cast iron cookware

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  • Ward250

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    We are looking to get into cast iron cookware for outdoor cooking. We have a couple pieces but we're ready to get serious about learning the art of cast iron cooking! Feel free to use this thread for any discussion but first I have a few questions .

    Where do you buyyiur cast ironequip?

    Is there a big difference in quality across the products/brands out there?

    Anything to avoid?

    Any must haves for a beginner in cast iron?


    Thanks for your help
     

    chezuki

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    Good cast iron will be nearly glass smooth on the cooking surface. Most newer stuff is cast more roughly and has an almost pitted surface.
     

    mom45

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    I have bought several pieces of Lodge Logic and love it. Amazon runs specials on it every so often where you can get a set for about $65 and they have free shipping on it. It is hard to beat that kind of deal! This the set I got for $65. They run that deal fairly often so it may be worth waiting to see if it goes on sale in the near future before ordering.

    http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-L5HS3-P...9289&sr=8-4&keywords=lodge+cookware+cast+iron
     

    Ward250

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    I've seen the lodge logic around Rural King and whatnot. I wondered if it was a poorer quality, suceptible to breaking or being more difficult to cook with?

    I like that set mom45 but I was hoping for a larger oven for roasting our chickens and young turkeys in. I haven't seen a big lodge logic on the shelf locally and afraid to buy online sight-unseen.

    I meant I haven't seen a big lodge logic DUTCH OVEN on the she
    ff.
     
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    Tactically Fat

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    We get ours from antique stores, second-hand stores, tractor shows and flea markets. Smooth surface is better than any texture.

    They usually have to be de-rusted and reseasoned, but that's not hard.
     

    PistolBob

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    I comb the local thrift shops, always looking for Lodge or other US made cast iron goods...also hit as many garage sales as I can when out and about...last summer we got a 12 qt enameled dutch oven at a garage sale for $10...it's a Food Channel branded piece that costs $110 new online...SCORE. Lodge is a great brand, good stuff. Avoid ANY AND ALL Asian made cast iron.
     

    Ward250

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    Tac-Fat, you just saved me some more questions!!! Awesome info.

    I have a lodge logic burger press all rusted up, going to try to get it reseasoned using this advice.

    I never find deals at yardsales except for yard nomes and the such.
     

    mom45

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    I've seen the lodge logic around Rural King and whatnot. I wondered if it was a poorer quality, suceptible to breaking or being more difficult to cook with?

    I like that set mom45 but I was hoping for a larger oven for roasting our chickens and young turkeys in. I haven't seen a big lodge logic on the shelf locally and afraid to buy online sight-unseen.

    I can fit a pretty good sized chicken in that dutch oven from the set I got. I don't know about a turkey, but chickens that are 5 to 6 pounds are no problem.
     

    PistolBob

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    I have taken numerous rusted cast iron pieces worth saving to an auto body shop...where they sandblast the rust and old finish off. I take them home and begin the seasoning process over again. Turned some real cheap junk looking skillets into valuable usable pieces. Learned this a long time ago from my old scout troop...we sandblasted our dutch ovens about every 2 years because of the neglect the boys put them through...looked like new ones when done.
     

    dvd1955

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    Along these lines, do any of you use cast iron to cook over an open wood fire, like in the backyard or camping? I have a fire pit in the back yard and a set of Lodge stuff, but how do you support it over the fire? Can you just set them into the hot coals or should they be a few inches above them? If you use a support stand with either a grate or chain-and-hook, where do you get such things? I know I can get some of them on Amazon, but I would prefer to actually see the stuff in person and know what I'm buying.
     

    GLOCKMAN23C

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    Lodge makes OK stuff. It is far too course for my liking. I have a couple Lodge, and the rest of mine were my grandmother's and great-grandmother's. The older stuff is much smoother and cleans very easily. I would look at garage sales and antique stores for your cast. Often the older stuff won't even have a name on it, sometimes a size or USA in the casting. Don't be afraid to use it in your house, yes it can be used on a glass top with some common sense. I recommend preheating cast before using, it makes sure the heat is distributed, and you're less likely to burn your dinner.

    When using over a fire an old truck rim and a cast or steel grate works well, don't put directly in the fire, you could warp it. You can put some of it directly on charcoal like a Dutch oven.
     

    Fargo

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    I have taken numerous rusted cast iron pieces worth saving to an auto body shop...where they sandblast the rust and old finish off. I take them home and begin the seasoning process over again. Turned some real cheap junk looking skillets into valuable usable pieces. Learned this a long time ago from my old scout troop...we sandblasted our dutch ovens about every 2 years because of the neglect the boys put them through...looked like new ones when done.

    Don't sandblast any of the old collector pieces, they lose their value to almost all collectors if you do. I use electrolysis to strip mine with an occasional application of lye to stubborn spots.

    If we are talking about outdoor over-the-fire cooking, go Lodge. They are heavily built, not prone to warping/craclomg, and not expensive. The older, lighter, smoother stuff is far more easily warped/cracked due to the uneven and/or excessive heating that often occurs in a fire. That said, the old stuff is a dream on a gas cooktop.

    I have a set of griswolds, along with wapak, Chicago Hardware foundry, and other old ones. They get used inside, the lodge goes on the fire/grill/smoker.
     

    IndyDave1776

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    The Cadillac of cast iron skillets is the name Griswold.

    End of discussion.


    Agreed. I do almost all of my stovetop cooking between a #7 and #9 Griswold. Having a properly fitting lid add much to the usefulness and user-friendliness of these skillets.
     

    Cameramonkey

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    We get ours from antique stores, second-hand stores, tractor shows and flea markets. Smooth surface is better than any texture.

    They usually have to be de-rusted and reseasoned, but that's not hard.

    Don't sandblast any of the old collector pieces, they lose their value to almost all collectors if you do. I use electrolysis to strip mine with an occasional application of lye to stubborn spots.

    If we are talking about outdoor over-the-fire cooking, go Lodge. They are heavily built, not prone to warping/craclomg, and not expensive. The older, lighter, smoother stuff is far more easily warped/cracked due to the uneven and/or excessive heating that often occurs in a fire. That said, the old stuff is a dream on a gas cooktop.

    I have a set of griswolds, along with wapak, Chicago Hardware foundry, and other old ones. They get used inside, the lodge goes on the fire/grill/smoker.

    Electrolytic Rust Removal aka Magic
     

    Ward250

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    Along these lines, do any of you use cast iron to cook over an open wood fire, like in the backyard or camping? I have a fire pit in the back yard and a set of Lodge stuff, but how do you support it over the fire? Can you just set them into the hot coals or should they be a few inches above them? If you use a support stand with either a grate or chain-and-hook, where do you get such things? I know I can get some of them on Amazon, but I would prefer to actually see the stuff in person and know what I'm buying.


    Yes.... This!

    We are wanting to learn the ropes in the back yard. Figure its a good skillset & equipment to have.

    Great input thus far. Going yard saling Saturday and asking family if they have any unused cast iron laying around. I have a big family, one chicken doesn't quite cover us, so I was hoping to find large cookware. Hope to do a lot of venison in it, I'm assuming a lean meat will be tougher to master?!
     

    PistolBob

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    We make deep dish dutch oven pizza in ours four or five times a summer/fall...with no campfire. I just light up a chimney full of charcoal brickets...once they are white, I put about 12 under the oven, and about 12-15 on the lid. Makes perfect pizza in about 20 minutes. We make cobbler the same way...no campfire mess. Your oven HAS to have legs.
     
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