Cast iron pots
 

im looking into getting my wife some cast iron pots and pans. i have no clue as to what brands are good. Also what is the best size/brand for a big pot for making gumbo and rice and gravy

Last couple I bought were from Lodge. They were preseasoned. But I seasoned them a lil more.
The rest I have I inheireted from my grandma.

Get the square pan for frying bacon. Lots better than trying to fit bacon in a round pan.

yea Lodge was the ones i was looking at on Amazon, but wasnt sure if they were really any good

academy or jb sandoz in opelousas has some.. the one i have is from academy and works fine.

In my experience ...... the preseasoned ones need to be seasoned again

X2

Not sure what brand they are but guidrys hardware on jefferson st has some nice ones.

Make sure whatever you buy is made in the USA. lodge black iron is made here but the enameled lodge is not. The QC on chinese pots is poor and i have seen them pop when being seasoned.
8 qt is 2 gallon pot but you will normally only use 6 qts. of the space.

Lodge seems to be some of best, try to buy pots and pans that can share lids and don't forget lids and buy a splater screen. Another option is Magnalite, got my wife a big set last yr because she griped that my iron pots were to heavy

Call Guillory Wholesale in Mamou. They only sell to stores in bulk but see if they can give you the contact list of their distributors. My in-laws store carries them in Crowley. Gail's Gifts is their store, also the only other place I know of closer to you is Gary Matte Home Center in Rayne. In Lake Charles it think STL Trailers has them. If you buy the ones with the white enamel lining they clean up super easy but can crack if heated or cooled too fast.

Gayle's Hardware in Ryan St. in Lake Charles sells them.
Academy sells them.
Trahan's Hardware on Gulf Hwy. in Lake Charles sells them.

Get the lid that has high sides on it!! I use mine for baking in the ground. The lid allows you to put coals on top........yum....custard!!!

How do you guys "season" your black iron pots?

Guidry's Hardware in Scott also sells a wide variety.

Crisco

Thanks alot guys, id be pretty lost without the help

Is that also a gas station


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

done it myself........

The place I'm thinking about is in donaldsonville.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I thought guidrys hardware was on Cameron in Scott. Its near my office

I never seasoned one; I got 6 from my mawmaw. Well seasoned!! She cooked with em for years!
X2 on square pot for bacon!!

Guidrys hardware has two locations,one on cameron and one on jefferson. Neither one have a gas station.

Defiantly get it from Guidrys or Davids. Local folks and the pots are made well......I have one in the back right now, broke in half while cooking. It was a cheap academy pot......never again

I bought a 8qt at academy pre-seasoned..... How do you season them???

Lodge pots have directions with them on how to reseason them but there is several ways, you can coat in oil and bake them in over on high temp but be ready for smoke and stink or build a good hot fire out side or in BBQ pit coat them in oil and put in hot fire and coals

The only way I remeber it being done was cook a roux in it, or cracklins

If it is the initial season i use lard. Heavy coating ,wiped on inside and out. Build a good hot fire in my pit and place pot upside down and lid on grate. leave pot there till fire is out and pot has cooled. take pot and lid and wipe them down well w/ paper towel.
Rinse w/ hot water and put on stove on warm. let it dry well. Fold a paper towel into a strip about 1" wide and fold it over the top lip b4 you put the lid on to store pot.
After i use any black iron and clean it and dry it, i wipe the inside w/ a very thin coat of cooking oil and put it into a 225 oven for 1 hr. take it out and wipe w/ dry paper towel. back in oven for 1 hr.

How do you "wash" them?

we use alittle soap if needed and then wipe good with oil but if they are seasoned good they tend to be slick nd almost like none stick so ifthats the case I use hot water and a rag then oil. For some people its scary to think that you aren't realy cleaning since you don't use soap but then agin anything left is like seasoning

You can scrape out any grodoo and wash w/ hot water . If anything is stuck i will fiil
pot w/ water and boil. empty and dry on low heat. wipe w/ thin coat of oil and do the low oven. once it's seasoned right you can fry an egg w/ no grease and it won't stick.

even though eman prob does it by the book, /\ this is all i do. just dont use enough soap to cut the grease and be sure to wipe down with oil or it will rust

I don't use soap. 99% of the time, hot water and a brush will get stubborn grot off the bottom.
I season mine on a gas pit. Then I fry lots of stuff in them. Bacon is good, but I like to fry chicken and cracklins too. I leave the oil from the frying in the pot and put the lid on it.

I did that with the academy pot......lid rusted to the pot!! Hammer and flathead wouldn't get it off!!

Eman has it.......the only thing I do different is I use mineral oil.
If a pot is not used in a long time it will not go rancid.

the daily pots are used too much to rust. It is all we cook in other than a large gumbo pot.

I got my cast iron pots from my mom and she got them from her grandmother. Been many of stews cooked in them jokers.

I never leave the lid on it that long.

Tony's and cracked peppercorn of course!!

Dudes, I have one so old.........been cooked in so long..........all you do is add water and a jambalaya appears two hour later.........

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL.

wanna buy some magic beans for that pot ???

resurecting an old thread:

Question: Are you seasoning your pot for taste? or for non-sticking?

Also finding a non-import cast iron is tough...bayou classic, cajun classic, and others all come from china which could be made of who knows what...

seasoning mainly for keeping pot from rusting but it does add some flavor and helps with the non stick. Best way to achieve the non stick is lots of use (scraping repeatedly with metal spooons), which gets the cooking surface worn down and smooth. Newer pots are rough which can cause the food to stick.

I would add this, the way to choose between two pots you are having trouble deciding about is to look at the weight of them if its listed or just feel them, the thickness of the iron varies between brands and weight is a big key in telling you about the quality of that pot so the heavier pot will almost always be stronger.

also, this has nothing to do with cooking in them but, something I learned long ago about iron pots is don't leave your food in the pot overnight after cooking or the food gets a slight iron taste to it so if you save leftovers move it to a different container and if you have grease you are saving its worth the trouble to pour in into a container and not leave it in the pot. many people don't notice the iron taste you get from things sitting in the pot too long but it does happen. iron pots cant be beat for cooking food but they shouldn't be used to store food in after its cooked.

Also it aint good for da pot specially tomato based stuff like courtbullion or sause picant. the acid will take out the curing.