Brunswick Stew - cast iron question


 
R

Rick Moore

TVWBB Super Fan
So I had a batchelor weekend this past weekend - wife and daughter were out of town. I was cooking!

All started well – did a 22# rib and belly section on my stick-burner. Got lots of nice chopped Q out of that to fill up me and a couple guys while watching football. Instead of freezing the rest, I busted out the stew pot Saturday night to use the leftover to make a Brunswick Stew on Sunday. It wasn’t my best stew ever but it was very good. Then something strange happened…

Tonight I took a little bite (first bite since eating hot on Sunday) as I transferred some from my big container to the little container to take for lunch tomorrow. In my “clean the spoon off” bite, I got a strange metallic hint/flavor. I took a couple small cold bites just to see if I got the same sensation again – it was weird – it was there for the first instant and gone – the exact opposite I guess of an after-taste… So maybe it is a more aromatic sensation.

My stew pot is a pre-seasoned No. 14 potjie pot – I have used it about 5 or 6 times in the past but not recently (probably not in over a year). So Saturday night I did a quick “season” by heating it up on my turkey fryer to just warm enough to melt Crisco – then I rubbed it in wiping off excess. Did my normal stew cook. And after the stew was done, when I was cleaning the pot, I noticed it looked like the black had been “cooked off” the sides of the pot – it was almost silver below the stew line. Did my normal wash with hot water only, dry completely and wipe with veg oil. But I got worried tonight with the off flavor. Went and looked tonight and it isn’t quite as silver but not as black as it was.

Any hints or ideas?? This is about a 10-gallon pot so re-seasoning is a tall order…
 
Sounds like the acidic ingredients in your stew removed the seasoning from your pot. You will need to re-season the pot.
icon_frown.gif
 
Any suggestions on a "how to" with a pot that probably weighs 80 pounds and is too big for a residential oven? Can I reseason over a turkey fryer style burner...I don't think I can get a real good season that way... And there was only a single 28 0z can of crushed tomato that went into about a 4 gallon batch...seems odd that is too much acid but the only explanation so far.

Thanks.
 
Before you jump the gun on the re-season, I would check the taste with a plastic spoon, just to be absolutely sure that it isn't the spoon you were tasting. I've used my cast iron pan alot, and it is silver on the bottom and sides, but no metallic taste is ever in the food. Hopefully the seasoning didn't come off the pan, with one of that size, it has to be a beast to season.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Rick Moore:
Any hints or ideas?? This is about a 10-gallon pot so re-seasoning is a tall order… </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yes. If you find/feel you have to re-season your Gigantor pot, here's how I like to do it, and have found the best/easiest method for getting that coating back on CI is making french fries in your CI. Wether you have a pot or skillet, cooking french fries in them does a fantastic job, getting that black coating back on the CI. I know you say it's a 10 gal pot, but a gal or 2 of oil and all the splatter should work out well for re-seasoning the pot. Plus you have the Turkey burner so doing it outside, no mess inside the house to worry about.
icon_wink.gif
HTH
 
That is a great idea Bryan - may do that in conjunction with the following idea my "bbq mentor" gave me today. What type of oil would work best for the FF method? More for the pot seasoning than the FF - because the FF are just a byproduct of the ultimate goal of reseasoning.

My mentor's advice:

Get a pound of smoked side meat or thick sliced bacon - cook it until crisp in the pot. Let the pot cool to the point the grease was solid. Heat up again until just liquid. Wipe this around the inside of the pot until it was essentially solid on the walls of the pot. Then heat up pretty quick and high (not enough to burn the oill though) so that the pores open and allow the grease in before it all falls back down to the bottom. Of course, this would take several applications rather than just a one time cook.
 
I use lard if I have it, but peanut oil works fantastic as well. This is how I season all my CI wether it's pots or skillets. All that hot oil splashing when the fresh cut fries (or frozen if you wish) hits the oil really does an excellent job IMO.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top