This could be more expensive than collecting knives !!!

I have 9 pieces of Lodge Cast iron cookware and have loved them all for over 25 years!

NEVER put a hot piece of cookware under cold water unless you want to warp a steel pan/pot, or crack a piece of cast iron cookware!~

Lodge makes lots of pieces so choose what you need for your size group. There's a cute 2 QT 8" diameter 1.9L for around $35; a 4 QT 10" diameter 3.8L for $38; a 6 QT 12" diameter 5.7L for around $45. These smaller sizes are good for folks who don't want to do the 'heavy lifting' or have just a 1 or 2 person outfit they are cooking for IME.

Lodge is a premier brand that you can trust buying used...others you need to know what you're getting. If it says MADE IN USA on the bottom it's probably a decent brand, especially if it's old. I have an old Ware skillet in 8" that is great!
 
Protourist you have THAT Hibachi?!! I JUST saw one the other day and was drawn like a moth to a flame to it! Tell us more!! How long does it cook, how much can it hold coals-wise, what's the weight on it empty, is it really decent as far as cooking surface? I only got to 'glance' at one for 2 minutes before heading out of the store...
 
Stays hot longer than most small BBQs. I generally cook three large steaks and a couple of kabobs and by then its really getting hot. Holds a quarter bag of kingsford and a few mesquite coals.
They are heavy, 33 lbs according to the website, not something you are going to pack but something that goes in the truck wherever I go. Large enough to cok a good meal, small enough to fit in the pickup and not be a pain.
They get really hot. I absolutely love to cook with mine.
 
I live directly beneath a really large pine tree. After cooking my meal I generally throw a few cones in the hibachi just to smell the smoke for a few hours. Nothing like sitting at home and feeling like you're camping at the same time.
Oh yeah, the Alsea river is 100 ft from my front door. Some of the best salmon, steelhead fishing there is. Last night She Who Must Be Obeyed went outside and said there was a flock of Great Blue Herons, three Harbor Seals and our local herd of Elk within a few hundred yards.
Don't tell anyone I really want to keep this place a secret.
 
Leanwolf said:
The phrase "Dutch oven" is misused quite often.
...What some people mistakenly call "Dutch ovens," are in reality, cast iron roasting pots, or stewing pots. These do NOT have the three legs, nor the flange on the lid's edge. They also will have on the underside of the lid, "drip nipples," or "basting nipples" to allow moisture to drip onto the meat or stew. (Try that "basting lid" when you try to make biscuits, cornbread, bread, cakes, cookies, etc., and see how mushy your baked goods are!)

...These roasters or stewers are for the top of the stove, or the stove's oven.
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I have one of those, exactly as described. It is a Lodge, and the box label says it is a "Dutch Oven". Whatever. We bought it early in our marriage, and it is the only one we have.

It does excellent service on the stovetop, whether it is a grill or regular stove. We've used it several times for soups, chilis, and so forth. I have made peach cobbler in it, and had it come out well. Had to adapt to the lack of legs, though, by digging a hole and balancing things out to have coals underneath it. Hard to keep them on top of a domed, non-flanged lid, too. But having it in the hole allows the sides to be heated with a few coals, too. It works, but it is more work. Didn't notice the drip nipples causing any trouble.

I have used the lid from it with a skillet, to cover meats, and it does well in that role as well. I suppose it does so well because it allows the moisture to fall back on the meat.

The last time I went camping with a group, we had a cobbler cook-off, and I noticed the differences between my DO and the ones others were using, and I was jealous of the ease with which they used their legged and flanged DOs with the coals. I have learned to use mine in spite of its shortcomings, but I plan to pick up a legged and flanged one now, probably a used one, because it will make life simpler when camping with it.
 
How well does a cast iron skillet work on a camp fire? And how does cleanup work when you're camping?
 
sixgunner455 said:
I have one of those, exactly as described. It is a Lodge, and the box label says it is a "Dutch Oven". Whatever. We bought it early in our marriage, and it is the only one we have.

It does excellent service on the stovetop, whether it is a grill or regular stove. We've used it several times for soups, chilis, and so forth. I have made peach cobbler in it, and had it come out well. Had to adapt to the lack of legs, though, by digging a hole and balancing things out to have coals underneath it. Hard to keep them on top of a domed, non-flanged lid, too. But having it in the hole allows the sides to be heated with a few coals, too. It works, but it is more work. Didn't notice the drip nipples causing any trouble.

I have used the lid from it with a skillet, to cover meats, and it does well in that role as well. I suppose it does so well because it allows the moisture to fall back on the meat.

The last time I went camping with a group, we had a cobbler cook-off, and I noticed the differences between my DO and the ones others were using, and I was jealous of the ease with which they used their legged and flanged DOs with the coals. I have learned to use mine in spite of its shortcomings, but I plan to pick up a legged and flanged one now, probably a used one, because it will make life simpler when camping with it.
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I don't know what size your Dutch Oven is (I bought mine before they came pre-seasoned), but they sell 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16" diameter flanged lids separately. Mine takes a 12". I actually prefer the one without the legs. I've never had a problem setting it on the coals. I have to dig a hole anyway, because I do use it like an oven and stack coals ont he sides. The flanged lid was a big help. But it's nice having the domed "nipple" lid for cooking things other than baked goods because it DOES self-baste. Plus, without the legs, it's easily used on the stove, so I don't have to buy a separate DO for home use, and it's cheaper to just buy the lid than a whole 'nother oven.


BoxANT said:
How well does a cast iron skillet work on a camp fire? And how does cleanup work when you're camping?
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Very well. cast Iron distributes heat very evenly, so it works better over a fire than really anything else. For cleanup, I just brush it out with a plastic brush and coat it with oil/lard.
 
I was at wholesale sports a few weeks ago and they had a dutch oven that was probably only 8 oz in size and a frying pan about 4 inch accross both in cast iron and heavey for the size
Never saw them that small before
 
My oven doesn't have legs and I've never had any trouble sitting it on coals. Has the lipped lid though, that's a must for holding the coals on top. I usually sit things on the lid as well. Billy to keep it warm or wrapped cobs of corn etc.
 
Miller's Surplus, 2 locations in Tucson AZ has the WHOLE line of Lodge on display, and THEN SOME! If you live out that way you are one lucky sob in my book. Too much to cart back in luggage on a plane trip, but if I get out there with a car look out!
 
There is a lodge outlet store across the street from Smokey Mountain Knife Works. If you ever go there.
 
protourist said:
Next you need the Lodge cast iron Hibachi.
The best cooking tool ever!
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YES! mine sees about 200lbs of lump charcoal a year go thru it. Best investment i made. I also have the lodge WOK which is great for stir fry thai chicken or beef. heavy sucker
 
protourist said:
I live directly beneath a really large pine tree. After cooking my meal I generally throw a few cones in the hibachi just to smell the smoke for a few hours. Nothing like sitting at home and feeling like you're camping at the same time.
Oh yeah, the Alsea river is 100 ft from my front door. Some of the best salmon, steelhead fishing there is. Last night She Who Must Be Obeyed went outside and said there was a flock of Great Blue Herons, three Harbor Seals and our local herd of Elk within a few hundred yards.
Don't tell anyone I really want to keep this place a secret.
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Friend of mine used to live right near you. Been down to the docks for some late night/early AM crabbing more than a few times.
 
The crabs come right up the river and hang out under the dock. Great eating, pull up the crab pot walk back to the house and fix a big pot of cioppino to go with the steaks...
 
protourist said:
The crabs come right up the river and hang out under the dock. Great eating, pull up the crab pot walk back to the house and fix a big pot of cioppino to go with the steaks...
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Add a little Dead Guy Ale, and you're in business!
 
You can't possibly drink "a little" dead guy ale. Too much ain't enough!
 
So true! But you gotta throw in some Mocha Porter or Shakespeare Stout every now and again, just to switch things up...
 
MMMM, if only the rest of the country had Rogue Brewery.



Nah I like it all to myself.
 
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