Cast Iron cooking
Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2007 2:33 pm
Camp oven Cooking
I was raised as a kid living out of cast iron camp ovens, stewing pots, saucepans, skillets and water urns, It was common in all kitchens in those days and I would give my eye tooth for some of that gear today. We had roast ducks, goose, turkeys or chicken on special days like Sunday lunch and birthdays or Xmas and New Year. During the week it was rabbits, mutton stews and an odd roast of mutton and plenty of fresh vegetables mostly home grown. Home made bread as well with treacle for desert, we lived well in that era.
Today we can buy similar equipment from sports stores and often, it’s of poor quality you could buy a dud, especially if you don’t know what to look for. When purchasing a camp oven you need to check that the thickness of the cast is even and that the lid fits firm and square spin the lid into a number of positions is it firm.
Your camp oven needs to be cured, heat the camp oven and lid up on a gas burner is the best, when its very hot, pour in a good vegetable oil and wipe it over the surface of the camp oven inside and out a handful of newspaper is ideal for the job. Allow the camp oven to cool and store it in a jute bag, cotton pillowcase.
You will hear a heap of best practice for your camp oven like never wash them just wipe them out clean, if you wash them with soap solution you will ruin them, well that’s rubbish, after each use your camp oven should be scrubbed clean in hot soapy water rinsed and then heated up on your fire and re oiled ready for storing. Before you use it to cook put some water in it and heat it up to boiling point and this ensures your pots are clean good hygiene is paramount. Make sure that the oil you use is of a type that does not turn rancid wiping it out with butter or fat is absolutely not the way to go.
A couple of things you need to understand about cast iron is that its porus hence the need to seal the surface with oil. Cast iron will take a lot of heat and remain intact I have seen them glowing red. The main reason they break is due to dropping them or the pot is struck by another object and the most common cause is cold water poured into a hot pot or the hot pot is placed onto the cold ground and you hear that horrible clink sound and a crack appears. They are never successfully repaired with welding; they are best used as a feature on a cupboard in your kitchen after that. The best way to look after your cast gear is to have a set of rules don’t touch the camp ovens unless you are invited to do so and no wood is to be placed on the fire but its acceptable for others to collect the wood. Someone adding in some extra pepper or some chilly has spoilt many a good stew when you are not looking. Today I have a range of cast iron cooking utensils a couple of very large camp ovens that hold a large slab of roast beef that will serve sixty people at a sitting.
I bet stick bow hunter remembers the big Trophy Takers awards on the Mary river when we had over a dozen camp ovens on the go at one time cooking roasts and gravy, from memory there was a hundred guests from around Australia at those awards.
Given time I will submit a few recipes for a range of good tucker that you can try when camping or even at home.
I was raised as a kid living out of cast iron camp ovens, stewing pots, saucepans, skillets and water urns, It was common in all kitchens in those days and I would give my eye tooth for some of that gear today. We had roast ducks, goose, turkeys or chicken on special days like Sunday lunch and birthdays or Xmas and New Year. During the week it was rabbits, mutton stews and an odd roast of mutton and plenty of fresh vegetables mostly home grown. Home made bread as well with treacle for desert, we lived well in that era.
Today we can buy similar equipment from sports stores and often, it’s of poor quality you could buy a dud, especially if you don’t know what to look for. When purchasing a camp oven you need to check that the thickness of the cast is even and that the lid fits firm and square spin the lid into a number of positions is it firm.
Your camp oven needs to be cured, heat the camp oven and lid up on a gas burner is the best, when its very hot, pour in a good vegetable oil and wipe it over the surface of the camp oven inside and out a handful of newspaper is ideal for the job. Allow the camp oven to cool and store it in a jute bag, cotton pillowcase.
You will hear a heap of best practice for your camp oven like never wash them just wipe them out clean, if you wash them with soap solution you will ruin them, well that’s rubbish, after each use your camp oven should be scrubbed clean in hot soapy water rinsed and then heated up on your fire and re oiled ready for storing. Before you use it to cook put some water in it and heat it up to boiling point and this ensures your pots are clean good hygiene is paramount. Make sure that the oil you use is of a type that does not turn rancid wiping it out with butter or fat is absolutely not the way to go.
A couple of things you need to understand about cast iron is that its porus hence the need to seal the surface with oil. Cast iron will take a lot of heat and remain intact I have seen them glowing red. The main reason they break is due to dropping them or the pot is struck by another object and the most common cause is cold water poured into a hot pot or the hot pot is placed onto the cold ground and you hear that horrible clink sound and a crack appears. They are never successfully repaired with welding; they are best used as a feature on a cupboard in your kitchen after that. The best way to look after your cast gear is to have a set of rules don’t touch the camp ovens unless you are invited to do so and no wood is to be placed on the fire but its acceptable for others to collect the wood. Someone adding in some extra pepper or some chilly has spoilt many a good stew when you are not looking. Today I have a range of cast iron cooking utensils a couple of very large camp ovens that hold a large slab of roast beef that will serve sixty people at a sitting.
I bet stick bow hunter remembers the big Trophy Takers awards on the Mary river when we had over a dozen camp ovens on the go at one time cooking roasts and gravy, from memory there was a hundred guests from around Australia at those awards.
Given time I will submit a few recipes for a range of good tucker that you can try when camping or even at home.