Pots & Pans - Cast Iron Cookware

Cast Iron Cookware That Suits a Live Fire

Heat from a wood fire is uneven and it moves. One side of the pan sits over the hottest coals, the other over embers, and a thin pan turns that into a burnt patch and a raw patch.

Cast iron evens it out. The metal holds heat rather than reacting to every flare, which is why a steak sears properly instead of stewing when the fire gusts. It also means the pan stays hot when cold food hits it, and that is most of what makes a good crust.

Skillets and Frying Pans, 24cm to 30cm

The 30cm cast iron skillet is the workhorse of the range and the one to reach for if you only buy one. Round frying pans come in 25cm and 30cm with a solid handle, which suits a cooktop where nothing needs to fold away.

Square pans give you straight edges and more usable surface in the same footprint. The 24cm square frypan and the 24cm square grill frypan cover flat and ribbed, so you can sear and mark on the same fire without swapping the whole setup. All of them work on a cooktop, over coals, or straight on a grate, so nothing here is tied to one heat source.

Folding Handles for Packing Down

Three pans here fold. The 28cm grill folding frypan, the 24cm square grill frypan and the rectangular folding frying grill pan all bring the handle in flat against the pan.

That matters more in a wagon than a kitchen. A fixed handle is what stops a pan sliding into a drawer or a crate, and folding handles let cast iron stack the way lighter cookware does. Packed flat, three of them take the room one solid-handled pan would. Grill versions of all three give ribbed surfaces for meat rather than a flat plate.

The Saucepan, Combo Cooker and Popcorn Pan

The 3-quart cast iron saucepan handles anything wet - stews, sauces, boiled potatoes - and holds a simmer over coals far more steadily than a thin pot.

The 3.2 quart combo cooker is the clever one: a deep pan and a shallow skillet that work separately or lock together as a lidded pot. The popcorn pan is a single-job piece with a stirring handle through the lid, and it is the one most likely to get handed to whoever is not cooking. None of these needs a lid bought separately, which is one less thing to lose between trips.

Buying Cast Iron Cookware

Every pan ships Australia-wide with free shipping on orders over $100 on most items, and orders are on their way within two to three business days.

Cast iron rewards a bit of upkeep, and these pans sit alongside the rest of the fire-cooking kit:

• Camp ovens
• Jaffle irons
• Kitchen and tableware
• Care and repair