The South Carolina company, a pick for the upcoming 2024 Made in America Holiday Gift Guide, makes cast iron and carbon steel cookware based on methods first perfected more than a century ago.
Two sure signs that the holiday season is upon us are when our thoughts turn to gifting and cooking.
Whether it is shopping for that ideal Christmas present or preparing a festive family Thanksgiving meal, the folks at the Smithey Ironware Company can upgrade both holiday endeavors. Smithey, one of our picks for the upcoming 2024 Made in America Holiday Gift Guide, manufactures 100% American-made cast iron and carbon steel cookware.
Founded in 2015 by Isaac Morton in South Carolina, Smithey recreates the cast iron cookware that was popular in America during the late 19th century. As a collector of old cast iron skillets, Morton endeavored to restore these heirloom pans. After he succeeded with several century-old cast iron skillets, Morton set out to learn how he could bring cookware from 150 years ago into the modern age.
“Isaac Morton was blown away about how much better this 100-year-old cookware was versus much of what is on the market today,” said Will Copenhaver, vice president of marketing and sales at the Smithey Ironware Company. “He was inspired by that, and he saw it as an opportunity to bring back something that is truly American.
“Good cast iron is as American as you get. That cast iron skillet is a product that is an American type of thing. He wanted to pay homage to these great brands of the past like Griswold and Wagner that were making cast iron 100 or 150 years ago.”
What started out as a small company of four employees on an old naval base in North Charleston is now a full-fledged manufacturer of both cast iron and carbon steel cookware. The company has expanded into four buildings in the former Navy yard and now boasts 42 employees, including seven blacksmiths that handcraft the carbon steel skillets.
The cast iron products are created by pouring molten iron into a mold, which is then broken away after the iron cools. The pots and pans are then finished and seasoned with grapeseed oil before shipping.
“The big difference between a Smithey and a lot of cheaper cast iron out there today is that the Smithey is polished,” Copenhaver said. “The interior of a Smithey is silky smooth, and it looks different than most cast iron because it is shiny and doesn’t look rough and black.
“We have a unique manufacturing process that takes what essentially would be a cheaper cast iron skillet, which has rough sandpaper-like surface, and we go through a multi-step process to make it silky smooth. It ends up being a great cooking surface and more beautiful, too.”
The Smithey line of cast iron cookware includes skillets, Dutch ovens, roasters, griddles, and a wok. It is heavy cookware that is optimum for retaining high heat. If you are a fan of any televised cooking shows, you will find that professional chefs always have a cast iron skillet at the ready.
In 2018, Smithey decided to create carbon steel cookware handmade by a team of blacksmiths that were located next to the Smithey building. The blacksmiths became Smithey’s partners and make the carbon steel skillets by putting a rod of steel into a screaming hot forge before hammering the steel into the required skillet size.
Every piece of cast iron is identical since it comes from a mold, but with the carbon steel no two pieces are exactly alike since they are pounded out by hand.
“We were listening to the blacksmiths next door pounding away every day, all day so we just decided to have them partner with us to make carbon steel cookware,” Copenhaver said. “We thought it would be cool to make something that is hand-forged in addition to our cast iron line. It’s as American-made as you can get. It’s truly blacksmith produced, which is not the best way to mass produce anything by blacksmiths, but we feel it is a special line and really reflects American manufacturing craftsmanship.”
First-time users of cast iron can be perplexed at how to clean and preserve the cookware. But it is actually easy to maintain, and you can often find a cast iron skillet sitting on cook’s stove even in between uses.
“We tell people that water is not your friend, so you do not want to soak it in the sink overnight and you do not want to use the dishwasher,” Copenhaver said. “The best way to season a pan is to just cook in it. The oils from whatever you are using combine with the heat and that’s going to be the seasoning. The more you use it, the better it’s going to look.
“Cast iron is probably one of the most durable things in your house and you really are not going to mess it up. Forty or 50 years ago, you had these lye-based soaps that were incredibly harsh and they would just pull out the oil out of the pores of the metal and that would mess up your seasoning. But today, people use more gentle soaps like Dawn dish soap that they use to clean baby ducks after an oil spill.”
Sales have been strong for Smithey, increasing year-over-year, and the holiday season is always the top sales period.
Smithey cookware is primarily sold on the company website, but there are more than 200 high-end cookware and kitchen goods stores that carry the company’s products. Smithey pans can be purchased from Orvis, the L.L. Bean flagship store in Maine, the Central Market in Texas, through Gweneth Paltrow’s Goop, Huckberry and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia website.
The company logo is a quail, and the bird is cast on the bottom of every piece of cookware. You can also have a name engraved on the pots and pans, which makes for a more personal type of gift.
“A lot of people buy for Thanksgiving because they want to cook with a Smithey and then gifting them for the holiday season is a big market,” Copenhaver said. “They really are exceptional gifts, so when you give a Smithey you are going to make someone happy. It’s something people have forever and something they can use every day for the rest of their lives if they want.”
Smithey cookware products sell for anywhere from $85 to $375 and are guaranteed for life. The company also restores old, rusted out cast iron cookware that, if it’s American-made, can be cleaned up to look like new.
“You can get cast iron from China, which is very cheap but that is just not who we are,” Copenhaver said. “We are focused on making the best cookware and honestly you can look at our price point and say they are higher than other cookware options. Ours is heirloom, American-made top quality.
“You are buying something that will last your lifetime that you will use every day so your price per usage is almost nothing. It’s the best investment you can make.”
You can buy Smithey Ironware Company products online. The 2024 Made in America Holiday Gift Guide is set for release on Nov. 20.