If you are planning a summer camping trip this year, one of the handiest things to pack will be a cast iron griddle. You can cook almost anything on a cast iron griddle. One of the great things about camping is the campfire. You rarely see any pictures or promotions of camping without it. It does not matter where you go, or how long you stay, the memories will last a lifetime.
You do not have to be gourmet chef when you cook over a campfire. The simplicity of it, is its beauty. You can grill hamburgers and hotdogs, but you may also want some other choices. That is where your cast iron griddle will come in handy. All you need is a good heavy grate to place over the fire and the griddle. With these two items you will be the hero of the trip. Okay, hero might be an overstatement, but I guarantee you will be remembered forever, especially if you burn something!
The trick to cooking with a cast iron griddle is to make sure it is well seasoned. Now you can do this at home or over the campfire, which can sometimes be better. When you season a griddle it can cause quite a bit of smoke and there is no better place to get rid of the smell than outside. To season your griddle, rub it down with lard. Yes, I said lard. You can use vegetable oil, but lard just works better. One thing to remember is that a wood or charcoal fire is going to be way hotter than the heat on your stove top. So, be careful. You do not want your griddle to catch on fire.
To start with set your grate up to one side of the fire. Place your greased griddle on the grate and then using a tool, such as a shovel place some coals under one side of the grate. Just keep in mind; it is easier to add more coals than to take coals out. Let the griddle heat up slowly and get it good and hot. Once you get it hot, to the point where it just starts to smoke, then you can move it to the other side of the grate with some heavy duty pot holders (or the shovel).
Let the griddle cool down naturally, and before you get in your tent for the night, repeat the process. The process of heating it up and cooling it down will expand the pores in the metal and give you a perfectly seasoned griddle. That's all there is to it. Now, the next morning you will be ready to fix a camp breakfast a lumberjack would be proud of.