My First Dutch Oven Experience

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

9 litres! That's a beaut win. I have smaller enameled ones (A set) but I use them all the time. Another pic coming when wifey gets home from work.

Would love a 9 litre one for cooking up pork bones and peas. Currently use a stainless pot.

Kind regards,

Bally

a reply to: Trueman

Good! It's not easy to stay motivated in winter. Perfect time of year to work on camping/cooking gear for the coming spring.

I'm about to teach my son how to flesh and tan a deer hide the Native American way. That way he'll have have a wonderfully warm and comfortable ground cloth.

The 12" square skillet is my favorite of my cast iron collection.

Most useful pan I own. Try to find one, you'll be tickled pink.

Have fun!

originally posted by: Notoneofyou
a reply to: Trueman

Good! It's not easy to stay motivated in winter. Perfect time of year to work on camping/cooking gear for the coming spring.

I'm about to teach my son how to flesh and tan a deer hide the Native American way. That way he'll have have a wonderfully warm and comfortable ground cloth.



Have fun!

Off topic but what is your method to tan a skin. I am interested because all my tanning attempts fail miserably even ones I use from You Tube. I'm talking kangaroo and Wallaby skin here but it would not be too different from deer.

I use the skins of the animals killed by vehicles.

Cheers,

bally

originally posted by: bally001

originally posted by: Notoneofyou
a reply to: Trueman

Good! It's not easy to stay motivated in winter. Perfect time of year to work on camping/cooking gear for the coming spring.

I'm about to teach my son how to flesh and tan a deer hide the Native American way. That way he'll have have a wonderfully warm and comfortable ground cloth.

Edit add: trust me, I learned the hard way when my brother stayed with me and found road kill in bags in my freezer! Egad!



Have fun!

Off topic but what is your method to tan a skin. I am interested because all my tanning attempts fail miserably even ones I use from You Tube. I'm talking kangaroo and Wallaby skin here but it would not be too different from deer.

I use the skins of the animals killed by vehicles.

Cheers,

bally

My family members tan hides. In order to prevent the fur from slipping they dry the skin under the sun or heat lamps until it's stiff. They use a process called braining. They use a Native Indian technique, where they would either soak the skin of the animal in brain solution, or the brains were made into a paste and rubbed directly onto the fur-less skin.

a reply to: bally001

If your having hair shedding, it could be rot setting in, or even incomplete tanning which dries out the skin to the breaking point.

Try this method below, and see if you have luck. I would love to have a kangaroo pelt- let me know if your ever interested in a trade for a whitetail pelt.

Anyways, here's one method we use here. Fairly simple and works.

First off you have to flesh and scrape the hide of all meat and fat, taking care not to expose the hair roots/follicles.

Then I rub/coat it completely with livestock salt , till it wont accept any more. Let it dry out of sunlight.

Soak it 4 gallons of water with 2 1/2 lbs livestock salt and 3 ounces ammonia.
Soak for four days, and keep it out of sunlight. Stir it gently once a day.

Rinse thoroughly with clean water, then tack it to boards or plywood.

Let it partially dry out of sunlight, while making your tanning solution.

I use the animals brain, simmered slowly as not to boil for the tanning solution. After its rendered into a white soup and even consistency ill add 1 ounce of ammonia to it and stir well.

Paint it with the brain solution 3-4 times or until it won't accept any more, and looks even. Cover it with a dropcloth or plastic sheeting. Leave it overnight.

It should be mostly dry the next afternoon/evening. Remove the tacks and dampen with wet cloth/clean water.
Break it by drawing back and forth over a sawhorse repeatedly , while applying more of the tanning solution sparingly, but evenly.

But i also smoke the hides with punky wood over wood coals. It's tedious, but that's how I was taught.


I had to give you the "white man" version, as the true Native process uses natural ingredients that cant be obtained legally by non-Native Americans who don't reside on a reservation. I have friends who are native that let me common their land and procure the required ingredients for the old way.

I do use the method I have here when i do hides for bushcraft projects and other stuff around here.

Anyways, best of luck.

a reply to: Trueman


As promised some pics of the Cast Iron Pot that survived the fires.

The pot was stored in a large cabin on our block.



From a distance you may get an idea of the scene. Nice to see the greenery coming back. The pot is on a stainless steel stove next to the blue cup of port.



Anything that wasn't metal, burnt to cinders and the scrap placed in this bin for the metal recycler.

Not the pot though.



Kind regards,

Bally

originally posted by: Trueman

originally posted by: BrianFlanders
The only problem with cast iron is the consistent attention it needs. Stainless still wins as far as ease of use. If you do the slightest thing wrong with cast iron, you'll regret it.

I actually consider the season and care as part of the fun. Maybe I'm from other time

I am diabetic. Sometimes I can't eat when I want to and have to wait until a certain time. But then when that times comes, I need to eat ASAP (and am not feeling well to boot). So I have to be able to whip something healthy up quick and usually do not feel like pampering my cookware afterwards.

I like using cast iron when I have the luxury of time and I'm feeling OK. Not so much when I'm in a bind. There's still a place for cast iron in the world today but I can understand why the world mostly left it behind. Life these days is hectic.

a reply to: bally001
I know those fires were a tragedy but looking at that pot I feel like there is a lesson behind. A noble artifact you have my friend.

a reply to: BrianFlanders

I understand. We old farts have health issues of different kind. I have arthritis and asthma but keep pushing everyday.

Thank you for recipe

Ooh goodie, I can start an argument.


Maybe just a difference of opinion. I have cast iron cookware I use frequently that's over 50 years old. Once it's seasoned well and the oil/fat is polymerized onto the surface, a little soap isn't going to hurt it any more than you could soap the finish off a rowboat.

What will do the most damage to the seasoning is cooking something like tomato based sauce for an extended period of time in un-enameled cast iron. High acid or alkaline foods will affect the seasoning if you cook them long enough. Not the end of the world, just re season it.

An excellent way to season cast iron is (yay!) fry bacon in it.

I've got a newer smaller Lodge skillet that has the pebble grain bottom and at first I was leery about the ability to make it non stick. But I learned the pebble surface can be an advantage, given some foods less surface area to be able to stick to. If you've got a Lodge skillet with a slick smooth cooking surface, it's either pretty old, or someone took a grinder to it. Both the slick smooth and pebble bottom work ok for me. There's a brand called Victoria, priced comparably, reportedly not as heavy and has a smoother finish. Might want to look into it, if you're considering buying something new.

I love my cast iron. The only negative I can see that some people might have an issue with is the weight. It's definitely not like throwing around your As Seen on TV copper clad magic pan.

Either way, soap it or not, it'll last forever. But don't be afraid to use a little soap occasionally.

a reply to: yeahright

Yeah, I already re-seasoned it. I don't know why but I enjoy doing that as much as cooking with it. Just can't wait for the weekend, I'm think I'll make some chicharron and toasted corn. I'm gonna need beer with that