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Cast Iron Cookware discussion thread...

I have this 7 qt one, but since I bought it we got a glass top stove you can't use it on, so it'll have to be used in the oven or fire.

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I have this 7 qt one, but since I bought it we got a glass top stove you can't use it on, so it'll have to be used in the oven or fire.

f981fd1c34c0f6cd555a84a02449b2d0.jpg

Gotcha - yeah that's a standard dutch oven, the lid lip is specific to the campfire ones (as well as the feet) but really they can be used anywhere (if you're not scratching glass I guess lol).

I have one of the campfire ones but haven't used it in years, don't know the brand. I plan to bust it out and redo it after I finish all these pans and stuff.
 
Yeah we'll probably use it in the fire pit this fall since we talked about it recently & this thread just reminded me.
 
Got a 10 1/4 inch Lodge skillet a few days ago and I'm very happy with it so far. Took seasoning very easily and heated up nice and evenly. Was looking at a 12" and silicone grip, but shipping from the US is a killer on these.. :eek:
 
You know it's funny, I stopped posting on this thread because I felt like it was becoming kinda a one-man show instead of a discussion, and I wasn't looking for a soapbox. But re-reading it now it seems like it was still more of a discussion than I remember. My bad.

I have learned quite a lot about cast iron in the time since then, though; have been hooking up with some pro collectors, and there are a couple of suggestions made earlier that should be updated:

- Flaxseed oil. It's not the "super seasoning" oil that the article hyped it to be. It's not bad, it just not superior to everything else. I've since switched to grapeseed oil, at 500 degrees F for an hour. Performs just fine and doesn't smell as bad during seasoning. Though I just use it for manual seasoning; remember that the best way to build seasoning is through normal use.

- Stripping cast iron. I tried and recommended the oven's self-cleaning cycle. That is still my method of choice. But it is not the method recommended by serious collectors. Their concern is the potential to warp the cast iron. How much of a risk that actually is can be questioned, but in their minds with alternate methods available, why bother? In truth all modern cast iron should be fine. It's the really vintage stuff, like a 100 year old Griswold, which were made extremely thin and are the most vulnerable to heat warping. Unless you're messing with something valuable like that I wouldn't worry about it. Though one caveat - if you're cleaning a dutch oven or something with a steel bail (wire handle), those bails are tempered and can lose their tempering during a self-cleaning oven cycle; it's better to remove it first or use a different method.

The "serious collectors" recommend using an oven cleaner spray like Easy-Off, spray it on the cast iron then leave it in a plastic garbage bag for a couple of days. For rust, a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water. More hard-core, set up a lye bath to strip seasoning. Full-on hard-core, set up an electrolysis tank, which removes both seasoning and rust. Investing in the latter two setups is really only worth it if you plan on spending a lot of time running around and finding, buying, and restoring a bunch of old cast iron. And all of them are more time consuming. But I wanted to set the record straight on the methods recommended by the pros.

- Maintaining seasoning. Nothing wrong with the advice given previously, but to add to it - avoid acidic foods, unless your pan has a very mature seasoning. Things like wine and tomatoes and citrus. It will eat away seasoning. Deglazing for a quick pan sauce is ok, but long braising or simmering is not recommended, especially on something that has little more than a few coats of manual seasoning. An enameled dutch oven like Le Creuset is a better performer for those roles, though a much more expensive investment.

But bacon, as mentioned earlier, is a good choice. I got in the habit of cooking a few slices in whichever pan I was looking to better mature before cooking dinner and then incorporating the bacon into the dish. Bacon is notorious for sticking, though. The trick? Put the bacon in the pan while the pan is still cold, so it heats up with the pan.

There's probably a few more tidbits I could pass along but this post is too long already.
 
Anyway, I've long since finished restoring the pieces I had and have added some more. Got to the point where accessible storage was an issue. So I set up this pegboard storage in the laundry room right behind the kitchen for convenient access and organization. Stronger tempered hardwood pegboard and a double density of anchors were used for weight capacity concerns. This pic is right after I finished; I've added another square skillet since then.

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But bacon, as mentioned earlier, is a good choice. I got in the habit of cooking a few slices in whichever pan I was looking to better mature before cooking dinner and then incorporating the bacon into the dish. Bacon is notorious for sticking, though. The trick? Put the bacon in the pan while the pan is still cold, so it heats up with the pan.

It lets some of the fat melt so the pan is nice and greasy before temperatures get high enough to really start the frying. Bacon gets really nice and crisp too :D

Sweet set up on the pans, which I had space next to the kitchen for something like that.
 
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