Cast iron appreciation thread

[stillgriller]

I borrowed a friend's Le Creuset for a weekend to see if I would like the enameled DO.   Made gumbo and spaghetti and meatballs.  Absolutely love it for it's versatility and heat retention.   I would up buying the 6 quart Lodge enameled DO.  I've used it at least a dozen times.  I really cannot tell the difference between it and Le Creuset and certainly not the $200+ price difference.  Yes, it made in China but I'm very happy with it.   Definitely better for the acidic cooks with tomato. 


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Yep, China. That said, I have the Lodge 5.5q DO from Wallyworld, and for $40, I really like it. Just an fyi, you can use Barkeepers friend if the inside gets stained, just scrub lightly and try not to get it on the exterior, as it can etch it. Also, be careful not to bang on the rim, the porcelain is susceptible to chipping even from plastic utensils.

[stillgriller]

Should I remove coating and start over?


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I say start cooking with it. Most likely it'll even out and be a great cooker. Worst case, you start over.

[noreaster]

Beef shanks

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[noreaster]

Misen 7 qr

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[HoosierKettle]

I borrowed a friend's Le Creuset for a weekend to see if I would like the enameled DO.   Made gumbo and spaghetti and meatballs.  Absolutely love it for it's versatility and heat retention.   I would up buying the 6 quart Lodge enameled DO.  I've used it at least a dozen times.  I really cannot tell the difference between it and Le Creuset and certainly not the $200+ price difference.  Yes, it made in China but I'm very happy with it.   Definitely better for the acidic cooks with tomato. 


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Yep, China. That said, I have the Lodge 5.5q DO from Wallyworld, and for $40, I really like it. Just an fyi, you can use Barkeepers friend if the inside gets stained, just scrub lightly and try not to get it on the exterior, as it can etch it. Also, be careful not to bang on the rim, the porcelain is susceptible to chipping even from plastic utensils.

What's going on in that pot?  Looks interesting.


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[stillgriller]

I borrowed a friend's Le Creuset for a weekend to see if I would like the enameled DO.   Made gumbo and spaghetti and meatballs.  Absolutely love it for it's versatility and heat retention.   I would up buying the 6 quart Lodge enameled DO.  I've used it at least a dozen times.  I really cannot tell the difference between it and Le Creuset and certainly not the $200+ price difference.  Yes, it made in China but I'm very happy with it.   Definitely better for the acidic cooks with tomato. 


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Yep, China. That said, I have the Lodge 5.5q DO from Wallyworld, and for $40, I really like it. Just an fyi, you can use Barkeepers friend if the inside gets stained, just scrub lightly and try not to get it on the exterior, as it can etch it. Also, be careful not to bang on the rim, the porcelain is susceptible to chipping even from plastic utensils.

What's going on in that pot?  Looks interesting.


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My wife made a pot of cabbage soup for me while I had Covid, and in return, I gave her Covid. Nice guy, huh? She also made beef vegetable soup, chicken noodle soup, chili and Amish chicken and noodles in this DO. We use it a lot in fall/winter and it's one of our favorite pans.

[Lightning]

It's interesting how enamelled cast iron came up here because I was going to post about some that I bought in the last couple of weeks.  Anyways, the local mall has a Homesense across from the grocery store so on a whim, I stopped in before doing the grocery shopping.  I picked up a small Le Creuset dutch oven a few years ago that I've never used - I really need to dig it out and start using it - and decided to look at the cookware and saw this nice little 2.2 L braiser among a couple of dutch ovens.  I think it might be a factory second but that doesn't matter, I think the reason for second tier status was the colour enamel on the handles where they meet the body of the braiser and the inside surface have some pin spots where the black layer beneath the colours surface shows through.  the price was heavily discounted so I bought it because I've enjoyed my Lodge enamelled cast iron quite a bit.  Interestingly, it was at the Sears in the same mall that I picked up the Lodge enamelled cast iron at when it was being blown out in 2017 when Sears Canada went under.







I made a potato spiral in it for its first cook and a couple of other dishes since then and really enjoyed it so I started looking around, and came across a sale plus an additional 10% off so I was able to buy a few more pieces at steeply discounted prices that brought it into affordability for me.

One of the other pieces I picked up was a 4.7 L braiser.  It's getting it's first cook right now with some braised short ribs:













As much as I love cooking outdoors over charcoal, there is definitely something to be said for a warm stove on a cold, crappy day.  Actually, there is a lot to be said for a warm stove con a cold, crappy wet, raw day like today.

[JEBIV]

good looking food and equipment

[noreaster]

Need somewhere to put it

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[Lightning]

good looking food and equipment

Thanks!

I had pretty much moved to cast iron from non-stick pans a number of years ago but I've been wanting to expand my collection to cover off a few cooking situations I didn't have covered very well.

There are several reasons why I've been accumulating cast iron cookware whenever I can get it on sale, especially anything that's enamelled like the Le Creuset stuff that I picked up steeply discounted, but two of the big ones are the longevity of the pieces - unless I destroy the enamel, the enamelled cast iron will see me through.  Regular cast iron of course can be reseasoned if necessary.  The other big one, especially with the sale on Le Creuset I found where a warehouse blowout also had a 10% additional discount on top of it, is to get ahead of inflation.  Several steeply discounted Le Creuset pieces now were still expensive but significantly less than paying full retail and with the way inflation is running, full retail or even sale pricing could end up out of reach entirely in two or three years.  The other half of it is wage stagnation.  1.5% per year was a slow burn when inflation ran 2-3% but it's been a brutal hemorrhage now that inflation's been somewhere between 6 and 10% for almost two years now, so I've been taking the opportunities to get myself set up with cookware for the long run when I can, while I still can.  Similar to how I bought my house while I was still able to afford one.

Need somewhere to put it

That's a beautiful display of a beautiful collection.  Well done!

[Big Dawg]

Need somewhere to put it

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Methinks that, if push came to shove, you could find a place for it !





BD

[cdp8]

First attempt at skillet focaccia. I love our cast iron.


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[Lightning]

I took a grab shot the other day of two colourful Le Creuset pieces, a small braiser and a small dutch oven that were sale and clearance store finds and then I realized I had two more pieces of cast iron on the stove in the background.

I'm trying to think of when I last used a non-stick pan. I have one or two on hand but it's been a number of years now since any of them have been out and on the stove.  I should probably donate them.

[Zrschaef]

3 lbs of ground beef in my #12 birmingham stove and range on the genesis

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[Zrschaef]

Is that a field? How do you like it compared to vintage stuff?

First attempt at skillet focaccia. I love our cast iron.


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