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Frying Pans

I have been using Roch Guss pans for a long time. My favorite is the 10 inch pan with the long wooden handle that can be easily removed for storage. With a good lid I can bake over a low stove setting. Coated aluminum and pretty light and does not scorch easily.
 
no but I suggest you ferret in old barns.. the old frypans are out there. You could also bump into an old wood canoe.
I‘m a cast iron fan myself (take on solo trips) have many old Griswold’s and wagners, along with some newer Lodge pans. On group trips use lighter none stick pans, thinking about replacing with carbon steel. Cooking mostly on coleman white gas stoves. There are a lot of old pans are out there, flea markets etc. just too pricey! I’m cheap!
I’m actually headed to pick up a wood canoe tomorrow free, not sure what I’m getting myself into. Canoe was salvaged from a scout camp in New Hampshire years ago. Been hanging under a deck for 15 years at least. Wish me luck.
 
An Unmarked Wagner #12 at 14" and the rest are Griswold's because they are cheap.
For most people, these pans are worthless
On eBay, they’re all super-rare priceless gems!

I enjoy eating, and I have therefore put some work into learning to cook food I want to eat. The Covid lockdown was an almost magical time for me because with no commute to work, I had extra prep time and I cast a wider net for new recipes. I have a modest collection/user pool of Piqua Favorite nos. 3, 5, & 8; one glorious Griswold no. 9; a Smithey (their numbering system is jacked, it would be a no. 10); Field nos. 10 & 12; a Field no. 9 round griddle, Lodge square griddle (sanded and reseasoned), and a Lodge rectangular 2-sided griddle; Griswold Dutch ovens nos. 7 & 8 (the 7 spins like a top but I use it for making bread so it doesn’t matter!); a no-name Target enameled Dutch oven and finally, a Petromax 1.7-qt flat-base camp oven and a Lodge deep no. 12 8-qt camp oven.

I like the Piqua Favorite stuff for its cheerful logo and heat ring. Mine are from eBay but I got them all at low bids so while more expensive that buying Lodge from Walmart, they were already stripped cleaned and seasoned, and smoooooth. I love the little no. 3 because it is light and shallow. Great for a single egg and for toasting nuts. The no. 5 may be the least used piece; the other morning I fried a small amount of bacon in it on a school morning. It’s nice because it fits on the 8” induction element just right. I use the no. 8 predominantly for Dutch babies, cornbread and pillsbury cinnamon rolls. It gives enough space for the rolls to rise without becoming squished together too much.

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The Griswold no. 9 skillet is a real beauty. Large logo, heat ring, late 30s production I think? This is what I show people who are dubious about cooking eggs in cast iron. This is the skillet that satisfied me that I’d never buy non-stick ever again. I dislike disposable things, and no matter how much you spend or how careful you are, all non-stick pans are disposable. Bah.

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The Smithey is one of the new US “boutique”makers. This skillet is HEAVY. Sort of the antithesis to the classic vintage thin cookware. But it excels at frying, that thick construction and mass help keep the oil temp stable. This pan is so smooth I have trouble holding seasoning. I have inadvertently stripped the seasoning multiple times; I may yet strip it and vinegar-etch it so provide some “key” to promote better seasoning building and retention. But it has a place as the resident oil fryer.

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Field is my favorite modern maker. I like their handles the best, they are thin and LIGHT, they have a heat rig, and their finish is both smoothly machined yet retains enough texture to easily take and hold seasoning. They don’t have pour spouts, but I don’t routinely pour gravy I tend to spoon/scoop it, and the flared rim is supposed to act as a pour lip all the way around.

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Have you ever had Dutch oven bread? Gosh it couldn’t be easier to make better bread! If you own a Dutch oven, you owe it to yourself to make this happen. Recipes abound on the internets, but basically 3c flour, 1.5c warm water (<130-F), 1tsp salt, 1tsp yeast. Mix dry ingredients and add water. I often. We’d a couple more Tbs more water to get the dough right. Add seasoning to taste like “everything but the bagel” seasoning, rosemary and roasted garlic, whatever. The warm water recipe needs 3 hours to rise, take it out of bowl and plop it onto a floured counter, fold all the edges in all the way around and shape it into a boule, and let it sit 30 minutes while preheating your oven to 450F with the covered DO inside. When heated, I just drop the boule into the hot DO. Most recipes call for you to do that final rise on a sheet of parchment paper so you can pick it up by the paper and transfer it into the oven. I skip that. My breads/oven want about 40 minutes covered, then another 5 or so uncovered to get the exterior browning. You’ll need to experiment with your own oven to achieve the results you want, but don’t let anyone fool you- this couldn’t be easier. There is no mystery, no magic perfect proportions. People act like baking bread is alchemy or witchcraft but this is the easier I’ve ever made bread. Just search for “no knead dutch oven bread” and you’ll find many recipes.

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And finally the camp ovens! I’ve only ever used the little Petromax for baking small loaves. Perfect size for big dinner rolls to share at the table, about half the recipe above. But the big oven has been used as intended! I’m looking forward to some weekend dinners in the back yard now that we’ve finally got some cool weather. (**note that the Petromax for all its Germanic design and appearance was made in China. I wouldn’t have bought it if I’d known that, but I could get the lodge 2-qt camp oven at the time so here we are. It’s a nicely made piece, I’m just grumpy about our trade policies wrt China.)

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A work on glass top ranges, induction ranges, and heat rings. Glass top “regular” electric ranges are incompatible with heat rings since the system depends on the transfer of heat from the electric element to the pan through direct contact. An induction range works beautifully with a heat ring for a couple reasons. 1. Many vintage pieces are not flat, they can dome up or down in the middle from aggressive heating causing them to wobble and spin. The heat ring helps take the domed middle out of the equation. 2. Induction ranges do not heat through direct contact, rather they creat an electromagnetic field that excites the atoms in the pan (must be made of magnetic material) which produces heat. BE CAREFUL with especially thin vintage CI, you can easily wreck a pan with aggressive heating, and an induction range can definitely do that. I preheat pans about 2 ticks down from medium, then go up to the desired setting. Many recipes that call for finishing in the oven, I will preheat the pan in the oven, cook with that hot pan on the range, then finish in the oven. The secret to cooking with cast iron (well anything really) is heat management. You need to preheat pans before cooking in them, and you need to embrace medium-low to medium heat. Really. I only go over medium once I’ve added food and can hear the sizzle drop so I know to add more heat, or when finishing browning something and cooking off liquid to make the good bits in the pan to create a fond etc.

Go bust out that CI and cook something, and remember why it’s the best cookware available! (Except for boiling water. You do want to KEEP that seasoning, right?!?).
 
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What can i say but Wow, @Woodpuppy; you set the bar pretty high here! I have to say; this Fry pan thread has been quite interesting and a lot of different camps have come to the table with they’re offerings!
Back in post #4 i mentioned my campfire wok from years ago and also the inspiration this thread gave me to re-create one of those.
On e-bay a found a new 10” disc blade, which showed up today; so during the coming week i’ll turn it into something usable. Home made, retro, vintage looking? All im really sure of is how well the last ones cooked However at 16 inch; they were a bit excessive. This 10 inch’er with a folding (cold) handle will certainly fry anything I'm wanting to fry! More coming; over in the DYI forum.
 

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I don't take fresh food on long trips or trips with portages, I just take my Jetboil and boil water for dehydrated meals that I made myself. BUT....on overnight or three day trips with no portages I bring fresh food and a cooler. In that instance I don't use a fry pan, but a harrow disk style stove (Adventure Skottle) which is 12" and the legs are about 16-18" and the whole package is around 4lbs. I also use it on day trips on the river. I make pretty much everything, eggs, sausages, pulled pork, fajitas, philly cheese steaks, shrimp, etc. it is steel and acts just like cast iron, easy to season and easy to clean. It heats up fast and cools down fast. One of my favorite pieces of gear.

IMG_2786 by Barry Rains, on Flickr

IMG_2787 by Barry Rains, on Flickr

Barry
 
Moving forward with my little project i will relocate to the DYI section and not load this one up with minutia that will surely bore some.
if your interested, look for “Wok for canoe camping; make your own”

@Waterdog , thanks for throwing in right about here, real nice group of photos; great attention to detail too!
 
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I don't take fresh food on long trips or trips with portages, I just take my Jetboil and boil water for dehydrated meals that I made myself. BUT....on overnight or three day trips with no portages I bring fresh food and a cooler. In that instance I don't use a fry pan, but a harrow disk style stove (Adventure Skottle) which is 12" and the legs are about 16-18" and the whole package is around 4lbs. I also use it on day trips on the river. I make pretty much everything, eggs, sausages, pulled pork, fajitas, philly cheese steaks, shrimp, etc. it is steel and acts just like cast iron, easy to season and easy to clean. It heats up fast and cools down fast. One of my favorite pieces of gear.



IMG_2787 by Barry Rains, on Flickr

Barry
This photo reminded me of cookware I've seen on the Eighteenth Century Cooking youtube channel, which is Townsends and Sons channel. So I checked their website. They have a spider skillet similar to the above (sold out sadly) but also a folding handle pan that is designed to accept a wooden handle extension.

 
New Banks Fry-Bake Expedition pan set up:

Esbit pot gripper
DIY case with padded top to protect the contents of my pack from any soot, etc. and to protect the somewhat delicate lid from getting dinged.
Extender handle for the lid when using a twiggy fire the handle end of the pot gripper lifts the lid
 

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I really like my cold handles. I eat mostly off-the-shelf items while on a canoe trip so slab bacon, eggs, pancakes, hash browns, fish, maybe sausage and kielbasa early in the trip, fresh zucchini and squash from the garden on an August trip, onions and venison, they all go well over a fire in the cold handle.
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On a wall tent trip, over the wood stove, I have made many meals in a cold handle.

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I’m actually headed to pick up a wood canoe tomorrow free, not sure what I’m getting myself into. Canoe was salvaged from a scout camp in New Hampshire years ago. Been hanging under a deck for 15 years at least. Wish me luck.
Did you get it?
 

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