Question: Cooking with cast iron

[bobDog]

What Lodge calls a Camp Dutch Oven:

This what everyone I grew up w/ called a Dutch Oven....the other one they just referred to as a cooking pot. Those were hung over the fire while the Dutch was in the coals, that's why it had legs and a lid to stack coals on, hence the name oven.
:costumed-smiley-007

 

[rambrush]

I also grew up with this being called a dutch oven the other was a wanta be no way for coals on top or bottom.

This what everyone I grew up w/ called a Dutch Oven....the other one they just referred to as a cooking pot. Those were hung over the fire while the Dutch was in the coals, that's why it had legs and a lid to stack coals on, hence the name oven.
:costumed-smiley-007

 

[Joanne]

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!

I realize everyone has their own needs and the cookware that works for one person isn't always the best for everyone. That said, I prefer cast iron. I'm a bit of a cast iron addict.

Here's most of the cast iron, although there are more skillets in the garage and a 20" oven in storage.

If you want to learn about cast iron cooking, here are the links to two short tutorials I wrote.

Basic Equipment

Basic Technique

There are loads of recipes and "how to" camp cooking information at my website: www.camp-cook.com

Hope that gets you started on your cast iron cooking career!!

Joanne

 

[john101477]

WOW Joanne what a collection. my family has some old cast iron stoves that are pretty cool as well as many different pieces of cast. i have not been lucky/unlucky enough to inherit yet thank god.

 

[paulj]

...
Here's most of the cast iron, although there are more skillets in the garage and a 20" oven in storage.

couldn't you find a cast iron display rack? Or at least wrought iron?

 

[frgtwn]

couldn't you find a cast iron display rack? Or at least wrought iron?

Sorry, all that weight just might poke a hole in the floor!

 

[Black Dog]

Here's most of the cast iron, although there are more skillets in the garage and a 20" oven in storage.

Wow! :Wow1: And I thought the guy with the 18 inch skillet had a massive piece of metal in his possession!

If you want an absolutely simple recipe perfect for the first timer, you can't beat a peach cobbler. Every boy scout has cooked this, and every dutch oven cook can do this one in their sleep. All it takes is two cans of sliced peaches drained, a box of yellow cake mix, a can of Sprite or 7up. Mix all the ingredients in your 10 or 12 inch dutch oven and cook at 350-375 until al dente. For me, cooking until done for this recipe is usually about 75 minutes. What I do is go 15 minutes, then rotate the whole pot a quarter turn clockwise and the lid a quarter counter clockwise, and repeat. This makes sure your food is cooked more evenly and prevents hot spots and burns. But with high quality heavy duty cast iron this should be less of a problem because the heavier the iron the more evenly the heat is distributed.

In a 10 inch dutch oven that will be 14 coals on top and 7 on bottom (approximate) and for a 12 inch 17 on top and 8 on bottom. I usually go the 350 degree route for this recipe, and if it is real cold or windy outside I might add a coal to the top and another to the bottom.

I've also heard people say that 350 degrees is done by taking the diameter of your oven and subtracting that number by 2 for the number of coals on the bottom, and adding 2 for the number of coals on top. Other people will say +3/-3 also. Basically if it is a warmer day outside, you'll generally need one or two fewer coals than if it is a colder or windier day.

 

[RTO_Tracker9]

:exclaim:

If you want to learn about cast iron cooking, here are the links to two short tutorials I wrote.

Basic Equipment

Basic Technique

There are loads of recipes and "how to" camp cooking information at my website: www.camp-cook.com

Hope that gets you started on your cast iron cooking career!!

Joanne

Joanne-Wow! Great information!! The links and information you provided also answered several additional questions!! Especially, controlling the temperature! Thanks again!!

RTO_Tracker9

 

[bobDog]

The stuff is way heavy but worth it. If your not cookin in cast iron you're just not cooking.:wings:

 

[dlbrunner]

I am a huge fan of Cast Iron! I have a couple 12" "Camp ovens" and a couple skillets. I seasoned mine with Bacon, but after dave in denver's comments I am going to give crisco a shot on the next one I buy.

I have been looking at the Snow peak japanese oven. I kind of like ot because the lid can be used as a skillet. Anyone on here have one? Thoughts? They are super spendy, but hey, I love food and cooking and a guy has to indulge himself once in a while right?!

Ahh the memories of peach cobbler in the dutch oven at scout camp......:chef:

 

[Corey]

If you want an absolutely simple recipe perfect for the first timer, you can't beat a peach cobbler.

If I buy a 10" or 12" Dutch Camp Oven to use on my Camp Chef Denali, will this recipe work on a burner, or is it more meant to have a surrounding heat source like with the coals or inside of a regular oven at home.

Sounds like a easy recipe to try out for a first time owner.
I will order a Dutch Oven later, along with a skillet for home to cook fried eggs and omelets in.

The 20" Lodge grill/griddle combo I bought is only for camping, it will not space out correctly anyways on my home stove.

 

[paulj]

With many of the baking recipes, the heat from the coals on top is important. In fact the directions usually call for more coals on top. In part that's because heat rises. But without the heat radiating down from the lid, your cake or biscuits will cook more like dumplings. They will cook, but the top will remain pasty looking, without any browning.

On the other hand, braising and stews depend more on bottom heat, and work just as well with a domed lid as with a rimmed one - may be better.

 

[Black Dog]

It probably won't work on a stove top type of thing, that is better suited for saute-ing or soup making or frying. You can use a dutch oven on a stove top in the same way you would use a sauce pan or stock pot or something. When we put coals on top of a dutch oven we are more or less baking in it, applying heat from above and below at the same time. If you put your dutch oven inside a regular oven that works pretty well too. I actually think that when I use my dutch oven inside a regular oven the food cooks better because we have kind of a cheap oven, so when we set the temp for 350 degrees it will go up as high as about 410-415 and down below 300 just with the regular cycle. But the dutch oven temperature doesn't fluctuate as much so the actual metal itself stays a more even temperature and cooks the food a little better.

Dutch ovens are pretty versatile if you use your imagination and take some time to experiment with it. Its kind of fun taking recipes from a regular cookbook and adapting them to cook in your dutch oven. You can almost literally cook anything in a dutch oven.

 

[Black Dog]

And for baking a handy thing to have is a trivet to put inside your dutch oven. This is especially handy for pies, you make your pie inside a normal pie pan, then set the trivet inside the dutch oven, then put the pie pan on that. We've done that with pineapple upside down cakes and stuff too. Having the trivet creates a layer of air space below whatever you are baking, so your pie won't burn and the crust won't dry out as bad. I think my trivet came from Lodge, can't remember, but it is just a 3/16 inch thick piece of cast iron with a bunch of half or 5/8 inch holes and some little nubbies for feet. Its a handy little thing but you can do without it.

 

[DontPanic42]

We always keep a few horse shoes around to use as field expedient trivets.