Cast Iron

[Old Hippie]

Well here is my latest cast iron story. One of my BCs cooks up an outstanding fried chicken and my wife was fortunate enough to stop by and have some. He swears his secret is the cast iron pans he cooks in.

Yup. My wife (mother from Arkansas) and I (mother from North Dakota) both cook chicken in cast iron as we learned it. Southern fried chicken is done in an open skillet over medium heat, with lard of course. Northern fried chicken is done in a covered skillet over medium-low heat, with an uncovered step at the end. And with lard, of course. I render all our lard and tallow myself, so we believe we're getting good quality.

We will each happily eat the other's fried chicken (and do the dishes afterward) but after 25 years we have agreed to disagree. It's not one of those really life-or-death matters like "seat up or down" to us.

The larger one does not have any markings but does have a gate mark on the bottom so it is very old and the other I have not identified but it has a 3 on top of the handle a 0 on the bottom of the handle and the bottom is marked with a 0 then says 6 and one half inch skillet

The larger one looks like older Lodge to me. They didn't always mark them, I don't believe. Griswold and Wagner, always. It doesn't look as thin as a Griswold, nor does the iron look as coarse-grained as I've seen with Wagner (but not as coarse as Camp Chef). The handle and spouts really look Lodge, and possibly not too old -- somewhere in the mid-20th century -- on the basis of the mold flash inside the loop on the handle.

The smaller one looks to my amateur eye like Birmingham Stove and Range. One of the lesser-known makers, sold primarily in the South and lower Midwest US. I swiped this pic off the internet:

(Photo credit: Cast Iron Chaos: Birmingham Stove and Range - http://www.modemac.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/Birmingham_Stove_and_Range)

Distinguishing marks are the robust fire ring and the triangular section to the handle. That one pictured is the same as three I have, bought NOS in Iowa 20 years ago. They're probably 1960s production somewhere. The photo credit is also a link to more information.

They're fine-grained and medium thickness like Lodge; excellent pans.

O.H.

 

[oc_in_fw]

I don't think that I have ever tried fried fresh corn. Sounds good.

You’ve been missing out.

 

[Doc4]

Put garden fresh fried corn in the cast iron tonight. Delish.

You’ve been missing out.

Do you cook it (ie boil) on the cob before slicing it off, or is the pan-frying the only cooking the corn gets?

 

[Toothpick]

Do you cook it (ie boil) on the cob before slicing it off, or is the pan-frying the only cooking the corn gets?

we boiled it first. Then cut it off the cob. Then in the pan with a bunch of butter.

 

[oc_in_fw]

Do you cook it (ie boil) on the cob before slicing it off, or is the pan-frying the only cooking the corn gets?

we boiled it first. Then cut it off the cob. Then in the pan with a bunch of butter.

We boil it, then cut it off the cob. Fry it with butter (or better yet, bacon grease) and add some scallions.

 

[Clay S]

We boil it, then cut it off the cob. Fry it with butter (or better yet, bacon grease) and add some scallions.

 

[ChiefHA]

More pics of the skillets

 

[Tirvine]

Yes and no. At the risk of alienating cast iron devotees let me explain. I have a cast iron frypan, a cast iron griddle, and an enameled cast iron Dutch oven. I acknowledge they are all heavy, but thst is not my issue. I have been collecting cookware for half a century, and most of the workhorses in my kitchen are either heavy tinned copper or Lyonnaise shaped carbon steel fry pans. Cast iron is not a terrific conductor of heat. Most of it is heavy enough to have decent heat retention, making it fine once well heated for searing steaks and the like. Over time it develops seasoning that makes it much more nonstick than the stainless steel clad pans in most kitchens, a big plus. In an oven, evenness of heating is a nonissue, but browning meat on the stove top in the Dutch oven the hot spots and the less hot spots are evident. Cooking a large pancake on the griddle you can see the ring of heat presented by the burner. if you take a long time to preheat you can certainly minimize it, but it never truly goes away. There is another thread here about carbon steel pans, and in my experience they are a great alternative to cast iron. The long sloping handles are much easier to use with leverage than the short, horizontal handles typical on cast iron skillets. Carbon steel's cooking properties are very similar to cast iron's, but I find that it seasons more quickly and easily. The rims of cast iron are usually fairly steep, making it harder to turn some things. The rims on carbon steel are typically wide and more flared. (For frying eggs I love the almost rimless carbon steel crepe pan.) That makes it easier to get a spatula in there, but it also means much of the pan's diameter is not suited to cooking. So measuring the floor rather than the whole pan when selecting one is essential. The wide flare does, to some degree, reduce spatter on the stove top. As to the griddle, my two favorite uses are making English muffins and tortillas. Both use low heat and an ungreased surface. Using cast iron works fine for both with a bit of attention to hot spots. I do wish some enterprising cookware maker would make a griddle with about half an inch of aluminum, preferably with a stainless clad top, large enough to cover two burners. I think it would be popular.

Despite these issues I love my cast iron, especially the fry pan and the Dutch oven (oh, and the muffin pan and the corn stick pan!). They connect me with a wonderful Ametican cooking heritage. Nothing turns out muffins and corn sticks to rival cast iron with bacon fat!

 

[Blackgrass]

Yes and no. At the risk of alienating cast iron devotees let me explain. I have a cast iron frypan, a cast iron griddle, and an enameled cast iron Dutch oven. I acknowledge they are all heavy, but thst is not my issue. I have been collecting cookware for half a century, and most of the workhorses in my kitchen are either heavy tinned copper or Lyonnaise shaped carbon steel fry pans. Cast iron is not a terrific conductor of heat. Most of it is heavy enough to have decent heat retention, making it fine once well heated for searing steaks and the like. Over time it develops seasoning that makes it much more nonstick than the stainless steel clad pans in most kitchens, a big plus. In an oven, evenness of heating is a nonissue, but browning meat on the stove top in the Dutch oven the hot spots and the less hot spots are evident. Cooking a large pancake on the griddle you can see the ring of heat presented by the burner. if you take a long time to preheat you can certainly minimize it, but it never truly goes away. There is another thread here about carbon steel pans, and in my experience they are a great alternative to cast iron. The long sloping handles are much easier to use with leverage than the short, horizontal handles typical on cast iron skillets. Carbon steel's cooking properties are very similar to cast iron's, but I find that it seasons more quickly and easily. The rims of cast iron are usually fairly steep, making it harder to turn some things. The rims on carbon steel are typically wide and more flared. (For frying eggs I love the almost rimless carbon steel crepe pan.) That makes it easier to get a spatula in there, but it also means much of the pan's diameter is not suited to cooking. So measuring the floor rather than the whole pan when selecting one is essential. The wide flare does, to some degree, reduce spatter on the stove top. As to the griddle, my two favorite uses are making English muffins and tortillas. Both use low heat and an ungreased surface. Using cast iron works fine for both with a bit of attention to hot spots. I do wish some enterprising cookware maker would make a griddle with about half an inch of aluminum, preferably with a stainless clad top, large enough to cover two burners. I think it would be popular.

Despite these issues I love my cast iron, especially the fry pan and the Dutch oven (oh, and the muffin pan and the corn stick pan!). They connect me with a wonderful Ametican cooking heritage. Nothing turns out muffins and corn sticks to rival cast iron with bacon fat!

yes

 

[ChiefHA]

This pan was a ball of carbon and rust until last Sunday, then last night turned out some great cornbread....

 

[Old Hippie]

This pan was a ball of carbon and rust until last Sunday, then last night turned out some great cornbread....View attachment 1153406

Looks like it should, my friend!

My wife makes all the cornbread in the family. Well, I'll make some about twice a year. We have to be a little mellow with each other about it -- the family cornbread chromosomes don't all line up. None of the kids make it.

Hers is Arkansas cornbread -- looks exactly like yours. Probably tastes like it, too. I grew up on a North Dakota take on Illiinois cornbread -- a touch of sugar in it. My dad would generally pour some corn syrup on his to eat it -- he liked sorghum too but that was for biscuits. Never molasses. That was for hogs.

Over the last 25 years I've been converted to her way of making it.

O.H.

 

[Clay S]

Looks like it should, my friend!

My wife makes all the cornbread in the family. Well, I'll make some about twice a year. We have to be a little mellow with each other about it -- the family cornbread chromosomes don't all line up. None of the kids make it.

Hers is Arkansas cornbread -- looks exactly like yours. Probably tastes like it, too. I grew up on a North Dakota take on Illiinois cornbread -- a touch of sugar in it. My dad would generally pour some corn syrup on his to eat it -- he liked sorghum too but that was for biscuits. Never molasses. That was for hogs.

Over the last 25 years I've been converted to her way of making it.

O.H.

I hate when I bite into cornbread at some restaurants and it is almost as sweet as cake. I prefer without sugar, but some is tolerable.

 

[TexLaw]

I hate when I bite into cornbread at some restaurants and it is almost as sweet as cake. I prefer without sugar, but some is tolerable.

I agree wholeheartedly. A very little bit is okay, but I don't want dessert or a doughnut. I also want cornbread to be corn bread. Too many have way too much wheat flour in them. Frankly, I consider any wheat flour to be too much in cornbread, but I can tolerate some in the right setting.

 

[kelbro]

Not a fan of sweet cornbread.

 

[ajduplessis]

I only use cast iron for cooking and have skillets, griddle pan, dutch ovens, flattops, casseroles and a weak spot for Le Creuset. My other office...

 

[eelhc]

Our latest cast iron acquisition. It was expensive but the food coming out of it is absolutely divine.

 

[Dovo1695]

I love my cast iron skillet. It's a 12" WagnerWare that my grandfather bought in the 1930's. My wife has been through 2 Calphalon skillets since I inherited it 15 years ago. I plan to pass it down to my youngest son (5) who loves cooking with me.

 

[hcoop112]

Havnt used cast iron in years i used to have a skillet but it passed away after many years of service

 

[Dovo1695]

Havnt used cast iron in years i used to have a skillet but it passed away after many years of service

That's impressive. Cast iron skillets are built like tanks. I'm guessing that theres a funny story involved it you killed one. What happened?

 

[hcoop112]

After probably 15 years and alot of using marinades and burning it into the skillet it just didnt want to play ball ...its not that i wore it away it was just at a stage where it was to much hassle for me to try and salvage it without considerable work...now i think about it i did have a sandwich iron ...dont remember what fate it met mm just seemed to vanish