Pie Iron Fusion

When my old buddy Joe told me that he was going camping over the weekend and that he'd be cooking up some pies in the double cast iron, I knew it wasn't going to be cherry pie filling. Creative, adventurous and willing to mix styles - that's Joe. I told him, "make sure you take some pictures as I'm curious to see what you cook up for the Kelly & the kids." He did not disappoint and in classic mash-up style, he presented his hit of the weekend. Here's the recipe in his own words -

The Crazy Girlfriend Panini Sandwich. "Hot , sweet, and a little cheesy."

Rye or whole wheat buttered on pan side. (Dude, honestly, I often use Pam cooking spray on the pie iron -is this a sin?)

Spread mango chutney on open side of bread and layer with sliced chicken or turkey, a slice of your favorite type of cheese, and a square quarter sheet of sushi nori (seaweed).

Cook in Pie Iron until bread is toasted and cheese is melted

Joe looking very serious as he does the assembly work


Daughter Brooke gets the cooking honors

Scout Cookout

Here's a series of photos sent in by an Ohio Girl Scout troop who had a great time learning about and making pies. Not sure if there's some kind of badge for pie irons yet. Maybe it's time to start lobbying for one :)


We've got a full assembly line going here


You can hold them over the fire....

or if you get tired, just lay 'em in the coals & kick back

Hobo Pie - the man, the band

As this blog is a much more efficient way to post your pics, tips, recipes and such I've taken down the "Your Input" section of pieiron.com.

This post on Ray Frick, The Hobo Pie Man is from that original page. Since I first posted this a few years ago, I haven't heard from Ray, but from this link it looks like he's still playing music as Hobo Pie. Hey Ray - get in touch!

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For over 12 years, Ray and his wife have been using serving up pies made with our round cast iron design at the Appalachian Stringband Festival in Clifftop, WV. In this time, they've made over 12,000 pies!!

Here's Ray in his own words -

"I have been making 'pies' for as long as I can remember. Each year at the Appalachian String Band Festival in Clifftop, WV we make literally hundreds of pies for our fellow campers and musicians.

We've come to be known as the 'Hobo Pie People' and the name of the band I'm in is also Hobo Pie. I'm in the process of writing an illustrated children's book, 'The Legend Of The Hobo Pie People', which I will self-publish. After I'm gone... I want there to be a record of what we did at the festival. We've almost achieved folk hero status there. We could not have done it without the Rome Pie Irons and
I tell everyone that asks about your wonderful product and how to get
in touch with you. Last year we went through close to 70 loaves of bread
making pies for our friends over the 10 days we were at the festival.
Your pie irons have provided my wife and me with the opportunity to meet some of the most wonderful friends."

Traditional Philly Cheeseteak Pie
by Ray the Hobo Pie Man from Ambler, PA

A few ounces of precooked Steakum sandwich steak
A good portion of shredded cheese (we use a blend of mozzarella and provolone)
Some finely chopped fried onions and peppers
A gentle squeeze of pizza sauce in squeeze bottle
We use some Italian bread sliced fairly thin.
We always use Pam or some other nonstick spray and only spray maybe once every 15 pies or so....It's as close to a Philly CheeseSteak as you'll find out in the woods.