Wok & Cast Iron Pans

[woods89]

My wife (and I occasionally) cooks a lot on 3 different cast iron skillets. I'd never heard of Kent Rollins. His channel looks like a pleasant rabbit hole!

One of my favorites, though, is an approx. 10'' diameter flat bottom dutch oven. It slides right onto an oven rack. My wife bought it at a garage sale for just a few bucks. That thing is a venison shank braising machine..........

 

[def90]

Lodge cast iron comes pre seasoned from the factory so one less step to worry about.

One drawback of cast iron and carbon steel pans (suck as woks) are that you have to maintain the seasoning to keep them non stick and you cannot cook certain foods in them that will strip that seasoning. For instance, making pan sauces with wine stands a good chance of ruining the seasoning, cooking marinara/tomato sauces will also ruin the seasoning.

They take a bit of getting used to but nothing sears a steak better than cast iron.

 

[11boo]

Then there is this thing. Seasoned well, gets hotter than the gates of hades.
just as non stick as my cast stuff.

 

[highside74]

Nothing like cooking with old cast iron. The new stuff doesn't come close. Look at every Goodwill you come across and you might get lucky. Flea markets and Craiglist or Ebay would be my best bet. Don't be afraid to buy a rusty one as long as the bottom is flat you can bring them back to life. Plenty of resources on the interwebs for that. Also look up how to tell apart old cast iron so you can identify the age and maker.

 

[Robster]

Want to start cooking with cast iron - have never done so. Also would like to start messing around with a wok.

Any suggestions on quality products?

Thanks!

If you are looking for a cast iron wok, send me a PM. I have one for sale. Not sure of the brand, I will have to look it up. Divorced and live alone. Will probably never use the thing again so it's up for sale.

 

[psirus7]

Want to start cooking with cast iron - have never done so. Also would like to start messing around with a wok.

Any suggestions on quality products?

Thanks!

You can also run a large outdoor Wok. In addition to my M'Steel Mauviel, I run a large 22" Eastman carbon steel wok over my Camp Chef Denali (high BTU cooker) with a "wok ring". If you can swing it, a outdoor high BTU-cooker is going to be more akin to the traditional stir frying techniques you see in Asia, unless you have some type of Gucci high-BTU indoor range .

 

[treillw]

You can also run a large outdoor Wok. In addition to my M'Steel Mauviel, I run a large 22" Eastman carbon steel wok over my Camp Chef Denali (high BTU cooker) with a "wok ring". If you can swing it, a outdoor high BTU-cooker is going to be more akin to the traditional stir frying techniques you see in Asia, unless you have some type of Gucci high-BTU indoor range .

How many BTUs is your burner?

 

[boom]

Want to start cooking with cast iron - have never done so. Also would like to start messing around with a wok.

Any suggestions on quality products?

Thanks!

woks are stupid cheap. here is what i know. i have been around woks all my life.

for two people, a 14" is about right. its a good home size once you get to the point of doing that wok-toss move. having said that, i like the wok style with the one big hand grip handle on one end, with a help hoop handle on the other, so you can move it around when it is full. cut in half, you can deep fry a decent sized walleye. i only consider CARBON steel woks. any of those non-stick ones are destined for the recycle bin. done right, the high heat of wok cooking will fry teflon. when choosing a carbon wok. grab it and flex the bowl. it should be rigid. some are made of thin steel and it flexes. right or wrong, i find it annoying. dont buy one at the SF wokshop. that place is a tourist trap. if you saw the dust balls and grime at the store in person, you will turn away. i have two woks..the one i described above. and another 14" carbon wok that has two hoop helper handles. my stepdad (RIP) was a pro chinese chef and he could toss that wok, i cant with my office desk jockey forarms. your mileage may vary.

you will have to season, but if you are asking about castiron, you're there anyways.

i use a Thunder group wok burner i bought on Amazon for $98. it is awesome, since it has a pilot light. wok cooking requires shutting down the flame sometimes. it sucks to have to re-light the thing. the pilot light is a life saver. my wok is that hand hammered one on amazon..about $48. it is okay. i dont think it was hand hammered, and it was way harder to season than my other one, which i got for free..i bet it came from william Sonoma. hahaha..it is slick as snot tho.,,i am so tempted to weld a handle on it.

camping..truck camping. a wok goes with us. all the time.

 

[psirus7]

How many BTUs is your burner?

The Camp Chef Denali has 3 x 30K burners. I will usually run 2 under the 22" wok at 60K. The Asian wok-specific burners that Boom mentioned above are STUPID HOT. They are incredible, but I leave that kind of firepower to my mother-in-law.

 

[treillw]

The Camp Chef Denali has 3 x 30K burners. I will usually run 2 under the 22" wok at 60K. The Asian wok-specific burners that Boom mentioned above are STUPID HOT. They are incredible, but I leave that kind of firepower to my mother-in-law.

woks are stupid cheap. here is what i know. i have been around woks all my life.

for two people, a 14" is about right. its a good home size once you get to the point of doing that wok-toss move. having said that, i like the wok style with the one big hand grip handle on one end, with a help hoop handle on the other, so you can move it around when it is full. cut in half, you can deep fry a decent sized walleye. i only consider CARBON steel woks. any of those non-stick ones are destined for the recycle bin. done right, the high heat of wok cooking will fry teflon. when choosing a carbon wok. grab it and flex the bowl. it should be rigid. some are made of thin steel and it flexes. right or wrong, i find it annoying. dont buy one at the SF wokshop. that place is a tourist trap. if you saw the dust balls and grime at the store in person, you will turn away. i have two woks..the one i described above. and another 14" carbon wok that has two hoop helper handles. my stepdad (RIP) was a pro chinese chef and he could toss that wok, i cant with my office desk jockey forarms. your mileage may vary.

you will have to season, but if you are asking about castiron, you're there anyways.

i use a Thunder group wok burner i bought on Amazon for $98. it is awesome, since it has a pilot light. wok cooking requires shutting down the flame sometimes. it sucks to have to re-light the thing. the pilot light is a life saver. my wok is that hand hammered one on amazon..about $48. it is okay. i dont think it was hand hammered, and it was way harder to season than my other one, which i got for free..i bet it came from william Sonoma. hahaha..it is slick as snot tho.,,i am so tempted to weld a handle on it.

camping..truck camping. a wok goes with us. all the time.

So we're building a house now and looking at blue star ranges. I'm debating about the stove with 15k BTU burners, or one that has some 22k BTU burners.

It doesn't sound like 22k is even close to what true wok cooking requires. The thunder group sounds like its 90k btu. The sales people said that the 22k is better for woks.

Thoughts?

It would probably be nice to have more horsepower for searing steaks and just all around though.

 

[treillw]

woks are stupid cheap. here is what i know. i have been around woks all my life.

for two people, a 14" is about right. its a good home size once you get to the point of doing that wok-toss move. having said that, i like the wok style with the one big hand grip handle on one end, with a help hoop handle on the other, so you can move it around when it is full. cut in half, you can deep fry a decent sized walleye. i only consider CARBON steel woks. any of those non-stick ones are destined for the recycle bin. done right, the high heat of wok cooking will fry teflon. when choosing a carbon wok. grab it and flex the bowl. it should be rigid. some are made of thin steel and it flexes. right or wrong, i find it annoying. dont buy one at the SF wokshop. that place is a tourist trap. if you saw the dust balls and grime at the store in person, you will turn away. i have two woks..the one i described above. and another 14" carbon wok that has two hoop helper handles. my stepdad (RIP) was a pro chinese chef and he could toss that wok, i cant with my office desk jockey forarms. your mileage may vary.

you will have to season, but if you are asking about castiron, you're there anyways.

i use a Thunder group wok burner i bought on Amazon for $98. it is awesome, since it has a pilot light. wok cooking requires shutting down the flame sometimes. it sucks to have to re-light the thing. the pilot light is a life saver. my wok is that hand hammered one on amazon..about $48. it is okay. i dont think it was hand hammered, and it was way harder to season than my other one, which i got for free..i bet it came from william Sonoma. hahaha..it is slick as snot tho.,,i am so tempted to weld a handle on it.

camping..truck camping. a wok goes with us. all the time.

How do you clean the wok while truck camping?

 

[psirus7]

So we're building a house now and looking at blue star ranges. I'm debating about the stove with 15k BTU burners, or one that has some 22k BTU burners.

It doesn't sound like 22k is even close to what true wok cooking requires. The thunder group sounds like its 90k btu. The sales people said that the 22k is better for woks.

Thoughts?

It would probably be nice to have more horsepower for searing steaks and just all around though.

That's a nice range and a great output for an indoor setup. You should be fine, but you may need to batch cook (i.e. cook the meat and vegetables separately) to retain a high cooking temp depending on how much food you are preparing. I only use my outside setup for large meals.

 

[boom]

How do you clean the wok while truck camping?

great question. it is actually EASIER in the wilderness. wok brush. its a real thing the pro-kitchen use.

you finish cooking, dump in water, get it to a boil, and swirl it around while brushing with the wok brush. then this is what you can do in the wilderness, you cant do at home. you simply brush the water out of the wok. i yell, "all clear!" and brush the water out. done.

let me add, i do ALL my wok cooking in the backyard. my hood vent is not up to the task.

here is my brush. $3 at a restaurant supply house. i use it for my cast iron too.

 

[boom]

So we're building a house now and looking at blue star ranges. I'm debating about the stove with 15k BTU burners, or one that has some 22k BTU burners.

It doesn't sound like 22k is even close to what true wok cooking requires. The thunder group sounds like its 90k btu. The sales people said that the 22k is better for woks.

Thoughts?

It would probably be nice to have more horsepower for searing steaks and just all around though.

i turned down the regulator on my outdoor wok burner. i found the smaller the wok, the less heat you need or want. i bet it am running mid 40k btu if i had to guess. it is hot as hell for my 14"

 

[treillw]

great question. it is actually EASIER in the wilderness. wok brush. its a real thing the pro-kitchen use.

you finish cooking, dump in water, get it to a boil, and swirl it around while brushing with the wok brush. then this is what you can do in the wilderness, you cant do at home. you simply brush the water out of the wok. i yell, "all clear!" and brush the water out. done.

let me add, i do ALL my wok cooking in the backyard. my hood vent is not up to the task.

here is my brush. $3 at a restaurant supply house. i use it for my cast iron too.

So when you say you brush the water out of the wok, you're not just dumping the wok onto the ground?

Instead, you actually sling the water over the sides with the brush??

Why not just dump it? haha

 

[boom]

So when you say you brush the water out of the wok, you're not just dumping the wok onto the ground?

Instead, you actually sling the water over the sides with the brush??

Why not just dump it? haha

It’s fun and you have to brush anyways. I do dump at the end.
‘’you do you, but I learned on giant woks. Too big to dump.

 

[Billy Goat]

 

[Quin]

I guess Le Creuset is similar to Staub as well.

How about Staub?

They have an enamel coating on them. Does this defeat the purpose of cast iron?

I know nothing.

Le Creuset is really good stuff (it ought to be for the price). A Le Creuset dutch oven is a must have - I use it for stews, soups, braising, sauces. I've come to prefer my Le Creuset skillet to my traditional cast iron skillet, same heat retention, etc. with no worries about seasoning or acidic food. The Le Cresuet skillets with the black interior even develop a sort of smooth patina that makes them fairly non-stick as well.

 

[zacattack]

Man that waffle maker really gets me going. I’ve been wanting one for a while but damn are they expensive.
I have quite a few pieces of cast iron, even have a griswold double gas burner. My favorite is a Wagner breakfast skillet. I’ve used and abused that thing. No telling how much bacon grease coats that sucker.
To the OP check out flea markets, estate sells, garage sales. I bought a set of 3 griswolds, 3,5 and 7 from a guy I bought some firewood from for like $35 a few years ago. There’s a ton of old cast iron out there. Like others have said don’t be afraid of a little rust. As long as the bottom isn’t warped you can bring them back to life.

 

[2WaterMatt]

1. If you can find older pans that have a smooth finish, snatch em up.
2. Don’t ever wash them with soap.
3. Keep them oiled when they’re stored.
That’s it.

I’m 31 and the only frying pans we own are cast iron. Love them


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