It's a well-made product. I've yet to successfully make a waffle using it, but I'm certain that's due to my lack of experience.

I bought this waffle iron when I got on a waffle making kick a couple of years ago. Since then, I have been using it quite a bit to make waffles and I have to say it does a spectacular job. My 8 year old daughter loves the waffles this thing produces, as does my girlfriend :-)

Before I bought this waffle iron, I looked at many other types of waffle makers out there (mainly electric). In the end, I decided to go the old fashion route and see how cast iron would work. I'm glad I did, as this waffle maker is really a joy to use and produces some really great waffles. People always seem amazed when I make waffles for them using this iron - don't ask me why. It's actually very easy to use and over the year or so I have owned it, it has built up a very nice black cast iron finish from use. The result is that it's nearly non-stick and requires very little in the way of cleaning (I just lightly wash it off and dry it, then put a little oil on it so it doesn't rust while stored).

Let me relate the waffle recipe I use and the method that I have found which works best. First the recipe. I use Krusteaz brand waffle mix as the foundation for my recipe. The following makes about 3 or 4 waffles:

1 cup Krusteaz waffle mix
1/2 cup water
1 egg
2 tbsp peanut oil
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 pinch of salt (about 1/4 tsp)
3 to 4 drops of vanilla extract

Mix the above ingredients in a bowl with a whisk (whisk the egg first, then add everything else - the waffle mix last). Once mixed, pour the batter into a measuring cup (or some other cup) so it can easily be poured into the waffle iron.

Heat your cast iron waffle iron over medium heat until hot (I use a propane stove top myself, with the heat set to about 1/2). Give the iron a minute to get some heat into it.

The method I've found that works best is this: first, heat both sides of the waffle iron over the burner by flipping it over a couple of times - this will get some heat into the iron on both sides. Note that the waffle iron hinges; one side has a cross bar, the other side has a hook that goes over it. Which side is down influences how easy (or difficult) it is to open the iron.

The best position is to have the side with the cross bar on the burner, then pivot over the "hook side" from the top. However, what I normally do is heat the iron in reverse. In other words, I start by heating the side with the hook first. Then, once that side is hot, I flip the iron over (so that the side with the cross bar is now on the grill). Then I open the iron. The result is that the side with the hook (which now should be folded open & away from the heat) will be hotter. The "cooler" side (with the cross bar) is now heating up over the burner. This works best, since when you fold the iron back together (with the batter mix in the middle), it results in both sides being nice and hot. If you don't do this, then you tend to end up with one side of your waffle being sort of under cooked.

In any event, once you get the hang of it, it will make sense and be almost second nature.

So, once the iron is hot, heat with the hook side down. Then flip over and open. The cross bar side will be on the burner and you are ready to roll.

Now take some soft butter or margarine (myself, I use "I can't believe it's not butter") and smear it over both sides of the hot iron. The butter should sizzle quite rapidly and even smoke a bit, but not burst into flames or anything. You do want the iron to be pretty hot - mildly warm isn't going to make it - but at the same time, you also don't want the iron so smoking hot that it burns the butter or the batter. It's a rather fine balance when it comes to the heat.

After quickly coating both sides with butter, the iron should be open, with one side (the cross bar side) still over the burner. Now pour the batter onto the side over the burner, such that you fill about 3/4 of the diameter of the iron. Note, the batter will expand and be squeezed as you close the iron and cook, so it's important to avoid pouring batter over more than 3/4 of the iron.

Now close the top of the iron and squeeze the handles together a bit (be sure to use a towel, since this sucker will be hot!). Hold the handles together for about 5 or 10 seconds. A little batter should squeeze out the sides, but only a couple of drops at most. If any more than that comes out, then reduce how much batter you are pouring. The batter which comes out will usually burn, so you'll probably want to knock it off the sides if possible.

Give the iron about 30 to 45 seconds or so, then flip it over to the other side and continue cooking. After a few more seconds, you should be able to peak into the iron by lifting the handles apart - this allows you to monitor the progress of the cooking. Note, usually one side or the other will come open, but not both. The side that won't lift is usually the hotter side and thus the side where the waffle is cooked more.

If it takes much more than 90 seconds to cook your waffle, then the heat is probably too low. Once you get the heat right, the waffles cook very rapidly. Usually you pour, close and then a couple of flips back and forth and you are done in about 60 to 90 seconds I would say. It's a fine balancing act between burning, cooking and under cooking. The best results are when the waffle cooks quickly, not when you have to leave it on the stove for any extended period of time. Typically the first waffle is a write-off, so if the first one doesn't come out too well, don't panic. Often times the second one will be better. When I first started using this iron, it took me a few tries to really get the hang of it and get used to the heat. It's not a bad idea to make up some batter and do a few test runs in order to become accustomed to cooking with this iron.

Okay, once you get the hang of it, you should be able to turn out waffles pretty quickly. The trick is mainly getting the heat correct in the iron before you pour and then also making sure you heat one side up a bit hotter, which allows the side that is off the burner (while pouring the batter) to cool down to a temp which roughly matches the side which is sitting over the flame.

Assuming all goes to plan, then in a minute or so you should have a waffle that looks pretty good. Usually one side will be stuck a little, so you typically need a fork or something to help pop it out of the iron. As soon as it comes out, take some more butter and smear it all over the face of the waffle. Then take some syrup and pour it liberally over the waffle, such that it pretty much covers everything. Serve hot and enjoy!

Tip: if you really want to get fancy - and I know you do - heat up your plates in a 250 to 300 degree oven before you start cooking your waffles. There's nothing worse than putting a fresh/hot waffle onto an ice cold plate. Plates in restaurants are hot when they arrive at your table not because of the food, but because they just came out of the oven :-) The reason for this is because it keeps your food warm. Using this same trick at home will keep your waffles nice and toasty as well :-)

Hope you enjoy the recipe.. my daughter Alana always gives it two thumbs up :-)

I like this waffle maker, but I would just like it to be closer to the size of a dinner plate as opposed to a large hamburger.

After ordering this item, I read the reviews, and was worried I wouldn't be able to get the wax coating off. As other have attested, it was very, very difficult. I could not scrub it off, so I decided to burn it off. I put it in the oven, and it smoked like crazy. We have a very active fire alarm, and tenants upstairs would have been bothered by it at 11pm, so I had to waive a newspaper to try and blow the smoke away from it. I eventually turned off the oven and went to bed.

The next day, I discovered the coating had liquified, but had not dripped off the waffle iron. It had re-solidified. I went to Home Depot and bought a big container of Goo Gone (which you can purchase on this site). It will take off tar, adhesives, gum.. you name it. I soaked the waffle iron in Goo Gone for 5 minutes, then took a wire brush and soap and scrubbed the waffle iron clean (with very little effort, most of it had dissolved). Then I stuck it in the oven to dry. There was absolutely no smoking, so I knew I had been successful in getting the wax coating removed.

When the waffle iron was dry, I coated it with Crisco - inside and out. I found some seasoning instructions online that differed slightly from the enclosed instructions. I set the oven at 250 degrees, and put the iron in for 30 minutes. Then I took the iron out and wiped it nearly dry. Put it back in for another 30 minutes, and then turned the oven off and let it cool in there.

The Seasoned pan was perfect. The next morning, I sprayed the pan with Olive Oil spray (Pam), and made a waffle. No sticking whatsoever.

Trust me... Goo Gone and a wire brush are the way to go.

I am in love with this little gadget that I plan to own for a long long time..

This waffle iron was smaller than I expected, it's about 6 1/2 inches wide, and it makes very thin waffles. Also, you have to be very savvy with cast iron and know how to season it well to use this product. My husband hates it because his waffles alway stick, but I haven't given up hope yet... it will be very handy to have around just as soon as I can get it well seasoned. I still like it, but it's not quite what I expected for the money.