Noob question here - but first timer. Is it still possible to do r2r2r via south Kaibab given the closures? It looks like the trail goes S Kaibab to North and back and you can skip the closed River Trail and still complete the 43 miles R2R2R challenge despite the recent closures?
Thought I'd share this as it's interesting for cookware nerds. Our Test Kitchen team ran an informal but detailed heat-up speed test on various cookware materials, brands, thicknesses, etc using a FLIR thermal camera and an induction burner. The emissivity setting for cast iron/carbon/enamel was 0.9 and 0.2 for stainless or mirrored surfaces. We measured the center and rim temperature every 15 seconds. Removed the brand names to avoid fights in the thread :)
Carbon steel is in a different league for speed it hit 325°F in about 36 seconds. That being said, I think these graphs also show you that thickness can trump material compostion in terms of speed to heat dynamic. If you're doing a weeknight sear and want heat fast, nothing here touches it at that thickness (2mm). But look at the delta chart: the center gets dramatically hotter than the rim, and fast. You're cooking on a hot spot, not an even surface at the thinner thickness. The thicker carbon steel performed a lot like cast iron, which makes sense since their molecular makeups are pretty similar. Cast iron has a bit more graphite flakes in its composition, so it actually conducts heat a bit better, but clearly the thinness of a 3mm carbon steel at slightly worse values evened out to the thicker cast iron pans. Where that wins then for carbon steel is weight as a 2.5 or 3mm carbon steel pan will be slightly lighter than its comparable cast iron buddy.
Cast iron is the opposite story. It's slow the fastest cast iron in the test took ~75 seconds, BUT the center-to-rim delta stays tight the whole time. When cast iron is hot, it's evenly hot. That's the whole point. A burger, a cornbread, a steak that needs consistent contact across the whole surface is where cast iron earns it.
Stainless clad was the surprise. It took 120 seconds to hit 325°F, which feels slow, but the distribution was actually decent once it got there. It also keeps climbing it just needs more runway.
Enameled cast iron sat right between bare cast iron and carbon steel in heat-up speed, which honestly matched my intuition. The enamel slightly dampens the initial response but you still get that mass and evenness once it's up to temp.
Another surprise ceramic. The ceramic surface on top of clad cookware actually provides a slightly heat retention dynamic, so the heat doesn't escape the pan like you'd see in highly responsive cookware. This is most likely the reason why a lot of people burn and overheat their non stick pans when they are getting used to heat control.
To me - this reinforces the point that each pan has a purpose and a skillset in your arsenal, and one pan does not rule them all. What do you think?
People get worried about having to “care” for carbon steel and cast iron. Being able to use metal utensils, chains, and brushes to get anything off is so much easier in my mind.
Non-stick pans have a purpose...just a very limited one...
A lot of these recipes were inspired by (or from) Francis Mallman's 'On Fire' book, which I think is a must-read heading into the warm weather. Lots of approachable, but delicious direction for Cast Iron and Carbon Steel out-of-home cooking. For instance, the second shot has grilled pears wrapped in jamón ibérico... super simple, but a fun little elevation. We added a balsamic glaze as well.
The honey is the key here in the slaw — it balances the acidity of the lime the way the mayo/sour cream did in the creamy version
Fish - cod with paprika, garlic powder, salt and cumin
Layered with charred bell peppers and olive oil, honey, salt, and lime slaw.
Half and half HEB tacos because ifykyk