Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Cast iron pie pans????

Have any of you cast iron junkies (or other culinary commandos) tried a cast iron pie pan such as this:

http://www.amazon.com/Old-Mountain-Seasoned-10161-Cast/dp/B001AT91RI

Might, but if it's made in China, no thanks...

Oh you can book that it's made in China.

I have not done it, but I wonder why a regular cast iron fry pan would not bake a great pie.

I've thought the same thing my own self but it does seem a frying pan's shape and dimensions would make for a better deep dish cobbler than a pie.

We have frypan that is shallow like a piepan. It is nice for getting the spatula under than the higher side type. The shallow pan is what I was thing for pie. I can't see that a handle would hurt a pie.

Might have to try a pie in a CI skillet, they come out well in a CI Dutch Oven. Made a lot of cornbread in a CI skillet, but not a pie . . . yet.

All my pies are made in 10" cast iron skillets and they come out just as delicious as if I'd used my fancy shamncy no-stick pie pan (which is now gathering dust!)

It does make it a bit of a bear to get the pieces out, but I use a fork instead of a pie knife

OK Snowhunter, you have become the Voice of Experience here, so why is it that you prefer the iron skillet to the non-stick pie pan? What advantages does the skillet have and what benefits do you receive by using it in your baking???

Not really the "Voice of Experience" as much as the "Voice of tried, failed, tried again and succeeded a few times!"

The cast iron gives a crisper crust and the added heat imparted on the whole pie gives a better cook/set. I've used both to make buttermilk, sweet tater, pumpkin and pecan pies and had much better results with the cast iron.

I also use dutch oven liners in mine, so less clean up.

Good to see you posting again. Where would one find said dutch oven liners?

Thanks Life settled enough to allow some downtime.

I am lucky enough to have a Lodge Outlet close by, so I visit often and thats where I get mine. I've used tinfoil in a pinch, but parchment paper doesn't stick like foil does.

I think google would bring a few places up to buy online as well... I've not seen the liners anywhere else but the outlet.

OK now you officially suck I'll look for liners where they sell Lodge products.

Would wax papper work in lieu of the parchment paper?

The Walmart camping section usually has the liners.

Make your own!

http://ruhlman.com/2010/08/how-to-make-a-parchment-paper-circle/

I have been procrastinating about trying a pie in one of my dutch ovens. I just wish I could get the crust recipe down. It would be easier just to buy the crust I reckon. I have bought the premade pies in the aluminum pie pan and baked them in my bread oven with coals, they do really well but thats kind of cheatin!

Apparently a lack of cast iron pie pan experience extends well beyond this thread. A bit of 'net searching found this from the site thekitchn.com.

"We've heard of aluminum, Pyrex, ceramic and perforated pie pans but never cast iron until we ran across this example on Amazon. It has a solid five-star review from six customers who say that the cast iron creates an even, nicely browned crust. Additional internet research reveals even more happy consumers.

Customers also commented that the cast iron helps keep the pie warm for much longer than other pans. It's been used for fruit pies as well as pot pies, quiches and cornbread. All in all, this seems to be a well-liked, if somewhat obscure, product. We'd love to hear your comments and reviews of the cast iron pie pan."

Fifteen responses followed this request for comments and almost all were positive for baking or cooking with cast iron but few had actually made pies in cast iron. Those few who had mostly used frying pans.

My 'net search also yielded the info that Dick's Sporting Goods sells the version alluded to above so the next time I'm near one of the two DSG's in this area, I'm gonna check one out. I confess that my curiosity arises from the uniqueness of the item, certainly not because I'm baker of any sort but I'm bound to go look at one, and maybe even try one......., just 'cause it's there.

Since I started this post, I'm bound to report that I now have one of the Camp Chef brand pie pans (see link). I had to order it (Kohl's, on sale with $.99 shipping) so I didn't quite know what to expect, but I was concerned that it might be a light,thin wall and/or rough casting, and I had a concern about dimensions and shape, especially the depth. What I have is certainly not light nor thin wall. It weighs 4.5 lbs and is OK casting. I'll call it textured but not course or rough...., with only one slightly sandy spot in the bottom. There are no grinding or shaping blemishes, or sprue on it.

It is deeper than an "average" pie pan (1 3/4" v. 1") and the increased depth is because the "angle of repose" (lawyer term...., used when suing contractors in ditch bank cave-ins) does not flatten out at the edge as customarily found on pie pans of my limited experience. My reaction was that it was simply wayyyyy to big for any pie recipe that I've ever seen and I was ready to take it back, but my analytical nature kicked in and I tape measured it. Following the contour of each pan, the total from edge to edge of my "average" pan is 11 1/4", and 12" for the Camp Chef, so the effect is a pie will not have the crust lying flat at the edge - it will angle upward.

I have not tried it yet but hopefully I'll get the chance by the weekend. Report to follow.........


http://www.kohls.com/p/camp-chef-cast-iron-pie-pan.shtml

Ok.... The experiment is done. The pan works and I like it. It does have some eccentricities though. As Snowhunter said of her pan, the depth and angle of this pan require a different technique or tool to extract a slice. The point of my pie server tends to plow through the bottom of a slice but I found the flat leading edge of a cake server does the trick once the first slice is out. Also, the handles on it prevent it from fitting under the cover of a pie carrier but other than these differences, I find nothing to dislike about it.

There were several experiments going on because I had no real recipe for the pie (apple with walnuts and raisins) but it turned out pretty tasty, and my following comments on the pastry come from having eaten a ton of pies over time, not from baking them. I am not to be confused with a pie chef/baker but the pastry was certainly as good as I've ever made and and I can't say I've ever had better. I'll describe it as stable but flaky. I don't know if the results were due to the blind hawg theory, Providence, Mother's pastry recipe or the qualities of cast iron but it surely turned out well. And there were no sticking problems - the slices come right out.

As I stated earlier, I was somewhat put off by the depth of the pan but I found it to simply require a bit different technique with the pastry. Instead of working with the flat edge of a conventional pan, it was a simple matter to stop the pastry level with the rim of the pan and press it into the indentations cast into the rim. I've never been up close and personal with store bought pie shells but I'm guessin' they won't work in this pan.

I bought this pan simply as a curiosity but I'll certainly use it in my infrequent, pie-making experiments. The pan would be better if it were of conventional dimension and shape but to me it's kinda cool....., and having had success with a sample of one, I recommend it. YMMV