What was your first piece of cast iron cookware and how did you get started?

[WILCO]

My first piece was a small skillet for smelting lead. I got the idea from this place.
My second piece was a Wagner #8 skillet. I was interested after reading about venison and the "Blackening" method here in the forums. My collection has since grown to 36 different pieces that I rotate during cooking cycles.

[starmac]

I was raised with it, and don't remember what my own first piece was, but probably a skillet or griddle.
Boy scouts may have been where I got started using dutch ovens.

[joec]

My grandmother gave me hers many decades ago. Mostly Griswold, Wagner and a Lodge stock pot or dutch oven. I still have it and a few other pieces I picked up such as a Lodge grille pan, wok and another dutch oven. It all works great too my induction stove top.

[Love Life]

My mom's old fried chicken skillet.

[MT Gianni]

First I owned was a 10" Dutch oven in the 70's. I watched my Folks and Grandmother way before that.

[Marvin S]

It was all my mom used. When I struck out on my own I tried the teflon coating thing until it started to flake off and dint think I wanted to eat that. So I picked up a 10" well used cast iron one it has so much baked on stuff on the bottom I cant read it. It has just grown from there with only cast and a stainless pot. I did buy a new four quart or so enameled cast pot.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

an old 8" wagner fry pan.
a short story.
To my knowledge, my folks or grand parents never used cast iron.
I never understood 'seasoning' until an old timer/shooter was talking me
into shooting the Holy Black, and was comparing seasoning a barrel
to seasoning a cast iron fry pan. I didn't believe the silliness
this old timer was telling me. He offered me this old 8" wagner
and then challenged me to get something to 'Stick' to it, but
I had to follow his directions to NOT wash it with soap and to
re-season it after cooking high acid type sauces like tomato based sauce.
Well, I was hooked for life.
But I still can't convince my folks, they like the teflan coated Aluminum pans.
Jon.

PS, I suppose I have 10 or 12 pcs in my collection today

[WILCO]

PS, I suppose I have 10 or 12 pcs in my collection today

That's a start Jon! ;-)

[fatnhappy]

my first piece of CI was a 12" lodge skillet. I have 17 dutch ovens and use every single one of them. I started using cast when I was in scouts too.

My latest score
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/003-13.jpg
I like my CI

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/016-3.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/010-3.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/102_0316.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/102_0304.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/102_0301.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/001-14.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/012-3.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/017-2.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/003-8.jpg

[Dale53]

First of all, those a pretty pictures of a right tasty meal, I'll bet!

My grandfather was a master moulder in a grey iron foundry. I grew up using his skillets. My grandparents were masters of cast iron cookware. He made them and my grandmother used them.

Then, my mother baked wonderful cornbread.

True story - When I proposed to my wife, I told her that before I married her she would have to learn to bake cornbread (my grandparents came from the mountains of Kentucky (near the Carolina border) and their people were taught the magic of cornbread by the Cherokee's. My wife took me seriously (I WAS serious) and learned how to bake REAL cornbread (my wife was from Northern Ohio and the cornbread they baked was more like cake - ok but not REAL cornbread). My wife (now going on married 54 years) learned to bake more consistently good bread than my mother did (rest her soul) and it has been a VERY successful marriage.

So, cast iron cookware is part of my heritage...

Not really part of this discussion, I guess, but I use a cast iron dutch oven to smelt my lead (in conjunction with a turkey/fish fryer).

FWIW
Dale53

[Love Life]

Oh Lord that is a lot of bacon! Can I come over and eat supper?

[DIRT Farmer]

My 16 inch bread oven will hold 3 dozen biscuts if I remember, I have cooked for church groups and political events, I can feed around 100 people with my dutch ovens. My first skillet was the one I found in the creek, an off brand 6 inch that was rusty. I cooked more than a few critters in it most of them legal to take.

If you know how many you have, you havent been to enough yard sales. Only in America will people buy light weight cook ware because the good stuff is to heavy, then go to the gym and lift weights to stay in shape

[Jammer Six]

I'm surprised at all the references to scouts and cast iron.

I was a scout in the late 60's, and what I remember is hiking. Two long range hikes in the summer, a week at camp, and one hike a month the rest of the year.

Nobody used cast iron, it was all about saving every last ounce, because every trip was a hike.

Even saving every possible ounce, it was hard. I took little walks in the army that were easier than some of the scout hikes.

Although, writing that, it occurs to me why they were easier...

[gbrown]

The one I remember (and I still have) is the 10 inch Wagner skillet in my parent's kitchen. At our old camp, we had several pieces--pots with lids and 2-8 inch skillets many breakfasts were made in. I have cooked in all of it. On a regular basis, I use a 10 inch Wagner and a 10 inch griddle. I have all sorts that I have picked up over the years. Use them at the camp. I have an 8 inch Lodge (picked up off the curb) that I cook in over coals. Have a bunch of Dutch ovens. 8-14 inch. Don't use them that often--need to, though. I have several pieces I need to re-condition. I love all of it. There is nothing better for cooking. Properly used and seasoned, makes Teflon look like Ned in the third grade reader.

[KCSO]

I can't remember a FIRST piece my Grandmother amd mother both cooke dwith cast adn it's all i ever remember seeing till I was in my teens and Mom got a ???Farberware??? skillet. When I got married we got some cast from my wifes family and I still do most of my cooking with cast iron, even bake goodies outside in a dutch oven.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

while my mother never used anything cast iron accept her able-skiver pan (think pancake puff but invented by the Danish a few hundred years ago)

I used lots of dutch ovens, griddles , and pans in boy scouts.

so when i moved out to attend school at the rip old age of 17, I started college/tech school a few months early, and lived in an apartment some time in that first year purchased a Lodge SK10 this was before they came seasoned , or had the assist handle , it was cheap i was poor working as a mechanic and going to school , fried a lot of fish and venison steaks in that pan still cook with it every week to this day. I would go home on weekends and raid the deep freeze for venison and fish.

now we have a bit more of a selection
with cast iron skillets three or four of the 8 inchers , the original 10 , a 12 , a Wok, a pizza pan , large , small and camp style dutch ovens , griddles round and rectangular, muffing pans and bread pans
most of it lodge , a few pieces of Wagner and a Le Crouesete , and an unmarked handed down from a grand parent

oddly enough i melt lead in a stainless steel pot and not cast iron

my specialty in scouts was cobble , i suppose it still is
but i have even made pies , cakes and bread in a camp dutch oven
meats , stews , chilli , and corn bread of course

[WILCO]

Only in America will people buy light weight cook ware because the good stuff is too heavy, then go to the gym and lift weights to stay in shape

And only in America are all the people in poverty obese, driving a car while on a cell phone.....But back on topic, those are great pictures and stories of cast iron.

[Rick N Bama]

My Mother didn't use CI very much in her cooking except for her fried chicken so I didn't grow up knowing much about it.

The first pieces my Wife & I got were a 10" and a 6" Skillet probably made by Lodge. I can't find any markings on the them, but I understand that Lodge at some point didn not mark their stuff.

We now have 9 or 10 pieces with 5 of those being used on a regular basis. My wife knows better than to make her cornbread in anything but for one of the skillets according to how much we need. We also cook our greens, beans & some soups/stews in the Dutch Oven.

My Daughter-in-Law has a skillet that belonged to her GG-Grandmother. It's estimated to be around 120 years old. That skillet doesn't see use every day, maybe not every week, but it does get used.

[starmac]

Another question, has anybody actually wore out a piece of cast iron cookware. lol

My wife is getting to where she doesn't like the weight of the bigger skillets, it seems they hurt her wrists.

[firefly1957]

My grandparents used cast iron a lot I still like the way it cooks and have a bit of it that I use. I also use the modern nonstick stuff but have gone tough many pans in the time that MY first cast iron pan is still in use and working great.

I have bought old cast for lead casting some of it was a shame to use that way as it can NEVER be cooked with again.

[starmac]

has anyone used the aluminumn dutch ovens.
I have been thinking of getting one, mainly for canoe trips.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

has anyone used the aluminumn dutch ovens.
I have been thinking of getting one, mainly for canoe trips.

yes we had some at a boyscout camp one time they were ok , not as friendly as iron but better than nothing.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

Another question, has anybody actually wore out a piece of cast iron cookware. lol

My wife is getting to where she doesn't like the weight of the bigger skillets, it seems they hurt her wrists.

how exactly would you wear one out , i had one crack once
I have seen them get rusted beyond where you would want to use them

but if you used one very day for the rest of your life then gave it to your grand kids they could give it to theirs as long as it was used every day and not abused , short of dropping it or having a very large one and putting it on an electric burner and causing it to crack you would be hard pressed to wear one out in 3 life times

many of the newer skillets have and assist handle on the opposite side that makes it easier on the wrist

[Dale53]

I have an aluminum dutch oven with a nice rim around the lid that assists keeping the hot coals on the lid when baking at a camp fire. I used it on many a canoe trip. It works very well. We have had many good meals from it. Great for biscuits, strawberry shortcake, fruit cobblers, etc. It also works well in the home oven.

Mine is quite thick so has good, even heat. It is rather easy to bake in it. You can try it at home before you commit to the back country. I used to build a camp fire in the back yard and experiment with it. That way you can act like you are an "old hand" with campfire cook ware...:mrgreen:

This is a bit off topic but I used to wow the natives with cheesecake on the trail when back packing. Pre-mix the dry ingredients at home, carry a can of cherry pie filling (I use "Mighty Fine" brand. Add the liquid, let the cheesecake set up (great for winter hikes) then top with the cherry pie filling. Everyone will think you are a magician when it is SO-O-O easy.

Another great canoe dessert is one I reported on a Folbot Forum several years ago:

Pie iron pies
by Dale53 » Tue Oct 26, 2004 7:21 pm

My favorite camping dessert is Cherry Pie ala pie iron. You have two slices of bread. Remove the crust. Butter one side of each slice. Put one slice in the pie iron with buttered side against the pie iron. Put one tablespoon of cherry pie filling ( I prefer "Mighty Fine" pie filling but most any canned filling should work) in the middle of the first slice of bread. Then put the second buttered slice (buttered side to the iron) on top of the filling. Close the irons and toast over a camp fire. Will also work just fine on a Coleman or REI stove. Toast each side and then Yummy!!

These taste so-o-o-o good! Far better than would be expected considering the simplicity. If you have doubts, try at home.

For a look at a pie iron (just in case you might not know what I am talking about):


http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/CAMOmnifindQueryCmd?storeId=226&catalogId=40000000226&langId=-1&searchCategory=&ip_state=&ip_constrain=&ip_navtype=search&pageSize=24&currentPage=&ip_sortBy=&searchKeywords=pie+iron

Dale53

[Marvin S]

Fried Squirrel with biscuits and gravy. The only one I ever cracked was from putting to much cold water into a hot pan.

[375RUGER]

Grandmother gave me my first cast skillet. I have several pieces now.
Mom has a skillet that has been around as long as I can remember.
My largest cookware is a 16" skillet. Bought it to teach boy scouts how to cook dutch oven pizza.
There are some things you just can't make right unless you use CI.
The oldest piece I have is a CI wash pot that Grandpa gave me. It looks like it would hold about 35 gallons of water. He doesn't know how old it is, but he remembers helping his mother wash clothes in it when he was a kid. He thinks his mother got it from her mother. He was born in 1922.

[gbrown]

has anyone used the aluminumn dutch ovens.
I have been thinking of getting one, mainly for canoe trips.

I have used them and they are fine. As Greencountypete observed +1, they are not like cast iron. Like molds, you have to learn with using. What works, and what doesn't. All have different characteristics and "personalities". I have stainless, aluminum (magnalite) and cast iron. I know what each will do--experience. I work with what I want the outcome to be. Use it, learn its idiocyncracies (?) and go from there.

[jcdillin]

I started with an 8" that I used for camping, now I have at least 5 different pans and it's hard to pass one by when i'm at flea markets.

[44man]

Cast iron cooking is nothing but LOVE. Just never let the wife wash and scub with dish soap, some say it is OK but not me. Then she will complain about sticking. You can season again by coating with vegie oil and putting in the oven at about 400*.
A beautiful black shiny finish from use is best.
I blacken venison on the deck with a side BBQ burner, it smokes and splatters too much in the kitchen. .
Get the cast iron smoking and add a little oil. Coat the steaks with seasoning, Emeril's works as does any good seasoning. Toss in the steaks for 4 minutes a side.
The only way to hurt cast iron is to never use it! :bigsmyl2:

[Wayne Smith]

My Dad used CI and had a couple of fry pans, one with a CI lid. Used them at home and camping on the Coleman stove. When I got out on my own somewhere I picked up a square fry pan - don't remember where. Used it a while, when Dad came to visit he offered to trade that one for his round one with the lid 'cause the square one would fit on the Coleman better. I jumped at the chance to get the one with the cover. Maybe five years later he wanted to trade back, I refused. Told him good luck finding a lid for a square pan.

Years later, Dad is gone and I have no idea where the square pan went. I used the round one with the lid yesterday morning making breakfast.

[alamogunr]

My mother used cast iron skillets. When I graduated from college and moved to a distant large city for my first job, I had to acquire all the necessary utensils for cooking. One of the first things I bought was a 10" CI skillet and glass cover. I don't remember why glass.

We still have that skillet but only use it for cornbread. My wife had bought a high quality cookware set before we married and we have used that for 46 years. It is in need of replacement now but the skillet is going strong.

The only other cast iron we have is several pieces we got when her mother passed away a few years ago. They are very gunked up and I have not tried any of the methods of cleaning them.

The cast dutch oven I bought from the clearance table at a discount store is what I started cleaning WW with many years ago. I suspect that I will destroy it when I get to the point that I know I will no longer use it. Unless, of course, I can give it to another caster.

[beagle]

We've always used cast iron skillets and a "spider" for frying eggs. My oldest piece is a 14" legged dutch oven owned by my grandparents and they started housekeeping with it in 1896. Has a repaired leg and a crack but it still makes good biscuits.

I highly recommend a visit to the Lodge manufacturing facility in South Pittsburg, TN if you're in the area. We went down to purchase ovens and skillets for our Boy Scout troop in the late 80s. The plant, although a foundry, is clean as a pin and the boss (a former Boy Scout) took us through the place and we bought about 4 14" dutches, 4 skillets and two 16" dutches for myself and the other leader.

In cold weather, nothing beats chili in a dutch coverd by a layer of cornbread and a half gallon of milk to wash it down.

The Army at the time was experimenting with T-paks the heat and serve meals. Deserts were cherries, blueberries, apples, fruit cocktail and peaches. I'd always find an extra after field problems and they made two cobblers in the dutches on every camping trip.

Then, there's the game warden buddy in the scouts. Visited his camp one morning and he had a dutch full of biscuits and another one full of fried venison backstraps.

Best is two dutches. One full of sausage gravy, biscuits in another and eggs fried on the lid beside the fire supported by three tent pegs.

I loves that cast iron./beagle

[beagle]

To clean, just put them in the fireplace and they'll burn clean. Next morning, remove and clean thoroughlt, dry well, rub down with a heavy coat inside of wesson oil, bring your oven to 350 degrees, turn it off and place pan inside as the oven cools. This will season it well. Wash in warm water and it's ready for use. Avoid using soap of any kind on cast iron. Just soak, remove any stuck food, wash in hot water and dry./beagle


My mother used cast iron skillets. When I graduated from college and moved to a distant large city for my first job, I had to acquire all the necessary utensils for cooking. One of the first things I bought was a 10" CI skillet and glass cover. I don't remember why glass.

We still have that skillet but only use it for cornbread. My wife had bought a high quality cookware set before we married and we have used that for 46 years. It is in need of replacement now but the skillet is going strong.

The only other cast iron we have is several pieces we got when her mother passed away a few years ago. They are very gunked up and I have not tried any of the methods of cleaning them.

The cast dutch oven I bought from the clearance table at a discount store is what I started cleaning WW with many years ago. I suspect that I will destroy it when I get to the point that I know I will no longer use it. Unless, of course, I can give it to another caster.

[Jammer Six]

We've always used cast iron skillets and a "spider" for frying eggs.

What's a spider?

[Hickory]

I ran across the site a while back and thought I'd share.

http://www.agrisupply.com/cast+iron+cookware+oven+pot+skillet/c/6000136/

[gbrown]

Jammer Six. Unless I am mistaken, a spider is a piece that raises the skillet or pot above the coals. Like the legs on a dutch oven. If you are familiar with the old log "irons" they used in the fireplaces, that raised the logs off the hearth, they do the same thing. I have an old iron from a gas fireplace set that raises the flat bottomed pots about 3-4 inches above the coals. Works well with flat bottomed skillets and griddles. For a big pot (beans, chili, stew, etc.) I use a tripod.

[fatnhappy]

A spider is a skillet that has legs like a dutch oven. Sometimes the term is also used to describe a dutch oven.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Among cast iron collectors, a spider is also a skillet made by Griswold that had an actual emblem of a spider on the bottom in the center. Another Griswold piece that had the spider logo was a teakettle. Pieces so marked are considered rare and command very high prices as collectibles. The clearer the spider emblem and the better the shape of the piece- the higher the value. Most, if not all, of the Griswold spider owners don't use their pieces and prefer to have them as decorators only. The skillets were usually made in size 8 only as were the teakettles. I have not seen either one now for many years; the last were on e-bay and at a cast iron association convention and the pieces were in prime condition....the prices on them were totally astronomical. A dutch oven with legs made by Griswold is a highly collectible piece...most were number 10 in size and go for big bucks. They usually came with the "sailor hat" style lid that had an elevated rim. In campfire cooking, coals were put in/on the top of the lid as well as under the bottom. Lodge still makes this style of DO with that lid and it is used a lot in cookout competitions (national). Needless to say this kind of cooking is an art and will get you into a weight-watchers program PDQ. LLS

[beagle]

In the south, a spider is a round flat cast iron pan with a handle and no sides. Kinda like a small griddle. That was the local name for them in NC where I was raised anyway. Great for frying eggs because the sides don't get in the way of your spatula./beagle

QUOTE=Jammer Six;1704095]What's a spider?[/QUOTE]

[WILCO]

Bump! Just because I love cast iron cookware. :)

[imashooter2]

Mamma made sure that every one of her kids got a 14" and an 8" Griswold skillet when we left home. She also made sure her boys wouldn't be starving yo death for lack of knowing how to use them...

[SciFiJim]

My first piece was a skillet as a Christmas present from my wife on our first Christmas together. When I requested it, she couldn't believe that that was what I really wanted. I have since convinced her of the superiority of cast iron for a lot of cooking.