Though I've used cast iron dutch ovens for a number of years, I've recently come to know and really enjoy using cast iron skillets in place of teflon-coated aluminum pans. The 10.25" and 12" Lodge pre-seasoned skillets are only $11 and $17 w/ free shipping for purchases over $25!!

Question:
Those of you who use cast iron when car camping - how do you pack/stow it?

I've thought about making plywood boxes to protect them and to protect other gear from them, but I worry that the wood might somehow absorb water and invite rust. I wonder if using the board with one-sided plastic laminate - built so the plastic is on the inside - might be better.

Any advice?


Ken

A friend, who is the best camp cooker I have ever seen, keeps his cast iron, and other kitchen goodies, in an old GI foot locker. He of course keeps a good coat of oil on his cast iron when in storage...

A properly seasoned and reoiled unit will not rust. What you do need to watch for is the oil becoming rancid.
This usually happens when The ovens are stored with the lids in place.
A simple soution is a wash in natural cider vinegar, a quick reheat and fresh oil application.

I have read that you are not supposed to wash cast iron, only wipe it out. But the idea of never actually cleaning it just doesn’t sit well with me. Most times there is a lot of food residue that requires soap and water to remove. I’ve been cleaning them with soap and water for years, it doesn’t hurt the pan at all.


I have 2 cast iron pans that I use at home and I wash them all the time and when dry I just spray the inside with pam spray.

You might try this site Idos a wealth of info there.

Lee

Cast ironware is very porous. The idea of seasoning is to slowly build up a sealed and slick, non stick surface from the application of oil and the juices from foods cooked ( think of the 'pickling' done to a carbon knife cutting fruit and vegetables.)
By washing with soap, you are continualy reopening the porous iron surface.It's like eating a store bought cherry pie from the aluminum pan vs aplate. You get that metallic taste.
Older and properly seasoned ovens will make far superior tasting dishes than a brand new one.
The heat of cooking kills any nasties, and as I said if you let the seasoning go rancid cier vinegar will zap it and a reheat and recoating sets things straight.
I pack mine in hard paniers when horsepacking. The stoves are filled with cooking supplies and wrapped snug in an old burlap sack.
Some dutch ovens have been handed down for generations having never seen soap and water. The generation manages to produce another generation to pass them down to: Mine did. I have my great-great grandmother's that crossed the palins in a Constoga. It outcooks the ovens I've been seasoning for 20 years now.

I have a rather large collection of cast iron cooking items, and have been using it personally and semi-professionally for some time now.

Most of my iron are camp dutch ovens; the type with three legs on the bottom and a lip around the top of the lid. Most of those are big enough that I don't want to carry more than one in a container at a time. For this reason, I put most of my dutch ovens in their own canvas bag container. Both Lodge and Camp chef sell dutch oven bags. I've toyed with the notion of building wooden crates to hod my cast iron in, and there are pros and cons to that idea. The box will add weight, but will allow the round ovens and skillets to be stowed a lot more securely. As I keep all my cast iron seasoned, I am unconcerned with the presence of a little moisture, and if you did crate them I am certain the moisture content of the wood they would be packed in would not be a concern.

Generally, a properly maintained cast iron pot or pan can be cleaned using water and a scrub pad that won't cut the seasoning finish. That is the most common way I clean my pots and pans. If there is excessive food detritous left, I will let it soak, or in the rarest cases, I will scorch the food out, meaning I expose the pot to enough heat to essentially char the food and remove the ashen remnants. In all cases, I sterilize my pots by heating them up to smoking temps (in excess of 450 degrees) after every use. Usually this is in combination with applying another seasoning coat to the pot/pan, depending on how rigorous the cleaning out process was. There should never be a need to use soap and water on a cast iron pot or pan. However, you can do that, but as Chris warned, eventually the use of a surfactant will deteriorate the seasoning which makes cast iron stick resistant (non-stick it definitely ain't). I find that over prolonged periods, the application of soap will cause the base layer of the seasoning to ablate off, even if you are diligent about reseasoning regularly, and will eventually have to start the pot or pan over by burning off the failing seasoning mess and starting a new base layer. It may take a year or more, but using soap to clean with will eventually catch up to you.

Also, I never store my pots or pans with residual grease or oil. Some folks find that a rancid pot gives the dish a "nostalgic taste", but I was raised to expect the food to taste the same coming out of cast iron as it would coming out of a glass pan. Besides, rancid oil is unhealthy, and it is a dust magnet.

Generally, I store my cast iron clean will sometimes put a paper towel between the lid and the pot, or turn the skillet upside down. This keeps the pot from developing condensation, and the skillet from collecting falling debris.

Seasoning a cast iron pot or pan is like a professional paint job on a hot rod. You want to do several very thin coats rather than one big glob. Also, the directions on seasoning you get from Lodge and the rest are not very effective. To properly season cast iron (and not take all day doing one pot), you need temps above 450 degrees, and at least an hour of exposure. This will make the seasoning turn black, shiny, and hard, rather than the brown, gummy mess you'll get if you follow the mfr's directions. If it is just smoking, it is at a good temp for seasoning. Don't ever use spray oil like Pam, it is too light to do the job. Shortening is better, so is lard. Tallow will also work, but not butter, or any fat with salt in it, so no bacon grease either. I get the best results using a cheap shortening and a swab. I rub a thin layer of grease into the cold surface, then heat it to seasoning temp, then as the grease smokes out, I swab the surface with another light coat and let it smoke out (cook until it quits smoking), repeating this process 3 or 4 times on a new pot, once to keep an older pot in shape.

I prefer to use a propane burner or grill outdoors, as the smoke process will stink up the inisde of the house for a day. I can do two pots/pans at a time usually on all but the biggest of my pots.

Once they are seasoned to a shiny, dry, black finish, they can be stored in the garage for a long time without much further care. The one thing to avoid during storage/transport is letting them rub together or against something else hard enough to scrape the finish. Otherwise, they are fairly maintenance free. I have pots on the shelf now that I've not used in more than a couple years that are just as usable right now as the day I last seasoned them, and this despite having moved my household and them along with it twice in that period. They've even gotten wet and not shown any sign of deterioration.

Now there is one pot I use for demonstration purposes that I left out all year long in the Florida rain. It is well rusted on the outside surfaces. However I kept the lid on it, and the inside is just as usable today as it was when I last seasoned it. I will use this pot to demonstrate how easy it is to deal with rust/abuse and bring the pot back to pristine quality in a couple hours. Most would be surprised how what looks like a ruined pot will shape up to good as new in such a short period and with such little effort.

I contest the idea that soap and water harms or is in any way bad for the pan or its seasoned coating. Why I say this is my first hand experience with them and what I have seen my mother do for my whole life.

My mother has several cast iron pans, in fact she gave me the two I have years ago. She washes them with soap and water and has done it since I can remember. She has had them for over 60+years (she’s 78-years old) they are seasoned (as are mine) great. There is a good somewhat shinny black coating on them. And she like me uses pam to coat them after washing them.


After I wash them, I put them on the range and heat them to quick-dry the pan and while it’s still hot I spray pam on it and wipe it around with a paper towel. The pans look and work great, I would say there are a lot of ways to do this and as long as one works for you, go for it.

"...My mother has several cast iron pans, in fact she gave me the two I have years ago. She washes them with soap and water and has done it since I can remember. She has had them for over 60+years (she’s 78-years old) they are seasoned (as are mine) great. There is a good somewhat shinny black coating on them..."

Mine did the same thing. Sadly, I don't have that jet black skillet anymore...

Just to clarify ...

So after using a cast iron pot/pan you clean the P/P with water, dry (towel or heat?), and stow - without adding any oil?

Lodge suggests adding a thin coat of oil to warm pan after each use. You don't do this?

I'm finding that my P&P's get a kind of sticky texture if I follow Lodge's advice and don't heat it for a while at high heat afterwards.

Now I'm wondering if at least with the first few uses I should clean, dry, VERY thin oil (need to get lard), heat to smoking for a good amount of time (how long?), cool, store ...

and then after that just clean, dry, & store.

Thanks,

Ken