The anrkst6973vs bushman5 Potjie/Cast Iron Cookware Cook-Off!

You'd need a deuce 1/2 to carry it out there....and a dory oar to stir it! It would be fun though!

 

Canoe paddle!

 

sloooooow frying side bacon




hour and a half of simmering,....

 

This is "The Great Cake Experiment ". I've been mulling this around for a bit, not being a baker or pastry guy. Meaty stuff is more my speed but what the heck..let go burn something!


This is going to require a full 3 place cook station set up....and for the orange dog to stop toting off my BBQ wood!


Needs to pre-heat but even match light doesn't always wanna go....use a bigger "match".


The Sous laying into the half a bushel of squash...


He's gettin good with a knife.

 

The 15" carbon got stuck in the postal system ( @Bushman5 ) we'll just go with the 12". I put him on gas to keep a consistent heat...easier for him.


Heck, he's got this. Pour some spice on it Son...boring food sucks...


What goes with squash? Grilled (dino) chicken of course.

 

How many courses does this meal have? Dang! I gotta get this iron heated!


Mmmmm, simmering butter. And a few cherries and blueberries for contrast...


And peaches.....


And brown sugar.....

 

Heaving in cake batter. This is a simple pound cake recipe. Even I don't know if this is going to work....how else you gonna learn though.


The recipe says 350f for an hour, 10 on top and there's 9 under. This a "no feet" high wall 5 qt. So it's sitting directly on top of the bottom coals. Hafta have a lil faith in the iron.


Sous chef is killin it on the squash over there. Sooooo good!!

 

Beef I eat half raw, everything else gets well done.


Moment of truth....


Well flames didn't erupt from the pot! That's a good sign...


It ugly but it smells fantastic!

 

If you're gonna lay down a spread..it ought to involve some iron and woodsmoke. We went full pig out on this one. . Always doing, always learning....ya'll drop by, we'll burn something to eat and have a beer.

 

Just reading the thread and looking at all the awesome pictures makes me happy!
In the age of nasty fast food you guys make real, extremely good looking food!

I try to cook as often as possible,there is really nothing like a home made meal especially with home made, rural ingredients. Sure I love eating out,but home made is home made.

Thank you for sharing epic meal photos!

Cheers!

 

Good stuff man... good stuff !!!

 

Glad you are enjoying it. I'm having "almost" as much fun posting the pics as I am cooking.

 

Things are soaking, marinating, prep is waiting.....What say you Esee Mafia? Shall we keep this thread going? Or are you guys tired of hanging out on my patio? I believe a vote from the crew is in order...

 

keep going! I'll be cooking more after summer ends and work dies down........or i die from work.....LMAO!!!

 

The 100+ heat index makes this..."challenging " to say the least. Hang in there buddy, I got faith in ya!

 

It's hot. Family is going all over the place ( no photographer) so I want something simple. Something you put in potjie and forget about for a couple hours. I like pot roast. 2 minor problems, a roast is a big ole chunk of meat. Sure it'll fit but portioning to serve would be a pain, #2 Lady Ash doesn't like big huge chunks of cow. Just doesn't. So.....I present
The "R.I.P." Roast. Roast in pieces. . Smart huh?


I'll use this A cut venison from 2015, it's in the bold marinade. I've had the T bone for a while. And this chuck from last year.



Just a bit of zing!! for the pot.



I'm working by myself so it's hard to get good action shots. We've got some Baby Bella mushrooms, about 3 lbs of meat chunks ( about ping pong ball size, but square.), a good cup each of corn ,green beans and asparagus from my frozen veggie stash. Around 1 1/2 lbs of potatoes, 3 different types in a small bag. There's 8 oz of dry red wine. ( my knowledge of wine is limited to dry or sweet, red or white. I buy bottles of $10 stuff and portion then freeze it for later. ). She buys the drinkable stuff.

 

Slight confession. After I had the t bone boned out I decided this needed more bones. I washed hands and hauled behind across town to the meat market for a package of ox tail. This is the bone stock after about 2 hours of simmer.



After sieving the bone broth and tossing the actual bones in a wide mouth jar, I collected the meat pieces and browned then in my carbon steel skillet with a bit of garlic infused evoo..



Then break the glaze with a cup or 2 of the strained broth. You wind up with this rich brown base to add back to your bone stock.



Here's the recipe for my broth, the boiled bone stock, 1/3-1/2 cup of tomatoe paste, heaping tablespoon of spice mix. Let it sit to cool then skim off the congealed fat (tallow) on top. ( a little bit is ok but let's not kill ourselves eh fellas.) add warm water to make the amount/ volume you need. This is about 2 quarts. The cooked down meat and bones are on bottom, settled spices on top of that, then the broth up top. All just sitting and waiting for daylight...

It seems like a lot of work but it wasn't really. Just some cutting board time and goofing off while the bones simmered. I think it's going to make a most excellent R.I.P.

 

Thanks to what has to be the slowest most unreliable internet since the days of dial up death.....


Today's fun and learning will be brought to you by this ancient piece of scrap iron...



With assistance from this kindling making monstrosity....



Starring the cast iron #2 from PotjiePot USA . I'm really only cooking for 2 people today so 6 qts outa do it. Right?

 

Starting with some evoo, 1/4 cup here and 1/4 in reserve...



The first thing we will learn today is sometimes it's hard to tell if your oil is hot enough to start. ( at least for us primiteive barbarian types that don't carry around a thermometer to hang off the side. ). Throw a dab of real butter in it, if it starts sizzling and popping, oil is hot enough to cook.



I also went and got this wooden knob doohickey for the lid. It's a simple thing but it really does make it easier to on/off the lid when you need to.