Cast Iron and Spun Steel Cooking 101 

Hi!... Greetings from India... @ 8.33 onwards.Clerning your Iron Utensils... Heating up and scrubbing using Detergent... We usually use the Ash from the fire for scrubbing.... It's very effective, eco friendly and available in vast quantities..You could use the Ash without water too.. It will take off all the grease...

That was 25 minutes of camp cooking knowledge bombs. Awesome stuff and a wealth of gems in this video.

Ronny and Harry , both with such a wealth of information, this has been great, now all i need is a old shed like yours to cook in , i'm sure i'll find an abandoned shed down a dusty road somewhere

My two favorite things Offroad and cast-iron cooking

Ronny, the easiest way to clean your cast iron pot (or Bedourie) is to put it back on the fire with water and when its boiled throw a dishwashing tablet in there. In the morning eveything will just wipe off with a paper towel. I never believed it until I tried it myself and I havent used a scourer since. Give it a go even at home even when you burn milk on the base of a pot - just use boiling water from the kettle.

Thanks for the top/bottom ratio tip. What I find helps is keep a (non-plastic bristle) brush handy for dusting off the ash when ur opening the lids.

Thanks lads for all those tips, your experience, wins and failures are so valuable to learn from. Thanks for sharing boys! 👍

Hi Ronny A trick I use is to put a thin layer of sand under the pot on top of the heat this will take away the to hot under the pot

Absolutely awesome vid! You three together and the topic... Awesome!

Super helpful tips from guys who know. Thanks!

I have always found that digging a hole a few inches deep, same shape as your oven, somewhere near the fire to put the the coals in helps heaps when it’s windy. Nothing better than a roast from a camp oven 👍

Great, informative video guys cheers for the awesome knowledge on camp cooking!

Always look forward to Sunday’s. Another great vid Ronny. 👍🏾 from Papua New Guinea🇵🇬

One of the best videos I’ve seen of yours for awhile. This video hit home with the every day person which is what we want to see. Keep up the good work...fire to fork is educational

Thanks for this! SO MUCH useful advice in there. Also, learned a bit about Australian trees/wood (I'm in the US). Nice!

loved it. absolutely love this video. 3 cheers for you guys.

Very helpful thank u guys for explaining so many things. It is good to teach eeryone little tricks to help get them out and into nature and be confident in themselves. I try to teach all my kids tricks like these thank u guys

Fellas, this is hands down the most informative vid I have ever seen on the use of camp ovens 🤙

Hi guys great vid as usual. I tend to clean all my cast iron stuff with BBQ wipes after use then give it alight coating of oil before storing it away.

Thanks some good pointers there I did not know cheers

I always did it a combo of the ways you guys do with the clean/seasoning. Then i watched a Kent Rollins video on how to do it and thought "can't be fuct". So good to know others do it the way i originally just firgured it should be done. Mad vid fellas👍😎

As always another wicked video cheers guys

Straight to the point and very informative-Love it guys!🇺🇸

Although we don't do a lot of campfire cooking I want to ramp it up a bit in future so this was a great help. Good to know that in this case cheaper actually means better. Will grab one of those Aldi box sets next time they come out and see how they stack up.

Yep my first camp oven experience was with a roo tail and root veggies ...... the best feed ever !

This was so engaging. Interesting and informative.. But I felt like I was sitting around a campfire with mates for most of it. Easy sub. Cheers.

Great video lads.

your a legend mate well done

Nice one guys.

Love this video boys , thanks

Some great advice 👍 good vid gents Thankyou 😊

Thank you

Love the camp kitchen vids boys.

Mate great info. You guys have cost me so much money in refining my camp cooking and set-up it's great!!!😎

My wife almost went through the roof when you guys started with the grinder, drill, and scout pad on the cast iron 🤣 “Salt and potato!!”

River red gum and sugar gum is the choice of wood down my way in Victoria Ronny. Keep up the brilliant work! You have worked very hard to get were you are today and with out a doubt in the 4wd world you are a house hold name. Good stuff and look after torpen, he is the key for successful future content.

I’m roasting a chicken on the patio right now in a flat bottomed Potjie, just spread the coals on top around the sides, thanks Ronny

You didn’t even spill your coffee from that run up 😂😂

great stuff ronny. I just cooked myself some cornbread and brownies on my camp oven (called dutch oven here for some reason) and they were excellent. I don't do it too often because I hate the cleanup but its always so good. Good tips here I hadn't heard. for me I use charcoal briquettes which makes the heat really easy since its just diameter in inches = number of bricks on top and bottom for 350f.

Pulled Pork recipe is the bomb.

Awesome outstanding thanks

gotta love cast!!

You guys know your onions.... good show

What a solid video! I've been doing so much "wrong"! Still works though hehe!

This is going to be such a good video

what a collab!!

Kick ass video guys

Oh oh hell that was good:D I love camp fire cooking but Ive been doing it wrong:D That Harrys got the skills.....thanks fellas.

Ronny, a long time ago i watched you make a Damper which i picked up to make while camping. Best ever camping bread if you make a sweet one with fruit like Apples... love you show btw sorry i was not able to see you when you went to Expo West. Come Expo east next time. ;-)

Right on Ronny .....pig fat Bill Here.....thanks for the props! Just had my gall bladder removed......too much bacon grease over the decades. Oh well...that's life/food/and pig fat not in moderation!🤟🇺🇸

You guys should try grape seed oil. It’s a little harder to find but is a great high heat oil as well. Not sure if you guys have it in Australia but here in US it’s available. Another Great video Ronny!

Thanks, very interesting. How about recipes for 1 with the camp oven. Mostly I see these great boiling pots to feed the crew. How about us solo campers?

Can you do spun steel vs cast iron in different styles of cooking? Or is 1 better then the other in all fields? Personal choice and why?

I love the camp footwear at 2:33. I'm not sure if it's Harry or Alex wearing them though 😉

Ronny, next time bushwhacking in America, see if anyone has any Bear Lard. Honestly, it can't be beat !

This was a great video! I'm looking to learn more about spun steel cooking as large cast iron vessels are just too heavy!! Do you guys use avocado or grape seed oil in your cooking? I find the avocado oil especially delicious for anything an avocado would go well with.

I make perfect damper in my cast iron oven, with an alfoil covered trivet in the bottom and alfoil around the sides. No need to worry much about measuring amount of coals under and on top.

Two points you missed I feel, 1 humidity makes a massive difference, when its dry your fire and coals burn much faster and hotter. Also one of the best tools when cooking in a camp oven is your nose, waft the air on the down wind side of the camp oven up to your nose, you'll know immediately if you're burning your food.

A bit of a word on extra virgin olive oil. the smoke point is actually 205c, anything less and you have a blended oil. source is from Cobram Estate and an interview with a family member, check their website. but great video.

I use Grape seed oil, good for high temps.

Nice dogs

The reason cast iron is so we'll loved and has stuck around is specifically because it is resilient and can be used time and time again with simple care. There is a culture of people who go ALL OUT when it comes to cast iron and those ideas really get into people's heads. I'm guilty myself of wanting to keep my cast iron all perfect. But that's not why the cookware is historically loved. It's not fragile.

where do you get hold of a camp oven spacer?

You guys really need to Watch Cowboy Kent Rollings

I don't worry about the outside. It's the inside that counts. 👍👍👍

ronny where did you get to stand/ trivet from ive been looking every where for that type. love your youtubes

How do i go about if my cast iron pot has rust flakes in it? Does the way you do work for my situation

when I do my damper, I throw in a layer of flour on the bottom of my camp oven. A little trick I was shown, first it shows up hot stops, and your damper doesn't get a burnt bum.

I always though the "no detergent" was about the taste not the seasoning. Something about cheaper cast iron "absorbing" (probably not the right word) the detergent then being released when heated and unable to escape as it is fully enclosed and it didn't matter with cast iron pans as steam can escape.

You blokes have a Rhodesian Ridge back dog. I had one when I like ed in Zimbabwe, best dam dog ever.

Hi Ronnie I was watching this video. Was wondering with some of the items you had on the table. As to when and what you use them for The where like small pots ?

Ive finished the lawns LYW

Your fire blanket would have worked had it been able to seal. Because it couldn't seal, the feed of oxygen wasn't cut off and the fire kept going. This is why your plate worked; it sealed the container. The fire blanket would have been a minor help here in terms of sealing any irregularities between plate and rim of container. Fat fires have a special type of extinguisher called "wet chemical", for Class F (cooking oils/fats) fires. The dry chem AB(E) extinguishers, which is probably what you had, don't work very well on fat fires. The wet chem extinguishers have an oatmeal-ish coloured band on them. Dry chem is a white band.

If you want it to cook evenly, dig a hole, put some coals in the bottom, put some on top and cover with soil. Spent 6 months on the road cooking all sorts of food this way. except damper, rubbish stuff compared to proper bread. As far as burning food, use your nose. We could smell when the bread was cooked even though it was buried, not deep, just covered.

Nice work to all 3 of you. Alex, don't no ur stuff but👍👍met u on Ronny flinders trip. Ronny love ur work. Harry, do u have a published cook book? E.g. I argued last Easter with the Mrs, her first remote camp" u can't do pancakes on the fire they will burn" ... best pancakes an bacon an eggs we ever had love the fire cook, most weekends fire cook at home but 4 fussy kids want the food to be good, need her an kids keep coming out an about..... links or publisher? Again nice work.... Ps if we make it to wa, how do we merit invitation to ur camp, looks awsome

teched me lots

Yes altitude affects not only fire but generator % as well, E.g., a 2kva at high alt will only put out say 1.75kw, numbers may be out , I'm going from memory

I use a rocket stove for cooking , great in the wind

Is stainless steel good for direct fire cooking?

coconut oil is great for high temp cooking.

Has the 3-legged "potjie" not caught on yet in Australia?

Hint number 27 b A cast iron, or spun steel for roasting, and ceramic pot for sauce style casseroles stews ect, no oil taste in food

i have a question.... does the paint come off or should it come off from the oven?

Hey guys another great video! Just left me with one question spun steel does it cook like cast iron ?? I never have use spun steel and to my understanding it’s not available here in the states.

So whats the best oil for steak ?

Start with hot dogs and beans. Cut an "X" in the end of the dogs. When they flair out they're cooked!

Agree re hi temp oils being better for cooking in a camp oven, But for actual seasoning Flax seed oil does not polymerise as hard as Beef tallow. I've spent years trying to make flax seed oil stay but it consistently comes away and into the food. Beef tallow stays in place like night and day how hard wearing it is.

Good advice.... would you use cast iron ahead of spun steel or vise versa or doesn’t matter?

Please you do spun steel vs cast iron in different styles of cooking? Personal choice and why?

On the same coals, spun steel will heat up faster and end up hotter than a cast iron pot sitting next to it.

What about cast kettles? Should I oil it?......before you say get a lighter kettle/billy, it was grandfather's and I like taking it camping. 👍

G'day Guys,... Just noticed the nice EX Mil trailer,.. where'd you get it,.... any background on it? Inquiring minds want to know,... I have a M105A2 myself, Oh and on topic I have both cast and rolled steel and love them both. Another Great vid. Aussie.

Phurfy ovens Are they still available?

How many times have you grabbed for the pot barehanded

Witch is better spun steel or cast iron

I still collect fat and cook with it. Potatoes, bacon & eggs etc cooked in home made lard (I'm not the old!)

Try Jam wood or snake wood

Don't worry about the outside

Great tips 👍 You say cheap is good, where would I get a cheap camp oven to start off (NSW) - BCF? Also What size camp oven do you recommend to get to start off? @harryfishaman ?

This video confuses me a bit. It seems like ronnys method of seasoning is heating up the pan first, THEN spreading oil and then letting it cool down. Whereas harrys is to put oil on it THEN get it hot, then let it cool down. Does it matter which method you do?