Kettle Fun

W

W. Hilditch

Active member
Benjamin, I called the local courthouse today and was told they do not issue bean permits in Georgia, just peanut permits for pots, but not kettles. She said I’d just have to take my chances like with most everything else in this state, but that the Sheriff can be quite flexible.

Saturday afternoon I made a couple of batches of popcorn in my 3 1/2 qt. kettle. Wiped out and left on stove. Saturday night did the pre-fry for the diced hash browns. Taters into the fridge and kettle left on the stove with a tbsp of oil in the bottom. Sunday brunch finished off the hash browns with onion & green peppers in the kettle. Left on stove.

Sunday afternoon fried up a cup of ham fat and scraps just to coat the inside of the kettle. Smokin'. Boy, did that work good! Left on stove after removing excess fat. Later added ham bone and 2 cups of not the best ham with onion, water and spices to simmer for a couple of hours. Sunday night the broth was strained, put back into the kettle and the beans were added to soak for the night.

Monday PM added veggies and a lot of new diced ham while cooking the beans. Dinner was bean soup and fresh hot rye bread. Emptied the kettle and thought about washing it. Wiping it out and adding a cup of steel cut oats and water to rest overnight seemed like a better idea.

Maybe I’ll wash it on Wednesday; unless I keep the porridge going.

Hilditch
 
You eat well, sir. What variety of beans did you use?
I have to admit that I've never really cooked anything in a CI pot, kettle, or dutch oven besides popcorn. I'm grappling with fear of too little seasoning, and my cooking style isn't really aligned with what a CI pot can provide.
Shame on me.
 
I used Great Northern beans. Bland and hard to screw up. When I decided to do this reenactment exercise it was acknowledged that the worst that could happen was to sacrifice the seasoning and I’d have to start over. Some of the too thick lard seasoning had already chipped off the center of the bottom in a 2” circle. Start a new vessel off frying a mess of bacon & proceed. It will be OK.

To my amazement the kettle now appears to be building seasoning quite fast. The bare spot is filled in and a good coat on the walls and top is cooking in, mostly on simmer. As a bonus I’ve learned about wooden spoons. They are pretty useless for scraping skillets but appear to have been designed for round bottom vessels and thus work perfectly.

The porridge worked out great with no savory flavor detected, but for some reason it is about the best we have had. Will add to it tonight as it waits on the stove.

Hilditch
 
This is a file photo of my kettle in it’s preferred place.



As I continue my experiment of treating my kettle like it would have been treated 100+ years ago the porridge is better, smooth & still a little crunchy. A slight odor of ham. Porridge now falls into the ‘better the second day’ category. Cooking is being done on a gas stovetop.

For the record, this spider kettle was not around 100+ years ago; it’s the new circa 1930 model.

Hilditch
 
Happy New Year Cookin’!

On the third day of the porridge it was losing its flavor and was picking up a hint of acidity. Time to let it go and wash out the kettle. After 6 days of using it while keeping it on the stove it is easy to understand how kettles, pots and skillets can be used daily without being washed. “Peas porridge in the pot nine days old” is not beyond the realm of possibility.

The seasoning did well. The original oil from the popcorn and fat from frying the ham got added to and baked into the seasoning to leave a fairly smooth non-sticky, non-oily surface, and after 1/2 hour in a 450° oven it is non-stick good. For brunch today the kettle will be used to cook a mess of bacon while I’m making waffles. Then I may cook another batch of porridge to make some goetta.

Cooking in a kettle is fun!

Hilditch

PS: I found that if you are wearing a Hilditch & Key shirt your porridge will be better.
 
I was under the impression that in the 1800s and maybe even into the 1900s that a kettle either stayed on the stove or over the fire all the time. When you hunted or gathered, it all went into the pot. I guess kind of like a Mulligan Stew of a sort. Just something I either read or heard about.
 
And the moral of this story? You may not have to wash your cast iron after every use. Some times it is better if you don’t.

Hilditch
 
I watched a show called "The Last Alaskans" about a group of cabin owners that has permits to live in a reserve, State park, something like that. Anyway on one episode, the man was fixing to have dinner and he picked up a bowl that had something crusty in it. He picked it up and just wiped some of the worst of it out with his hand and filled it up with new food. Wouldn't go out into the snow and pretend to clean it even. I laughed at how many people watching the show was most likely losing their dinner about then. Anyway, at least in a kettle, you heat it up again to cooking temp.
 
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