Cast Iron Cooking..... Where do I begin?..... I have always enjoyed camping and cooking outdoors, along with my husband and our 6 children. Our children grew and enlarged our nest to include 2 homes in other cities, a home right next door and a home 1 mile away. Our family grew from the two of us, and our 6 children, to include 4 spouses for 4 of our children, and an addition of, (soon to be 12), Grandchildren. My eldest son and his family join my youngest 2 children, and my husband and me in Civil War Re-enacting. We belong to the 150th PVI Bucktails Unit, Company K, out of Meadville, PA.) (They guarded President Lincoln.) Anyway .... When we are re-enacting with our group, (at local and also at major events), I show how the cooking would have been done at home over, (and beside), a fire. I utilize cast iron pots and pans, along with a reflector oven, and a few other methods. My daughter also helps cook when she isnt spinning wool on our spinning wheel. We cook the usual items made and consumed during the Civil War. We use recipes from the 1800s. Some of these include meat, potatoes, eggs, lots of bacon, mac and cheese, lots of rolls, bread, veggies, and LOTS of pies baked in Dutch ovens, and other foods as well. Did you know that a form of potato chips and donuts were consumed during that time? Its true! How about lemon meringue pie? This pie was created by Elizabeth Goodfellow who was a bakery chef in Philadelphia, PA. We have made it at several Civil War Re-enactments. The art of cooking in cast iron is based on using non-modern techniques, for the most part. You basically have to have a feel for cooking with cast over the coals and the fire. This CAN be acquired! The first step is to locate a cast iron pan, or Dutch oven. BEWARE! Cast iron can be addictive!! :) One cast iron piece tends to lead to another ...and then another.. and so on!! :) Its kind of like a certain brand of potato chips! You cant have just one! You can buy a perfectly seasoned new, (or if you are lucky, old), pan, or Dutch oven. There are differences in cast iron. Most of the really old pans were a LOT lighter and thinner than their modern day counterparts. Another difference was that the cast iron used in the pans was made a bit different. The cast of that day included the use of jewelers sand. This gave the cast iron a much smoother and more glass like finish. With a very smooth finish it was easy to clean and easy to cook without the food sticking. Some of the older Cast Iron (CI), if neglected over the years, became rusted and pitted. These are still salvageable and can be cleaned and seasoned to give the CI a smoother finish. There are many different ways to clean a pan such as this. The ways are almost as many as the pans that need resurfacing! Electrolysis, oven cleaner, sand blasting, sanding with the use of a drill attachment, and good old elbow grease are but a few of the ways. I usually use Chore Boy type, (non soap SOS or Brillo type) pads. I soak the pan to soften what I can and then scrape away with the Stainless steel or copper Chore Boy type cleaner. When I get the CI quite a bit cleaner, I switch to SOS or Brillo or the like and then do a finish cleaning and finally Dawn dish soap. Although some pans have been so bad that I wasnt afraid to hand it over to my youngest son, and to let him at it with a sanding disk on a 1/4 drill. USING A LIGHT TOUCH. After the Cast Iron, (CI), has been cleaned it will need seasoned, (coated). This process puts a tougher finish on the CI. For most people this is not a hard process, but it IS time consuming. There are also various methods in seasoning. The easiest, and what I use when I have just cleaned our CI and need to use it right away, or to protect a cleaned CI when it sits outside at a re-enactment, is my Camp-Chef Cast Iron Conditioner. I wipe it onto the cast iron, so I dont have to worry about the rust sneaking in, in the middle of the night, or the rain, attacking my CI while Im not looking ! :) While I am at home I season with Flax Seed Oil. I buy it in the vitamin aisle at our local Wal-Mart or other store. It is a liquid and is edible. I have used Crisco, vegetable oil and other food oils. HOWEVER, I have found that the Crisco, Veggie oil, and some of the other food stuffs, will turn rancid on the pans if they arent used often. The Flax Seed oil makes a kind of varnish on the CI. It is tough and leaves a shiny mirror like surface. I thoroughly clean the pan and wash it with dish soap and water. NEVER place it in your dish washer ...UNLESS you plan on refinishing it. Then it doesnt matter! It will come out with some surface rust. Step One: I turn on the oven and then place the pan inside the oven. At this point I am just warming the pan. This opens the pores in the cast iron so it will accept the oil coating. The temp of the oven can be 200 to 300 degrees just to warm the pan and not to get it too hot to handle. When the pan is sufficiently warmed, I remove the pan carefully from the oven. oven mitts or pot holders may help at this point. I use a paper towel and wipe a thin coat of Fax seed Oil over the entire pan, inside and out, including the handle. You want to put some oil on the pan, but then use the paper towel to wipe the pan, almost as if you were wiping all of the oil back off of the pan. You can usually tell that there is still oil left on the pan as there will be a color difference. Place the pan back into the oven. I usually like to place the pan upside down on the upper rack with a piece of foil or a cookie sheet covered with foil, on the lower rack to catch any drips. Turn the oven on to about 350 to 450 F. degrees, (I use the higher temp). Leave the pan in the oven. When the oven has reached the desired temperature, I set the timer for 1 hour. Leave the pan in the oven for that time. At the end of the hour, I turn off the oven and leaving the pan in the oven allow it to get cold, or just warm to the touch. Step Two through Six! : When the pan is just warm to the touch repeat step one. (For a total of six coats). If you decide to stop to continue the next day perhaps, remember to warm up the pan before re-coating. That was the Flax Seed Coating. You can also just use Crisco to coat a pan ...but beware it will turn rancid if you leave the pan sit for awhile between uses. IMPORTANT NOTE: No matter which seasoning you choose to use on your pans, fold a piece of paper towel several times and place between the lid and the pan to allow air circulation. Without the air circulation the pan will mold inside and you will have to start over.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 19:09:45 +0000
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