Cast Iron anyone?

[brewmaster15]

Just finished testing out my cast iron frying pan with some pork loin. I cleaned it up and re-seasoned it earlier today. Sometime this weekend I will probably do my cast Iron dutch oven.. Got to get ready for campfire cooking season. That one is a real old one. I paid $5 at neighbor hood tag sale. It looked really bad.. rusty. I spent a good hour working on it with steel wool.. seasoned it and it looked brand new. I really enjoy cooking in that dutch oven.

Any other cast iron lovers?

[LizStreithorst]

Me! But I cheat a lot now and use carbon steel when I can for a pan, and I really cheat and use Stainless steel when I cook a stew or roast.

[jeep]

Cast iron is great! If seasoned correctly it's just as non-stick as the others...

[LizStreithorst]

Carbon steel is also non-stick when seasoned correctly. I switched because I love my carbon steel wok so much I went looking for a fry pan, too. It has many of the qualities of cast iron but it is not nearly as heavy.

[Vanman]

I have one or three.

[brewmaster15]

So whats your seasoning process?
I use crisco.. heat the pan up enough to melt the crisco... then wipe the cook surface with it and put it in the oven upside down over a piece of aluminum foil.. bake for 2 hours at 400F.

[LizStreithorst]

I do the same, but I use vegetable oil. Seasoning carbon steel is the same.

[brewmaster15]

Cast Iron sirloin...Mmmmm

20240403_175659.jpg

[AquaticNerd]

I'm with Liz on this one, I love all of my carbon steel pans and they work out great, and much lighter than cast iron. I've got a cast iron dutch oven on my wishlist though, since I'll be using it mostly for baking sourdough boules and deep frying.

[brewmaster15]

Afraid I am clueless on carbon steel pans.. sounds like I need to read up.

[dagray]

I love my cast iron. season with rendered bacon grease. But carbon steel is a game changer... use it the same as cast iron, it is lighter, and heats up faster.
I have a 17 inch cast iron I can't use on the electric stove as it doesn't get enough heat from the biggest burner, but I can use it on my fire pit and my smoker.

cooked veggies in that pan seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, and nutmeg using olive oil is the bomb... I use this pan on the fire pit.

[brewmaster15]

So which carbon steel brand pans do you guys use?

[dagray]

I use Lodge brand carbon steel

[brewmaster15]

I didnt realize Lodge made carbon steel pans... most of my cast Iron is lodge.

[jwcarlson]

I'm interested about the carbon steel as well. I use mostly cast iron, but man it's heavy. Especially my cast iron wok!