# Cast iron



## sss3 (Jul 15, 2007)

Just got a cast iron skillet. It had a lot of crud on the inside. Not my crud either. Haven been scrubbing w/SOS pad. I know when I'm done; I'll have to season. Am I doing aything wrong?


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## nostawmama (Dec 29, 2011)

from my experience: nope. The point of not scrubbing hard and with soap on cast iron is to maintain the seasoning and you want the old stuff gone so scrub away  Might have to repeat the oiling/baking a few times if you take it down to bare metal though. I have had to do some of mine 2 or 3 times before it got right.


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

If you have a bonfire or winer roast toss your pot in so it gets red hot and all the crud will burn off after all cools off wash in lite soapy water to get the ashes off and now reaseason right away before rust gets started


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## oneokie (Aug 14, 2009)

If your oven has a self clean cycle, put the skillet in the oven upside down and run the self clean.


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## sss3 (Jul 15, 2007)

Someone suggested to me; to let wh vin sit in it. Does that sound right?


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## sss3 (Jul 15, 2007)

Neighbor showed me a cast iron skillet she has. Looked to me like there was metal showing thru. Is that possible; and is it ruined?


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## Badger (Jun 11, 2010)

I remember one time I came home from work and my sister in law who was staying with us for a while was plumb wore out. I asked her why and she said she just spent all day scrubbing the black out of my skillets with SOS. Took me 10 years to get it back. She washed all my Pendelton wool shirts in the washing machine and dryed them in the dryer too. Those shirts were almost $80.00 a piece.


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## sss3 (Jul 15, 2007)

Ouch!


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

Ouch!! Also. Is she ok?


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## kudzuvine (Aug 11, 2011)

good article in Countryside magazine I got in mail yesterday on cast iron. May want to check it out.....Janet


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## Badger (Jun 11, 2010)

Havn't seen her for a while


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## DavidUnderwood (Jul 5, 2007)

Were you charged with anything?


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## grammajudy (Nov 11, 2010)

oneokie...
I am interested in what you said about putting it in a self- cleaning oven. I have alot of gunk on the outside of my perfect size six inch skillet. I supposed I can put it in a self-cleaning oven also? Would that work? I have to take my racks out when I clean myoven, so will need to see if it will fit on the bottom of the oven.


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

The Pan Man has advice that includes warnings that I've heard from oldtimers about putting it in a fire (don't) and others with self-cleaning ovens (also don't). I've seen even small skillets warped and cracked. Reconditioning & Seasoning Cast Iron Cookware

A friend has a mania for sandblasting, which may be ok for Lodge ware, but if you've got that nice smooth spun bottom surface, even steel wool can break it down. Salt is the enemy, beef fat is my favorite cure.


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## oneokie (Aug 14, 2009)

grammajudy said:


> oneokie...
> I am interested in what you said about putting it in a self- cleaning oven. I have alot of gunk on the outside of my perfect size six inch skillet. I supposed I can put it in a self-cleaning oven also? Would that work? I have to take my racks out when I clean myoven, so will need to see if it will fit on the bottom of the oven.


I have done 5 or 6 pieces this year by running them through the self clean cycle. It will remove 95% of the crud. These were older pieces of American made cast iron.

If you are concerned about warping or cracking, use spray on oven cleaner. Use a plastic bag to contain the cook ware after spraying to prevent early drying of the oven cleaner. Wear rubber gloves when handling the piece. You may have to repeat this several times.


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## grammajudy (Nov 11, 2010)

Oneokie...
Where do you place the skillet? Do you take out your racks? My directions say I have to do that or they will oxidize or turn blue or discolor. On the bottom of my oven there isn't room to put the skillet because of the element.


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## oneokie (Aug 14, 2009)

No suggestions to help you on that, other than to find an old rack that will fit your oven to place the skillet on. My cook stove is gas and has a flat metal piece in the bottom covering the burner.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

When we re-condition an iron skillet, we use Pork Lard, heat it on our propane cook top. Then, we scrub it without using soap or any chemicals. We also season it with Lard.


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## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

I have used the self clean on oven, not a fan if there is a lot of build up as it really smokes things up, have used oven cleaner, works but cheap stuff isn't cheap, if you go this route use the high dollar stuff, also build a small fire in the grill and put cast iron in on the wood, cleans grease buildup off of the grill grate (cast iron) and the pans, I can keep a watch on it and take it out before it gets too hot in my estimation, let cool, wash, and reseason. I use lard for that and a 375 degree oven for an hour, then up it to 425 for 30 min, turn off and let cool in the oven.

I had some that belonged to my great grandmother, it had paint on it that i couldn't get off. Lost the house to a fire, big bed of coals that smouldered for several days, drug the cast iron out, washed it well and reseasoned it and it came out perfectly after the first seasoning.
Ed


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## BlackWillowFarm (Mar 24, 2008)

I just bought two small Wagner skillets at a car show. Scrubbed them up as best I could with steel wool, then coated them with lard and baked them in the oven. Then my husband read up about electrolysis, decided he could rig up something and what a huge difference that made. Everything and I mean every little speck of build up was gone. They look like new pans again. I can't tell you how it's done, but if you Google it, there are websites that can and it really wasn't complicated you just need the stuff on hand.


I found this site that shows everything in detail. http://www.gcica.org/ElectrolysisMethodbyJohnBelden.htm


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

Way cool, Blackwillowfarm! I'm going to want to try that


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## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

Before we moved to this site, the old cooking and crafts forum was here and has lots of info: Cooking & Crafts Top Level

There is a thread there on cast iron cookware that may be helpful: Cooking Hint of the Day - Cast Iron Cookware 101

Also, if you have cast iron cookware that has been burnt to crips and absolutely nothing will remove that crud, a pressure washer works like a charm. You'll just have to re-season it good and it will take a while to get back to where you had it, but you can't use it like it is anyway. :happy2:


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## tom j (Apr 3, 2009)

my way of seasoning is , put a small amount of oil in the pan ,, wipe all over with paper towel , you want a very thin coat inside the pan put on stove high flame , it will smoke , when it almost stops smoking wipe again with the paper towel do the wiping about 6 to 10 times and it will be a nice black seasoned pan


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## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

Just an FYI. Oil is not good for cast iron. Besides that it becomes rancid, if you don't use your pans for a few days, oil will break down and leaves a residue of cast iron that can penetrate and leave a gooey substance.


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## lexa (Mar 30, 2012)

If it is super cruddy it needs to be reseasoned and first thing you need to do is to to soak it in lye solution. It will eat all of the carbonized junk from it and you can use steel wool to remove the rest. It works for rust, if it is not to deep. Than you use butter or lard and bake it in the oven. Look up "how to reseason cast iron" and there will be all info you need. It has been couple years since I have done any but we used different oils and I did not see much differnce.


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## lathermaker (May 7, 2010)

Badger said:


> I remember one time I came home from work and my sister in law who was staying with us for a while was plumb wore out. I asked her why and she said she just spent all day scrubbing the black out of my skillets with SOS. Took me 10 years to get it back. She washed all my Pendelton wool shirts in the washing machine and dryed them in the dryer too. Those shirts were almost $80.00 a piece.


You can't fix stupid......I would have whopped her with one of my prized skillets.....what an idiot:hair


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## hismrsfinnegan (Sep 9, 2012)

I use a steel scrubbie with hot soapy water on my cast iron to get everything really clean, then I spray it with a thin coating of pam (OK, I can go with lard) and heat them on the stove before putting them in the oven when not in use. Fortunately, I use them constantly!


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## unioncreek (Jun 18, 2002)

Put it on a propane grill and burn it off or use a propane or acetylene torch to burn all the crud off and reseason.

Bob


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## mom in oklahoma (Nov 25, 2003)

The way I clean the cast iron, is to boil water in it, scrape it good( with a meal spatula) then rub it down with a sandstone, then rinse. repeat as often as necessary. to season the outside he is waitng till we can have a fire outside, then we are going to set it on the coals. The inside looks great and is smooth, but the outside is not, but I figure I don't cook anything we eat on the outside so I haven't been worried about it:sing:


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## onebizebee (May 12, 2011)

I tried this and it works very well I cook in my cast iron everyday. *The Ultimate Way to Season Cast Iron*

Published January 1, 2011. From Cook's Illustrated.

We'd seasoned our cast iron the same way for years. But when we heard about a new method that creates a slick surface so indestructible that touch-ups are almost never necessary, we were intrigued.

For years we&#8217;ve seasoned cast-iron cookware in the test kitchen by placing it over medium heat and wiping out the pan with coats of vegetable oil until its surface turns dark and shiny. When a pan starts to look patchy, we simply repeat the process. But when we heard about a new method that creates a slick surface so indestructible that touch-ups are almost never necessary, we were intrigued. Developed by blogger Sheryl Canter, the approach calls for treating the pan with multiple coats of flaxseed oil between hour-long stints in the oven.

We carried out Canter&#8217;s approach on new, unseasoned cast-iron skillets and compared them with pans treated with vegetable oil&#8212;and the results amazed us. The flaxseed oil so effectively bonded to the skillets, forming a sheer, stick-resistant veneer, that even a run through our commercial dishwasher with a squirt of degreaser left them totally unscathed. But the vegetable oil-treated skillets showed rusty spots and patchiness when they emerged from the dishwasher, requiring reseasoning before use.
Why did the new treatment work so well? Flaxseed oil is the food-grade equivalent of linseed oil, used by artists to give their paintings a hard, polished finish, and it boasts six times the amount of omega-3 fatty acids as vegetable oil. Over prolonged exposure to high heat, these fatty acids combine to form a strong, solid matrix that polymerizes to the pan&#8217;s surface.

Although lengthy, seasoning with flaxseed oil is a mainly hands-off undertaking. We highly recommend the treatment:

1. Warm an unseasoned pan (either new or stripped of seasoning*) for 15 minutes in a 200-degree oven to open its pores.
2. Remove the pan from the oven. Place 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil in the pan and, using tongs, rub the oil into the surface with paper towels. With fresh paper towels, thoroughly wipe out the pan to remove excess oil.
3. Place the oiled pan upside down in a cold oven, then set the oven to its maximum baking temperature. Once the oven reaches its maximum temperature, heat the pan for one hour. Turn off the oven; cool the pan in the oven for at least two hours.
4. Repeat the process five more times, or until the pan develops a dark, semi-matte surface.

*To strip a cast-iron pan of seasoning, spray it with oven cleaner, wait 30 minutes, wash with soapy water, and thoroughly wipe with paper towels.


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## Dale Alan (Sep 26, 2012)

That is interesting,I will give that method a try.


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## skeeter (Mar 23, 2013)

tom j said:


> my way of seasoning is , put a small amount of oil in the pan ,, wipe all over with paper towel , you want a very thin coat inside the pan put on stove high flame , it will smoke , when it almost stops smoking wipe again with the paper towel do the wiping about 6 to 10 times and it will be a nice black seasoned pan


I do the same thing but I heat up the skillet on top of the stove after I have rubbed the oil on with the paper towel. After the skillet is heated, I let it cool before I put it away. 

Also, for those skillets that had burnt on food that will not come off. I soak them with hot soapy water and try SOS pads. If that fails I use a bit of oven cleaner. When I done I then use the above method to start the seasoning process. I have not had to do this very often over the years and I am proud to say that I was not usually the one doing the cooking that night. 

I've got at least one cast iron skillet that is about 100 years old and someone put it in the dishwasher when I wasn't looking. :-(
Well it cleaned off all the seasoning, but I started over using the method above and after a few uses of that method my skillet was back to its old character. I love that one the best and I use it often.


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## ralph perrello (Mar 8, 2013)

SEE: Sherylcanter.com or Sheryl's blog on the science of cast iron seasoning.

Seasoning cast iron is to make it non-stick and the coating should be hard. The oil to use will surprise you.


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