Cooking with Cast Iron

haywyre

Over the weekend I picked up a great deal on some Lodge Cast Iron cookware. Anyone have any eggperience cooking with cast Iron on the egg? IE (Dutch Oven)I fround a pdf on the net 850 Dutch Oven recipes and I cant wait to give them a try.

JSlot

Many folks on here use cast iron on the Egg. When I use my dutch oven, I'm usually cooking indirect with a plate setter at about 350° just like I would in the oven. How about passing along the address of that PDF file. I'm sure more than a few of us would like to take a peak at it.[p]Jim

mad max beyond eggdome

haywyre,
i cook w/ castiron/aluminum/lecreuset enamel all the time on the egg. .. [p]try doing beans or chili, leave the lids off if you want good smoke infusion. .. you can go direct or indirect with raised grid over the plate setter, etc. .. [p]here is one of my favorite recipes as i posted it back in august. . . .[p]ok kids, first some background. . .since i was a kid, one of my favorite meals of all time has been a casserole from "The French Chef Cookbook", by Julia Child circa 1968. . .it is called
"Carbonnade De Boeuf A La Provencale" (or beef, potatoe and onion casserole). . .mom used to make this (rarely, mind you), and even after i got married, i convinced my wife to make it
once or twice. .. but it has been at least 10 years since i last had it. . .anyway, i was thinking the other day "hmmmm what can i do creative on my egg?", when it hit me (at first i just
thought it was gas) like an epiphany -- i should find my julia child book, look up the recipe and do it on the egg. . .so down to the basement i went, found the cookbook, it was even marked
at the correct page (pg. 208 for those who might actually have this book). . .[p]now before i give the recipe, let me just say, "IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE". . .this may be one of the best things i've done yet in a pot in the egg. . .the wife also raved. . .with the wood
smoke infusion it really had a wonderful rustic flavor (probably the way it was originally intended) that could never be duplicated in an oven. . [p]so. .. here is the recipe, directly out of the cookbook (at the end i will give you my very minor deviations). .[p]CARBONNADE DE BOEUF A LA PROVENCALE[p]3lbs chuck steak cut into 3/8 inch slices (i used eye of the round as it is what mom always used and makes for nicer slices)[p]THE MARINADE[p]1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tblspn olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp savory
3/4 tsp thyme[p]mix the marinade in a glazed, glass, or stainless-steel bowl. Turn and baste the meat with the liquid, cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight, basting and turning the meat several
times. (i marinated mine for about 6 1/2 hours)[p]The ONIONS[p]A heavy skillet
3 tblspns olive oil
5 - 6 cups of sliced onions[p]in the skillet, heat the oil, stir in the onions and cover closely, and cook slowly for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until onions are tender and just starting to brown.[p]BAKING[p]a 6 quart flameproof casserole
7 to 8 cups sliced all-purpose potatoes
salt and pepper
beef boullion
1/4 cup parmessan cheese (for final step)[p]Drain meat and season with salt and pepper. Alternate layers of onions and meat in casserole. Pour in marinade ingredients, then arrange layers of potatoe slice on top, seasoning each
layer with salt and pepper. Pour in enough bouillon to cover the meat; bring to a simmer on top of stove.[p]ON THE EGG[p]here is where i deviated from the oven instructions:. . .at the point i put the casserole on the stove to simmer, i lit the egg and let it come up to 350 degrees. I put in some hickory chips,
and laid the grid on top of the inverted plate setter. When the egg was steady at 350 (after about 20 minutes), i pulled the casserole from the stove and put it in the egg uncovered for 1
hour at 350 (same as julia in the oven). After one hour, spinkle the parmessan cheese liberally over the potatoes, open the vents and let the temps go up to 425 degrees. Using a baster
bulb, squirt some of the liquid all over the top and baste again at about 15 minutes. Remove the casserole after 30 minutes at 425 (check the meat and potatoes with a fork for
tenderness). [p]gang this is an easy recipe with fantastic results. ..the smokey flavor primarily infused the potatoes and cheese, and again, made for a real rustic taste. .. serve it with some crusty bread.
. .nothing else needed. . .

Brian

mad max beyond eggdome,
Does your Le Creuset stain when used in the Egg?

tn slagamater

haywyre, anything with beans or cheese will be considerably changed by the wonders of mr. egg. Leave the D.Oven lid off to get smoke infusion. We do chili direct and stir it every 30 mins. Chili on the Egg is REALLY special. Make sure to "season" any new cast iron cookware before using it.

haywyre

JSlot,
I cant remember the site but I downloaded the file. You want me to send it your way? Its 1.3 meg and 443 pages with. With we could attach files to these replies

mad max beyond eggdome

Brian,
i find that the smoke residue washes off pretty easily with hot soapy water and a little elbow grease. . .pot still looks great after cooking in the egg, with wood chunks and a good soapy cleaning. .

jwitheld

haywyre,
My son does a pot roast in a dutch oven on the grill and a damn good cornbread also (frypan)