A New Camp Skillet and Cast Iron and Carbon Steel Seasoning Theories

[Brian Andrews]

The proper oil to cure a pan is soy oil !! The curing is forming a plastic [ polymer] coating by heating and polymerizing the oil. The best type of oil is soy !

Soy is indeed an excellent oil. It has a smoke point of 450F, being very similar to peanut and safflower oil :thumbup:

"Open the pores" ? Give me a break ,we don't make steel with pores !!!

A gross oversimplification of the process on my part, I will give you that!

This was not originally written for this crowd, which tends to understand metal structure way more than most folks

However, making a rude comment that does not lead to any type of constructive conversation is completely uncalled for. In my opinion, it is posts like this that are causing good people to leave this forum.

Please lighten up. Call me out if you want. But, do it in a polite way as in that you would do to my face if we were sitting around the campfire chatting. Then we can actually talk about it and hopefully we can all learn something. In fact, that was the reason for the post. “Tell me what YOU have learned.”

I really don’t understand the point of the level of rudeness around here.

Now, if you would like to explain why you feel that the cell structure of steel does not expand with heat, I am all ears......

B

 

[Dannyboy Leather]

Post expired.

 

[Millhouse]

I don't have any cast iron cookware, but I have had several carbon steel woks. There is something therapeutic about taking the time to season the item, much like sharpening a knife.

This is the way I was taught to do it. Give the wok a good scrub in hot soapy water to remove any protective oil. Heat the wok until it is very hot and add a little sunflower oil. Wipe aound the wok with some paper towel. Keep repeating until the towel comes out clean.

 

[Ebbtide]

Interesting information Brian.

One of the most depressing days of my life is when my roommate put my cast iron skillet in the dishwasher. It was everything I could do to not beat him into a greasy pulp with it.

My mom's cast iron pan was probably 30+ years when a well meaning daughter in law brillo'd it.
She was, to put it mildly, upset.
That was around 1970.
It sat in the back of the closet for about 12 years.
I re=seasoned it for her after I learned the joys of doing things the 'old' way.
I still have the pan, well used and one of my favorites.
Think of her every time I cook something in it.



ETA: Crisco with a pinch of salt rubbed in & in the oven at 400º for something like an hour or so. Probably twice in 2 days.

 

[Bushman5]

hey Brian Andrews, you want to season your cast iron......

fire up the turkey roaster full of peanut oil and immerse the cast iron for an hour. Then remove, wipe off the excess, bake at 500 for two hours and hang up to cool.

little know trick on a smaller scale than certain cast iron cookware companies do it..................

 

[Bushman5]

the punishment for putting a cast iron pan into the dishwasher or using soap and brillo on it is a firing squad.

 

[Horn Dog]

Great info here. My old black cast iron skillet is for cornbread. I have another one for steaks. For the rest, I have T-Fal.

 

[Ebbtide]

fire up the turkey roaster full of peanut oil

I hope you don't know any one with peanut allergies

 

[Bushman5]

Great info here. My old black cast iron skillet is for cornbread. I have another one for steaks. For the rest, I have T-Fal.

i'm the same way. One for sauteing garlic, one for sauteing hot peppers, one for grilled cheese, etc et cte c

 

[Rotte]

Life is too short to use such needy cookware.

...

The only reason can see for going back to cast iron is because that's what they used in the old days. Thing is, I remember the old days. They sucked. The modern world is better in almost every way.

I have to disagree. I've got a little aluminum pan with a non-stick coating and it works like a champ. Easy to use, easy to clean up. I use it during the week when I need breakfast in a rush. It is workmanlike and efficient, but lacks the soul of cast iron.

On a weekend morning...or maybe for dinner...I get out the cast iron griddle to make my "Zen fried eggs". I heat the iron slowly, letting the iron absorb the heat evenly. My appetite begins to peak in anticipation. Once hot, I add some butter and wait for it to bubble and come up to temperature. I let it get hot until it just starts to brown. Then 2 eggs go down and begin to sizzle. Two, and only two. Preferably at room temperature. The heat held by the griddle creates a crisp brown lace on the bottom of the eggs while the yolks stay golden and runny. I add a little salt and pepper just at the end.

There is nothing better. These eggs, when prepared with care and attention, are the height of culinary bliss. Better than any eggs I've ever had in any dinner or breakfast joint. Nothing compares. The slow preparation adds to the experience and anticipation. And they can only be achieved with a cast iron pan. Nothing holds heat like cast iron. Nothing browns like cast iron.

Since the griddle is seasoned so well, clean up generally only requires a quick wipe with a towel once it has cooled off. Then the griddle is stored carefully...until the next opportunity for eggs.

I have another cast iron pan I use for thin crepe-style pancakes. I never clean it. Ever. I keep it oiled so it doesn't rust. I get it hot and add butter and the pancakes brown beautifully and come out tender. They never stick 'cuz the seasoning is perfect. Perfect. This pan has been in my family for at least 3 generations. My grandmother made pancakes on it 80 years ago. I know this with every bite. Now that's a pancake.

There is a reason cast iron is still around.

Same with Carbon-steel. It can take high, high heat. Thrives on it. Heat your non-stick too high and you will release noxious and carcinogenic fumes. The non-stick stuff can flake off. Not good eats.

Carbon-steel gets red hot and is ready to blacken a fish or steak or asparagus. The secret ingredient in Chinese and Thai food is hot carbon steel and the sear it creates. Try browning wood mushrooms or trumpet mushrooms in a carbon-steel pan. Unreal.

No, Sheky, do yourself a favor. Get a cast iron pan or Carbon-steel wok. Season it and learn how to use it. You will be glad. Maybe your grandchildren will be too.

 

[Big Mike]

Great Topic. :thumbup: :thumbup:

I have a wide variety of well seasoned cast iron cookware, and use it in my oven and BBQ pit as well as the camp fire.

Though my glass stove top keeps me from using cast iron there, I often cook in a Dutch Oven in my oven, and us a well heated Griddle to sizzle-up meats in the convection mode.

I use another Griddle to sear vegetables on the BBQ pit, and have several small pots I use for BBQ sauce and beans.

The BBQ pots do double duty when camping, and are joined by a large Skillet and large Mexican made Tortilla Griddle (that measures about 20” across) that’s just the ticket for beacon and eggs or pancakes over the fire.



I don’t have any raw carbon steel pans, but we did use a 24” square piece of carbon steel plate as a griddle in deer camp for years, it developed a fine finish and was left out of doors for long periods with little degradation of the seasoned surface; once that baby got hot it would sizzle up eggs or backstrap medallions licitly split.




Big Mike

”Scaring the tree huggers.”

Forest & Stream

 

[Bushman5]

warming up my great grandmothers cast iron fry pan right now, for cooking my breaky.

As it heats up, i can smell the pancakes my dad made in the pan for 18+ years form when i was born until i was about 18.

cast iron retains the flavours and adds to every meal you cook in them. Its heavenly.

as for being stuck in the pasty, or being too much work.....nope, takes about 20 seconds to clean the pan and keep it oiled.

I would give up all my knives, outdoor gear, stereo, truck, GF, before i would ever give up my cast iron cookware.

Big Mike mentioned using a piece of carbon steel plate for a camp griddle. One of my friends father has a 24" x 12" x 2" thick piece of carbon steel that he shaped and polished, then seasoned many times. He uses it over their brick gas bbq outside. That slab once it heats up is wonderful for grilling meat.

 

[beeperboy]

Great thread! I love cast iron. I inherited my dad's pride and joy cast iron griddle that is the envy of all my camping buddies. It weighs 20 lb, but the weight penalty is worth it. Nothing makes pancakes or eggs/hashbrowns like this bad boy.

I read somewhere that the seasoning after it turns black is actually carbon that has turned into graphite, hence the slick non-stick surface. As far as I know, graphite is a non toxic substance, so it's probably safer than Teflon.

What's the deal with those cast iron seasoning pastes? Yeah, this stuff.
http://www.cabelas.com/p-0071792517979a.shtml
Is it any better than just using oil, or is it a gimmick?

BB

 

[kgd]

I really like my cast iron and seasoning seems to be a key. I like Brian's description about seasoning tips. I've tried a bunch of things. In the end, my most used pans are my best seasoned pans. I don't think this is a case of correlation confusing causation either. Just using it and using it and using it really builds up that patina. Also, the patina isn't a one shot deal.

I guess my critique about what we usually think about seasoning goes something like this: "Follow these instructions and you will have a great seasoning pan." I almost always that the initial seasoning gets the pan acceptable and then it improves over time. Maybe, I'm just doing it wrong but that is my experience after having used many recipes out there some very similar to Brians recommendations. However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. The alternative thing is 'My seasoning got ruined by doing x and x'. Well, just keep using it after it got ruined and soon enough it will get back to where you had it. I view a great patina as sort of like layers around an onion. A little soap might remove that first layer but won't likely get you to the core. One thing my dad likes to do when he buys cast iron in the garage sales and such is to toss the pan onto a bed nice coals in his fire and fill it with the coals. This high heat really does cook the patina off, stripping even the core. Then he starts fresh.

On the carbon steel pans. I have two that are thinner steel and much lighter than the cast ones. I like these and certainly had it in my head that they would be great for camping but I can't say I've really taken to them. I can't get them to patina up quite as well. I'm convinced that this is because they are much thinner and lighter and in the process can heat up too fast and at too high a temperature making it easier to burn off your seasoning more frequently. I notice these pans will go to smoke very quickly if I'm not careful, even on medium heat.

On the other hand the cast irons just have such a large heat capacity that I can rarely get them to smoke even on high with my Kitchen Aid gas range that pumps out massive BTU's. They will eventually go to smoke, but those things are just incredible at their ability to distribute heat evenly across the surface and radiate it out from the interior of the pan and out the sides. Also this is part and parcel of their cooking performance. A well heated cast iron doesn't loose all its heat when you dump your three cups of onions and meat into it. It just gives the heat from its mass and you don't get that 'cool down effect' by adding in food, well not to the same degree anyway, as I do with my thinner carbon pans.

A final note is the type of oven you have. People with electric stoves often don't like caste iron because of the way their ovens transfer the heat. Really, the key with electric ovens is to put your heat on medium and let the pan heat up for a good 10 minutes or so before heating. Try and you might, fast heating a cast iron on high and bringing the element down to medium just doesn't seem to work. I know I've tried this many times. Curiously, the approach works better with a gas range - start on high and lower the heat. You still need to pre-heat your caste for about 5 minutes though before it really shines.

Great thread.

 

[j williams]

Great writeup Brian. I season the same way you do, and its funny, when I was asking an old guy I work with about seasoning/reseasoning,he had no idea why he was doing the things hes done for many many years. He said, "dunno, just do it, it works."

Nice to see more in depth info about this. I have a few pieces of cast iron, and a few more Ive picked up that need some new life put into em. Solid rust, ancient pieces I pick up here and there at antique shops and auctions.......

Anyways, great thread broher.

 

[j williams]

I have to disagree. I've got a little aluminum pan with a non-stick coating and it works like a champ. Easy to use, easy to clean up. I use it during the week when I need breakfast in a rush. It is workmanlike and efficient, but lacks the soul of cast iron.

On a weekend morning...or maybe for dinner...I get out the cast iron griddle to make my "Zen fried eggs". I heat the iron slowly, letting the iron absorb the heat evenly. My appetite begins to peak in anticipation. Once hot, I add some butter and wait for it to bubble and come up to temperature. I let it get hot until it just starts to brown. Then 2 eggs go down and begin to sizzle. Two, and only two. Preferably at room temperature. The heat held by the griddle creates a crisp brown lace on the bottom of the eggs while the yolks stay golden and runny. I add a little salt and pepper just at the end.

There is nothing better. These eggs, when prepared with care and attention, are the height of culinary bliss. Better than any eggs I've ever had in any dinner or breakfast joint. Nothing compares. The slow preparation adds to the experience and anticipation. And they can only be achieved with a cast iron pan. Nothing holds heat like cast iron. Nothing browns like cast iron.

Since the griddle is seasoned so well, clean up generally only requires a quick wipe with a towel once it has cooled off. Then the griddle is stored carefully...until the next opportunity for eggs.

I have another cast iron pan I use for thin crepe-style pancakes. I never clean it. Ever. I keep it oiled so it doesn't rust. I get it hot and add butter and the pancakes brown beautifully and come out tender. They never stick 'cuz the seasoning is perfect. Perfect. This pan has been in my family for at least 3 generations. My grandmother made pancakes on it 80 years ago. I know this with every bite. Now that's a pancake.

There is a reason cast iron is still around.

Same with Carbon-steel. It can take high, high heat. Thrives on it. Heat your non-stick too high and you will release noxious and carcinogenic fumes. The non-stick stuff can flake off. Not good eats.

Carbon-steel gets red hot and is ready to blacken a fish or steak or asparagus. The secret ingredient in Chinese and Thai food is hot carbon steel and the sear it creates. Try browning wood mushrooms or trumpet mushrooms in a carbon-steel pan. Unreal.

No, Sheky, do yourself a favor. Get a cast iron pan or Carbon-steel wok. Season it and learn how to use it. You will be glad. Maybe your grandchildren will be too.

great post Rotte. Made my day.

 

[Brian Andrews]

On the carbon steel pans. I have two that are thinner steel and much lighter than the cast ones. I like these and certainly had it in my head that they would be great for camping but I can't say I've really taken to them. I can't get them to patina up quite as well. I'm convinced that this is because they are much thinner and lighter and in the process can heat up too fast and at too high a temperature making it easier to burn off your seasoning more frequently. I notice these pans will go to smoke very quickly if I'm not careful, even on medium heat.

I think there might be something else going on there as well Ken. Not quite sure what.

The skillets I got are pretty darn thick. In fact, they are not giving me much weight savings over cast iron But, they are darn cool :thumbup:

But, if you take it to the extreme, look at Chinese restaurants, were carbon steel woks are used exclusively. I use them as an example because it doesn't get much thinner than a wok, and the cooking style doesn't get much hotter.

Chinese restaurants generally have stove tops installed that are 5 times more powerful than american restaurants. Obviously american restaurants are capable of producing much more than most home kitchens are too.

A lot of info on this is in a very excellent book called The Breath of A Wok. Not only is it interesting reading on history, it has some good recipes.

In that book, the author describes one restuarants method for daily cleaning of the wok as to heat over an 80,000 BTU burner until the wok is white hot! (That is not my own personal description, just paraphrasing the book). Just for reference, most home stoves are in the 8000 to 14000 BTU range.

Also, in the book, the author claims that a new carbon steel wok could take as many as 9 months to properly season by using it several times a week. That has been my personal experience as well, which is why I originally said that cast iron is relatively easy and hard to screw up (more forgiving is probably more appropriate), and carbon steel is a bit more finicky (initially).

Again, this is my experience, but when I treated my first carbon steel utensil like cast iron was miserable. I had blotchy seasoning, it kept flaking off, I had food stuck to it. I had a mediocre wok for months. It just seems if you don't do everything you should with them, that is what you get, months of use in order to get them right. I even spoke with the owner of "The Wok Shop" in San Fransico's China Town and she said "just keep using it a lot, and it will work itself out." But, doing my new stuff the way I outlined in the first post has been a completely different experience. The skillet was "ok" at the first use, yet turned into being "excellent" right away.

As a slight aside, the cool looking hand hammered wok was made by hand by one of the last known men to be doing it by that method (not using machinery). His name is Cen Lian Gen. I have been wanting one of those since I first picked up this book, and recently had one delivered to me from a a Chinese friend that just flew over from Shanghai. I haven't even used it yet, but I am excited to!

B

 

[hushnel]

Now I envy your cook ware

 

[Loosearrow]

I have use cast iron for may years and it is my favorite. I was in a flea market one time talking to an older lady and was talking about cast iron and burning off the old scale from years of cooking. She said to soak it in a plastic pail of water with a can of lye mixed in. Submerge in the soluton. Let it soak awhile (few hours) and the stuff easily scrapes off. Make sure you clean it well after you are done and reseason. A friend of mine buys cast iron and does this on a regular basis. Use this info at your own risk. Pour the lye into the water, wear glasses and rubber gloves. The soak depends on the amount of crust. I haven't heard of this before but it does work. Looks real nice when done, like new.