Cast Iron
 

I would like to get some cast iron cooking equipment. I figure if I need to, I can just put it in a fire to do some cooking. Does anyone know anything I should be looking for or have a good place to purchase some?

Re: Cast Iron
 

i got some on sale at bass pro shop , just look around an fine the best deals ,

Re: Cast Iron
 

an yard sales are a good place also

Re: Cast Iron
 

"Jaysus and Mary.........

Katie, bar the door!"

I expect you'll hear plenty.

You can start off with Lodge (modern)

And Griswold, if you want to hunt the older stuff.


scyth

Re: Cast Iron
 

Easiest stuff to buy is Lodge, and it is good quality. Buy it on Amazon, at your nearest restaurant supply store, or at Target. In other words, you don't have to look far. It's everywhere.

All my 30 year old cast iron, which is mostly Lodge, came from the factory with a very smooth finish, albeit unseasoned. Today most cast iron comes pre-seasoned, but the sand molds are rougher than they were in the past, or the manufacturer has foregone polishing, so you have to do it yourself.

Buy the pre-seasoned stuff. Get a circular / orbit sander small enough to fit in your skillet or pan or griddle, and sand it down with a 80 or 100 grit paper. It'll knock some of the microscopic peaks off the iron and make it easier to season. You just need to sand the cooking surface. Leave the rest of it alone. It comes from the factory very well protected with the pre-seasoning. Then season the cooking surface normally in the oven and you'll end up with a super-smooth surface to cook on.

The surface will be delicate at first. Avoid high acid foods, and concentrate on high fat foods for a while until you get a perfectly stick-free cooked-on surface.

Enjoy. I like my cast iron skillets better than my Mauviel stainless or tin-lined copper ones.

Re: Cast Iron
 

When I was at the AFS Casting Congress in April, I met with a guy from Lodge Foundry (we all had badges with the name of our company on them). We had a drink after a session and I asked him some questions about the casting finish. I told him that I was a member of an internet forum and several people had commented that the surface finish was rougher than in the past. He told me that for years, that they had relied on lake sand as the base sand for their foundry sand system. Lake sand is a fine, round grain sand and produces castings with a very smooth finish. Lake sand has gotten very scarce and expensive in the last 15 years or so. Lodge made a decision to stop using lake sand and use alternate materials like bank and pure silica sands, with have a much more angular grain.

I asked the guy if he was aware that customers were complaining about the increased roughness of the cookware and he said that he personally was not aware of it, but he was an operations guy. Interesting fellow, he was genuinely pleased that someone recognized the name of his company.

Re: Cast Iron
 

Check Craigslist for cast iron for sale in your area. I've picked up some skillets & corn bread "molds" pretty cheap that way.

Re: Cast Iron
 

If buying new, make sure to take it out of the box and put the lid on it, make sure it does not rock, but has a tight fit.

Re: Cast Iron
 

I was lucky enough to find an old cast iron fish fryer at a garage sale, its small and has an aluminum basket, could cook up a couple fillet.

I like it because it doesn't take several gallons of oil like the popular propane fryers.

Re: Cast Iron
 

We have two cast iron skillets in different sizes. No name brand, I got them both used from an elderly lady that passed away for $5. The only marking on them is "china" stamped into the bottom of the pan. Both were seasoned from her cooking and are VERY smooth. I can cook an egg in it and not worry about it sticking.

I'd like to get some lodge (or better yet griswold) when I find some, but for now these two work just fine. Basically what I'm saying is if its cast iron its fine! and a pleasure to cook in. Doesn't get too hot too fast, but once its hot it stays hot. very even cooking unlike the thin aluminum "non-stick" pans that only cook in the middle under the burner.

Also I like to fry french fries and battered fish in our pans. Doesn't take as much oil as a "deep fryer" and you don't have to re-oil the pan when you're done cooking :-p

Re: Cast Iron
 

Big Country -

Wagner is another old-time manufacturer to keep an eye out for.....

How did you do with the Woodsman's Pal?

scyth

Re: Cast Iron
 

Thanks for the other manufactures name to keep an eye out for!

I'm heading to Cabela's here in about 2 hours to see one. They had cabelas listed on their website as a distributor, so I thought I'd go check one out in person. I'll report back over in my thread if I can find one to look at.

Re: Cast Iron
 

yard sales...resale shops...the stuff is built like a tank so its probably not gonna be "worn out".... buying new is overkill on the price

Re: Cast Iron
 

I appreciate your input, and I'll say the same for Ag_man.

I purchased a cast set (Lodge) after I lost my last set when I got divorced. Lost isn't really the best word to use. She stole them along with quite a bit of my other belongings. Anyways... I brought them home and noticed that they are a bit rougher than what I had before, so I will try and sand down one of them to see how it turns out.

Another thing, looking at another post on this thread.... I'll never use any cookware that has "Made in China" on it. You never know where that cast iron came from or what's mixed in with it.

Re: Cast Iron
 

Over the past year I bought up close to 200 pounds of cast iron pots & pans from yard sales. They are cheap there and sometimes you can get some real bargains.

Re: Cast Iron
 

Lodge Cast iron is a good brand. My girlfriend has a cast iron stock pot that is glazed over enamel from lodge.


We also have lots of naked cast iron. I have a dutch oven that I use for camp cooking, as well as a large and small skillet.

Seasoning is so easy! It seems complicated, but it's just because I wasn't trained to think that way at first. After preparing a few meals, it's another experience entirely.

Cleaning is also a cinch. To clean your cast iron skillet, do not use soap. Use Salt!

Just pour some salt into the cast iron and use tongs to rub a rag or napkin around the bottom. The salt will clean as well as absorb. Then you just pour the salt out and your pot is ready for storage.

Re: Cast Iron
 

the best an only real way to season cast iron is to get you some hog lard

Re: Cast Iron
 

Thats what I use.... I have tried all other oils ... lard works the best.

I had a couple of 'China' made pieces given to me. They do not take the seasoning as well as my older USA made pieces.... and give-up up the seasoning much easier. They also never get that black color to them. They always stay a lighter color. They are 'not' made of the same material as the USA made. When dealing with cast iron ... the older ... the better.

I cook 'only' with cast iron.

:smokin:

Re: Cast Iron
 

You may want to check that enameled cast iron out for country of origin.


http://www.lodgemfg.com/use-care-help.asp#13

"Are Lodge products made in the USA?
All of our foundry seasoned cast iron products, including the Signature Series, are manufactured in the USA. Our Lodge Enamel items are imported from China."


Just sayin.....

Re: Cast Iron
 

If you watch the Lodge site, they put different things on sale every month throughout the year. Most of the time you can find those products priced less elsewhere though. They do however post things that are very limited (like nonexistent) at times. Last year I bought four bread pans, first (and last) time I had seen them, they are not listed on their site.

Re: Cast Iron
 

Re: Cast Iron
 

Amazon is a good place to buy heavy dutch ovens (FREE shipping on some orders), if your local stores don't have them.

Here are some links about cooking in cast iron/dutch ovens, and Wagner/Griswold items:


Boy Scouts website with lots of dutch oven stuff:
http://usscouts.org/netresources/cooking.asp

International Dutch Oven Society:
http://www.idos.com/

Wagner & Griswold Society (with info about how to clean up abused/rusty cast iron):
http://www.wag-society.org/cleaning.php

Ol' Buffalo Outdoor Cooking Page:
http://www.three-peaks.net/cooking.htm#Equipment