Let's Talk Cast Iron

[64Trvlr]

I absolutely love cooking with cast iron but I don't normally take it with me camping. I think I am partially afraid of the care and upkeep. Even though I know that a well-seasoned piece of cast iron is just as good if not better than a non-stick pan. Something about having my precious cast iron out and exposed to the elements freaks me out. Really I wanted to ask:

Who here uses cast iron while camping or on the trail? How is maintenance? Would you recommend using cast iron over a steel or other type of pan?

I also know that there are a tone of interesting pieces of cast iron cookware so what is your favorite to use? Mine is the dutch oven!

I don't think cast iron has more upkeep than anything else you might bring along. Just wipe it out, oil it and put it away.

If your cast iron is oiled and clean you shouldn't have any problems with the elements. I rinse, wipe and oil mine turn them upside down on my table and they wait until the next meal. If it rains on them the water just beads up and runs off, no problem.

I have 2 "Breakfast" skillets, one from my Grandma and one from my Dad. These are my absolute favorites and I love cooking in them.

I have dutch ovens and like cooking everything from stew, roasts and desert in them but the breakfast skillets are my favorite.


Edited to fix autocorrect spelling

 

[Sparksalot]

I rinse, wipe and oil mine turn them upside down on my table and they wait until the next meal. If it rains on them the water just beads up and runs off, no problem.

Pretty much what I do. They're heavy enough, I've never had them molested by the native fauna.

 

[Road]

To clean it just pour in some clean water, turn on the burner and bring to a light boil. Use a brush to clean once the boiling water has softened up all the crud, dump the water, wipe out really good with a towel then season with olive oil. Ready for storage and no rust.

I heavily season all my cast iron with grape oil it will build up a good strong surface that will hold up to soapy water and even tomatoes too. When a pan is seasoned right it is building up a surface that is not that different from other non stick surfaces with the exception it is not toxic... lol

My cast iron for camping is a 10 inch dutch oven and or a 10 inch dual handle pan. I like the dual handle pan because it does not have a long handle that is harder to store. I took some 3/8 iron bar and shaped it as a removable handle that nests inside the pans.

Cooking with Cast iron first step put at least a table spoon of oil in the pan and heat it up evenly before you add anything. This is a must when cooking eggs. Get the pan hot first then after adding eggs lower the temperature to medium heat...

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Oiling it right is the key, isn't it, whether for initial seasoning, cleaning & storing, or prepping for cooking.

I've found some oils to have too low of a smoke point (not flash point) for general use with cast iron. Flash point temps seem to vary widely even in the same type of oil. Some olive oils will smoke before other olive oils. Grape seed oil has a higher smoke point than a lot of other types of oil.

I think every experienced cast iron cook has their own well-formed opinion. Here's a good chart of typical smoke points in oils.

Though having a lower smoke point, I've settled on Flax Seed Oil . Over the years, I've found, with at least this brand, that it does really well in initial seasoning (I seasoned all parts of my flat-pack grill with it in the oven with great success), oiling before storage, and using for general cooking purposes. High in Omegas, too.

I use Flaxseed oil for my small carbon steel bushcraft pan, too, and for all my carbon steel Moraknivs, wiping all with this oil after cleaning and before storing.

I also use it on my Vollrath aluminum cookware and my Partner anodized griddle.

This is what my flat-pack grill looked like after two rounds of seasoning with Flaxseed Oil. I'm sure it would be much the same with Grapeseed or a good Olive oil.


Seasoned with hi-grade Flaxseed Oil


Look at that smooth shine. As non-stick as a cook could ever want.

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[HIALT2D]

I go back & forth with my cast iron. I went through a phase where I started collecting items at garage sales, estate sales, Etc. I also bought a handful of various sized Dutch ovens from Lodge. What I ended up with was about 700 lbs (it feels like it anyway) of CI that I hauled around every time we went camping. I even have a complete Johnny Nix Cowboy Cook-set.

As much as I loved cooking with all of it, I'd get tired of hauling it around and then it would go back in the shed. I've kind of forced myself to only bring a 10" skillet & 12" Dutch oven lately. I keep thinking I'll get rid of some of the other stuff, but just can't bring myself to actually go through with it.

 

[Correus]

I heavily season all my cast iron with grape oil it will build up a good strong surface that will hold up to soapy water and even tomatoes too. When a pan is seasoned right it is building up a surface that is not that different from other non stick surfaces with the exception it is not toxic... lol

My cast iron for camping is a 10 inch dutch oven and or a 10 inch dual handle pan. I like the dual handle pan because it does not have a long handle that is harder to store. I took some 3/8 iron bar and shaped it as a removable handle that nests inside the pans.

Cooking with Cast iron first step put at least a table spoon of oil in the pan and heat it up evenly before you add anything. This is a must when cooking eggs. Get the pan hot first then after adding eggs lower the temperature to medium heat...

Hmm... haven't tried grape seed oil. As to the eggs... yup, that's what I do, yet when it comes to my favorite pan that doesn't even work well.

 

[M Rose]

I only cook with CI at home and on the trail... hey if my great great grandfather could use it coming a crossed the Oregon Trail, then I can too.

 

[Oklamopar]

I use a 12 dutch oven and skillet. They were my PaPa's that went on a many camping trip. Must haves are the chain scrubber and wooden utensils.

 

[Road]

I go back & forth with my cast iron. I went through a phase where I started collecting items at garage sales, estate sales, Etc. I also bought a handful of various sized Dutch ovens from Lodge. What I ended up with was about 700 lbs (it feels like it anyway) of CI that I hauled around every time we went camping. I even have a complete Johnny Nix Cowboy Cook-set.

As much as I loved cooking with all of it, I'd get tired of hauling it around and then it would go back in the shed. I've kind of forced myself to only bring a 10" skillet & 12" Dutch oven lately. I keep thinking I'll get rid of some of the other stuff, but just can't bring myself to actually go through with it.

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Good camping and adventure gear has a way of whittling itself down to what you really need, doesn't it, and that's what gets to keep going with you.

I have a ton of stuff in storage that I keep going through and looking at, and every once in a while pick a piece or exchange this for that, but in general could get rid of most of it, and should.

.

 

[The other Sean]

Here's a great tips vid from Cowboy Kent Rollins (national treasure and great chuck wagon cook) on cooking with and care of cast iron:


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Cowboy Kent is the man.

Cook, shove the large food bits out, pour in a little water, warm back up, scrape with your wood utensil, wipe out or rinse out, wipe dry, put back on the flame until the pan is hot to your finger, wipe on some flax seed oil on all sides, leave it until cool, store.

 

[TexasGMG]

We have 2 cast skillets for camping and use them for everything except heating water or cooking acidic foods. We have a 3 qt blue enameled pot for that.
To clean cast I use a wood scraper and an old chain mail scrubber. Just scrub them, wipe down, re-oil it, and stow back in the box.

If you find some old cast at a sale that has build up on the outside, throw it in the camp fire. It'll burn the crap off and it'll look new. You have to season it again before using .

 

[Downs]

My only issue with cast iron is weight. In the Jeep no big deal but the only piece of cast Iron I bring with me anymore is my griddle. If I can't cook it on a griddle I probalby don't want to eat it anyway.

 

[MeHere!]

Try looking up carbon steel pans. I bought a pan from Brandani which is Italian made and really good. It is carbon steel which is pretty much like the cast iron except it is thinner and a lot lighter, but cooks the same and is very durable for camping. I have it and a Lodge cast iron and the cast iron rusts a lot in my slide out galley in the camper, but the carbon steel one doesn't. Definitely worth looking at. The lable on it says cast iron, but look and see the handle is riveted to the pan, cast iron is cast in one piece, so this is a carbon steel pan.

View attachment 139034

For the rusting, try a couple of the lil silca packs that come in everything

 

[DBAR]

For the rusting, try a couple of the lil silca packs that come in everything

I never thought about that, but it makes sense.

 

[TravelerGAL]

100% cast iron. Both camping and at home. Just picked up a Dutch Oven Tripod... Cant wait to see how it works also going to put a BBQ grill grate on it...

 

[MMc]

I use cast iron at home. I use a Farberware frying pan and Colman nesting pans while on the trail. I camp a lot at the beach and wash with saltwater. I want easy cleanup with out rust. I also do not like the extra weight in my camp box. I'll cook anything in camp that most will at home on a stovetop.

 

[bhtundra]

Guys, I'm new to camping and cooking, recent widow. What do you do with the grease that cooks out of the food while camping?I practiced on burgers at home today. Using a cast iron griddle. There was a lot of grease.

 

[Charles M]

Guys, I'm new to camping and cooking, recent widow. What do you do with the grease that cooks out of the food while camping?I practiced on burgers at home today. Using a cast iron griddle. There was a lot of grease.

After eating I will take the used paper towels and and pour the grease into them and put them in my trasheroo.

 

[TravelerGAL]

Cold rolled steel grill and cast iron pans. The only way to go!!!! I have one non stick left but once that goes. No more ever. I also have the porcelain cast iron too. But, man those are spendy. My next purchase is going to be an all in one by lodge and a 10” Dutch.

 

[Speric]

For the rusting, try a couple of the lil silca packs that come in everything

I really like this idea for my Dutch oven. I’ve usually just put a folded napkin to keep the lid slightly open to allow air to circulate when stored.

 

[M Rose]

Guys, I'm new to camping and cooking, recent widow. What do you do with the grease that cooks out of the food while camping?I practiced on burgers at home today. Using a cast iron griddle. There was a lot of grease.

Camping I poor it in the fire... at home the grease goes in the lard pot