Waffle CAST Iron

[Glenn Baglo]

I filmed a top chef for a piece on steak. He used a pan ( don't remember if it was cast iron - I think not ). During the process ( which included a lot of Diamond Crystal salt ) he constantly spooned the melted butter over the steak. When cooked, most of the salt was in the bottom of the pan. The steak was perfectly done.

Speaking of grilling, I prefer my burger cooked in a pan rather than a BBQ. I use medium ground beef (never extra lean) so the burger is basted in the flavourful fat instead of the BBQ getting basted.

[ThomasC]

We are having a snow storm here in Massachusetts so I made my first waffles in the RV. Sourdough waffles have ruined me for any of the box mixes.

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

I filmed a top chef for a piece on steak. He used a pan ( don't remember if it was cast iron - I think not ). During the process ( which included a lot of Diamond Crystal salt ) he constantly spooned the melted butter over the steak. When cooked, most of the salt was in the bottom of the pan. The steak was perfectly done.

Speaking of grilling, I prefer my burger cooked in a pan rather than a BBQ. I use medium ground beef (never extra lean) so the burger is basted in the flavourful fat instead of the BBQ getting basted.

I had a forestry Foreman who was a US Navy veteran and an excellent chef. On some Fridays we had an extended lunch break. Bob would use the basting technique you described on steaks and also cooked burgers in a pan. Always very juicy and tasty. I hadn’t thought of those days for a while now. When we went fishing and camped overnight, he always insisted on cooking. Nobody ever resisted. He would fry eggs the same way with bacon grease being spooned over the egg, frying it from the top down. The great thing about those days was we worked hard enough that we didn’t gain a lot of weight. We removed literally thousands of American Elms, dead from Dutch Elm disease from the parks, streets and a large cemetery.
Iowa Dave

[Rzrbrn]

Originally Posted by ZachO

That could be a good resource. Not much stock, but they have a couple nice skillets and a nice combo cooker (they call it a chicken fryer). That's what I use to bake bread, and do roasts.

Some of the prices are crazy but I'm sure there's a reason. Some prices are what I'd expect. I found a brand new Wagner skillet on Ebay, with the tags from KMart still attached, for $30. Of course after shipping it was a $50 skillet, but oh well. Even just that far back (maybe the late 80's), they still made more refined cast iron.

I'm sure Lodge is very high quality, but the finish is terrible. In the old days, they'd grind out the interior, down to a nice smooth surface. No one does that anymore. The one I found had been smoothed on the interior. Back when I was researching good cast iron I came up with a date range for it...I think when general houseware corp owned Wagner was the 80's, just before they stopped being made.

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I am not a fan of Lodge products although I have a number of them, including enameled iron pots. Lodge has acquired a number of competitors. I much prefer the Lathe turned or polished cast iron skillets. There are a number of such manufacturers: Smithey (Smithey Ironware Company ), Stargazer Cast Iron, Victoria Cast Iron, and NEST Homeware are a few currently producing.

I enjoy cast iron but these are too heavy for camping. I am gradually changing over to carbon steel (de Buyer)and non stick coated pans (Magma Products).

[ZachO]

I agree.

Smithey! Yes. I just learned about them in the last couple weeks.

I've also started using a carbon steel skillet more often, and it's definitely what comes with me when I car camp.

[Scamp-]

If you like Cast Iron ...I have Smithey, Fields, and Marquette. The Smithey are the heaviest, the Field are great, take seasoning well and are smooth surface and great weight.

[Rzrbrn]

Bill, is the cooking surface of the Field cast iron skillet machined or lathe turned by any chance? This is the first I have heard about the Field Company.

[Scamp-]

These are machined, the (Smithey has a turned surface..think vinyl record) but the Field accepts seasoning very well.

[Rzrbrn]

Thanks Bill.