I recently bought a new cast-iron pan and I am enjoying very much the upgrade in the quality of my food.   As I understand it, the reason why food cooked in an cast-iron pan tastes better is that the pan heats the food more evenly (due to its thickness). On the other hand a main downside is that cast-iron cookware requires significant maintanance and care.  Is there a substitute that achieves the same effects as an cast-iron pan but does not rust? If the iron in an cast-iron pan was just replaced with another metal that does not rust so easily (but has a similar conductivity to iron) would the results not be the same?  
Browning will not occur at 275 even if you leave the potatoes in the oven for days. So if you are happy with soft, creamy, pale potatoes, your method will work. But if you want a nice brown crust, you'll have to take out the ham and turn the oven up to 375 or more for the last 15 minutes or so of cooking. 