Cookin' With Coal

 
Sixkids
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Post by Sixkids » Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 9:49 am

Hi Guys!
Been lurkin' for a few days as we gain more baby steps towards getting the stove ready to fire up. We now have one 3 ft. single walled stove pipe in place over the collar / reducer attached to the stove. Brandon has been helping us, long distance! (stovehospital). Those guys REALLY know their stuff! :) We also bought an 'under the stove' floor protector, in 'slate' pattern. We put it under the stove last night. Playing around with a slider pipe to go in the line up of pipe. We figured it would work best when attempting to clean out the pipe. In talking to Brandon I learned that the older, antique stoves, burn so much better than the newer ones that the flue rarely needs cleaned when burning coal, (or even some wood).
I do plan to burn a little wood as well, (LOVE the smell of a good wood fire and also want to try the broiler).

BUT, I had to chime in with my 2 cents worth on the cast iron cookware!! (My passion!! :) The pans and other cast sitting on the small set of wooden shelves next to our stove, is about 1/3 of my cast iron pans and such. I am the camp cook at our Civil War re-enactments and cook all of the time in my cast. I don't profess to know everything about cast iron ... but could probably fill an okay college paper with the things that I have learned since starting using cast iron a long time ago!
First, let me say that I AM NOT trying to tell any of you how to care for and / or use cast iron cookware, as I'm sure you guys already know a bunch already, this is just for me to practice up on my typing after several days of lurking!! So, unless you have nothing else to do ... go ahead and skip the rest of my ramblings!
First a smooth pan or griddle, skillet, etc. is the best on which to cook. The 'older', (not modern day ones). are best, (once cleaned up!). Run your hand over an 'older' pan and a 'modern' pan and you can very quickly tell the difference.
I remove the rust from mine with elbow grease and SOS. It takes quite a bit of work, but I really enjoy seeing what each piece will turn out to look like when I am finished. Some people turn their 'modern' stove on, throw the cast into the oven on the cleaning cycle. (I don't, but some do).
I have learned not to use vegetable shortening or any other soild form of shortening ... mainly because it will go rancid and impart that flavor into your food if you let it sit for any length of time.
Don't store the Dutch ovens, or pans with the lids on as it needs the air circulating. If you are going to store that pans away for a season fold up poaper towel and set between the pan and the lid to allow air to be able to circulate, or it may mold.
Before using the pan, wipe the inside with vegtable oil - before each use. After each use just rinse out, or wipe out any leftover food. You can use salt to scrub out stuck on food. I have been known to quickly and with only a drop of dish soap, (which is a No No!), 'wash' out the pan occasionally. Then to oil it again, (not the 6-step process). Especially if I use my pan often, I will just oil it with a quick swipe of veg. oil. If you get the pan wet when rinsing it or cleaning it, place it on the stove to make sure it is dry, but not too long as you don't want to burn up your pan. (Even though a cast iron pan can take some heat). And NEVER, NEVER take a cast iron pan from cold to very hot, or vise-versa as it can crack your cast very quickly. It seems a very heavy duty item, but temp extremes DO crack cast iron. Warm them up first.
If you have removed some of the coating on a pan that you use, which has a lid, the easiest way to re-coat the pan is to make popcorn!! :) REALLY! You add the oil to the pan and a couple pieces of popcorn and when they pop from the oil and pan being hot enough, you add additional popcorn. The popcorn and oil popping around will coat the inside of the dutch oven, or pan with lid, VERY nicely and evenly! (Just don't burn the popcorn and you will have a tasty treat as well!
In 'seasoning' your cast iron I like to use Flax Seed oil. It does a fantastic job! You can buy Flax seed oil near the vitamins in Wal-Mart or any other store that might carry it. Mine comes in a green plastic bottle, (Spring Valley), but most any kind will do. I will tell you how it is done in the regular electric oven that I have been using and you can equate this for use in a REAL oven!! :)
You take a clean, unseasoned cast iron pan. Take a piece of paper towel and just a bit of flaxseed oil. wipe the towel over the whole pan, the coating should be as if you wiped it on and then off, just that thickness. Place the pan into the oven and turn the oven on to about 400 degrees. When the temp of the oven gets up to temp, leave it in for about 20 mins. Then turn off the oven until the oven has cooled down. Let the pan sit in the oven during this time. When cool, repeat the proceedure with just the lightest coating of the oil again. This needs to be repeated a total of six times. Your pan will look like glass! If you don't scratch around in the pan with a metal spatula or spoon, you should be good to go. Use a wooden spoon! If you continue to use the pan to cook and remember to wipe it out before cooking and after cleaning it up, you should be good to use this pan and after awhile it will once again become non-stick. I really like the look of my pans after they have been done this way.
Not able to post pictures successfully on this page, you might be able to see one of our pictures here?
(Sorry, it didn't work :(
(Not sure if this will work or not!) (The two dutch that I have sitting on the ground in the picture, have wood fire ash on their lids from using that day) Perhaps if I send the link over to Paul , he might not mind working his magic in posting the picture?


 
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Photog200
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Post by Photog200 » Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 10:06 am

Sixkids wrote:Hi Guys!
Been lurkin' for a few days as we gain more baby steps towards getting the stove ready to fire up. We now have one 3 ft. single walled stove pipe in place over the collar / reducer attached to the stove. Brandon has been helping us, long distance! (stovehospital). Those guys REALLY know their stuff! :) We also bought an 'under the stove' floor protector, in 'slate' pattern. We put it under the stove last night. Playing around with a slider pipe to go in the line up of pipe. We figured it would work best when attempting to clean out the pipe. In talking to Brandon I learned that the older, antique stoves, burn so much better than the newer ones that the flue rarely needs cleaned when burning coal, (or even some wood).
I do plan to burn a little wood as well, (LOVE the smell of a good wood fire and also want to try the broiler).

BUT, I had to chime in with my 2 cents worth on the cast iron cookware!! (My passion!! :) The pans and other cast sitting on the small set of wooden shelves next to our stove, is about 1/3 of my cast iron pans and such. I am the camp cook at our Civil War re-enactments and cook all of the time in my cast. I don't profess to know everything about cast iron ... but could probably fill an okay college paper with the things that I have learned since starting using cast iron a long time ago!
First, let me say that I AM NOT trying to tell any of you how to care for and / or use cast iron cookware, as I'm sure you guys already know a bunch already, this is just for me to practice up on my typing after several days of lurking!! So, unless you have nothing else to do ... go ahead and skip the rest of my ramblings!
First a smooth pan or griddle, skillet, etc. is the best on which to cook. The 'older', (not modern day ones). are best, (once cleaned up!). Run your hand over an 'older' pan and a 'modern' pan and you can very quickly tell the difference.
I remove the rust from mine with elbow grease and SOS. It takes quite a bit of work, but I really enjoy seeing what each piece will turn out to look like when I am finished. Some people turn their 'modern' stove on, throw the cast into the oven on the cleaning cycle. (I don't, but some do).
I have learned not to use vegetable shortening or any other soild form of shortening ... mainly because it will go rancid and impart that flavor into your food if you let it sit for any length of time.
Don't store the Dutch ovens, or pans with the lids on as it needs the air circulating. If you are going to store that pans away for a season fold up poaper towel and set between the pan and the lid to allow air to be able to circulate, or it may mold.
Before using the pan, wipe the inside with vegtable oil - before each use. After each use just rinse out, or wipe out any leftover food. You can use salt to scrub out stuck on food. I have been known to quickly and with only a drop of dish soap, (which is a No No!), 'wash' out the pan occasionally. Then to oil it again, (not the 6-step process). Especially if I use my pan often, I will just oil it with a quick swipe of veg. oil. If you get the pan wet when rinsing it or cleaning it, place it on the stove to make sure it is dry, but not too long as you don't want to burn up your pan. (Even though a cast iron pan can take some heat). And NEVER, NEVER take a cast iron pan from cold to very hot, or vise-versa as it can crack your cast very quickly. It seems a very heavy duty item, but temp extremes DO crack cast iron. Warm them up first.
If you have removed some of the coating on a pan that you use, which has a lid, the easiest way to re-coat the pan is to make popcorn!! :) REALLY! You add the oil to the pan and a couple pieces of popcorn and when they pop from the oil and pan being hot enough, you add additional popcorn. The popcorn and oil popping around will coat the inside of the dutch oven, or pan with lid, VERY nicely and evenly! (Just don't burn the popcorn and you will have a tasty treat as well!
In 'seasoning' your cast iron I like to use Flax Seed oil. It does a fantastic job! You can buy Flax seed oil near the vitamins in Wal-Mart or any other store that might carry it. Mine comes in a green plastic bottle, (Spring Valley), but most any kind will do. I will tell you how it is done in the regular electric oven that I have been using and you can equate this for use in a REAL oven!! :)
You take a clean, unseasoned cast iron pan. Take a piece of paper towel and just a bit of flaxseed oil. wipe the towel over the whole pan, the coating should be as if you wiped it on and then off, just that thickness. Place the pan into the oven and turn the oven on to about 400 degrees. When the temp of the oven gets up to temp, leave it in for about 20 mins. Then turn off the oven until the oven has cooled down. Let the pan sit in the oven during this time. When cool, repeat the proceedure with just the lightest coating of the oil again. This needs to be repeated a total of six times. Your pan will look like glass! If you don't scratch around in the pan with a metal spatula or spoon, you should be good to go. Use a wooden spoon! If you continue to use the pan to cook and remember to wipe it out before cooking and after cleaning it up, you should be good to use this pan and after awhile it will once again become non-stick. I really like the look of my pans after they have been done this way.
Not able to post pictures successfully on this page, you might be able to see one of our pictures here?
(Sorry, it didn't work :(
(Not sure if this will work or not!) (The two dutch that I have sitting on the ground in the picture, have wood fire ash on their lids from using that day) Perhaps if I send the link over to Paul , he might not mind working his magic in posting the picture?
Good to hear you are taking the baby steps toward hook up!

Thank you for posting another way to season cast iron. I would agree with you about shortening going rancid if used every time. The only time I use shortening is to originally season, like if I get a new pan. (when hardened it helps to smooth out the bumps) Or if I completely strip an old pan. I leave it in the oven for 2 hrs to really harden. After that I have been wiping down with vegetable oil after rinsing out. I will have to try the flax seed oil...great tip! (also good for the heart)
Randy

 
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Sunny Boy
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Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 10:23 am

Carole,
Small world again. I just happen to have a green bottle of Spring Valley flax seed here. Never would have thought to use it, but I'll sure give it a try now. Thanks for that tip.

I'd gladly post any pictures for you. I responded to your pm about the Facebook link. Wouldn't work for me either, must be a problem at the Facebook end ????

Paul

 
Sixkids
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Post by Sixkids » Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 10:55 am

Or perhaps the coal forum doesn't recognize FB links?
:D

 
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Post by Sixkids » Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 11:24 am

Thanks Randy! You sound like an old pro at the cast as well!
How are you at figuring out my computer that actually hates me? :D Every time I try to post a picture on this site it reminds me not to post ones that I don't own!!! (I'm sure it probably tells everyone that!! ) Then it won't post any of mine anyway!! So you would think it could just skip the step of telling me to use my own pictures since it doesn't plan to use any of them anyway!! :)

 
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Sunny Boy
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Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: Central NY
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Anthracite Industrial, domestic hot water heater
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood range 208, # 6 base heater, 2 Modern Oak 118.
Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 11:26 am

Carole,
Here's the picture of your encampment. That's a lot of iron to haul around,. . . at least the artillery guys get wheels with their heavy irons ! :D

I'll let you do the what's what.

Paul

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cast iron pans at camp.jpg
.JPG | 92.5KB | cast iron pans at camp.jpg

 
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Sunny Boy
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Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Anthracite Industrial, domestic hot water heater
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood range 208, # 6 base heater, 2 Modern Oak 118.
Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 11:29 am

Is that a perc coffee pot I see hiding behind the other coffee pot ?

Paul


 
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Post by Sixkids » Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 11:38 am

Thanks Paul! and ..Nice catch!! :) Yes, it is!! :D Early in the morning before the spectators arrive it is easier to use the perculator than the 'cowboy coffee' method! Plus we are using the coffee boiler for the hot chocolate water.
The picture is one taken at Greenfield Village, Dearborn, Michigan. (Near "The Henry Ford"). We go there to re-enact on Memerial Day weekend. My reflector oven isn't in this picture, I think it was by the fire at this point with probably morning biscuits or cinnamon rolls baking in it. A few of my cast iron pieces are hanging there on the rack and you may be able to kind of see the coating that the flaxseed oil puts on the pans and corn bread pan. Have any of you New Yorkers gone to Mumford, NY? We also encamp there as well as a few other states, and PA.
Carole
Last edited by Sixkids on Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 12:19 pm, edited 2 times in total.

 
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Post by SWPaDon » Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 11:55 am

Thanks for the cast iron tips Carole.

 
Sixkids
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Post by Sixkids » Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 12:04 pm

Sure! It wasn't much Don, but feel free to use or discard any of my ramblings at any point in time! :D
My children do!! :) Naw, they are good kids! I think my two that are dueling banjos right now on their banjoleles are making me wonder right now though!! :)
Last edited by Sixkids on Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 12:31 pm, edited 2 times in total.

 
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Post by SWPaDon » Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 12:08 pm

dlj wrote:So what are you guys doing when you'e seasoning cast iron cookware with such poor luck? I've got a half dozen or more cast iron skillets, a real nice dutch oven that I make tomato sauces in all the time, never had a problem with it getting "unseasoned" while cooking sauce... Some of my skillets I found in the woods, mighty rusty but cleaned up fine. When they are that bad, power tools are quite helpful. I hear folk using vegetable oil to season with, I don't care for it that much. I prefer unsalted butter. Olive oil also works well. The thing with olive oil, I can taste it in my eggs, so I only use unsalted butter for the fry pans that will see eggs being cooked in them. I just personally don't like olive oil taste with fried eggs...

The advantage of olive oil is you can season at a higher temperature than butter with greater ease. One of the tricks to seasoning a pan is to do the seasoning step at a higher temperature than you are going to cook at.

dj
I can't remember exactly how I screwed up the seasoning of the first pan I tried, but I did some searching on the internet and got a few tips on doing it. I agree with the power tool usage cleaning them up, I use a wire wheel in a drill (with safety glasses-safety first).
One pan I tried was pitted badly, I just couldn't do anything with it.

 
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Post by Sixkids » Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 12:18 pm

If you leave the sauce sit in the cast it will tend to eat the seasoning as it is acidic in nature. If you empty the pot right after cooking and give it a good rinse it will probably work better.

 
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Post by Sixkids » Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 12:29 pm

Paul, I also meant to Thank you about your posting to my 'fire-at-night-sleep-with-one-eye-open' question. You seem to be really in-tune to your coal burner and right up on top of things. I appreciate it. It was nice to see the different temps. it helps in understanding it a bit better. Thank you. :)

 
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Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 12:40 pm

Sixkids wrote:If you leave the sauce sit in the cast it will tend to eat the seasoning as it is acidic in nature. If you empty the pot right after cooking and give it a good rinse it will probably work better.
Back when I was making my own spaghetti sauce, I would let it cook for hours, just as my old Italian boss taught me. First time we used the Griswold that long boil with tomato sauce took out all the seasoning I'd done. You could see the "high-tide" mark where it was still seasoned above, and all clean, gray iron below, like I'd stripped it with battery acid. :oops:

The girl friend loves to watch cooking shows on cable TV. Now, having used and washed one on these enameled Dutch ovens, we know why we see so many of them being used.

And it only makes it all the better that she loves the color too. ;)

Paul

 
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Post by SWPaDon » Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 12:43 pm

Sixkids wrote:If you leave the sauce sit in the cast it will tend to eat the seasoning as it is acidic in nature. If you empty the pot right after cooking and give it a good rinse it will probably work better.
Oh, yea. We clean them up right away. We want these skillets to last a long long time. :D
I was off on the measurement of the one I found in our basement, it is 3 inches deep, 8.5 inches on the bottom, and 10 inches at the top. It cleaned up beautifully and we use it all the time. Wanted to post a picture of it, but can't seem to find the adapter for my phone. :oops:


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