Let's Talk Cast Iron

ChadHahn said:
I have a GE stove with a glass top and use cast iron all the time. Unless you drop the pan on the glass I don't know if you need to worry about it too much.
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Got a glass cooktop here as well and nearly always use cast iron.
 
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DBAR said:
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!
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I take my Finex cast iron with me camping.....love the griddle. I don't leave home without it and they are beautiful.
 
Road said:
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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Fun dude. I just subbed to his channel. Really appreciated when he had a Finex lid in his hand. All my cast iron is Finex. Fun to cook with and functional. It's my daily cookware.
 
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Downs said:
ChadHahn said:
I have a GE stove with a glass top and use cast iron all the time. Unless you drop the pan on the glass I don't know if you need to worry about it too much.
Click to expand...

Got a glass cooktop here as well and nearly always use cast iron.
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Dang I wish I knew i could when I had a glass top. I was always told it would cause the glass to break. Never really wanted to test the theory.
 
ChadHahn said:
chuckoverland said:
I cant use cast iron at home because of a dumb glass cooktop, but use it exclusively when camping. 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.
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I have a GE stove with a glass top and use cast iron all the time. Unless you drop the pan on the glass I don't know if you need to worry about it too much.
Click to expand...

Same here. Been using a 12” cast iron skillet on my glass top for ten years.
 
Love cooking with cast iron, but I don't do it as often anymore (attached is a pic of my dutch oven pizza). Unless I have a specific plan, I only take either a skillet or griddle anymore. Cast iron is heavy and doesn't pack well in my setup. It's not a terrible burden to clean, but it's definitely not as easy as other surfaces. The cast iron just isn't as practical as other cookware for most trips.
 

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It will break your glass top if you drop it on it, but not just from normal use. I believe salt granules can scratch the glass when they get under the pan.
 
I have and use a wide variety of my cast iron when I go out camping, and at home too. It is one of the easiest to clean and maintain, altho it does tend to be very heavy.
 

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egilbe said:
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.
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Hey, uh, feel free to grab another Griswold outta your brother's garage for me, will ya?

If they dont want to use them...
 
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I'll check and see if they are still there. The five foot long, wood and gut stringed snowshoes my grandfather used to smuggle booze over the border during prohibition are still hanging up there, so I don't know why the frypans wouldn't be, lol.
 
My parents always cooked on cast iron. Me when I left home, I got the cheap nonstick. A couple years ago, heard it was toxic when it started flaking, and checked what pans I had. So I started buying Lodge cast iron. The last US cast iron maker, so the decision to go Lodge was easy.

My girl hates cooking with them. I love it. Learned a bit about seasoning from Cowboy Kent. I've sanded and oiled / cooked for an hour / cooled and repeated a number of times on one of the pans and love how it came out.

I have given Lodge as housewarming gifts, but as previously mentioned, not a hell of a lot of people know how to cook and clean the stuff.

Except for the double griddle/grill, we dont take it camping -it is heavy - but I may get one of the Lodge Dutch ovens where the cover is a skillet and bring that. Good for chili and scrambled eggs.

Here's my collection so far

20200418_123037.jpg
 
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