Peggy Scripture Woodson, Lake Charles, and Vance Perkins, DeQuincy, are two local cooks who appreciate cooking in cast iron. Woodson is a past Le Chien Cookers member. Perkins has been an active member since 2010. Le Chien is one of the nine Dutch Opening Gatherings (DOG) held in Louisiana every Saturday of the month. Men and women get together at state parks to cook in the great outdoors using only cast iron. Le Chien gets together the fourth Saturday of every month, now at Niblett’s Bluff until Sam Houston Jones State Park is open again. Le Chien membership is only $10 per year. However, nonmembers/the public are invited to join in the food, fun and fellowship. Perkins said a typical gathering features 10 to 15 cooks.
“I like cooking in cast iron because the heat is evenly distributed and the pots last for many generations,” Woodson said. “I have some of my grandmother’s cast iron.”
Perkins and Woodsen have become a little carried away with their cast iron collecting, but now have it in hand.
One of the most common questions Perkins gets at a cookout is, “How do you season cast iron?”
“That’s one of those kinds of questions that if you ask five different people, they’re going to give you five different answers,” Perkins said. “Most say, and what I’ve done, is to oil it down first. A common mistake is to use too much oil. Wipe it off. All that’s left is a microscopic layer. Bake it in the oven at 400 degrees for an hour. Turn the oven off and let it cool. Repeat.”
This creates a black patina.
“Most cast iron comes pre seasoned from the factory these days,” he said. “I’ve heard some say that’s not good enough, but it is. Of course, unseasoned bare metal means the food is going to stick. That’s my take on it.”
As for using soap on cast iron. Perkins does. How else would he be able to get the sugary remains from the pan after he makes his pineapple upside down cake?
“But of course, tell this to another cast iron cooker and you’ll get an argument started at the drop of a dime,” he said.
