siempre después de lavarlo tal como dice en el libro de cuidados para evitar el óxido. El wok es grande, robusto y pesado. Lo aconsejo sin lugar a dudas porque la verdad es que una vez que lo tienes solo te apetece cocinar en el todo el tiempo, y es que da muchísimo juego. Hay muchos más? Sí, pero como este de Lodge; ninguno!!!