If you’ve never cooked with cast iron, you’re missing out.
I’ve been using cast iron skillets forever and Dutch ovens for quite a while. That’s all the pioneers and old cowboys had to cook with. I remember Jack Sweet telling us that, back in the day, Griffin black iron skillets were the cat’s meow. I’ve found one or two old Griffin skillets at garage sales, but Lodge now makes the best quality black iron.
On all products, I guess there’s a noticeable difference in run-of-the-mill products and top quality products. My advice — if you’re buying something that you’re going to be using every day for the rest of your life, buy good quality.
I don’t know if it really matters, but I’ve noticed inconsistencies in the wall thicknesses on cheaper Dutch ovens vs. Lodge. Dutch ovens are so thick it probably doesn’t really affect the heat transfer, but there are two things that I’ve noticed where Lodge excels over the cheaper brands that does bother me.
1. On cheaper Dutch ovens, the lips are not flat so their lids don’t seal very well.
2. On cheaper Dutch ovens, the handle is constructed out of a thinner wire that are never adjusted correctly, so they are always out of sorts with the world and they jam up when you try to pick them up. All of my Lodge handles work smoothly.
I just got another Dutch oven bread pan (about made a typo and put bed pan) and a grilling plate. I’d never used a black iron bread pan, so I was interested in testing it. When Katy and I first got married, we used to make sourdough bread every Sunday afternoon after church. We’ve been baking bread again lately, so I had to get one of their bread pans to test.
Even though I believe all of Lodge gear comes pre-seasoned, I still season all of my new pans. Usually when I bake bread, it tries to stick to the sides of the pan when I’m removing it. But it seems like with my bread pan, if I grease it up good first, the bread comes out OK without sticking as bad. I think from now on I’m always going to use a Lodge bread pan when baking bread.
Even though I’ve got a few Dutch ovens, I wanted a larger one without legs to cook with in the kitchen. As you can imagine, it’s a little more awkward to cook on the stove top or in the oven if your Dutch oven has legs.
So I decided to get a 7-quart Dutch oven. I tested it out last night by making a pot of turkey stew. I always save the bones and fat on our Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys and use them to make a stew. I can’t tell you how good it is.
It is simple to make. Throw in the bones and fat, chopped onion, chopped yellow squash, chopped jalapeno to taste, chopped potatoes, cup of rice, garlic, salt and pepper, and half a bunch of chopped cilantro. Cook it right below a boil until the potatoes are done and then jump in.
Make plenty. As it sets in the fridge, it tastes better.
So as we close, grab a Dutch oven, black skillet and a black bread pan, and it will open up a whole new world of cooking for you. And who knows, you might find yourself getting a little nostalgic and cooking dinner with your 6-gun strapped on your hip just like the old cowboys.
Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana. He also writes for various outdoors magazines and teaches outdoors seminars at stores like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Bass Pro Shop.
