Food Cast iron cookware

[Cyclonemom]

While I cook some things with the few cast iron pieces I have, I'd like to do more. Plus have a few pieces for cooking for a crowd in am emergency.

We have a woodstove, gas stove, and can cook outdoors if it comes to it.

What pieces do you all gave that you love, or really would like to get?

We have
-Multiple Dutch ovens (scouting style for briquette heating)

-2 other Dutch ovens I use indoors, one with a bail the other with a lid that doubles as a fry pan. I use those for fried chicken.¹

-9×13 Pan (typically used for fryng fish outdoors)


I am considering the 17 inch dual handle , a typical 12 inch fry pan, the pie pan, and a loaf pan. Any recommendations on if these are useful items?

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Over the years, I've accumulated quite a lot of cast iron cookware. I've got both of my grandmother's and I already have some of my mom's. I've bought many pieces, myself, too. I don't have the pie pan or loaf pan, though. I do have 2 cast iron griddles that I like to use on our wood cook stove. I use just about everything I have on the wood cookstove, but my 2 favorite pieces are my 2, 8 inch skillets. One I use to make our cornbread in, and the other is used only for omelets and for frying eggs.

 

[moldy]

I use my 10 inch skillets almost every day.

 

[KMR58]

I have a bunch and do almost all cooking in them. My favorite is 10 inch x 3 inch deep with handle and lid pan that I use at least once a day, usually several times.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I use my 10 inch skillets almost every day.

Same here with my 8 inch skillets.

 

[kyrsyan]

I use the skillets, large to small, all the time. I have the Lodge baking pan and bread pans. Those are used regularly. I have the large griddle bottom pan which I also use frequently. I have one dutch that I actually don't use often, and one 3 quart pot. And when I had a gas stove, I had one of the big rectangular double sided griddles that was used all the time.
I used to have one of the cast iron tea kettles that I used for water on top of the heaters. And some of the utensils.

 

[nomifyle]

I have several pieces. I had a lot more variety before katrina, and while I rescued several pieces I could not take them all. I had a nice wok and had to leave it but found a replacement at a reasonable price. I also got several pieces from my mother and DH had some nice skillets.

I don't use it much any more because its just too heavy for my weak hands. I did raise my children using only cast iron. both sons use cast iron.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I used to have one of the cast iron tea kettles that I used for water on top of the heaters.

I have one of those, too. I let water set in it too long one time, and it rusted inside. It needs to be cleaned, but I no longer use it. We heat a lot of our water in stock pots on our wood heater.

 

[West]

I just know that I'm only allowed to use them under supervision. Think it was at least a decade ago, and I cooked something that ruined the perfectly seasoned pans surface. Then I washed it, and got myself in deeper trouble.

We have mostly old Wagners.

 

[WalknTrot]

A big frying pan and a little frying pan. (8 inch?). Have a double set. One set sits in reserve on Mom's wood cookstove in my kitchen, my working set are permanently housed on my stovetop 24/7. They are family heirlooms - at least three generations back and smooth as glass. I'm not anal at all about the surface and season because they are bulletproof at this stage. Besides stovetop use everyday, make eggs and cornbread in the oven with them and I'll use soap and water, steel wool, whatever if they need a real scrubbing. They always come out fine.

Never needed anything else, and neither did Grandma.

 

[WalknTrot]

BTW..I wouldn't give two nickels for that new stuff, with the rough cooking surface. Wasted good money trying that Lodge junk they sell these days, and shuffled it off to the Goodwill pronto. So much for advertising. They obviously never cooked with good cast iron pans.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

A big frying pan and a little frying pan. (8 inch?). Have a double set. One set sits in reserve on Mom's wood cookstove in my kitchen, my working set are permanently housed on my stovetop 24/7. They are family heirlooms - at least three generations back and smooth as glass. I'm not anal at all about the surface and season because they are bulletproof at this stage. Besides stovetop use everyday, make eggs and cornbread in the oven with them and I'll use soap and water, steel wool, whatever if they need a real scrubbing. They always come out fine.

Never needed anything else, and neither did Grandma.

I also wash mine with hot soapy water, too, when they need it. I have all the pieces that can hang on a wall displayed on one wall in my kitchen.

 

[Cyclonemom]

BTW..I wouldn't give two nickels for that new stuff, with the rough cooking surface. Wasted good money trying that Lodge junk they sell these days, and shuffled it off to the Goodwill pronto. So much for advertising. They obviously never cooked with good cast iron pans.

What do you recommend?

 

[LibertyMom]

While I cook some things with the few cast iron pieces I have, I'd like to do more. Plus have a few pieces for cooking for a crowd in am emergency.

We have a woodstove, gas stove, and can cook outdoors if it comes to it.

What pieces do you all gave that you love, or really would like to get?

We have
-Multiple Dutch ovens (scouting style for briquette heating)

-2 other Dutch ovens I use indoors, one with a bail the other with a lid that doubles as a fry pan. I use those for fried chicken.¹

-9×13 Pan (typically used for fryng fish outdoors)


I am considering the 17 inch dual handle , a typical 12 inch fry pan, the pie pan, and a loaf pan. Any recommendations on if these are useful items?

My 10-inch skillet stays on the stove all the time. We use it for eggs in the morning, grilled cheese for lunch, cornbread in the oven for dinner, reheating a slice of pizza or a dozen other things. Even for a family of five or six, I use this pan way mre than my large skillet or the Dutch ovens.

 

[Publius]

I have a few skillets ranging from 6" all the way up to 16" and the 12" and 16" gets the most use.
Also have a collection of Camp Dutch Ovens and about three dutch ovens that have no legs on them (bean pots).
The Camp Ovens get use often outdoors and we also heat with wood so durning the winter I do cook on the wood stove.
Now there is a dedicated thread called "The Dutch Oven Thread" and feel free to drop in and look around perhaps add info and maybe even photos.

 

[Calfisher]

We use some daily.

 

[Publius]

Dupe.

 

[Cag3db1rd]

I have 2 sets - one here at home and one up at the mountain. The most used are the flat griddle hubby got from his mom and a 10" skillet I got from my mom. I also have 2 full sized pots with lids, 2 small pot with lids - one with a bale, 2 6" skillets, another skillet and griddle, and a 2 burner griddle that occasionally gets used out on hubby's fancy grill. I want a pie pan, a loaf pan, and a cake pan. They are a little too expensive right now, though. I figure each of my kids can have half of my hoard when I'm gone.

 

[Publius]

Having pointing out The Dutch Oven Thread over in Granny's Kitchen I bumped a thread many may be interested in and it's about 1700s, 1800s cooking and there is hot link to YouTube Chanel called "Townsends" where you can find many old recipe's and videos on living in the 1800's and 1800's.

 

[WalknTrot]

What do you recommend?

Find the old stuff with the smooth cooking surface. Ebay, Goodwill, family, yard sales. They dont have to be Wagner or Griswald or expensive. Many weren't marked with any maker but still good pans. Think they would be pre-40's or so. Even if it's rusty or gunky, it will clean up and season as long as it isn't that pebbly surface. Some people check if the pans are warped...I can't say I've ever seen it. Seems to me it would take a blast furnace to do it. Maybe if it got red hot, empty on the stove...I dunno. Who does that.

Apparently there are a few companies now making new pans with that good, old style surface (takes more time and work in the mfng process), but they are pricey.

 

[briches]

Note to self - start looking at thrift stores and yard sales for a few more cast iron pans.

 

[Illini Warrior]

how do you cook regular with cast iron without some simple stew pots - using Dutch ovens gets old fast

 

[WalknTrot]

A lot of people refuse to use them, or Grandma dies and the kids don' t want them. They are definitely out there to be had.

I laugh..my brother comes to visit and cooks breakfast here at my house, gets to use the cast iron that we were both raised with. He would love to have my extra set, but his wife (and she's a peach...love her to bits) won't go there. I dunno..maybe scared off by the cast iron purists who insist on babying their pans.

 

[WalknTrot]

I only use cast iron frying pans....have handed down stainless steel copper-bottom sauce pans and cooking pots for other stuff. But it's those frying pans that are guaranteed to be used every day.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

how do you cook regular with cast iron without some simple stew pots - using Dutch ovens gets old fast

I have 2, 2 handled cast iron pots with lids that make a small pot of soup or stew and can be used for cooking veggies. I also have 3 different sizes of enameled cast iron pots with lids. The large one is what I always use for soups and stews. It doesn't hurt the enameled pots when used on our wood cookstove, either.

 

[wab54]

I have a complete set of "CAMP" dutch ovens. Thats the ones with the legs on the bottom and the ring on the lids. I got them in case we have to start cooking in the yard. I also have regular cast iron frying pans and dutch ovens to cook on a stove. Probable 30 pieces. My best pot is a "CHICKEN FRYER" that my sister gave to me 30 years ago. I have been looking for a LODGE 20in cast iron frying pan. Can only find one by BAYOU CLASSIC. I have a 16 in and 17 in lodge but want a 20in. Love cast iron.

WAB

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I have a complete set of "CAMP" dutch ovens. Thats the ones with the legs on the bottom and the ring on the lids. I got them in case we have to start cooking in the yard.

I have a complete set of Dutch ovens with legs and lids, too. They also can be hung over a fire. We used to do a lot of outdoor cooking over our fire pit. We bought the Dutch ovens for that purpose. Nothing quite like cornbread cooked over an open fire in a Dutch oven.

 

[Kathy in FL]

I use my big cast iron skillet for corn bread. I have cast iron muffin and corn dodger pans that I use frequently. I have a very small, square cast iron skillet that my mother used to make my scrambled eggs in when I was a little kid and frequently ill. I’ve never seen another one like it although there are some reproductions out there that look like ash trays, mine isn’t one. I use to have a Dutchie but loaned it to our Boy Scout troop and one of the younger boys dropped it and a crack started forming. I need to replace it.

 

[hd5574]

We have a ton of cast. ..from my aunts, mom dh's grandmom, and mom all of whom have passed kept every thing they had ....and mine..which 40 to 50 years old. ....all types..a mishmash of things. ..but my all time favorites are my deep sided chicken fryer..Aunt Timmy's round 10 inch skillet that came from my granddad's hardware store and my enameled Dutch oven and my square skillet..I have cooked on many a campfire with that one..

 

[Babs]

I purchased a couple of these, a few years ago. Made in the USA, seasoned with organic flax seed oil.
I absolutely love them. I have some old Wagner cast iron also, but I don't use them.

I season all my cast iron after every use. Just a really, really thin coating of oil, and heat just to smoke point.
I've found one of the best ways to get a really good seasoning, is to fry potatoes in them.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09MYF1R7Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[John Deere Girl]

I have quite a few cast iron pans and Dutch ovens. I use them for outdoor cooking and for cooking on the wood stove.

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

I have a medical problem - my body wants to store up too much iron.
So I do not use regukar type cast iron pans.

But I have recently found some enamel coated cast iron ovens. I bought a 7 quart and a 4 quart. (Martha Stewart brand.)

I don’t know how they measure up to the old fashioned cast iron you folks are using, but I like the two pieces I have.

 

[kyrsyan]

I have a medical problem - my body wants to store up too much iron.
So I do not use regukar type cast iron pans.

But I have recently found some enamel coated cast iron ovens. I bought a 7 quart and a 4 quart. (Martha Stewart brand.)

I don’t know how they measure up to the old fashioned cast iron you folks are using, but I like the two pieces I have.

For cooking, for the most part they do. I hate cleaning them. They are the living embodiment of all the "don't do" cast iron restrictions. Regular cast iron, when well seasoned, can handle just about anything. Enamel does not.

I have one really large enamel Le Crueset that I inherited when no one else wanted it because Grandma scorched the bottom. I got it cleaned up and it's generally only used for large batches of canning stuff. It's a 13 quart and I generally don't need to cook that much of something.

I have a set of enamel coated backing dishes from my great-grandmother on the other side. Great to bake in but horrid to clean. They have decorative fluting on the handles and edges that always end up with stuff in them, and that stuff never wants to come off. And you absolutely cannot use steel wool or other abrasive on them. At least in regular cast iron, if I have to, I can. And then just reseason the pan.

 

[nomifyle]

I have a medical problem - my body wants to store up too much iron.
So I do not use regukar type cast iron pans.

But I have recently found some enamel coated cast iron ovens. I bought a 7 quart and a 4 quart. (Martha Stewart brand.)

I don’t know how they measure up to the old fashioned cast iron you folks are using, but I like the two pieces I have.

Now that you mention this, I think this same issue is one reason I cut way back on my cast iron cooking. I have that same problem and since I don't use my cast iron much any more that issue has not come to the forefront in a good while. Wonder if its something we got from the water in New ORleans?

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

Now that you mention this, I think this same issue is one reason I cut way back on my cast iron cooking. I have that same problem and since I don't use my cast iron much any more that issue has not come to the forefront in a good while. Wonder if its something we got from the water in New ORleans?

Could have been.

Drinking Mississippi River water and breathing the petrochemical industry’s polluted air didn’t do us much good, either.

Who knows what was in that air and water?

 

[buttie]

The new cast iron cookware can quickly brought a mirror finish with a 60 grit flap disk on a 4.5" angle grinder. I did about 5 min on a Lodge griddle and now it works great.

 

[kyrsyan]

The new cast iron cookware can quickly brought a mirror finish with a 60 grit flap disk on a 4.5" angle grinder. I did about 5 min on a Lodge griddle and now it works great.

I have one of their "failed" pre-seasoned pans that's about to be scoured back to metal. Every time I try to reason without doing that, new sections peel off.

 

[Cyclonemom]

I purchased a couple of these, a few years ago. Made in the USA, seasoned with organic flax seed oil.
I absolutely love them. I have some old Wagner cast iron also, but I don't use them.

I season all my cast iron after every use. Just a really, really thin coating of oil, and heat just to smoke point.
I've found one of the best ways to get a really good seasoning, is to fry potatoes in them.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09MYF1R7Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

So, I fried potatoes (the ones I poked when digging potatoes, lol) in one of my cast iron dutch ovens. Boy oh boy, those were just amazing! I don't eat potatoes anymore, but cheated and had a fork full. They were superb, and didn't stick to the pan!! Normally I use my tri-ply stainless, and potatoes always stick to that, no matter what I do.

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Cyclonemom]

So, I've started searching local resale/thrift shops for cookware pieces I'd like to add.

Haven't found what I'm looking for yet, but found this gentleman on youtube that cooks a lot with cast iron.

Here are some of his suggestions for restoring old/rusty pieces, in case anyone is interested.

View: https://youtu.be/OosqUhHYnBY

 

[momma_soapmaker]

Love Kent Rollins! He's outstanding.

I have my great grandmother's cast iron skillet (over 100 years old) that is used SOLELY for cornbread, and everyone in the house knows it. I also have a huge cast iron skillet used for chicken fried steak, etc. Two Dutch ovens with lid lifters and horseshoe trivets plus a cast iron loaf pan rounds out my stash.

I can cook most anything with what I have on hand.

Cast iron is one of those things that just gets better with age, if cared for properly. Kent Rollins has a lot of videos on it. He does chuck wagon cooking.