This. Ive paid nearly $300 for an all clad but I prefer my griswolds.
Griswold is top notch but I have to confess I am getting pretty attached to my enameled cast iron ovens.
This. Ive paid nearly $300 for an all clad but I prefer my griswolds.
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.
The Cadillac of cast iron skillets is the name Griswold.
End of discussion.
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.
Yeah, for braising, stewing, soups, or anything that might react with cast iron, i like my enameled dutch oven. Works well for deep frying too. Initially, i wanted a les creuset, but i bought a non brand at meijer for $35 and said i would replace it with the fancy french one when it wore through the enamel or chipped.... 5+ years and its still fine with lots of use. Now, if i buy one, i think lodge has good options, but they didnt then. I wont pay extra money for a fancy colored french one if i can buy lodge.Griswold is top notch but I have to confess I am getting pretty attached to my enameled cast iron ovens.
Alright, I picked up a 5qt Lodge this morning and already have a chicken roasting in it.
Lesson #1: Get & Use a lid turning tool. Too much heat coming off that biyatch to turn it with regular tongs. I have improvised for the moment with a skimming gambrel but I will have a turning hook next time.
Lesson #2: when its this windy (20-30mph gusts) even the most sheltered of locations is going to burn thru the charcoal. Cookbook said I'd be replacing fresh briquettes every 45-60 minutes but they're turning to powder in 20-25 right now. One more round of coals and I might finish this trial run in the oven.
Wholly cow, that's amazing. Having a hard time wrapping my head around those briquettes evenly cooking that way. I guess you keep the lid shut but do you take any kind of temp readings while cooking? Can't wait to start playing around with this stuff, might just run back to Rural King tonight!
The cooking surface isn't as nice as the older stuff, but it's good, American made, and heavy. That said, garage sales and estate auctions are your friend when it comes to finding the good old stuff.
The Cadillac of cast iron skillets is the name Griswold.
End of discussion.
I'll see your "End of Discussion" and raise you a "Not the end".
Griswold is by far the largest manufacturer of cast iron and they certainly made fine cast-iron cookware. But they are far from the "Cadillac" of cast-iron. They were more like the "Ford motor company" of CI. They beat everybody else out on sheer scale of production and still managed to turn out a fine product. But there are others, lesser-known to most, but well-known to collectors, that turned out cast iron that was BETTER than Griswold for various reasons. Sure, anybody out looking for used CI is more likely to find a Griswold than all other branded CI combined, but that doesn't make it better.
Two that I can think of that I particularly like are Wapak (previously mentioned in the thread) and "Favorite" which IIRC was actually made in an Ohio penitentiary. Wapak is very well known for it's very finely finished castings. You set any Wapak skillet next to a Griswold and the differences are very obvious. The same goes for the Favorite; I have a Favorite 14" skillet (pretty large for CI) that weighs less than my 12" Griswold; the castings were of a MUCH higher quality so they could make them thinner (lighter) without sacrificing strength. The result is a large, yet lightweight skillet.
Other info: don't be put off by a skillet with the "rim" on the bottom edge. Yes, these were made for use on a wood stove but they will still function just fine on your electric/gas stove. But CountryBoy, I have a ceramic top stove, I can't use it on there... au contraire, ceramic tops work through infrared radiation, that radiation will hit the bottom of your skillet just the same whether it's in direct contact with the ceramic or held up 1/8" by the rim. I use them all the time on my ceramic top...
I'll see your "End of Discussion" and raise you a "Not the end".
Griswold is by far the largest manufacturer of cast iron and they certainly made fine cast-iron cookware. But they are far from the "Cadillac" of cast-iron. They were more like the "Ford motor company" of CI. They beat everybody else out on sheer scale of production and still managed to turn out a fine product. But there are others, lesser-known to most, but well-known to collectors, that turned out cast iron that was BETTER than Griswold for various reasons. Sure, anybody out looking for used CI is more likely to find a Griswold than all other branded CI combined, but that doesn't make it better.
Two that I can think of that I particularly like are Wapak (previously mentioned in the thread) and "Favorite" which IIRC was actually made in an Ohio penitentiary. Wapak is very well known for it's very finely finished castings. You set any Wapak skillet next to a Griswold and the differences are very obvious. The same goes for the Favorite; I have a Favorite 14" skillet (pretty large for CI) that weighs less than my 12" Griswold; the castings were of a MUCH higher quality so they could make them thinner (lighter) without sacrificing strength. The result is a large, yet lightweight skillet.
Other info: don't be put off by a skillet with the "rim" on the bottom edge. Yes, these were made for use on a wood stove but they will still function just fine on your electric/gas stove. But CountryBoy, I have a ceramic top stove, I can't use it on there... au contraire, ceramic tops work through infrared radiation, that radiation will hit the bottom of your skillet just the same whether it's in direct contact with the ceramic or held up 1/8" by the rim. I use them all the time on my ceramic top...
I have seen an induction ceramic cook top melt to the bottom of a cast iron skillet.
Well the trial run was a great success! Its simply amazing what can be accomplished with a fist full or charcoal!
I'm going to do some research and see what folks say about cooking lean meats like venison in cast iron.
I am also looking into a dutch oven table. It would appear as simple as setting a sheet of steel on the grates of my propane cook top. Its already elevated and has wind shields. I will work on some pictures! Thanks!