Lodge Cast Iron Griddle

[SpeakEasy]

The outside propane grill that came with our trailer is "OK," but not great. The grill cooking grid surface is a lightweight stainless or something, and it doesn't really give us grill lines. And, whenever I have used it I've had a major clean-up job, because I just WON'T put it away greasy.

So I decided to buy a Lodge cast iron griddle that will fit right on the grill top. It's the rectangular one with diagonal ridges on one side and a smooth surface on the flip side (16.5" by 9" or so). I've been cooking in dutch ovens for years, but I've never owned a griddle. I tried it out at home last night on our kitchen range, and it did a nice job on a NY strip steak.

So, aside from the usual "grilling," what sorts of things have you cooked on your griddles? Any things, other than bacon or other really greasy things, that should I avoid? If I want to do grilled veggies, do I need to put some oil on it, or is the seasoned cast iron surface good enough on its own? Any advice?

Thanks!

-Speak

[SpeakEasy]

dirtyhandz wrote:
I gotta tell ya, my Lodge Griddle is the best thing ever! I cook everything on it! Sometimes I don't even take a grill and just cook on it over a fire or bed of coals.

Excellent! Glad to hear this. It's sort of what I was hoping to hear.

-Speak

[magnusfide]

dirtyhandz wrote:
I gotta tell ya, my Lodge Griddle is the best thing ever! I cook everything on it! Sometimes I don't even take a grill and just cook on it over a fire or bed of coals.

Yup. Great mult-tasker.

[dirtyhandz]

I gotta tell ya, my Lodge Griddle is the best thing ever! I cook everything on it! Sometimes I don't even take a grill and just cook on it over a fire or bed of coals.

[magnusfide]

SpeakEasy wrote:

magnusfide wrote:
I use a very light olive oil or coconut oil. Make sure the brand used has no salt or you will have rust.

The flat side is great for pancakes, Texas toast, English muffins, grilled cheese sandwiches, seared vegetables, etc. We also use our Lodge griddle in the motorhome oven to create even temps. The oven is where we store it.

To remove the heavy food crusting I use a cast iron chainmail scrubber.

IMHO cast iron ware is the best for camp cooking. :c

Wow, thanks for the tip about the chainmail scrubber. I hadn't been aware of them, and it sounds like the perfect tool for cleaning.

-Speak

It's the best tool I've found for cleaning up my cast iron, especially the ribbed side of the griddle. It's flexible enough to slide into the grooves and it cleans it up in a jiff.

[Merrykalia]

SpeakEasy wrote:

magnusfide wrote:
I use a very light olive oil or coconut oil. Make sure the brand used has no salt or you will have rust.

The flat side is great for pancakes, Texas toast, English muffins, grilled cheese sandwiches, seared vegetables, etc. We also use our Lodge griddle in the motorhome oven to create even temps. The oven is where we store it.

To remove the heavy food crusting I use a cast iron chainmail scrubber.

IMHO cast iron ware is the best for camp cooking. :c

Wow, thanks for the tip about the chainmail scrubber. I hadn't been aware of them, and it sounds like the perfect tool for cleaning.

-Speak

Most places that sell Lodge will also sell plastic scrapers for about $3. They are made of a hard plastic and fit perfectly in the grooves of all their cast iron cookware. I don't normally have hard to remove stuff on my cast iron, but these will get off all the bits and pieces. Scraper

[SpeakEasy]

magnusfide wrote:
I use a very light olive oil or coconut oil. Make sure the brand used has no salt or you will have rust.

The flat side is great for pancakes, Texas toast, English muffins, grilled cheese sandwiches, seared vegetables, etc. We also use our Lodge griddle in the motorhome oven to create even temps. The oven is where we store it.

To remove the heavy food crusting I use a cast iron chainmail scrubber.

IMHO cast iron ware is the best for camp cooking. :c

Wow, thanks for the tip about the chainmail scrubber. I hadn't been aware of them, and it sounds like the perfect tool for cleaning.

-Speak

[magnusfide]

I use a very light olive oil or coconut oil. Make sure the brand used has no salt or you will have rust.

The flat side is great for pancakes, Texas toast, English muffins, grilled cheese sandwiches, seared vegetables, etc. We also use our Lodge griddle in the motorhome oven to create even temps. The oven is where we store it.

To remove the heavy food crusting I use a cast iron chainmail scrubber.

IMHO cast iron ware is the best for camp cooking. :c

[Little_Kopit]

My Wagner (i.e. pre Wagner Ware) 8" frying pan is my most used item. I use it every day.

Restaurants up here use the 9" Lodge griddle for items they call sizzle serve.

:B

[Big_Katuna]

I always start with oil, usually EVOO.