cast iron cookware care

[Sawyer Rob]

Interesting thread. I have used my needle scaler on a $3.00 Lodge dutch oven that I bought at a yard sale. It did a good initial cleaning and got the heavy rust off. After a few more steps I heated it outside with my Red Dragon torch to prep seasoning... I can hear some of you shouting in disbelief from here.

No disbelief here, I've used a cup brush before I knew any better! I didn't think it mattered, but I've since learned better...

I have some good CI, I just refuse to scratch it up or warp or crack it from misuse...

SR

 

[Egon]

Interesting thread. I have used my needle scaler on a $3.00 Lodge dutch oven that I bought at a yard sale. It did a good initial cleaning and got the heavy rust off. After a few more steps I heated it outside with my Red Dragon torch to prep seasoning... I can hear some of you shouting in disbelief from here.

During the prep did you spit on it??

 

[SPIKER]

Like seeing these CI threads, there are a good number of them over the years & I usually try to correct some of the issues people do to it. I like rendered fat for treating my pans, way it was done 150 years ago and good enough for me.

I have one Imperial CI Pan that was originally Ceramic Coated but had chipped. I rescued it from the dump, Bead Blasted it seasoned it (it has 10" wood handle) so seasoning is different. Have to USE it to season it best way is to deep fry some chicken or ? after wiping & heating a few times with lard/bacon grease or fav grease. Always scrape off any stuck on bit with SS spatula under water and heat & spray or wipe after heating to dry.

M

 

[AGRIMAN]

Intense heat WILL warp CI, and every once in a le, a piece will crack too... I've seen it happen...

Needle scaler scratches the heck out of CI, that's NOT the way I'd treat any of my good CI!

The guy in the vid I posted, has it right!

SR

No argument, but the old folks about here would sometimes burn out CI pans. They would place them on the ground, stack wood around them and build a fire allowing the CI to be heated and burnt out by the coals. After allowing them to cool, they would reseason.

I have done this myself with no warping or cracking. Now, I just sand blast them which is easier and work just as good.

 

[TomSeller]

No argument, but the old folks about here would sometimes burn out CI pans. They would place them on the ground, stack wood around them and build a fire allowing the CI to be heated and burnt out by the coals. After allowing them to cool, they would reseason.

I have done this myself with no warping or cracking. Now, I just sand blast them which is easier and work just as good.

I threw one in the wood stove and burned a fire on It for a few days. About the same as the oven self cleaning cycle.

 

[Tollster]

I've always used warm water and a little salt to scrub my cast iron, then put them over a stove burner to dry them.

I also re-season mine about once a year, not a big job nor a long job, but that way I know they're always good to go.

That's what I do, I hit the pan with water whiles its still hot, then use kosher salt and a rag, dry, re-oil, and let sit on a warm stove top to dry thoroughly.

 

[TomSeller]

Always scrape off any stuck on bit with SS spatula under water and heat & spray or wipe after heating to dry.

I do this as well. The spatula tip needs to be flat, not curved. I then wipe it under water with a rag or paper towel to clean it up. Then dry it, warm it on the range to completely dry it. I then melt some coconut oil on it to lube it up, then store it.

Tonight's use of cast iron is Brussels sprouts with olive oil and prosciutto under the broiler on a Wagner shallow skillet. And pork chops in a #7 Griswold skillet.

 

[bertsmobile]

I was told you never use soap on cast iron. Iron is porous and will absrb the soap, distorting the flavor of the food. I tske it you have not had these issues? I use a nylon brush and hot water only.

Iron is not porous like a sponge but has a lot of tiny little pits so a couple of minutes in boiling water will have it rinced clean.
Important thing is to take them strait out of the boiling water or heat to dry.
It will only rust in the presence of water so dry then coat with your favourite oil.

If it is rusty and not covered with caked on fats then electrolsys is the only way to go.
If it has a lot of cooking rime them lye first then electrolsys.
20 % to 30 % by weight lye to water and always lye into water never the other way round

 

[sseelhoff]

Iron is not porous like a sponge but has a lot of tiny little pits so a couple of minutes in boiling water will have it rinced clean.
Important thing is to take them strait out of the boiling water or heat to dry.
It will only rust in the presence of water so dry then coat with your favourite oil.

If it is rusty and not covered with caked on fats then electrolsys is the only way to go.
If it has a lot of cooking rime them lye first then electrolsys.
20 % to 30 % by weight lye to water and always lye into water never the other way round

Isn't it easier not to use soap than have to boil it off after you have cleaned the skillet?

 

[jeff9366]

I was told you never use soap on cast iron. Iron is porous and will absrb the soap, distorting the flavor of the food. I tske it you have not had these issues? I use a nylon brush and hot water only.

I have not experienced flavor changes.

I am very careful about food safety. I have a friend in Iowa with a multi-year crust in his 12" cast iron skillet he is very proud of. He claims pan is perfectly sanitary. His wife, a nurse practitioner, will not eat food cooked in this "seasoned" skillet.

Well, it is his pan. I wash my cookware with hot water and detergent after cooking.

The FLAX OIL treatment lasts a long time. I applied Flax Oil to my hot pans, let it sit a minute, then wiped excess out with a paper towel, repeat. Maybe five applications over a period of use.

I treated several pans. I still have four ounces of Flax Oil in the eight ounce container. Once I a great while I renew the coating, if that is the correct word.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I am very careful about food safety. I have a friend in Iowa with a multi-year crust in his 12" cast iron skillet he is very proud of. He claims pan is perfectly sanitary. His wife, who is a nurse practitioner, will not eat food cooked in this "seasoned" skillet. .

I have seen lots of old skillets with a baked on crust on the outside that has accumulated over decades and is basically carbor, it doesnt hurt food quality. NOW on the interior is a different story. The inside should always be cleaned to metal and no food scraps or baked in grease allowed to form.
I just use my cast iron to bake in and most of the time, a quick wipe with a paper towel is all that is needed to clean it up and remove any excess oil. If I needed to clean the outside, I would just use a power brush to remove all the crusty material but not touch the inside.
I think everyone has the right idea about seasoning after cleaning.

 

[Egon]

Using a needle scaler on a hot CI pan/pot should help alleviate any built up stress? It should also help carbon migrate to the nodes and make it stronger? Yes---No ?

 

[TomSeller]

Isn't it easier not to use soap than have to boil it off after you have cleaned the skillet?

I don't use soap much but if the polymerized oil (seasoning) is done right, soap should not bother it. Soap removes oil, but if the oil is polymerized properly it can take the soap. I would use a light amount of soap just in case. I do not cook anything acidic in cast iron, like tomatoes. The seasoning should protect your pan, but reality is there are spots not properly seasoned. This is a good link to understand the flaxseed seasoning process. Note that flaxseed oil turns rancid for those storing it.

Chemistry of Cast Iron Seasoning: A Science-Based How-To

I store mine with a light coat of coconut oil, but season with flaxseed.

 

[Jstpssng]

My mother gave me an old 10_quart dutch oven that had spent too many years in the cellar; I was forever getting the mildew smell out of it so that I could use it. I stripped it down to the bare melting, boiled vinegar, and kept overheating it on the stove top.

 

[RobertN]

My Grandmother used to take her CI camping each year. On one camping trip a year, she would put her CI in the camp fire and cover with coals; let it bake off the crud/carbon on the outside. Then pull it out and reseason. My Mom still uses some those CI pans and Dutch oven.

 

[TomSeller]

My Grandmother used to take her CI camping each year. On one camping trip a year, she would put her CI in the camp fire and cover with coals; let it bake off the crud/carbon on the outside. Then pull it out and reseason. My Mom still uses some those CI pans and Dutch oven.

Yep. The thing that I don't understand is how the crud builds up on these old pots. I am guessing sloppy cooking and food runs down the side? I have been using mine for years and have no buildup. But I do use an induction cooktop, which cast iron is perfect for, I have never used my cast iron on a gas top.

 

[SPIKER]

Yep. The thing that I don't understand is how the crud builds up on these old pots. I am guessing sloppy cooking and food runs down the side? I have been using mine for years and have no buildup. But I do use an induction cooktop, which cast iron is perfect for, I have never used my cast iron on a gas top.

It all depends on the cast itself as some of it is more porous than others, oil DOES penetrate THRU the cast iron and carbon builds up on the outside as it burns off. Using it on Gas or Electric where heat is hotter on the OUTSIDE helps the oil to migrate towards it as oils do travel towards the heat. Induction cook tops actually forms the heat internal and along it's surfaces in magnetic contact with it so all thru the cast.

M

 

[Richard]

I did the electrolysis method and they came out looking pretty brand spanking new but for a scuff here or there. Did an excellent job.

 

[RobertN]

So... Learned as a Scout leader. Never tell the boys they can clean hard to remove "stuff" from a Dutch oven by using a pine cone as a scour pad.

We have an Asst Scoutmaster. GREAT guy. Still involved even after his two sons Eagled and are in college. But some years back, he started telling the kids they could clean a camp Dutch oven with a pine cone. Trust me when I say, 12 year old boys can remove the seasoning from said Dutch ovens easily with a pine cone...

The Quartermaster had the fun of re-seasoning them at home...

 

[RobertN]

Do not allow Cubmaster to burn things in the camp Dutch oven. We had a Cubmaster use our Troop gear for a Webelo over niter. He made a couple Dutch oven's full of dinner stuff. Well he burnt on. Bad.

He wound up taking it to work(he is a welding instructor), and after getting most of the burnt stuff out, bead blasting it the rest of the way... That Lodge DO had a nice finish when he was done though. It was really nice after it was seasoned again. Until some boys cleaned that one too, with a pine cone...