paul1927 Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 Hi Porkchop, I was hoping that the new preseasoned cast iron by lodge would solve the rust problem. I never thought of cast iron as being dangerous even if there were air bubbles, but then again I wouldn't have imagined 2 gallons of water in Komodo either! I got the idea that cast iron was the greatest from a book titled The Great American Barbecue & Grilling Manual as well as from ancient memories from my childhood. I'm NOT an expert on cooking . . . and the gentleman who wrote the book may be dead wrong. He places a considerable emphasis on mass and fast heat transfer--for grilling. Cast iron definitely has the mass, but I wonder if it is much better than a heavy duty stainless steel grill. Even though I'm NOT an expert the ribs I make on the Komodo are even better than I was dreaming about. It is difficult to get good barbecue here in Miami or at least it is difficult to get what I like. The 2 best places were Sonny's and Rubinos (sp?) both of which have closed -- at least their locations near me have closed. Shorties is another barbecue place, but their style isn't what I drool over and at one of their locations the food is just plain bad--latin influence? Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkchop Posted March 17, 2006 Report Share Posted March 17, 2006 problem with air bubbles in cast iron; cast iron is not as porous as the KK, so you heat it, air expands, and cast iron goes bang. wouldn't imagine it'd be a real problem with lodge stuff tho; they are quality. as far as seasoning cast iron goes, i tried seasoning my grates, and they were fine until i would grill on them. the high temps would cause the seasoning to peel off the grates, and i'd have to reseason. you're doing the right thing just getting a lodge skillet or griddle and skipping the grates, thermal mass and heat transfer issues aside. upkeep on cast iron grates are a pain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2006 Report Share Posted March 19, 2006 Cast Iron Not sure what all the talk is about air bubbles in cast iron....exploding....etc.. I have been using cast iron grills/skillets, etc, for almost 60 yrs & have never had one even hiss, much less explode. As in any metal casting process, elevated temperatures make it impossible for moisture to exist in the metal...that is not to say that there cannot be porosity, but moisture entrapment is virtually impossible. I have cast iron skillets that were my Great Grandmother's, & have never heard a peep or a pop out of them...note that flame tip temperature reaches ~ 2100 deg F underneath them on a gas stove. As re: cast iron cooking characteristics: Cast iron will rust, but is easy to season & won't rust if you don't let it sit dirty on the grill overnite...just wash it & wipe it w/ a little oil. Cast Iron doesn't necessarily cook any better, it just retains heat much, much better/longer than aluminum, steel, etc...of course, it makes the pretty grill marks that seem to be the rage now-a-days... I routinely use an 18" round piece in my cooker above the fire, but below the grill, to provide indirect heat & even out the temps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkchop Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 that makes sense. never really experienced the "air bubble" thing myself, "I just heard...". Good thing I didn't claim to be an expert on it, or I would look stupid i've got a couple really nice cast iron pans myself, perfectly seasoned. but, i am lazy when it comes to my bbq grates... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul1927 Posted March 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2006 Lodge Pro-Logic 14-Inch Cast-Iron Wok with Loop Handles Hi Porkchop, It looks like I'll be giving Lodge a try. Not sure if I did the right thing going cheap with Amazon-- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00063 ... e&n=284507 -- because I just remembered a cheaply priced pressure cooker from Brandsmart. The brand and model of the pressure cooker were identical to one available at Service Merchandise (bankrupt?), but the price was too good to be true. Brandsmart's price was 50% cheaper than Service Merchandise. I double checked the brand and model number and yes they were identical. On closer examination the Brandsmart deal was a really bad deal for me. No copper and much thinner aluminium. I couldn't believe the manfacturer would offer such different products under the same model number and brand. It was a real quality brand too. After 5 years of heavy use I still haven't replaced a seal, but there is a little damage on the bottom of the pressure cooker. In the past I haven't been too big a fan of cast iron, but that is probably due to my lack of skill in breaking in an unseasoned pan. Or, perhaps I just like stainless steel better. Anyway, since I bought the Komodo Kamado I've been very eager to try high temperature wok cooking. I read an article in The Wall Street Journal explaining the need for extreme heat in wok cooking. I wish I'd saved the article because I've forgotten what was considered extreme heat except that a special expensive stove was needed to reach the extreme heat. I've been reading about your troubles with the Mexican K and it is depressing that you were treated like that. I sure as hell would and do clean the Q the way you described. And, that shouldn't cause any problems whatsoever. Also, you didn't seemed like a flamer at all in that one thread. My 2 cents: Assuming I would have kept my cool, then I would of accepted the offer to pay the shipping even though I think the shipping would have been overpriced. See, I didn't expect the warranties to be honored regardless of the company. I've been very pleasantly surpised by Dennis and it has been a real pleasure dealing with him. I really would love to fill my whole yard with his Qs. (Although, I'm somewhat concerned he might of made the new generation a little lighter than the older model that I have.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul1927 Posted March 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2006 Cast Iron Hi Skyrider, Thanks for your input on cooking with cast iron. After 60 years of cooking with cast iron I would have thought you would have almost a religious feeling about it. My grandmother used coated cast iron pans that worked like magic for her. Unfortunately, I've bought top of the line coated cast iron and the quality is just not what she had. By quality I mean 1. weight and 2. coat quality. It was difficult for me to lift her pans, using just one hand, even without the food! She was one strong lady. The coat quality was such that I couldn't mess it up NO matter how much I screwed up. It was a wonderful feeling knowing that I couldn't damage the coating. I would of added cooking quality, but I never did learn to cook very well using her pans, but she sure made one mouth watering dish after another. At the time I was wishing she'd get some super light pans. Same old story: Didn't appreciate what I had until I lost it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
