Cast Iron

[ejbreeze]

Anyone here cook with cast iron pots or pans?  I'm really getting into this and finding it is a lot of fun. Right now I am experimenting with different makes and finding out they can really be used for cooking most anything.

 

[fpnmf]

You will find lots of cast iron talk over at the dutch oven forum here...http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/f/168/dutch-oven-cooking

  Craig

 

[bigcase]

It's almost all I use.  When they are seasoned right can't beat them.

 

[pit 4 brains]

Anyone here cook with cast iron pots or pans?  I'm really getting into this and finding it is a lot of fun. Right now I am experimenting with different makes and finding out they can really be used for cooking most anything.

I'm not going to make fun with you, but cast iron has been used for hundreds of years to cook everything. Do check the dutch oven area and explore away. Dutch oven cooking is just as challenging, experience driven, rewarding and old fashioned as it gets.

Learning how to care for your iron is just as important as learning how to cook with it.

GL with your cast iron..

 

[i smoke it]

Seeing as the thread is called "Cast Iron". I feel I can ask this question without actually "Hi-jacking" the thread. I have a cast iron skillet, that is about 30 years old. I left it outside in my grill and it rusted. I would like to take it work, sand blast it, and re-season it. Do I season it like I did the smoker I built? Or is there a different process for cast iron?

 

[adiochiro3]

I love cast iron cooking!  DO's, Pans, Griddles -- a well-seasoned CI is a joy, especially around a campfire!

 

[bigcase]

Seeing as the thread is called "Cast Iron". I feel I can ask this question without actually "Hi-jacking" the thread. I have a cast iron skillet, that is about 30 years old. I left it outside in my grill and it rusted. I would like to take it work, sand blast it, and re-season it. Do I season it like I did the smoker I built? Or is there a different process for cast iron?

Follow Craig's link and you will find a ton of info, everyone has their own special techniques.

 

[pit 4 brains]

Seeing as the thread is called "Cast Iron". I feel I can ask this question without actually "Hi-jacking" the thread. I have a cast iron skillet, that is about 30 years old. I left it outside in my grill and it rusted. I would like to take it work, sand blast it, and re-season it. Do I season it like I did the smoker I built? Or is there a different process for cast iron?

I wouldn't sand blast

Research other rust removal techniques..

 

[roller]

I have alot of it and cook in it most of the time...They way I reseason a rusty one is to take a wire wheel on a drill and remove the rust. Then I submerge it in warm water and wipe it clean and dry well. Then I coat the whole thing with cooking oil and place it into my electric oven at 500* until it turns a nice seasoned color...Depending on the amount of rust on it you may have to coat it with cooking oil again and back into the hot oven..When you get it seasoned never wash it with soapy water just wipe it clean and reoil it...It will just get better and better...

 

[pit 4 brains]

I have alot of it and cook in it most of the time...They way I reseason a rusty one is to take a wire wheel on a drill and remove the rust. Then I submerge it in warm water and wipe it clean and dry well. Then I coat the whole thing with cooking oil and place it into my electric oven at 500* until it turns a nice seasoned color...Depending on the amount of rust on it you may have to coat it with cooking oil again and back into the hot oven..When you get it seasoned never wash it with soapy water just wipe it clean and reoil it...It will just get better and better...

Ohhh yeah. This is a big tip.

If you are going to store them for a while, put a flat paper towel in them. The idea is to create a "wick" to catch and evaporate any moisture that may gather in them.
 

 

[adiochiro3]

I have alot of it and cook in it most of the time...They way I reseason a rusty one is to take a wire wheel on a drill and remove the rust. Then I submerge it in warm water and wipe it clean and dry well. Then I coat the whole thing with cooking oil and place it into my electric oven at 500* until it turns a nice seasoned color...Depending on the amount of rust on it you may have to coat it with cooking oil again and back into the hot oven..When you get it seasoned never wash it with soapy water just wipe it clean and reoil it...It will just get better and better...

X2!  Perfecto process description.  I set mine on the BBQ or over a campfire (too much smoke for the wife's liking indoors).

 

[chef jimmyj]

Roller said it all!...NEVER let soap touch them...Hot water and a brush is all you need, then back on some heat to dry, rub with a little oil and you are Golden...Lodge Cast Iron is American made and the best I have used. There are some Enamel coated French DO's and Pans, La Creuset,they are nice but at $200+ they can keep them...JJ

 

[pit 4 brains]

Roller said it all!...NEVER let soap touch them...Hot water and a brush is all you need, then back on some heat to dry, rub with a little oil and you are Golden...Lodge Cast Iron is American made and the best I have used. There are some Enamel coated French DO's and Pans, La Creuset,they are nice but at $200+ they can keep them...JJ

Don't hate the coated stuff.. I have an enamel coated lodge on my stove right now that ran me 70 bucks at Bass Pro..

 

[sprky]

I love the cast Iron skillets and pots, wife hates them. however they are no longer in the house they got transplanted to the camper. The wife bought a smooth surface stove and cast iron was listed as a no-no to use on it, so she didn't want them in the house. I miss them

 

[SmokinAl]

We use it a lot for outside cooking, but mostly SS in the kitchen.

 

[roller]

I have one of those stoves but still use my cast iron just try to be careful and for some reason when I burn them off in the oven I have not gotten alot of smoke in the house but of course I do not have a wife that would notice that..I have several pieces of Lodge that I use but the old collectibles are the Wagner Ware and Griswald...the old ones...Good stuff..

 

[oldthymer]

Cast iron is OK on one of those stoves as long as you are gentle.  The reason they say not to use it is due to possible scratches, if you drag it across the stovetop. 

 

[biteme7951]

If you are adventurous you can use electrolysis to desolve the rust and make it like new. Check the link below

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/61319/cast-iron-electrolysis-rust-removal

 

[chef jimmyj]

Don't hate the coated stuff.. I have an enamel coated lodge on my stove right now that ran me 70 bucks at Bass Pro..

I guess I was vague, I have use Enamel coated Cast iron and love them, I can't justify $300 for a La Crueset 9Qt...$70 for a Lodge is more like it...JJ

 

[ejbreeze]

I have both Griswold and the older Wagner skillets bought on Ebay.  I bought a #8 griswold dutch oven and waiting for it to arrive.  My Griswold chef skillet is slicker than any teflon you will find.

This guy cracks me up doing a turkey in a dutch oven.  Is that a pistol on his belt?