The Best Pie Irons
The pie iron is a cast iron sandwich press on a long handle, designed to be held over a campfire. It seals bread around a filling -- sweet or savory -- and cooks it in direct contact with the coals for two to three minutes per side. The result is a crisp, toasted exterior around a hot filling. The pie iron has been a fixture of American camp cooking since at least the 1920s, when Boy Scout manuals first described them.
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How to Choose
Square pie irons make it easier to use standard sandwich bread without trimming. Round pie irons make a better seal and produce a more even cook. Cast iron is the correct material: it distributes heat evenly across the entire face, does not have hot spots, and can be seasoned like any cast iron cookware. Aluminum pie irons are lighter but cook unevenly. Long handles -- at least 24 inches -- keep your hands far enough from the coals to work comfortably. Season a new cast iron pie iron the same way you would a skillet: oil, heat, repeat.
Rome Industries Double Pie Iron Round
Rome Industries has been making cast iron campfire tools in Rome, Ohio since 1964. The double round pie iron has two 4-inch diameter cavities, so two sandwiches cook at once. Seasoned cast iron faces, painted steel handle, 28 inches total length. The round shape makes a better edge seal than square -- filling stays in the sandwich instead of leaking into the fire.
Round cavities seal better than square. Rome has been making these since 1964, long enough to have gotten the shape right.
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Rome Industries Square Cast Iron Pie Iron
The square format takes a standard slice of sandwich bread without trimming. One 4-inch square cavity, cast iron faces, 24-inch handle. The square format is easier for children to load and for standard ingredients from a cooler. Seasons and improves with use. The most popular format for family camping.
Square means you use standard bread directly from the bag. No trimming, no waste, no irregular edges.
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