Old school a good idea?

[kgd]

We use it for home on our gas range. Works great. I don't take cast iron camping. Too heavy. If I am frying I usually use a stove and a small SS pan. I try not to rely on frying for cooking outdoors.

 

[shecky]

hahahaha!! That's hilarious. No offense, but the most durable and easy to care for cooking stuff I have is cast iron. Get a good season on and you don't have to sweat anything, ever. no special coatings, no burning aluminum, no soft scrub brushies- don't even need soap!

Nope. Most durable, sure I'll buy that. Easy to care? Not by a long shot. More like constant care. Get a good season on. Lose season? Get a good season on again. Repeat. Left wet? Deal with rust. Dishwasher? Don't even think about it.

Cast iron has it's uses in the kitchen. It retains heat beautifully and evenly. But even there, it's only marginally practical compared to my other cookwear. But for camping/outdoor use? That sounds more like a philosophical choice than a practical one. Whatever turns you on.

 

[udtjim]

I have some cast iron skillets that are 70 years old and have never needed re seasoning.. I have some much newer stuff that I just seasoned once about five years ago. I have one griddle that goes everywhere that we camp.

 

[Bushman5]

if a cast iron pan is properly seasoned, and you leave it out in the rain, it will NOT rust.

 

[fishshooter]

I have some cast iron skillets that are 70 years old and have never needed re seasoning.. I have some much newer stuff that I just seasoned once about five years ago. I have one griddle that goes everywhere that we camp.

if a cast iron pan is properly seasoned, and you leave it out in the rain, it will NOT rust.

I've got a big cast iron pot with a lid that we use it to fry fish. It stays outside, on a propane burner. It is seasoned black from decades of use, and never had an issue with rust. This is in the Florida humidity,and less than a mile from salt water. I also have a huge dutch oven we use at the camp. It spends most the time outside, hanging from a tripod. Both might get a wipedown with shortening maybe once a month. Hardly what I would call "constant care." True, you can't put cast iron in a dishwasher, but I hardly ever even use soap on mine. When we boat in to some of our hunting areas, we always set up a base camp close to the boat. Cast iron cookware is all we use.

 

[hiwa]

Lots 'o cast iron in our house and campbox. My camp favorite is the Lodge crepe pan (10" size). Easy to pack with the low sides and easy to flip food ,especially fish.

 

[dawsonbob]

I used to have an iron omelet pan that never saw soap in over 25 years, and nothing ever stuck to it in all that time. A former girlfriend liked it so much she walked off with it. Don't know why — she couldn't cook.

 

[hushnel]

Here is another idea, these are black steel, not cast iron. It's a very similar cooking surface to cast iron, I've used plate steel for griddles. This particular fry pan is manufactured by Matfer Bourgeat and called a Black Steel Frying Pan, this one is 9 1/2". It's listed as 4 pounds but I bet that's just for the purpose of shipping. I have a very similar omlet pan that is cast iron, I weighed it last night after reading this thread and it's 2lbs 11oz.