Cast Iron Collection & Fire Cooking

[OTRA15]

Looks great! I took the liberty of copying onto the Dutch Oven thread. Thanks for the inspiration, as we finally got our water on last week, and are trying to get out of town for a weekend . . .

Peter

[GCinSC2]

Folks Linda spotted this Lodge Aebleskiver pan yesterday and it followed us home http://www.sportsmanswarehouse.com/s...2712/cat101733

OK, never seen one, never heard of it but we just finished our first trial run on the porch, this has earned a place in the cast iron ensemble. We just did a basic pancake style batter as a trial. It works, now more challenging stuff later.

Saw a bunch of videos but these do a nice job of showing the cooking process.

[Lily&Me]

Aebelskiver's are delicious and fun.

My Danish grandmother, Nana, made them for us, as did my mother, and I made them for my children.

My recipe is basically a good, buttermilk pancake recipe, the only difference being the egg whites are beaten separately and folded in.

Enjoy.


Maggie

[OTRA15]

A college friend's Mom used to make Sunday breakfast with treats from this pan. I am thinking it would work great for small corn-fritter-ish dough balls. A basic frozen pizza dough would be a good place to start IMO, and I would be inclined to have plenty of hot oil in each spot before dropping in the fritters. And then be sure to start turning them ASAP to keep them round. I haven't watched the videos so maybe they cover this?

Good to have this thread heating up again . . .

Happy Trails!

Peter

[Lily&Me]

I was taught to cook Aebelskivers over pretty high heat, brushing each well with melted butter and turning a little at a time using a skewer to the edge, or a fork.

They cook, then, rather hollow inside, and Nana used to serve them with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and currant jelly she made from the bushes in her back yard.


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

I found this in upper NY state 4-5 years ago, and had to have it.

It is cast iron, the cooking surface coated with porcelain.

After searching and posting the picture online, I was told it is similar to an Aebelskiver pan...the raised handles were for its use sitting in the cooking well of a wood cook stove, hot coals beneath.

The belief was that is was probably made in the late 1800's, in Denmark.

Maggie

[GCinSC2]

Maggie,

I thought I remembered you mentioning it a while back. That antique one is pretty sharp.

The thing that caught my attention was watching several videos about how it cooks, unique is a start.

Now we just gotta practice but first batch was edible for sure.

A corn bread batch is coming soon.

I wonder how it would do making mini egg omelets?

[Lily&Me]

I think you could cook a lot of things in an Aebelskiver pan, tho anything dense like cornbread may be more difficult to cook stovetop.

You could put it in the oven, and bake mini cornbreads or muffins, and that would work, but it would take awhile to make enough to feed a family.

It doesn't show well in this picture, but both the handles on the one I just posted are raised. I could clearly tell it was meant to sit in something, but the place I bought it didn't know what it was or where it came from.

I've never used it. It hangs on the wall.

I remember visiting Monticello several years back, and the kitchen below the house had a special area for setting in pans like this...coals put in below.

Thomas Jefferson was big into French cooking, and had an enslaved chef he took to France to learn all the techniques.

The kitchen fascinated me, and I would have loved to have an opportunity someday to cook in something like that.


Maggie

[GCinSC2]

OK folks need another forum to join? Here ya go.

http://www.castironcollector.com/forum/index.php

I didn't find it, it was posted on another forum of wacko's of which I am a member.

http://www.colemancollectorsforum.com/ If it's a Coleman gas powered anything, yup they've covered it. And somebody here linked me up with them. Got a SMALL collection of Coleman lanterns now and only 3, no make that 4 stoves counting the small military travel stove I found. http://www.airforums.com/forums/f484...ain-78978.html

I regularly use a real Coleman stove on campouts and at home too.

[rodsterinfl]

The pioneers were using cast iron or wooden utensils, which I think are naturally easier on cast iron.

My grandma, raised in a log cabin in the woods, was a real country woman from Big Hill / Berea KY. (Berea was the big town to them!). When I was ten we made a trek back to the original cabin way back in the woods. Amazing that it was the homestead of my step family for several generations.

Any who, she cooked with cast iron and ALWAYS with wood utensils.

[GCinSC2]

OK this might inspire the creative cook in you, same pan shape but well just watch this guy make them. He could serve a small rally.

Japanese style, Takoyaki.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by GCinSC2

. . .
Japanese style, Takoyaki.
. . .

Amazing! Was that cheese sprinkled on top in the middle? Like mini-omelettes someone suggested earlier.

No reason a corn fritter wouldn't work . . . !



Thanks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takoyaki

[GCinSC2]

I'm not sure but I see little breakfast balls, cooked crumbled sausage, maybe cheese and onion I don't know yet but I'm gonna try something. It's just too cool. Kinda a hey watch this and then eat it too.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by GCinSC2

I'm not sure but I see little breakfast balls, cooked crumbled sausage, maybe cheese and onion I don't know yet but I'm gonna try something. It's just too cool. Kinda a hey watch this and then eat it too.

The batter in your video looked pretty thin, almost like milk IMO. What was added to make the balls puff up like that?

Maggie, any ideas?

Thanks,

Peter

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

I think you could cook a lot of things in an Aebelskiver pan, tho anything dense like cornbread may be more difficult to cook stovetop.
. . .

PS -- Edit -- check out this pan. I actually have an Iwatani butane burner which this pan will fit on I think.

https://www.amazon.com/IWATANI-TAKOY...s=taroyaki+pan

Is this the magic powder which makes the rising happen?

https://www.amazon.com/Nissin-Takoya...D337QJN7888JK0

[GCinSC2]

Oooh Magic raising dust!

I don't know how they do it but it sure is intriguing.

[Lily&Me]

I can't lay my hands on Nana's recipe at the moment, but I got this one online and it has the same ingredients.

The video Gary loaded won't play for me, and the page on this thread has been messed up for me ever since that one, so I don't know exactly what you are referring to.

I think the baking soda makes it rise, the beaten egg whites keep it light, and turning the batter with a toothpick or skewer creates the round ball.

ORIGINAL RECIPE FOR DANISH AEBLESKIVER (PANCAKE BALLS)

Ingredients:
250 g (9 oz) all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Natron (baking soda)
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
4 dl (1.75 cups) buttermilk
100 g (3.5 oz) butter, melted
3 eggs
1 tbsp sugar

Instruction:

Step 1: Separate the egg whites and yolks in separate bowls.
Step 2: Whisk the sugar and egg whites in a glass or metal bowl til fluffy and stiff.
Step 3: Mix the egg yolks, all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt and vanilla sugar together in a separate bowl.
Step 4: whisk in buttermilk til smooth
Step 5: Melt the butter and let it cool slightly, then add slowly to the buttermilk mixture
Step 6: fold the stiff eggs whites in the batter.
Step 7: Heat up the aebleskive pan at medium heat and add a small piece of butter in each hole. Fill the holes 3/4 with the aebleskive batter.
Step 8: When the edges starts to get firm, turn each aebleskiver 90 degrees (using a wooden stick or similar) and let the batter flow into the pan.
Step 9: as they brown, keep turning til cooked thru

Our recipe always had the egg whites beaten separately, which makes the batter very light.

Turning the batter bit by bit in the hot pan, as it cooks, gives a nice, uniformly rounded Aebelskiver, slightly hollow in the center.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

This is pretty cool...a portable outdoor fireplace.


http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/h...78FCE87CC7C569

[cameront120]

Those cinder blocks are pretty heavy!

[AWCHIEF]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

This is pretty cool...a portable outdoor fireplace.


http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/h...78FCE87CC7C569

How do you plan on carrying that beast around?

[Lily&Me]

I don't, of course, but someone else might.

If one were camping someplace remote for a week or two, this would be great to have along, in my opinion.

I would love to have an outdoor cooking area at home....tho this is not beautiful, it is functional, and something I could do myself.

I just might, one of these days.


Maggie