Did you know that a cast iron griddle can be your secret weapon for creating easy camping meals?  This should be included in your camp kitchen.  I don’t mean literally as a weapon of defense although  cast iron griddles surely could be used as a personal defense weapon. What I want to convey is that any cast iron cooking equipment is going to make your meals taste better with minimal effort.  A cast iron griddle out-performs just about anything that I have ever used for making killer pancakes and omelets.  We use  Lodge cast iron cookware.  We use the 10 inch Lodge cast iron griddle and we like the fact that  it has a slight upper lip that keeps your eggs or batter inside the pan.  Because the lip is shallow, a cast iron griddle is much lighter than a cast iron skillet.

3 Things To Look For When Buying A Cast Iron Griddle

Look for made in the USA.  Lodge is the largest selling brand.  They do import a few items like ceramic coated cast iron cookware from China.  If it’s not made in the USA, at least try to find a European made one.  I may be partial to the good ole’ USA, but there are some things that we just do better.  Making cast iron cooking equipment is one thing that we do better than any other country in the world.  I think Dutch ovens should be American Cowboy Ovens.  Give me a break.  Who uses them more than anybody else on planet Earth?

Make sure that it’s really cast iron and not just a non-stick coated cast iron griddle.  An enamel coated griddle is an another option and will do an amazing job at whatever you are grilling or cooking.  For camping, I would go with a pure cast iron pan as it’s easy to clean and you don’t have to worry about damaging it.

If you can find a used high quality griddle, then buy it because it will save you the time of having to season it yourself.  Shop in the fall and you may be able to find one for a few dollars as people are trying to get rid of stuff that they do not use.

Where To Purchase A Cast Iron Griddle

If you want to be the ultimate practical camper, do what my lovely wife does best-find your camp cooking gear at garage sales in the fall or at local thrift stores.  Hunting for seasoned cast iron cookware is half the fun!  If you want brand new items, Amazon sells cheap discount cast iron skillets and will often ship the items for free when combined with other items.

Pre-Seasoned Griddle

If you use your cast iron cookware long enough, it will be pre-seasoned.  There are many people that will argue that seasoning it yourself is the only way to go.  However, if you don’t have the time to season your cookware before your trip, you can purchase a Lodge Pro pre-seasoned griddle.  It will eliminate the time needed to give you the legendary cooking performance of an aged cast iron skillet.

How To Season A Cast Iron Griddle

It’s a good idea to wash new cast iron cookware with warm water and a gentle soap.  We use baking baking soda, castile soap, and warm water.  Pat dry with a cloth towel.

My wife covers the cooking surface with coconut oil and bakes it at 325 degree F for an hour.  A good vegetable shortening will work as well.  You can even buy special cast iron griddle grease, but I really don’t see the point as it’s an extra expense.

Repeat the process again with shortening or coconut oil.

Remove from oven. Use a paper towel to wipe off excess oil and allow the pan to cool.  Store in a cool, dry place, with newspapers below and on top of skillet to protect shelves and skillet.

3 Amazing Meals That Take Only Minutes On A Cast Iron Griddle

T-bone Steak With Grilled Caramelized Onions

There is nothing like cooking over charcoal or an open fire while camping.  However, it’s not always practical or possible.  This summer while camping in Oregon, we arrived at our campsite as darkness was setting in.  We decided to grill our t-bone steaks on the griddle with onions and I cannot believe how great the steaks tastes.  We grilled 4 steaks in less than 20 minutes.

Recipe for t-bone steaks with caramelized onions:

Dice or chop 2 large onions and saute’ them over medium heat with olive or coconut oil on the griddle until caramelized.  Set these aside until the steaks are grilled.  When the onions are finished sauteing, place the t-bone steaks on the griddle and cook them until you are satisfied that they done.  Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.  Serve with the caramelized onions.

Tomato Basil Omelets

Ingredients:
Farm fresh eggs.  We like cage free organic eggs.
Sun dried or fresh tomatoes.
Fresh onions, bell peppers, zucchini, etc.
Fresh basil leaves.
Cheese
Salt & pepper.

The Frontier griddle is capable of making amazing omelets that you can take credit for making.  There is no magical recipe.  1-2 large eggs will produce an omelet large enough fill you up.

Beat 1-2 eggs.

Chop up your favorite vegetables such onions, bell peppers, zucchini, asparagus, etc.  We like to grill and caramelized the onions ahead of time to make them extra tasty.

Chop fresh basil if available.

Heat up the griddle on your camping stove and set on low-medium heat.  Pour the egg mixture on the griddle and wait until the bubbles pop before adding the vegetables and tomatoes.

After adding the vegetables, sprinkle your favorite grated cheese.  Use a wood spatula to fold the omelet in half and cook an addition 2 minutes to melt the cheese.  Slide the omelet on to your camping dinner plate and enjoy!

Juicy Grilled Burgers (“Bear Burgers”)

If you want the juiciest and tastiest burgers on the planet, give the easy recipe a shot.

1 lb. grass fed beef hamburger.
1 large onion.
Salt & pepper.

Heat the caste iron griddle to medium heat. Dice the onion and mix with the burger.  Form the mixture into 4 equal size patties.

Grill the patties on the griddle turning only once.  I wait until the juices start showing through on the top.

Since half our family is gluten free, my wife serves them on a leaf of romaine lettuce topped with fresh tomatoes. When she is real ambitious, she makes savory gluten free zucchini and onion pancakes to serve the burgers on.  No matter the case,these burgers are always a hit.

A caste iron skillet or griddle is not just limited to burgers, omelets, and steaks.  It’s a multi-use frying pan that will grill chicken, fish, vegetables, pancakes, and more.  Cast iron cookware is essentially “non-stick” and is easier to clean than teflon.  You do not have to worry about the toxic effects of non-stick cookware that you will eventually eat as cast iron forms a carbonized non-stick surface.