There are so many cast iron skillet and Dutch oven cookbooks that show the same types of recipes from pineapple upside-down cake to Coca-Cola® chicken. These are GREAT recipes, and you’ll even find some of these easy-to-create recipes here on Beer and Iron. Though I like mac-and-cheese and chili varieties, there’s so much more that can be created in cast iron. And, with a bit of variety comes a bit of complexity.
Complexity. I’m like you; I see “complexity” and I think, “complex.” It’s a funny word, “complex.” Complex is often mistake for “difficulty and time consuming.” Oh no! What complex really describes is something…a recipe…consisting of many different and parts. “Parts,” are our ingredients and our steps. Complex is not “hard,” complex is “delicious!” Rice is not complex: rice, water, salt…done. But, rice is not memorable. Consider the rice as part of a “complex” dish such as a seafood paella! Oh man-oh-man! Now what do we have? Hard? NO! We have DELICIOUS!
I love detail. Lots and lots of detail. Each recipe will be presented initially, in very detailed steps in order for you to grasp the different stages of creating the recipes presented on Beer and Iron. Most all the recipes can be prepared both in your kitchen and in the great outdoors by using a camp Dutch oven.
There are a few things we want out of a Beer and Iron recipe: DINNER!, left-overs, and to enjoy the cooking experience without it taking the whole evening. At Beer and Iron, I am going to present these recipes by the following headings:
- A little story and history of the recipe you are about to prepare and enjoy.
- Often, I will try to have a video of the meal being prepared. Seeing the recipe prepared in a video helps me and if you are anything like me…
- Next, I will suggest the cast iron pan or pot to cook with.
- Then, I will suggest a beer cook with (it is worth noting her that the beer to cook with may not always be the beer the meal will pair with…and not all beers work well in a recipe). There’s been a lot of trial and error that we’ve gone through to make sure the beer ingredient used works with the recipe.
- The ingredients (sometimes separated by “wet” and “dry”) is next. I suggest preparing all the ingredients in a ready-to-cook manner before staring. Other than preheating the oven, don’t fire up the first stove burner until the ingredients are all cut, separated, and ready to go.
- Then, it’s time to cook. We’ll step-by-step it here and likely get a bit more detailed that you’ll find most recipes.
- Beer pairing is a trial-and-error experience for sure. If you drink beer with your meal, you really want to get this right. You’ll have a perfect meal and a perfect beer but not all perfect beers pair with all perfect recipes. A perfect recipe and a perfect beer that PAIR WELL together create the perfect meal experience.
- Side dish decision are usually as difficult to decide on as the main course. “What do I feel like for dinner?” is a question that we usually answer first. Next comes, “okay…what will we have with it?” I’ll offer a few suggestions that may help you decide how to fill that dinner plate gap.
- My philosophy in regard to cast iron is pretty simple: If you can cook it in the kitchen, you can cook it in camp. Some recipes will require a bit more to it than just taking the ingredients outside with your camp oven. Often you will find a link to a camp recipe version here.
- Chef tips are near the last topic covered yet one of the most important topic. These tips are your cues to be aware of during the cooking experience that you want to avoid…that I found out the hard way.
- Lastly, there’s a PRINT THIS RECIPE button. Yes, the recipes take up a bit of paper with the large text. But, then again, you’ll be able to print to a PDF and read it from you phone or, if you have reached your 6th decade or beyond, you’ll be able to read the print on the page. Just go with it!
My Suggestion:
When preparing a recipe, go through all the ingredient lists; measure, cut, prepare, and separate all the ingredients up front and before you get started actually cooking. The last thing you want is to have a wicked hot pan ready for the onions (for example) and you’re just now cutting the onions. The next thing you know, you’ve got burned oil, smoking from a pan, and the fire alarms sounding off in your home.
Get everything ready upfront, the oven preheated, and enjoy the cooking experience without the smoke detectors drowning out your playlist.
Happy Cooking! And remember: hot cast iron looks a whole lot like cold cast iron…just sayin’
-SULAE
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