Question: Cooking with cast iron

RTO_Tracker9

Observer
Just wondering if anyone is using cast iron for cooking and if so could you suggest a brand name that has worked well. We are looking for a few suggestions pertaining to cooking techniques using the cast iron sets as well.

What do you do to maintain the durability and longevity of your cast iron cooking sets. Any advice is appreciated!

Thanks!
 

SunTzuNephew

Explorer
It's heavy and finicky, but for certain things cast iron is great. I have some skillets that I inherited from my grandmother, they are probably 75 years old and going strong.

For new purchases, Lodge is the brand, and Amazon is the second best place to buy them (with free shipping - they're HEAVY). Best is to find them in garage/farm sales.

To maintain, they first must be seasoned. I wash them with hot water and soap, using a plastic scrubber (not metal, the cast iron is soft and pieces of the metal can become imbedded in it). Then, to season I coat inside and out with food oil (Canola or corn), and put on the barbecue until the oil has dried. Using tongs and a wadded up towel I reapply a coat of oil and reheat until dry......repeat 5 or 6 times until a solid black shiny surface is on the iron. Let cool.

I do it on the barbecue outside since it's smoky.

To clean, we simply brush the food out with a towel (paper or cloth), scrubbing lightly with salt if needed. Rinse (no soap) and dry on heat. Wipe with a light coat of oil and you're done.

If for some reason I have to wash with soap and water, then I re-season.
 
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discodisco

Observer
One of my best cooking tools

Cast Iron is a great camping cooking tool for my family and I our first was a cast iron dutch oven. If you get a good one with a flat lid you can use the lid as a second fry top in different situations.

Curing or seasoning your cast iron is the most important part it keeps it durable and sets it up to cook with with out rusting. Google Alton Browns instructions they are probably the e best out there. Basically you wash the cast iron then you cover it in lard or crisco or oil and bake it to create a thin layer of fat to protect it.

We experimented a lot at home first. making steaks, fish and even fried chicken. then bread and desert and even pizza
 

rusty_tlc

Explorer
I use cast iron pretty much all the time, it is naturally non-stick when properly seasoned and maintained.

I would in no way consider it finicky, if any thing it is easier to maintain an even temperature than almost any other pan you will ever use. The extra mass really helps here.

Lodge is considered by most to be the best, I have a Lodge dutch oven and it seems to be pretty well made. Most of my stuff came from mom's kitchen, yard sales, and thrift stores. Just look for a smooth cooking surface, some of the cheap imported stuff isn't finished. It is basically straight from the sand cast and the interior is rough. About the only thing that will ruin cast iron is breaking it, so used will work fine.

I wash my fry pan etc. with a sponge and soap, just don't use any abrasives and don't soak. I've never felt the need to re-season after washing.
 

Black Dog

Makin' Beer.
Cast iron is the absolute best! Me and my dad and his best friend are dutch oven cooking champions. :chef: Everybody that says Lodge is the best brand for cast iron stuff is pretty much hitting the nail on the head. For dutch ovens though I like the "deluxe" models from Camp Chef because they have feet on the lids as well so they can pull double duty easier as a skillet or fry pan. Brands aside though, look for something that is one big solid cast piece, not just a cast piece with other parts welded or riveted on. And look for very thick metal, it will heat more evenly than thin metal.

I bought a cheapo griddle from Cabelas and am really displeased with it. It came unseasoned and had the protective wax coating on it, so I did the little trick of putting it in the oven on the cleaning cycle to get everything stripped off for seasoning. But no matter how hard I try I cannot get that dang blasted thing to season. I'm thinking it isn't really cast iron, its probably some other weird alloy of metals.
 

ruger1

Observer
I hate to sound cheap, but I have several good cast iron fry pans I bought @ yard sales and stores like the Salvation Army for less than $5.00. The dutch ovens are harder to find. We scrub them thoroughly, heat them up, wipe oil all over & bake them in the oven. I bought a 14" Lodge pan @ Bass Pro this year because I wanted a larger one and it was alright. Every so often we reoil and bake them.
 

Herbie

Rendezvous Conspirator
I cook in cast iron at home all the time (not for all things, but a lot of things.)

I too use the BBQ to do my seasoning, but I just coat in Crisco, very easy! My favorite place to buy my Lodge pans is.... my hardware store. Yep. Same price, or better, as Amazon and its right there. My camp oven (technically not a dutch oven if it has legs) is not a Lodge, but seems mostly OK, though a bit more porous.
 

SunTzuNephew

Explorer
Cast iron is finicky in that you cant cook acidic foods (tomato sauces) in them, and require special cleaning techniques (no steel wools, little soaps)..
 

Wyowanderer

Explorer
Not to hijack your thread, but LeCreuset makes cast iron enameled pans that work great, don't need seasoned, and can be used to cook acidic food. I just bought a 2 quart saucepan with lid for nine bucks at Salvation Army.

Lodge is the brand, unless you can find vintage cast iron in second hand stores or garage sales. But don't pay big $ for vintage; Brand new Lodge is nearly as good, and you can get it at Wal Mart.

Follow the advise on Lodge's website for seasoning, and you'll do fine.

Frank
 

RTO_Tracker9

Observer
Great information! Thank you!

Thanks' Everyone!! Your advice and suggestions are greatly appreciated!! We are going to look at the newer products today and also check a few yard sales and see what is available. The hints and techniques you have provided will no doubt prove to be invaluable information and help us maintain the cast iron for years to come!

Again, Thank you for your insight and techniques!! :1888fbbd:
-RTO_Tracker9
 

Mamontof

Explorer
Cast iron is the absolute best!
Other good choice a pro sheaf metallceramic pan , but price ....hell much more .

Cast iron as sun pick the heat it hold stable easy for pro coking ! :chef:
 

sPOD-guy

New member
dutch ovens

A brand to consider and one of our favorites is:
Lodge
Below is a cool link.
http://www.castironcookwareshop.com/
My wife has become quite a connoisseur of Dutch oven cooking! Buy it once and take care of them with proper curing and maintenance they will last forever. As a matter of fact some of the cookware is over 50 years old and still working great.
Have fun!
 

bobDog

Expedition Leader
If your camping and you want cast iron and such I suggest you have to get a dutch oven first......have to have a cast iron dutch oven. The uses are endless in a campfire ..... dumplings to infinity! :wings:
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
We don't find it any very finicky and have gone basically 100% completely back to using cast iron cookware daily. I don't like using aluminum and prefer not to use teflon. We do have some old family Revereware pots and skillet that we love, but it's harder I think to use than cast iron.

We have an O'Brien #8 dutch oven (missing it's original lid, though), #8 (10") Griswold deep pan (sometimes called a chicken fryer), Griswold #7 griddle (this thing is AWESOME, fits over two burners on our stove and fits our 3-burner Coleman perfect), a couple of Lodge camp stoves (10" and 12") and a Wagner #10 (12") shallow frying pan.

We even cook chili and stews in the dutch oven with tomatoes without sticking. But you are right, it does eat up the seasoning a bit. Most of our stuff is old, ranging from about 100 years to maybe 50, except for the camp stoves and they have developed very deep, durable seasons now.

IMVHO the keys to using cast iron daily are NEVER wash them with detergent or soap, NEVER use metal utensils (we use mostly wood and a good quality nylon coated spatula), wash them immediately with hot water and a stiff nylon brush and re-season often if you scratch the seasoning or if after a few acidic foods it starts to thin. With a good seasoning, you can let them soak for a while to get off stubborn things, just plain hot water and usually after 15 minutes or so you can wash out. Cast iron deteriorates quickly if the seasoning is compromised, much like if you scratch teflon or the paint on your truck to the base metal.

We season with plain old Crisco in the kitchen oven. The key is a good starting condition and more often than not that will require very high heat to clean the pores. We've been able to bring back some nasty cookware by getting our oven as hot as it will go and burning off the crud and junk. Sandblasting is another option for removing rancid seasoning. Once you have clean bare cast iron, then you can build up a new seasoning. Key is to get it deep into the pores of the metal and build up and maintain a solid, consistent layer of seasoning. Once you find the right temperature, the metal literally soaks up the grease like a sponge and that's when you know you are building a good layer of seasoning.

Also we've found that contrary to popular rumor frying most things is NOT the way to season a pan. For example most bacon has a lot of salt in it and that seems to prevent the grease from absorbing well. Same with chorizo. Good ground beef and the like seems better. Ultimately, though, clean fat or Crisco works best for us. We store the cookware after cleaning with a quick spray of Pam and paper towels as cushion between pieces to keep them from touching.

Watch garage sales, Goodwill and even eBay. Cast iron is collectible for it's visual beauty and history, so sometimes prices are silly when a person is decorating in faux 'country' or looking for specific pieces. But typically a standard issue Griswold piece should be $5 or $10, no more than $20. Certain types of Griswold (early 1850s stuff or made in Erie, PA) and O'Brien-O'Brien from Chicago are rarer and sometimes command a higher price, but it's not any better functionally compared to run-of-the-mill stuff made in 1900-1950 period. Just look for cast iron made in the USA that is not bent or warped (this can happen due to uneven heating, being dropped, etc.) and call it good. Badly pitted things might be worth passing on, but otherwise you can most likely restore just about any piece with a little work. If the rust is not deep and fairly even that is not bad and can actually protect the cast iron to some extent. Sandblasting rusted cookware is usually necessary, though. Personally I would consider new Lodge if you want minimum hassle, it's not too expensive, still made in the USA (really the only common brand that is) and good quality.
 
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RHINO

Expedition Leader
when doing your shopping for second hand, just remember that anything older,,, like 70's and earlier is top quality no matter the brand. its also good to remember dont go looking for 3 brands specifically cause there were half a dozen good brands in the day that arent around anymore.
 

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