large cast iron pot

eagle697

eagle697

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I have always wanted a large cast iron pot/cauldron to cook large pots of Brunswick stew, beef stew, gumbo, etc. I have recently begun to seriously look for one but have started to think about the practicality of it. I normally cook large batches of soups/stew in the pot that came with my turkey fryer and have been wondering if this makes more sense. Has anyone here used a large cast iron pot? how well did it work for cooking? how was cleaning it? Is there a better way to use it other than shovel coals under the edges of it? I was thinking of some sort of way to suspend it, but with a full pot of stew and teh pot itself, that is some serious weight. Any help would be great.
 
I have one that was my grandfather's. Was used to fry fish. Take a 55 gallon drum, topless like a UDS. Cut a hole in the bottom and a few vent holes. Run a propane burner and voila! I have some pics of the burner assembly somewhere. Think of a regulator from the propane tank, then run pipe along the ground to a 90 degree angle up in the drum and to a step down nozzle. Frying without bending over. Has been used for 30+ years. Clean like any other seasoned cast iron.
 
We used to do chicken bogs in one all the time when I was a kid. A huge one! It had legs. It worked great. I wish I knew what happened to it now. I have priced them lately, around 250 - 500 dollars depending on size and weight.

http://www.texastastes.com/p67.htm

Scroll down to the big pots. I think the one we had was 30 - 40 gallons. We used it to boil water when we castrated or slaughtered pigs as well.
 
They are great tools for large volume cooking, as their heat management qualities can't be beat. They clean like a dream, too. Any issues you will have will almost exclusively concern the immense weight of the thing. For showmanship, though, they can't be beat.
 
We found one when I was a kid in one of the out buildings at my parents farm. It's gotta be 35 gallons or so and has a lid with 2 access holes and rings on the side for attaching a chain. It sits on their front porch now with a bunch of flowers in it. I might have to sneak that in the back of the truck the next time I'm there, they'll only catch me after I give myself a hernia...
 
Used to go to an old backwood stew outside Grenada MS. They had a cast Iron Pot that was approx. 4 feet across and 3.5 feet deep. This was for all the family's and their kin that were from there. There would be 250 people show up on an old dirt road where two or three cars a day were a lot.

The stew had two deer, 100 squirrels, 100 rabbits and a pile of gallon sized cans of vegetables. Everyone would bring a dessert. There were 5+, 8 foot tables end to end with just the deserts. I don't know if they still have that stew, but it would make for an amazing video.

The pot used had been in the family as long as anyone could remember.
 
Hey Chris!
I know this is goung away from the cast iron...But...I use a beer keg with the top cut off. The bottom flange is left on. I set the keg inside a larger aluminum pot. Fill the keg with the stew or chili or whatever. Then fill the outer(alum) pot with H2O untill the keg almost floats. Of course all of this is already on top of a propane burner...DUH!
Light the burner and you have a no scorch stew pot.
It works for us. Not as classy as Cast.
Try Parmers grocery store in LaGrange, Ga. I have seen some huge cast iron there this summer.
 
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