Black Iron And Black Magic (part 1)

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

The following article on the care of cast iron utensils, by Soc Clay,
is taken from the January/February 1992 issue of The Louisiana
Conservationist.  When the earliest white hunters and settlers came to
Louisiana, one  important piece of equipment they carried was a cast
iron Dutch oven.  This highly practical cooking utensil was essential
in the kit of  even the lightest traveling adventurer in early America.
In fact,  long before Columbus began his quest of discovery, hunting
parties  around the world depended uon some form of the classic Dutch
oven to  handle a multitude of cooking chores.  The Dutch oven and
other black iron cooking untensils continue to be  essential in hunting
and fishing camps across Louisiana.  An iron pot  with a tight fitting
lid is still the prized possession of many camp  cooks. More than a few
are also found "back home." The fancy  copper-bottomed and tinted glass
cookware may be prominently  displayed, but the black iron is tucked
away close at hand.  Properly seasoned, a flat-bottomed Dutch oven is
an ideal pot to whip  up a venison stew, work up a batch of gumbo or
jambalaya, fry a mess  of quail or bake a round of sourdough biscuits.
The late Ted  Trueblood, one of America's most loved hunting scribes,
was sold on  the dutch oven as being the most important piece of
cookware.  Trueblood was an open fire cook of the first order.  He saw
no use  whatever in packing in a camp stove and fuel when he was in a
serious  hunting situation.  Trueblood, writing in the August 1960
issue of Field and Stream,  talked about the then-modern equipment
available to hunters and  fishermen. He said, "Among all these good new
items there are a few  old ones that survived with undiminished
popularity.  Almost without  exception, they are things that the
working outdoorsman adopted as  his own. The canoe and the axe are
classic examples.  The Dutch oven  is another old favorite."
Trueblood's observations ring true.  According to America's largest
manufacturer of black iron cooking utensils, Dutch oven users are
thicker than they have been in years.  There's even a Dutch Oven
Society and a bunch of Dutch oven cook-offs popping up all over the
country.  Amazingly, more and more folks are going back to ironware,
not only  because of its unique cooking and flavoring characteristics,
but also  because cast iron has stood the test of ages as one of the
safest  forms of cookware.  While a dutch oven is still a favorite tool
of the open fire cook,  probably the most used piece of ironware in
today's camp kitchens is  the ever-faithful cast iron skillet.
Throughout Louisiana, it is  safe to say that at least 80 percent of
all households have at least  one black iron skillet in regular use.
Ironware was made for the cook who takes time to do things right. The
thick walls of the casting were designed to absorb and evenly
distribute heat from a licking outdoor flame or the flat top of a  wood
burning cookstove. With modern camp stoves fueled by  electricity,
natural gas or propane the iron pot continues to do a  superior job. It
just takes less energy than most of the other  cookware on the market.
Cookware made of glass, stainless steel, enamel, porcelain or copper,
or lined with a space-age non-stick surface, strives to leave no
influence of taste in foods.  Properly seasoned ironware, on the  other
hand, emits a savory seasoning "flavor" that no other cookware  can
duplicate.  But if black iron makes such black magic in the kitchen,
how come  even more folks ain't using it?  The answer is simple.
Sweetnin' the pot, as the old timers call it,  takes some time and
patience.  And once the initial job is  accomplished, some thought has
to be given to maintaining the pot.  When done properly, fried foods
won't stick and the bitter taste  characteristic of a new casting won't
leak into your food.  If you  have picked up a new casting, found a
treasure at a flea market, or  want to recondition a neglected family
heirloom, here are some tips I  gleaned from an old Cherokee lady who
has used black iron to perform  black magic in her kitchen for
three-quarters of a century.  First, inspect your black iron casting
for a smooth interior surface.  The finish on the outside is
unimportant.  Quality ironware has a  smooth interior that readily
accepts sweetening and provides a slick  surface to eliminate sticking.
Wash the new utensil, or one that has lost its seasoning, both inside
and out with a mild dishwashing deturgent.  New castings come with a
protective coating that must be completely removed.  Use a scouring  pd
if mecessary, but this is the last time a black iron utensil  should
ever see a scouring pad.  Dry the casting throughly with paper  towls
and allow it to air dry for at least 30 minutes  Continued in the next
recipe...... Posted to bbq-digest by Jim  Anderson
<anderson@magicnet.net> on May 02, 1998

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