Transporting charcoal and other cast iron newbie questions

[Kharn]

I just received a Rome 1705 pie iron and a 7.5qt leg-less Coleman DO for my birthday, first camping trip using them is this weekend.

How does everyone transport their charcoal? I was thinking an empty drywall bucket would work, but it seems really oversize for a 12.5lb bag and we already have enough problems getting everything in the truck.

Would a Lodge Lid Stand work to lift the Coleman DO out of the coals? Should I use the coal calculations for an 8qt DO? I don't really have time to season it before we head out, so I'm planning to use the Coleman liners and then I'll season it next month. Do I have much to worry about tearing the liners while stirring or are they pretty tough?

Reading reviews of the 1705, it sounds like it will not seal/crimp standard bread slices like the pie irons I used in Boy Scouts, would I be ok using pre-made pie crusts and over-lapping the edges a bit?

[starleen2]

NO to season it It ain't the weekend yet and only takes a few hours - ya' plan on sleepin' before the weekend? THAT's time you could be usin' to season da CI - get busy - TIMES a' wastin'

[bobhenry]

What are ya fixin' ???

Breads and pastry are easily prepared in parchment liners without worry about seasoning of the pot. A good foil liner will stand up to soups and stews again without worry about whether the pot is seasoned or not. I took the antique spider skillet this weekend that had not seen a bite of food in it for over 2 decades. I placed it on the fire grate and burnt out the rancid oil and boiled water in it and gave it a salt scrub and dried it. I was still getting black residue so I re boiled and re scrubed it with salt and a scotchbrite pad. A paper towel came off a little soiled but to me it was OK to cook in so I dried it by heating fairly hot and hit it with oil spray. While I doubt it would have fried an egg it was OK to brown hamburger with only slight sticking. After cooking I wiped out the clumps and seared the remaining hamburger grease into the skillet then wiped boiled and cleaned and sprayed with spray oil. Breakfast the next morning was bacon first then scrambled eggs without incident. Cast Iron just wants to be loved and appreciated.

P.S. With a leggless skillet or dutch oven a cast off gas stove grate makes a great "leg" substitute.




P.P.S. 16 bricketts in your 7.5 incher should give you 350 degrees. Add a pair of additional bricketts for every 20 degrees below 80 ambient temp. If it's cold AND windy double THAT addition. Our fall gathering was sustained 25 MPH winds and it was a real effort to coordiante cooking times to get our prize receipes done on time to get to the pitch in dinner.

[eaglesdare]

kharn, are you going to pocomoke this weekend? your posts sound familiar from a member on the tearjerkers site. if so, we will be there, it will be nice to meet you.

[bobhenry]

For weatherproof and dust proof charcoal transporting I have used a bulk chain bucket very very similar to the flip top kitty litter buckets. They work great and pour well. The square sides will tuck in better and are smaller than a drywall bucket.

[Gaelen]

I love the Rome 1705 (I also have the double rectangular one, the 1605).
Actually, your cast iron pie iron needs seasoning before use, too. I seasoned mine at home on my Weber grill. Because pie irons are smaller, seasoning one seemed (to me) to go faster than seasoning a larger piece of CI, but YMMV.

I suppose you could just seriously oil it down, but I'd take some time and season it. If the 1705 screws off the metal/wood handles, you could also easily do it in the oven - basically set it and forget it for a couple hours.

Because it's square, and most bread is square, the 1705 won't "crimp" quite like a round pie iron crimps regular bread, but ...
YES, you absolutely can use pie crust, pop-can biscuits, phyllo dough, puff pastry or bread slices wider/longer than the iron, and your pie or sandwich will "seal."

I've also used portabello mushroom caps, bacon slices, or wide thin strips of eggplant or zucchini, overlapped to make a solid base and top, with a filling of tomatoes, garlic, onions and ground lamp to make a breadless camp meat pie (or you could make an all veggie pie if you wanted.)

Since I'm a single camper and like to travel (relatively) light, I have been known to take a minimal kitchen kit that is just my square and double pie irons, a coffee pot, a deeper pot to cook soups/stews, a wooden spoon, tongs, cutting board sheet and a good chef's knife and call it a day. Pie irons are very versatile little cookers, and the Rome 1605 double rectangle can be separated and used as two small skillets.

Simple recipes from the Rome company will explain exactly how to use bread in your new square pie iron. Enjoy it!

[Kharn]

I was thinking a menu along the lines of:
Friday dinner: baked bread of some sort (I remember in Scouts we used store-bought refrigerated dough we'd just drop into the DO?)
Sat breakfast: french toast or breakfast sandwiches in the 1705 and cinnamon rolls in the DO
Sat night: apple baked beans for the potluck (need to heat for an hour at 350)
Sun morning: Breakfast sandwiches again

Should I be ok with one 12.5lb bag? I may be able to use my propane grill to season them.

eaglesdare:
Correct, I posted the same questions on TJ, I'll be tenting at Pocomoke.

[eaglesdare]

yup, just checked the map. my step daughter will be 2 sites down from you. i think i am turning her into a camper. she will be in a tent also.
can't wait to try those apple baked beans, sounds yummy. but please hide them so my hubby doesn't get to them or he will be sleeping in the tent also.

[Kharn]

Eaglesdare:
There's even pork sausage and bacon in them, suggest you find a surplus gas mask or you might be light-headed due to oxygen deprivation.

[Kharn]

I washed them with soapy water, heated on the grill until completely dry and very hot then sprayed them with vegetable oil from a pump bottle. We'll see this weekend how it works out. Holding the oven up in the air by the handle with a rag as I sprayed the bottom was fun, I couldn't find my leather gloves.

[eaglesdare]

now i am not 100% sure, but i don't think you are suppose to use soap of any kind on cast iron. not sure what people use, but to bring one back to life that i had, i used coke.

[tearhead]

I've used a lid rest to set a 2nd (legless) DO on and it worked fine. My daughter-in-law somehow double ordered, so I have 2 DO bags and 2 lid rests! I use it all if we're taking a longer trip.

[Kharn]

now i am not 100% sure, but i don't think you are suppose to use soap of any kind on cast iron. not sure what people use, but to bring one back to life that i had, i used coke.

Both the pie iron and DO instructions said to use soap to remove the wax coating they were made with. Does the Coke remove rust? I have a Lodge frying pan I haven't used in probably 4 years that has a good amount of surface rust and discoloration (dark orange blotches all over it) that I would like to clean up one of these days.

[eaglesdare]

yes the coke and a scruby thing worked wonders on my pan.

[doug hodder]

Citric acid works great on rust. It's available in the home canning section of the store, or you can always get a bunch of packs of lemon KoolAid and mix it up in water, no sugar. It's mostly citric acid. Works great, but I've only done it on small pieces. It's also available in larger packs...some of the Coleman guys buy it in bulk but I found it at the grocery store in a small container. Doug