Let's Talk Cast Iron

[Sneaks]

When we got an instant pot for home, the cast iron dutch oven stopped being used frequently so I have snagged it for the bus. It is a Westinghouse (rebranded Lodge for 1/2 the price) 5qt that the lid is also a skillet. If I was stuck with butane as a fuel source, I'd probably leave it at home. With a Coleman or over a fire, I love it.

 

[MMc]

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.

I take the grease and pour it into a container and discard it away from camp. If you are in bear territory get it a long way from camp.

 

[CubbyRunner]

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.

I take the grease and pour it into a container and discard it away from camp. If you are in bear territory get it a long way from camp.

Perfect method. I’m not a fan of dumping in a fire pit and attracting pests or predators. I just cut an empty beer can and pour the grease, let it cool and add it to the secured trash area.

 

[CubbyRunner]

.

I have a 10" Lodge cast iron skillet I keep with me in the van, though to be honest, reach for my Vollrath sauté pans for general cooking purposes more than anything else. Cast iron, though, if seasoned and cared for properly, should be easy to use and clean. For storage, I keep my cast iron skillet in a sleeve made just for its size.

I have an 8, 10, and 12" Vollrath aluminum with handled lids.They are chef quality and when seasoned and properly cared for, are super easy to use and clean. I keep my 8 and 10 nestled in the top of my kitchen box as seen below (on the orange TV tray now), always ready to go. They see the most use of any cooking gear I own, in a house or on the road.


View attachment 139056
These two pans, especially the 10" on the right, get used more than anything else I own.
..

View attachment 139063
The orange TV tray and its entire contents, to the right on the trailer tire above, fit on top of my Partner stove and under the closed top of my kitchen box, tray and all. The tray holds two sauté pans, their lids, two plates, and a variety of small metal serving/storage containers.

I pull into camp, open my kitchen box and my most used cooking gear is right there on the tray under the lid, ready to be set on the trailer-tire table, out of the way and ready to use.
It is one of the things I show off most when folks stop by to talk about my outdoor kitchen setup.
..

View attachment 139060
I used to keep the pans on a coghlan griddle under the lid, though it eventually warped and I replaced it with a larger Partner griddle (which doesn't fit under the lid).
The TV tray proved to be a perfect solution, and fits wonderfully on the little table I keep on the trailer-tire when in camp (right side of the image above).

At any rate, though I love cast iron and have a couple cast iron Dutch Ovens, for my style of cooking, gear storage, and camping I reach for my Vollrath sauté pans more than anything.

As @Correus mentioned above, the chain mail scrubbers are perfect for cleaning cast iron. I always keep one in my kitchen box.

If anyone is interested in the Vollrath pans, I get mine at webstaurantstore.com. They're amazingly INexpensive. They have a wide variety of cooking gear. If you want the specific product name/number of the sauté pans I use, let me know.

.

Roaddude - On the Road In North America - ROADDUDE

Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.

roaddude.com

I like this box under your stove. I’m looking at getting the same partner steel stove. What kind of box is this? Details please!

 

[Aina]

I use cast iron at home and camping, I prefer it. I have some antique cast iron from grandma that stays home! I use my lodge skillet and griddle when camping I also have a lodge dutch oven. I don't worry about it too much because lodge can be replaced.

 

[seawolf156]

Most people when they get married get a gift of some sort of cooking set from a family member. I was super happy when my new in-laws got me a cast iron cookware set. I love cooking with cast iron, it takes a little more time to clean then the whizz bang teflon coated stuff of today, but it will last a lifetime or more with care. For quick meals I will use modern skillet, but for longer meals that take time to cook I always use my cast iron.

I usually season mine with olive oil after the meal, but looking at other suggestions on here I might try Crisco.

 

[rjudice]

I like to think about all the meals cooked in my skillet by my ancestors, and imagine its rich culinary history: the gravies, the biscuits, the bacons, and the stews. After 25 years my wife has accepted that wiping it down and putting it away is OK. She used to ask why I don’t wash it with soap and water and I would say, “I don’t want to wash all the flavor away.” Anyhow, when it needs seasoning I’ll use some flaxseed oil like some of you have mentioned.

P.S. I sometimes peruse craigslist for antique cast iron but stop short of buying something I don’t really need.

 

[Pathkiller]

Used paper towels soak it up pretty good.
BUT! We save our bacon grease for cooking,
For cleaning we just use hot water. If hot water isn't available, just a hand full of dirt a little scrubbing with a cloth, rinse it out and then dry with a paper towel.

 

[Brett L.]

I just picked up a Lodge LCC3 on Amazon thanks to this thread. It should work well for my needs and I had a gift card balance so it cost me $0!

 

[Xplore Adventure Gear]

I have always been a fan of cooking with cast. Campfire chili.

 

[Polytal8]

I cook with my cast iron at home and take the same set when I head to the hills. Excellent kit if you can afford the weight. I have been using them for so long that clean up isn’t an issue. Quick splash of water and let the iron dry it self with heat. I have more trouble with modern cookware. I really like how you can cook in the fire or on gas with cast iron.

 

[LostWoods]

I guess I'm the minority here because I never take my cast iron unless it's with a group of at least 4-6 that I'm cooking for and there's an open fire. Stainless is much lighter (my dutch oven weighs more than the complete 7pc stainless set I typically take and then some), cooks more evenly over a camp stove, and uses way less fuel. It can't be beat for chili or stew for a large group where you can slow cook over a fire but it just doesn't work for me when it's just the two of us.

 

[peeeeetey]

I might need to beef up the springs on the rig when I carry the 2 burner cooker with the 14 inch DO and the 15 and 12 inch skillets. Major poundage! Only for group cooking. I get tired of lugging all that stuff around. O yeah.. throw in the Volcano grill just for a few more pounds!

 

[Deriggs007]

I’m a hobby chef and do all the cooking except when my wife wants to only do keto meals. When I camp, I pretty much use only cast iron. They’re not hard to maintain. I just clean it, rub a little oil in it and throw it on the fire even after we go to sleep. on trips out, I’ll be lazy and oil it out get home and when I clean up all my gear, throw it in the oven to reseason. This doesn’t have to be done every time.

I can just about cook anything on an open fire

 

[Trainfool]

I love cooking on cast iron! Especially when camping! I find the biggest drawback is weight, other than that you can cook everything on them, clean up is quick, and they can be used on open flame without worrying about the cooking surface. FYI we picked two cast iron skillets for $30 at Costco the other day.

 

[egilbe]

I must be doing it wrong. I use cast a cast iron fry pan on my glass-top stove and wash it in soapy water. Heat it up to dry it off and then take it off the heat and add a little olive oil to the pan. Its a Griswold fypan, I think I looked it up once and its almost 100 years old. I rescued it from my brother's garage, he has two more hanging up in it, I suggested he used them, but his wife doesn't like cast iron.

 

[Battle-Spec]

I bring a large cast iron skillet on every trip and it is my “go to” for cooking. No worries about scratching a non-stick surface, scrape it clean, wipe it down and regularly coat it and stick it back in its carry case. So easy to maintain. As long as it’s seasoned well, rust hasn’t been an issue.

 

[ChambersFamily]

I have a cast iron griddle to go on my two burner coleman camp stove. I love cooking on it so much I can cook a lot at once. Better than our old one burner and pan (spilled eggs once ). Read a couple of suggestions of oils to put on it, anyone used avocado oil?

-Courtney

 

[Trainfool]

I have a cast iron griddle to go on my two burner coleman camp stove. I love cooking on it so much I can cook a lot at once. Better than our old one burner and pan (spilled eggs once ). Read a couple of suggestions of oils to put on it, anyone used avocado oil?

-Courtney

I use avocado oil on occasion. Works great, and provides a different flavor than olive oil or vegetable.

 

[Speric]

If you can get a chainmail scrubber they work wonders with cast iron; they should, they were designed for that use! We have one, with a handle even, that's from the mid to late 1800s.

Ok, I just got one of these, and it’s made cleaning up so much easier. I’ve been using cast iron for years and had never heard of these till now. Thanks for the tip!