Cooking with Gas and Old Cast Iron

In my opinion, it doesn’t get much better.

The pans were made by Griswold, they are their Iron Mountain series. Manufactured between the mid 30s and mid 40s they were a less expensive alternative to the marked Griswolds. I have a set of four.

The griddle is a newer, 30 or 40 year old, Lodge. It’s not the same quality as the iron Mountain series but it gets the job done.

My granddaughter and I just came back from running the line. This is our trapper’s breakfast before we hit the fur shed.







Dippy eggs, toast and venison scrapple with homemade apple butter for me. A stack of pancakes and scrapple with maple syrup on everything for my granddaughter.

Doesn't get any better than that!

Venison Scrapple? Sounds delicious. You put any organ meat in it?

Good looking food. That stove looks pretty old too, I like it. There's something cool about vintage appliances, they're like mechanical artwork.

Looking Good !

Looks like some good eats.
Cooking like that is what I knew growing up. Cast iron on LP gas stove. I even have two of moms pans in my pile cast iron cookware.


Mac

I put hearts and livers in it Danny. Here is a link to a Tman tutorial on how I make it.

Venison Scrapple

I couldn't agree more. The Griswold Iron Mountain cookware pieces are a favorite of mine to use and cooking with them on a gas stove is tough to beat. Those vittles are looking awfully darn good!!

The "harvest gold" color is a giveaway. LOL

It is about sixty years old. It still has standing pilot lights, something the government outlawed for residential use decades ago. I love that stove! My wife, not so much. I tell her I'll replace it with a modern stove when it dies (likely never happen).

I do want to take it to my cabin to replace the electric stove up there, I hate cooking with electric. So she might get her wish after all.

Nice!!!

Here's what my daughter got me for Christmas.

I got to tell you Lug, that scrapple tutorial always makes me smile. That yellow lab photo bombing every picture cracks me up ……

I made a Cheese Cake in one of those....using the charcoal briquettes on the lid and undah neath

I have a couple things I wanna try with coals on the top. My business co-owner uses one and says I'd be amazed that coals on top cook better than I'd think.

That looks awesome Lug and I forgot to PM you. I'll watch the tutorial again as I was wondering if you added buckwheat to your scrapple. Here's some chicken in my 50's #14 Lodge. Nothing better then cast iron!

I can't answer for Lug, but we use a third Buckwheat in our flour for scrapple.

3 parts corn meal, 2 parts flour and 1 part buckwheat flour.

Thanks hippie! When I looked at the pic I posted it looks like a small skillet with wings lol. Those are full size drumsticks. Here's a pic of the #14 with a #9 sitting in it.

That’s a bigun Catch!

I don’t know if I say it in the tutorial or not but I use equal parts dark buckwheat flour and roasted cornmeal in my scrapple.

I’ve had amazing stuff cooked for me in a Dutch oven hippie but never tried it myself.

Thanks Lug. I bought everything to make a small batch, maybe 6 loaves but I ate half of it lol and need to go get more organ meat.

Apple cobbler out of a Dutch oven over an open fire is one of the best desserts I’ve ever had.

Lug, hippie, check out this guy on the youtube. He has a lot of great dutch oven recipes.

Correction Catch, I just checked my notes, I use two parts dark buckwheat flour to one part roasted cornmeal. Sorry I almost steered you wrong.

No worries Lug. I'm sure because it's gonna be my first time making it there's gonna be some trial and era. Hopefully it doesn't crumble!! That's my biggest fear and that's why I'm asking a lot of questions and trying to watch the videos that are out there. I love scrapple and hope I can get to making it good.

stove is gas and I use almost exclusively cast iron

black eyed peas on the stove right now

If scrapple falls apart when cooking, its usually because of too much water in the mix. Ya have to learn when its "done" in the kettle which is mostly determined by feel when stiring and amount of steam coming off.

My biggest issue when I first started making it on my own was getting it too wet. I was afraid to thicken it up too much because the thicker it gets the harder it is to stir. And you have to keep stirring as you thicken it because if even a small amount burns it will ruin the whole batch. So I tended to err on the side of caution and pull it off the fire while it was still too wet.

I’ve pretty much got it dialed in now but it can be pretty crumbly. That’s just the nature of it. Think of it as a meat cake. It’s denser but similar in texture. I suppose I could use some more fat or something as a binder but I haven’t done that yet. After the initial cooking off of the bones, we scoop the juice out and let it sit overnight. The next day all the tallow and fat has risen to the top of the 5 gallon buckets, like 1.5- 2 inches thick that we take off and discard. I have started putting some of that back in to act as a binder.

Hippie, Lug, y'all are awesome. Thanks for sharing your scrapple wisdom!! I feel bad cause I went in a scrapple direction on a CI thread so heres a pic of my CI loaf pans. They make some good bread.

Love cooking with cast iron . Makes the food taste better.[img]http://[/img]




Mostly during camping and hunting season . But I my wife says at home is good too !

Great corn bread too..

I need some vintage cast iron ( where’s the best place to score some ? )

I have saved searches on eBay, they notify me when specific items are listed. I always contact the seller and ask if the pan is flat, no warping, etc. That way I have a reason to return it if it is defective.

I found my Iron Mountain set in an old farm dump while small game hunting decades ago. Took them home, cleaned them up and have been using them daily ever since.

Nessy, ebay is a source, but usually they bring the big bucks. Garage sales, thrift stores and sometimes the Goodwill has them. If you want to get into CI I suggest a lot of research on brands, logo's, years made and value. Also like Lug said, condition. Warped, bowed, cracked, etc.

A lot of the CI makers ran a economy brand for the poor folk. Griswold had Iron MTN and Victor, Wagner had National ( which is the #9 in my pic and my go to skillet. She's 100 years old and is awesome), Wapak had Oneta, Favorite had Miami and so on.

I see your skillet is from Taiwan or China. The older Taiwan skillets from 30-50 years ago are really good users with smooth bottoms and can be found cheap. I have one that's my go to cornbread skillet, my buddy give it to me. Lug, that's cool as heck you found them skillets and are using them!!

I was in an antique shop last week and they had a big section of cast iron skillets and such. May try checking some antique shops

I have got to try that. Folks here in KS dont know what scrapple is

Just finished dinner and now I'm hungry again,

There are many online resources to find out how many coals/briquettes on the top and bottom of a Dutch oven to get the correct temp for baking.

For cooking stews and other things it really doesn't matter to much.

When baking it does. I also found that until you've learned how many to put on it's best to place a bundt pan in the Dutch oven. You're definitely going to have some mistakes, and those mistakes can be fun to clean.

Awesome thread

Check out Smithy cookware. It's not vintage,but is super slick. Made in Charleston, SC

This one is the flagship of my collection Catch. It’s an Erie 719 #12. The last one was made in 1909. It’s not a daily user but it does get used frequently. It’s big enough to cover two burners. I recently saw one for sale on Etsy for $1000.00.

And here I am using a small farm and fleet lodge to fry venison loins in and thought I was doing good haha.

What is the best way to clean these each time?

Steel Jaw, my daily users get scraped (if they need it) with a flat-bottom spatula after each use while still warm then wiped with a paper towel. Usually I don't have to scrape, just use the paper towel.

But most of the newer stuff is rough inside unlike the old cast iron which was polished very smooth at the factory. So the new stuff may be harder to clean.

It takes awhile, needs done outside, but with power tools a new pan can be polished up like the old ones were.

Yep, I have a cheap set of cast iron up at camp. I used a few different grit flap disks on my side grinder and a palm sander to get them smooth. Lot's of work and I looked and smelled like I had just put a full shift in at a foundry.

Lug, holy moly, that's a great skillet!! Seriously, wow. Does the back say just Erie or Griswold Erie and does it have quotes above the name?

Mine aren't worth a lot money wise, like my #9 National has a lot of sulfur pitting on the bottom but has a awesome cooking surface. There's nothing wrong with modern lodge skillets, I have a couple but once you cook on vintage you'll see the difference.

I'm no expert but I think the combo of seasoning properly along with learning how to use them, warming them up, what temp to fry with etc. is what makes them all but non stick.

I completely agree with you.

That is a awesome skillet Lug and again I'm no expert. Without seeing the bottom side of the handle I would say your Erie is a 3rd series skillet made from 1892-1905.


I like and appreciate Lodge, still made here in merica and I understand why they went to a course cooking surface but I wish they would run some old school Lodge again with a smooth cooking surface and no factory seasoning. That'd be awesome.

I smoothed out my lodge pans(2) but have to redo my big one. I'm just learning how to use them. I have a new lodge deep skillet. Is it better to smooth them or can you season them enough to become stick free with the factory finish?
At a shop near by there we're sone Griswold cast pans, guessing 10" , for $59. They had some other ones also that were smaller, not sure of the brand. What is a decent price for Griswold that is in good shape.,no rust ect?

dusty, with Griswold it all depends on the manufacture date as to the value.

There are some years that $59 for a 10' pan would be a fair price. Then there's other years where that is an incredible price.

Dusty, they're are some great vid's on the youtube on how to season and cook with CI. You can reseason Lodge skillets or keep seasoning them and they'll do. Like said, learning how to use them is key. They have their own personality and when you get dialed in on them there's nothing better.

Griswold is probably the most desirable imo and vary greatly in price. Research the logo's as they tell when they were made. The later small block logo with smooth bottoms are usually cheaper and great users. Griswold like others had economy lines like Good Health, Victor, Puritan etc and they are great users too.

Also they're are a ton of "unmarked" skillets that can be had cheap but ya need to research to know who made them and when. There's as big a rabbit hole as anyone cares to dive into with CI. Or if ya don't want to spend the time or make a hobby out of it, just see if the skillet has a smooth cooking surface, no cracks and doesn't spin or wobble on a flat surface and you should be good to go.

Here is a good website to help identify, date, and use vintage cast iron. You don't have to be a collector, this site helps you identify the lesser known and unmarked brands that cook just as well.

http://castironcollector.com/

First pic I uploaded so I hope it works. This is my collection of every day users. All vintage Griswold, Wagner Ware and Old Lodge chicken fryer. I have several vintage Dutch ovens and a monster old lodge frypan that I take camping. I don’t use those in the house too much.

Great thread.

My daily users. Griswold and Wagner. I have been cooking w/ case iron for over 40 years. Nothing better than vintage Griswold and Wagner.

Bhugo, good looking skillets and I like that rack.

Thanks. It’s a really useful space saver. The lady of the house does not share my love of the look of classic iron. She balked at hanging them for all to see.

My wife doesn't share my enthusiasm for older cast iron cookware either. Before we were married I was an avid collector and held a sizable collection (still do) and displayed a number of pieces in my bachelor abode - everything pretty much resides in the basement these days. I still enjoy the hunt for collectible iron, albeit at a greatly reduced capacity compared to my younger years, and still get a thrill when I come across a hard-to-find piece. Had the good fortune of finding an ERIE Spider skillet a number years back that I eventually sold on FB for a tidy sum - if you know what to look for it's surprising the money some pieces can bring.

I had a good friend who always cooked with the old Griswolds and had quite the collection of them. He got into drugs and went to the dark side so I distanced myself from him. Never heard of what ever happened to his collection but will give him credit for my use of old cast iron.

I'm glad Catch mentioned a rack. I was having trouble understanding the picture, thought it was sideways.

So you keep them in a rack inside a cabinet, yes?

It is sideways Lug,

Aha, so it's some sort of vertical rack, thanks hippie.

Must be heavy-duty to hold that weight.

It was sideways. Thank you hippie.

Yes it is heavier duty than I thought it would be. Has lasted for years without sagging. The little Griswold on the counter gets stacked on top with the chicken fryer lid. Lotsa mass in that rack.

That’s a great idea bhugo, I like it.

hot water , stiff brush and it comes clean also , after a while a good season you would never even know it came with some texture to the bottom in the first place .

I have stuff that is newer and older the second handle is how you know the newer stuff is newer at this point other than looking at the outside