Cast Iron

One of my local "farm and home" stores had a sale going on a few weeks ago for 20% off all lodge cast iron. I bought a 15" skillet and love it. Its all I've been cooking with lately. I think I might have bought a little too big of a skillet but oh well. My next purchase will be a dutch oven.
 
I got a cast iron item today - all cast iron was 15pc off 'for Easter'.
http://www.bcf.com.au/online-store/...an-3-Qt.aspx?pid=213616&menuFrom=571654#Cross
213616.JPG


It happened that I was looking for a pot with 205mm diameter and the pot I linked was the right size for the 'stove'. About 9 weeks ago I got an Oz-Pig and the pot will fit -snugly- into the top and get heat all around. I would still have to put some coals on the top lid. There will be just the two of us so the smallish pot size matches up. I will try to do a damper this weekend as an exercise.

What is an Oz-Pig? A sort of combustion stove. It gets very hot for relatively little hardwood.
The video: http://www.ozpig.com.au/sites/all/themes/ozpig3/images/ozpig-description.ogg
 
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My wife is replacing all of our cookware with cast iron, and I'm all for it. When I was in my second year of college, I did most of my "cooking" (that is, heating up frozen hamburger patties) with a little cast iron skillet and little else. So far, so good.
 
That's living in the woods right there!

I usually just bring one skillet and a dutch oven. I luckily inherited my grandmother's cast iron cookware. When everyone else was fighting over the jewels and such, I was sneaking out with the iron and wool blankets, lol.

I'm much more of a camper than a hiker, myself, but even when I do hike, if I'll be eating, I have a little #3 Griswold skillet that I take. My wife jokes that I don't go camping, I go eating in the woods.

What's the difference?
 
More practice. This past Saturday (easter) I did some shifts but also spent time doing a small damper and learning. I just used SR flour and water, nothing else. The doughball was the size of a baseball (when I retire and go on the road there will only be the 2 of us). I used a bit of oven paper to prevent the base sticking to the pot and after 20 minutes I took it out of the OZ-Pig, grabbed the oven paper and flipped the bread (aka damper) upside down. Gave it another 20 minutes. Pulled it out of the pot and there it was with hardly any black/burnt bits. So I learnt a new trick. I spread on real butter and enjoyed it. The end result was a bit heavy to chew and needed some air. So next time I will try some baking powder to soften up the bread.

Here is a couple of photos of the pot "in" the Oz-Pig:

IMAG1307x1200.jpg


IMAG1310x1200.jpg
 
added a black smith made over head pot hanger to the kit. Picked up a deal on an old Erie (Griswold) Scotch kettle, and a Griswold round griddle.


and did some cooking over the weekend.
 
Looking good. Really set up!
Your pics set me off looking thru google for more in that vein.
Here's a great jumping off point: https://www.pinterest.com/kuntrybelle/cast-iron-cooking-over-the-open-fire/

eg http://www.ibelieveicanfry.com/2010/12/reconditioning-re-seasoning-cast-iron.html
http://www.myrecipes.com/course/dessert-recipes/cast-iron-skillet-dessert-recipes-00420000010550/

Last Saturday at a yard sale/garage sale I picked up a large dutch oven, china made, as new. And a cast iron jaffle iron too. And a stoker/lid lifter. All for $20. I re-seasoned the articles that afternoon. The dutch oven is large and heavy, and except for a big group camp, would not be useful so much to myself and my wife. But it was such a bargain - they are over $80 in the shops here.
 
A lot of younger folks have totally missed out on the cast iron experience. They think everything should be teflon coated.

Cast iron is my #1 choice for car camping.
 
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