Cast Iron cookware for side dishes.

[dbhost]

Some of us, probably more than a few of us, aside from cooking in the smoke chamber, cook with Cast Iron cookware, including skillets, saucepans, griddles, and Dutch Ovens. I am starting this thread to start off sharing experiences, good, bad, and ugly with this time honored method of cooking..

Cast Iron cookware keeps a strong hold on outdoor chefs throughout the world due to its even heat distribution, and once seasoned, non stick properties. It is also quite durable. One thing it is NOT is light. You will not likely see any backpackers carrying a cast iron dutch oven into the back country.

Cast Iron cookware, just like your smoker, needs a good cleaning, and seasoning. To do this the user should...

Bring the cookware home, and, assuming it is new, remove all labels and stickers, and soak the cookware in hot (near boiling) water. After the water is cooled down enough to not scald. Thoroughly scrub the item with a soapless steel wool pad. (DO NOT USE AN SOS PAD!). You do not EVER want to use soaps or detergents on cast iron as the soap gets into the pores, and will work its way out and into your food when cooking. NASTY!!!

Once thoroughly cleaned, remove from the water and quickly dry the item off. You may want to oven dry it for about 5 minutes.

Once dry, apply a fairly thick coating of cooking shortening, Place on the middle shelf of your oven preheated to 350 degrees F. Line bottom shelf with aluminum foil to keep drippings off of the element. Bake in shortening for 45 minutes. Allow to cool to the touch, reapply shortening, and repeat heating, cooling, shortening cycle 3 or more times. The darker the metal gets, the more seasoned it is...

 

[dbhost]

Okay, here is a recipe I use occasionally. The measurements are approximate to what I actually use. I tend to be a wing and a prayer kind of cook...

Ingredients.

This recipe can be followed by Bandera users by heating the pot on the lid of the smoker, or by other smoker users by a propane / white gas burner on low setting.

2 cans (28 oz) Bush's Bold & Spicy Baked Beans.
1/4 cup finely diced fresh Jalapeno.
1/4 cup Shiner Bock or similar Bock beer.
1/4 cup finely diced fresh white onion.
1/2 cup coarsely chopped thick cut bacon.

In the last hour of cook time for the main dish, mix all igredients into legless cast iron dutch oven. (Stock pot). Place on heat source and stir.
Keep covered, stirring occasionally, the flavors should all be cooked together by the time your main dish is ready to be served.

 

[Markbb]

Blackiron

I've got quit the collection of blackiron and love to cook with it when I get new I clean kinda like the way you do, but I'll wipe it down in bacon grease and throw it into a good hardwood fire, I've heard mention chunkn it into the fireside of the offset, kill two birds with one stone smoken and seasoning:wink:

 

[dbhost]

I've done the bacon grease and in the smoker, but seasoning your black iron produces a LOT of very sooty bitter black smoke. I try to avoid it when smoking food...

 

[vr6Cop]

Here is a great resource for campfire cooking. Campfire Cafe. It is a show on the RFD network, based out of Nashville. They use a lot of cast iron on the show. The show is pretty dry IMO, but the recipes (link above) are pretty good. It makes me want to build a fire pit in my back yard. :biggrin:

EDIT: I bought some cheap Chinese cast iron on clearance at Target at the end of the summer. I got a 10" skillet with a claw handle that comes off, which is perfect for the Egg, Weber, or any other grill. I've been cooking all my bacon and sausage in it to get it up to par with my good Lodge stuff, and my 50+ year old inherited stuff.

 

[Greendriver]

close by where I live they have a campfire cooking contest every year where all they are allowed to use is cast iron. must be growing cause they advertise it pretty good in the paper and all.

 

[twied]

I also have a cast iron fascination. Have lots of skillets and dutch ovens, including a 20 qt. That one is tough to lug around if you've been drinking.

Several years ago, we had an outdoor party at the house (it was in the fall). My wife wanted to cook a cobbler in the fire. I let her borrow an 8 qt. dutch oven, and wasn't paying attention to what she was doing (I had been cooking butts all day). After about 30 minutes, she asked if I would get it out of the fire for her.

She had shoved the pot down in the middle of a roaring bonfire. When I drug it out with a shovel, the pot was glowing bright orange. We didn't get any cobbler that night and it took me weeks to get the dutch oven cleaned and reseasoned.

 

[thenewguy]

I'm starting to get a "collection" going.
I never knew just how nice cooking with cast was....

 

[Smokin J]

I love my cast iron skillets. I use them inside and out. In the winter some ttimes, I have even done some pretty killer steaks and burgers (killer for indoor cooking) in my cast iron. I don't have a Dutchy yet, but I would like to get a nice one. Is lodge a good brand to get? the skillets I have are Lodge, and i like them.

 

[jdub]

I have a couple skillets. One is right at 50 years old. Been rusted scrubbed out burned out, many times.
I just bought a new one last week-it is a 5 quart chicken fryer. i think I am going to fall in love with this thing! 12 inches by 4.5 inches deep big heavy lid.
Part skillet, part fryer, part casserole, small dutch oven size. Its damn perfect!

 

[jdub]

Another one

Anyone here have any enameled cast iron? Le crueset, Staub are the pricey brands, but there are some others-Lodge is making one now. GREAT cookware.

 

[FatDaddy]

Anyone here have any enameled cast iron? Le crueset, Staub are the pricey brands, but there are some others-Lodge is making one now. GREAT cookware.

Actually picking up one of the enameled dutch ovens for the Mrs. for Christmas.
Ive got more cast iron than i can shake a stick at. My newest addition is a lodge biscuit cooker hold 7 biscuits or individual cornbreads, its pretty sweet. picked it up at a cracker barrel rest here in town. I have a chicken fryer that is probably 50-60 years old, two skillets that are older than that. and plenty of lodge dutch ovens and griddles. and the 14" lodge skillet.

 

[Bill-Chicago]

how do you get the iron to turn black?

Mine is silver, I seasoned, and it rusted

I guess higher temps, no?

 

[Irrad8]

Any thoughts on using cast iron on a glass top stove? scratches or breakage?

 

[thenewguy]

That might be pushing it on the weight side.

 

[SmokeyBear]

This was my maternal grandmother's skillet:

I've got a few other pieces, but the one above is very special to me.

 

[jdub]

Any thoughts on using cast iron on a glass top stove? scratches or breakage?

Not at all. Thats what I have. The downside is the super flat surface will exaggerate any warpage you have. one of my pans has a tiny warp and it does make a hot spot.

 

[NCGrimbo]

My favorite thing about cast iron:

Okay, here's a little helpful cast iron hint and this is my favorite feature about the pan: you never wash it. Just when you're done, put a little fat in the pan if there isn't any, add about a tablespoon of kosher salt and scrub it with a wad of paper towels or an old rag. When the pan is clean, and you'll be able to tell because the salt will be filthy, just dump out the salt and wipe out the pan. You're good to go. Cool, huh?

I've got a pan that I've used at least once a month or two for over 7 years and I've never cleaned it any more than the way that is described above. Nothing growing on that pan. :-D

 

[Jeremiah]

I love doing dips and the like in the cast iron on the smoker, man do they come out good. I've found that a day in the fridge and then re-heating on the smoker can make some smoked cheese dips really shine.

 

[swamprb]

I found some campfire DO's with legs. Two 4 qt and a 2 qt with lids, I think they are Tex-Sport, not a hi-end brand but they should be fun to play with. Also picked up what I think is an 8 qt DO, it says Made in USA 8 on the bottom and 10 1/4 8 on the lid. I bead blasted all the rust off them and need to get them seasoned. Been scouring thrift shops for corn stick pans and found an aluminum Wagner, a Lodge and a no name for a $1 each. Sometimes I'll fire up the little Lodge Sportsman Hibachi for kabobs, it's the perfect size for them.
We use my wifes grandmothers Wagner and Griswold CI's all the time in the kitchen.