Cast Iron on Your Buschbeck: Grill, Hotplate and Camp Oven Care

If you've just unboxed your Buschbeck cast iron grill, or you've had one sitting in the fireplace for years, there's one question I get asked more than any other: how do I stop this thing rusting? The answer is reassuringly simple, and I promise it takes about two minutes once you know what you're doing.

I'm a little bit in love with cast iron. My skillet, my camp oven and my Buschbeck cast iron grill and hotplate get more use than anything else in my kitchen, indoors or out. Look after them properly and they'll outlive you. Neglect them and they'll sulk with rust and sticky patches until you can barely cook an egg on them. Let's sort out the difference, and the routine that actually keeps them in shape.

Two kinds of cast iron on your Buschbeck

Not all cast iron is the same, and knowing which kind you're dealing with changes how you look after it.

Bare (raw) cast iron, like most skillets and camp ovens, relies on seasoning: a thin layer of oil baked on until it goes hard, black and slick. Porcelain-enamelled cast iron, which is what you'll find on the Buschbeck Heavy-Duty Cast Iron Grill and Cast Iron Hotplate, has a glassy coating that resists rust and wipes clean far more easily.

Treat both gently and they'll reward you for years. Treat them roughly and you'll be fighting rust, stickiness or a cracked pan sooner than you'd like.

Seasoning a bare pan, or rescuing a rusty one

If a skillet or camp oven has gone rusty in the shed, don't panic and don't throw it out. Here's the fix:

• Scrub off the rust with steel wool and warm soapy water. This is the only time steel wool is allowed near your cast iron.
• Rinse and dry completely, then warm the pan over the fire for a few minutes to drive out every last drop of moisture.
• Rub a very thin film of high smoke-point oil, such as canola, grapeseed or flaxseed, over every surface, inside and out, then buff it off as if you'd made a mistake. Too much oil just goes sticky.
• Set the pan upside down on the grill over steady medium coals for about an hour, then let it cool in the fireplace.
• Repeat two or three times for a deep, glossy finish.

This is also exactly how you'd season a new bare pan before its first cook. It's worth doing properly, because a well-seasoned skillet is where a lot of the best fireside cooking happens, from fire-blistered tomatoes with burrata to a simple fried breakfast.

Looking after your Buschbeck cast iron grill and hotplate

The Buschbeck cast iron grill and hotplate are enamelled, which makes life easier, but they still need some basic respect.

Preheat them gradually over the fire rather than dropping them straight onto a fierce blaze. Sudden temperature shocks are hard on any cast iron, enamelled or not. Oil the food rather than the grill itself, and scrape the bars with a grill scraper while they're still warm, not once they've gone stone cold and everything is welded on.

Avoid sharp metal tools on the enamel, as they'll scratch the surface over time. Use the removable cast iron handles and a proper pair of heat-resistant gloves to lift the grill or hotplate out. Let everything cool before washing, dry it well, and store it indoors or under a cover when it's not in use for a while.

A few things to never do: never plunge hot cast iron into cold water, never leave it to soak, and never put it through the dishwasher. And never, ever pour water onto hot cast iron sitting in the firebox. That's exactly how pans crack, and it's a heartbreaking way to lose a good grill.

After every cook: the two-minute routine

This is the bit that actually matters most, because it's what you'll do every single time.

• Clean while the pan is still warm, not screaming hot.
• Scrape out food with a wooden spatula or pan scraper.
• Rinse with hot water and a stiff brush. A drop of mild detergent now and then is genuinely fine, modern seasoning is tougher than the old wives' tales suggest.
• Dry immediately and thoroughly, ideally back on the fire for a minute.
• Wipe with a whisper of oil and store somewhere dry, with the lid of your camp oven left ajar.

If you only remember one thing: dry it properly before you oil it. A damp pan with oil wiped over the top is just rust with extra steps.

Do this consistently and your Buschbeck cast iron grill, your skillet and your camp oven will all build up the kind of deep, dark patina that makes everything taste better, from a simple fireside breakfast on the hotplate to lamb chops straight on the grill.

Camp ovens: a slightly different beast

A camp oven, or Dutch oven, is a heavy cast iron pot with a tight-fitting lid. In a masonry fireplace it becomes your slow cooker, your casserole dish and your bread oven all in one. Look for one around 4.5 to 6 litres for family-sized cooking, and a flat, lipped lid that can hold coals on top is a real bonus.

There are two main ways to cook with one. You can sit it on the grill or a trivet over a modest bed of coals, like a pot on a stovetop, which suits braises and stews. Or you can go coals above and below: sit the oven on a few coals and shovel more onto the lid for all-round heat, which is how you get proper baking, roasts and even desserts out of it.

As a rough guide, put about a third of the coals underneath and two thirds on top when you're baking, so the base doesn't catch and burn. Lift the lid with a lid lifter or gloves, and always brush the ash off the rim before you open it, so nothing falls into your dinner. Rotate the oven and the lid a quarter turn every 15 minutes or so to keep hot spots from forming. It's exactly this method that makes a slow-roasted lamb shoulder in a camp oven so good.

Common cast iron problems, solved

Even with good habits, cast iron throws the odd tantrum. Here's what's usually going on:

• Sticky surface means too much oil. Heat the pan hot and dry for 20 minutes to polymerise it off.
• Food sticking usually means the pan wasn't hot enough, or the food was moved too soon. Let it release on its own.
• Black flakes are carbonised food, not failing seasoning. Scrub, dry, oil, and carry on as normal.
• Metallic taste can turn up after long acidic simmers, think tomato or wine-based dishes. A quick re-season afterwards sorts it right out.

None of these are a reason to give up on a pan. Cast iron is forgiving, and almost every problem above is fixable in under half an hour.

Why cast iron is worth the fuss

Cast iron is made for fire. It holds heat, spreads it evenly, and can go straight onto coals or the grill without flinching. A good 25 to 30 cm skillet will become your most-used pan, and a cast iron griddle or hotplate is brilliant for flatbreads and seafood, including something like barramundi parcels with lime and herbs cooked alongside it.

Once you've got the seasoning and cleaning routine down, cast iron genuinely looks after itself. It's one of the few kitchen tools that gets better with age rather than wearing out, provided you treat it with a bit of basic respect.

I go into a lot more detail on tools, cast iron and camp ovens, plus the full heat chart I use for every single cook, in The Wood Fire Kitchen. It's got 89 recipes built around exactly this kind of gear, so if you want the full picture beyond what fits in a blog post, that's where to find it.

Buschbeck recipes to try next

• Slow-Roasted Lamb Shoulder in a Camp Oven on the Buschbeck
• Fireside Breakfast on the Buschbeck Cast Iron Hotplate
• Lamb Chops with Rosemary & Garlic on the Buschbeck Grill

FAQs

Can you put Buschbeck cast iron in the dishwasher?

No. Dishwashers strip seasoning from bare cast iron and can dull the enamel on enamelled cast iron. Always hand wash while warm, dry thoroughly and wipe with a little oil.

How do I remove rust from a Buschbeck cast iron skillet?

Scrub the rust off with steel wool and warm soapy water, dry it completely over the fire, then re-season with a thin coat of high smoke-point oil baked on over medium coals, repeating two or three times.

Is the Buschbeck cast iron grill enamelled or bare cast iron?

The Buschbeck Heavy-Duty Cast Iron Grill and Cast Iron Hotplate are porcelain-enamelled, which resists rust and wipes clean more easily than bare cast iron, but they still need gentle handling and no sharp metal tools.

Why is food sticking to my cast iron grill?

Usually the grill wasn't hot enough before the food went on, or the food was flipped too soon. Preheat gradually and let food release naturally rather than forcing it with tongs.

How much coal goes on top of a camp oven for baking?

As a rough guide, use about a third of your coals underneath the camp oven and two thirds on the lid, which gives even, all-round heat for bread, roasts and desserts without burning the base.

Get all 89 recipes in The Wood Fire Kitchen

This guide is one of 89 recipes in my cookbook, The Wood Fire Kitchen: Recipes for your Buschbeck outdoor fireplace. It covers everything from lighting and reading the fire to pizza, grilling, the rotisserie, camp-oven dinners and desserts baked in the embers, with a Buschbeck kit note on every recipe so you know exactly which accessory to reach for.

Get the paperback ($49 USD)

Want a look inside first? Grab the free sample on the book page, or browse more Buschbeck recipes.