Cast Iron skillets

...An herb garden on one side and a vegetable garden on the other, a whole row of pricklypears on the southern escarpment, a row of black/rasberries/strawberries just growing like hell on the perimeter...
Mud

You mean like these?

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I make a huge batch of jellies every year, with cactus fruit being my favorite. They are (literally) a pain to deal with though.
 
You mean like these?

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I make a huge batch of jellies every year, with cactus fruit being my favorite. They are (literally) a pain to deal with though.

That reminded me of one time when I was in the Army in Colorado. We were in the field and the chow truck was late. My squad and I were sitting around eating the cactus fruit when our first sergeant walked up and asked what we were eating. We told him and he grabbed some from the abundant cactus. We debated on whether to tell him that you have to peel them first to remove the small stickers. We decided that we had better for our own sake.
 
I hear you! If I ever build another house, my FINAL dream home, the primary cooking area will be outside! I can see this clearly in my mind...A great big grill area, oven, deep fryer, barbque pit, smoker, all sorts of hose bibs and tubs, fish cleaning and food prep, all of it covered!

Hanging cast iron pans, knives, and sundrys within easy reach off the cross members...An herb garden on one side and a vegetable garden on the other, a whole row of pricklypears on the southern escarpment, a row of black/rasberries/strawberries just growing like hell on the perimeter...a few handy sassafras trees, one mulberry off in the corner possibly...certainly a spice area and a small refridgerator/freezer and a old timey butter churn...a pellet gun handy, comfortable chair...canning supplies...My Grandpas old radio...

Yeah!..I can see it clearly! The only thing in the house would be a microwave and an electric coffee pot maybe!

Internal house stovetops are no place to try to cook, especially electric ones, a guy needs gas or a wood flame to do food justice!...especially bacon...or doing a whole rack of ribs, salmon, etc...Yeah...I can see it clearly...I'd sit out there all day long cooking, drinking, smoking..sharpening knives and listening to the radio...chewing on a sassafras twig and shooting at chipmunks...!

A nice brace of 'munks with a pricklypear/mulberry relish cooked properly in cast iron and stirred with a beechwood or maple spoon over an outdoor wood fire is really something extraordinary!...You just cant get those kind of eatings in a restaurant!:laughing: Its hard to describe, but y'all with a discerning palate know what I'm saying here...
Mud

She calls the outside grill and fire pit my man stove :lol:
 
I cleaned out my old cast iron skillet, real good. Used steel wool and coarse salt, as recommended. Coated it well with olive oil and put it in the oven for an hour or so, at 350F. When I took it out, and went to wipe it down, the bottom was sticky and gummy ??? The oil did not cover the bottom smoothly. It had separated (?), and the places with the oil, were the places that were sticky and gummy.

What's up with that ???? :(:no::(

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Yep, the eyes on my range top are also cast iron, but that doesn't have anything to do with it. I used the oven to recure.....350F is 350F......:?:
 
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Here ya go. One of my back yard cooking in the cast iron dutch oven. I love my outdoor cooking. So does all the kids.
I call this one my campers stew with dumplings... :cooking: KEN
 
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Then what ?

then see what it looks like. If the stick stuff comes out and cleans up, coat it with lard and bake 350 for one hour. you can repeat until you get that patina look you are looking for. I would use lard for this instead of oil.
 
You used too much oil for seasoning. You should literally have a microscopic layer of oil on it. Put the oil of your choice in it and wipe it down. Then get a clean paper towel and wipe it until it looks dry. Don't worry there will still be some there. Place it in the oven upside down. I usually do mine one time and then start using them. Some people let them cool completely and then redo the entire process.
 
Just throw a pound of bacon in there until crisp, remove, enjoy and wipe with a paper towel when still hot (just not hot enough to make your hands crispy like the bacon) Should be good to go at that point.
 
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