The Lodge Company - Lodge Cast Iron Nation: Great American Cooking from Coast to Coast

CONTENTS

PREFACE

There is something soulful about a cast iron skillet. When I pick up my favorite skillet, I feel an emotional connection. It may sound corny, but it is true.

W hen I place well-floured chicken pieces in sizzling oil or taste sweet butter melting on hot-out-of-the-pan cornbread, it brings the memory of my grandmother back to life.

When I saut shallots, bacon, and chopped farmers market vegetables to make a hash bed for a piece of crispy cast iron-cooked fish, I am back in Los Angeles with my good friend and co-author, Bob Blumer (see the from our book, Pizza on the Grill ).

I love that you can take a neglected pan that is pockmarked with rust and re-season it until its as good as it was in its heyday. And if someone accidently misuses that pan (shame on them!), it can be re-surfaced and re-seasoned and resuscitated yet again. If that doesnt make you believe that these pots and pans and molds have a living spirit, I dont know what will.

I love that Lodge cast iron pots and pans have stayed a constant in kitchens all across America for more than 100 years, and that many people have passed down their pans as family heirlooms. Others like me have picked up panswith a silent rich historyat yard sales and antique stores. The only thing that has changed at Lodge in all these years just makes the cast iron even better! New Lodge pans are seasoned in the foundry, and it would take 10 years of cooking sausage and bacon to developputting the Lodge in logical!

Obviously, I have a deep relationship with my cast iron pans. That long-standing relationship is the main reason that I am excited to have been a part of both the first Lodge cookbook and this new one. I dont feel the same way about most of my kitchen equipment, but my cast iron pans are like my favorite pair of cowboy bootsthey get better and more dear to me with every use. It also helps that the family behind the foundry includes some of the best people I have ever met.

Ive known Bob Kellermann and his wife, Cheryl, for almost as long as I have been cooking professionally. Bob is always dapper, and his bow ties mirror his smiling face. He is the epitome of a Southern gentleman and loves cast iron as much as he loves his familywhich makes sense because Lodge Manufacturing is his familys multi-generational business. And Cheryl is the very definition of a firecracker! She is no doubt the best-dressed woman in Tennesseeand her sharp wit and unwavering warmth match her good taste, making her the belle of every room she graces.

Together, the Kellermanns are fun with a capital F, hardworking, welcoming, gracious, and the very best of all things Southern. The Kellermanns embody lifejust like their cast iron pieces embody life.

Chef Elizabeth A. Karmel
June 2, 2013

FOREWORD

There is nothing more enjoyable than being asked to write about something you love. Remaining tempered in ones exuberance is one of lifes great challenges, so rather than a traditional introduction, I consider this piece a love letter to the good people who make Lodge cast iron cookware roll off the line every single day.

T hank you all. What you do is wonderful. You make our lives richer and riper.

The resurgence of the use of cast iron cookware over the past couple of decades speaks to a number of things, like nostalgia, simplicity, and craftsmanship, among others. But to me, more than anything else, it smacks of good sense, because cast iron cookware offers great value for the dollar, durability (so much so that pieces get passed down from generation to generation), and unparalleled performance on the stove, in the oven, on the grill, or over a campfire. And the remarkable transition Lodge has made under the leadership of Bob Kellermann and Henry Lodge (great-grandsons of the company founder, Joseph Lodge) in response to this rise in popularity has been accomplished by remaining committed to the outstanding qualities that define Lodge cast iron cookware.

In the early 1990s, as the government was making the manufacture of these sorts of materials more financially challenging through the implementation of new regulations, a lot of manufacturing was outsourced to foreign markets in order to manage costs. But Lodge planted their flag. Instead of deciding to manufacture their products more cheaply overseas and ship them back to the U.S. for distribution, Bob and Henry led the charge for investment in and modernization of the plant in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, and have ultimately ended up being the sole manufacturer of cast iron cookware in the United States.

In doing so, Lodge remains the main employer in South Pittsburg, employing a good 15% of the entire population and sustaining the life of a little Southern town that, in all likelihood, would have withered on the vine. And in the process, Lodge Manufacturing has established permanent brand recognition of a true Southern icon.

As significant as its commitment to modernization and keeping manufacturing in the U.S. have been to the survival of Lodge Manufacturing Company, it is the thoughtful and elegant extension of the product line that has given the company wings in the past two decades. The elegance of the Tableware Cast Iron Mini Servers and the durability and versatility of the black seasoned steel line of saut and paella pans have helped establish a greater legitimacy of American cast iron in the modern kitchen.

Lodge is at work every day in every one of our five restaurants. We converted from aluminum pans to black steel the minute they were available, and we have stocked the cast iron mini servers for tabletop use since they were developed. I dont want to imagine what our kitchens and dining rooms would look like without Lodge.

As hard as Lodge works at its cast iron, equal attention is given to non-iron projects, like this book. The fine folks at Oxmoor House, editor Pam Hoenig, and Lodge Public Relations Manager Mark Kelly put together a wonderful collection of recipes with the first Lodge book, The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook . This sophomore effort has been driven by Lodges mantrathe first one was great; lets make the next one even better.

Lodge Cast Iron Nation is for a new generation of cast iron cookery lovers. The recipes are fascinating, delicious, and designed to be accessible to everyone. Curated from Lodges generous network of professional cooks, chefs, and enthusiasts, these recipes illustrate just how versatile and user-friendly cast iron cookware is. From casseroles to chili, skillet pies to fried fish, eggs any way you want them to French toast and crepes, Lodge Cast Iron Nation once again shouts loudly, Cast iron aint just for cornbread!

Now take this book and your favorite Dutch oven, or skillet, or griddle and get to work. Im making myself hungry.

Chef John Currence
City Restaurant Group, Oxford, Mississippi
July 22, 2013

WELCOME!

I n 1876 my great-grandfather, Joseph Lodge, sought permanent work. His search had led him on a 10-year journey through the United States, to Cuba and to South America, then back to Pennsylvania. At age 28 he went south to investigate the iron business. From Chattanooga, Tennessee, he walked 30 miles to South Pittsburg, a small industrial town on the banks of the Tennessee River. There he found employment, married his Pennsylvania fiance, and began to put down roots. Twenty years later, in 1896, Joseph started the Blacklock Foundry, later renamed Lodge Manufacturing Company. And so my familys journey with cast iron cookware began.