Restoring a cast Iron fry pan?

[d6dan]

Anyone know how restore a cast Iron frying pan?. I have 2 of my grandpas pans and don't want to part with them.

[M.Dean]

Throw them in the fire!A Outside fire! Then, after all the black crud has burnt off, wash them real good in soapy water, then put them on the stove at med heat and add some veg oil, wipe it clean when it cools down, then do it again at a little higher heat, do this about 3 or 4 times until the oil is super clean and your ready to cook like GrandPa did!!! I've done this before and it worked good, but maybe wait until you hear some other ways and pick the one that sounds the best.

[Gateholio]

If you Googl Cast iron frying pan care, you will get lots of hits.

[wolverine]

I have a pan that belonged to my Great Grandmother that came from the original homestead in the prairies. Closest I can figure it's about 150 years old and God only knows if it was new when she got it. I find that the two pans that I have need to be re-seasoned from time to time, especially when my wife leaves the burner on and baked the ass off of it:mad: So, I take some heavy steel wool and scrub the rest of the seasoning off the pan to start with. You know when it's gone because that real shiney black on the bottom of the pan is gone. Wash them and dry them really well then put a light coat of veg. oil in them and into the oven at about 325 for a few hours. If the coating hasn't covered well enough, do it again but use light coats. If you use too much oil it will puddle in the bottom and won't cure properly. Two or three times and you should be good to go. You can re-cure your pans whenever the pan starts sticking and as many times as you want. Just get all the old "cure" off first.

Cheers.

[f350ps]

I do the same as above only I do it outside on the barbeque then ya don't get the smoke and smell. Keep the dish soap away from it and it'll last a long time before it needs reseasoning. K

[Steeleco]

I've scored a few good pans from Garage sales in the past. We have a local "U Blast" where I sand blasted them, then season on the BBQ. Good as new.

I used bear fat on the last one. Damn that stuff has many purposes!!

[boxhitch]

Dave, would that be bead blasting ? No rough surface after? Cool

Gotta love those cast irons. Found one last year in a ditch near Penticton. Very old, two handle. Heaviest sob we have. Smoothest bottom, too.
The new Chinese models have a coarse finish.
Veggy oil and steel wool to remove the rust, elbow grease was liberal too. No crud to bake off, exposure took care of that.
veggy oil and oven treatment also.
Our $400 stainless cookware is stored somewhere. Its cast all the time now.

[FLHTCUI]

After you get it clean... any crusty stuff burned off, use your favourite oil for seasoning and then when the pan is nice and warm pour in some salt , this will season the pan as well....
cook it on med heat for a couple of minutes and then let it cool.
disguard the salt into the trash when it has cooled and wipe out with a clean dry cloth.
You are good to go after that.
The other methods are good as well, but when I worked in the hotel, this is how we seasoned the omlete pans.
Rob

[30-378-magnum]

once you have seasoned the pan DO NOT USE SOAP to clean it just hot water and clean scouring pad

[ElkMasterC]

Clean the pan, dry it, and get 3 lbs rock salt and a lid.
Heat the salt until it smokes (pref outside, if you love being married) in the pan til it smokes (use the lid.)
Stir and smoke it some more, and like others said , don't use soap.

Used to work in kitchens for years, and that's how we did it.

[Viking]

Heat the frying pan, rub course salt into it until clean and rinse. Melt butter or lard in it and wipe clean. Then after each use melt some butter or lard in it and wipe clean. Never use soap or steel wool on cast iron frying pans.

[Steeleco]

Dave, would that be bead blasting ? No rough surface after? Cool



Good old fashioned sand. Got a flat skillet one time that was 1/4" thick in years of crud. Even re did my Enterprise sausage press pot, worked fantastic.

[island grown]

Throw them in the fire!A Outside fire! Then, after all the black crud has burnt off, wash them real good in soapy water, then put them on the stove at med heat and add some veg oil, wipe it clean when it cools down, then do it again at a little higher heat, do this about 3 or 4 times until the oil is super clean and your ready to cook like GrandPa did!!! I've done this before and it worked good, but maybe wait until you hear some other ways and pick the one that sounds the best.

this is all you need to do, the only thing i would add is, mix your oil with equal amounts of salt for one of the hot flashes in the oven. with the salt mix i would say 20min at 375-400.
i have to go and do the same thing with my grandma's pans.

[d6dan]

So whats up with the salt?. I would have never even thought of using salt as a seasoning that way.
I like all the tips so far, some very good ideas..

[happygilmore]

Gramps never washed his! just give it a good wipe with papertowel, always left a skim of oil in it.

[ElkMasterC]

It's just what we used. I worked in 6 kitchens, the last one as a Chef, and that's how we seasoned pans. Burns the crud off, and makes 'em no-stick.
it somehow seals the pores in the metal, i suppose.
I dunno, it worked.

[Slickfork]

As an owner of a string of cast iron Dutch Ovens, you know, the kind the cowboy cooks and the pioneers and early settlers used? I just have to have my say.
First off, use only vegetable oil or Crisco to season your pan, other wise you will be fighting with rancid pans and foul tasting meals.
As far as salt goes, when you heat up your pans to season them you open up all the pores in the cast iron. This is done to draw the oil into the inner recesses of the cast to preserve it and thus gives you your non stick serface. Salt on the other hand is drawen in and gives you a constant iron taste from the ongoing corresion brought about by the salt.
And yes, put it away slick, papertowel and oil are great.
I see a barbecue mentioned for seasoning works great, another trick is to send Mom out for the day and use the self clean setting on her oven, works great on frying pans.
There are other tricks such as only useing hot water to clean and clean before the pan cools off, no soap unless it goes rancid and then you can start to reseason again.
On a new dutch oven I go through heating and oiling several times to build up a slick shiney patenia.
You can check my album on this site for pix of my dutch oven cooking.

slickfork

[ElkMasterC]

As an owner of a string of cast iron Dutch Ovens, you know, the kind the cowboy cooks and the pioneers and early settlers used? I just have to have my say.
First off, use only vegetable oil or Crisco to season your pan, other wise you will be fighting with rancid pans and foul tasting meals.
As far as salt goes, when you heat up your pans to season them you open up all the pores in the cast iron. This is done to draw the oil into the inner recesses of the cast to preserve it and thus gives you your non stick serface. Salt on the other hand is drawen in and gives you a constant iron taste from the ongoing corresion brought about by the salt.
And yes, put it away slick, papertowel and oil are great.
I see a barbecue mentioned for seasoning works great, another trick is to send Mom out for the day and use the self clean setting on her oven, works great on frying pans.
There are other tricks such as only useing hot water to clean and clean before the pan cools off, no soap unless it goes rancid and then you can start to reseason again.
On a new dutch oven I go through heating and oiling several times to build up a slick shiney patenia.
You can check my album on this site for pix of my dutch oven cooking.

slickfork

Pans are washed, no soap, and wiped with a paper towel and oil before storing, I neglected to mention that (Pot Washer's job..lol, my bad)
There's no corrossion, and no iron taste.
Two Million kitchens can't be wrong! ;-)

(And I thought a Dutch Oven was farting in bed, and pulling the covers over the Missus' head.) :D

[Evolution]

I got a cast iron pan that I dont think has ever been seasoned right. Its great to cook with but just about everything sticks to it. If my eggs stick to it does that mean it needs to be re-seasoned?

[d6dan]

I got a cast iron pan that I dont think has ever been seasoned right. Its great to cook with but just about everything sticks to it. If my eggs stick to it does that mean it needs to be re-seasoned?

It certainly sounds that way. Lots of good information here, keep it coming...

[jeeper]

As an owner of a string of cast iron Dutch Ovens, you know, the kind the cowboy cooks and the pioneers and early settlers used?

Hey Slickfork !

Heres a web site that might interest you !

Its all about dutch oven cooking ! They Love their iron here :)

I scroll through from time to time just looking for recipese etc .

Bruce

http://www.camp-cook.com/forum/

[Slickfork]

Hey jeeper! Thanks for the web site, enyone interested in castiron cookery would do well to spend some time there.
Thanks again!
slickfork

[kjohn]

Jeeper: Thanks for the link!! I just bought an el cheapo cast frying pan at Canada Tire, and am only moments away from becoming a world-class campfire cook!!:tongue::tongue:

[BC Hunter]

I got a cast iron pan that I dont think has ever been seasoned right. Its great to cook with but just about everything sticks to it. If my eggs stick to it does that mean it needs to be re-seasoned?

Here is the biggest single problem with those who want to cook with cast iron.

Solution. Never be in a hurry. Let the pan preheat at no higher than medium heat, lower is better. The pan isn't ready to cook with until you feel the base of the handle very warm to the touch. The pan is uniformly heated at this point.

Eggs are cooked at medium low and so that is where the pan should be preheated.

The only time a hot cast iron pan is used to it's greatest potential is when frying steaks. Pan should be preheated at medium until even heat then medium high can be used if desired but be prepared to reseasn pan after and this might only take some oil in the clean pan (sometimes a scrub with soap is required but be careful of abrasives) then heat oil in pan for a few minutes and alow to cool with oil.

Actually steaks come out really well if cast iron pan is allowed to preheat at medium then brown both sided of steaks. Finnish in a 500 degree oven in the cast iron pan. Wellness is governed by thickness of steaks. Use a thermommeter.


Never be in a hurry with cast iron. On a fire wait until coals are formed. You can take some from the fire and get a coal bed a few feet away to cook on if that suits you better.

[swamper]

I clean mine with salt. Put plenty of salt in the pan and scrub with a dry paper towel until clean. This beats the hell out of using soap and water.

[ahlsy]

I'm a sandblast kind of guy. Blast it clean then rub veggy/ canola oil on it (inside and out) and put it in the oven for an hour at 300-400. Remove and let cool, then do it again. I find that the oil is absorbed into the open pores of the metal and doing the outside helps keep it from rusting if it gets wet outside. If food starts sticking I'll just wipe out the inside with the same oil and let it sit on the stove over low to med heat. Works great. I never wash with soap unless I plan on reseasoning it in the next few days. Soap will cut the oil and grease that keeps food from sticking.

[sawmill]

I NEVER use soap in my cast pans.I have trained 2 wives and 7 girlfriends to never use soap on my cast iron.Mine are well seasoned enough to cook crepes in,when done right they are almost as good as Teflon.I`m pretty anal about my knives and my iron pans.

[Edward Teach]

Actually the best thing for seasoning a pan is animal fat...tallow or lard. Lighter oils tend to burn.
I never use soap either. For stubborn messes, a bit of water in the bottom of the pan and back on the stove for a couple of minutes will usually get it lo lift right off. Then it gets rinsed and wiped out with a clean rag.

[RBH]

Seasoning / re-seasoning:

http://www.lodgemfg.com/use-care-seasoned-cast-iron.asp#3

Key to maintenance is when finished using it, and while pan still hot (hotter the better), I run hot water from my tap while serving whatever I am cooking in the pan, then put the empty pan under the running hot water and brush it out (with an old dishwash brush I use only for this) -- everything washes off and nice shiny black surface left. Simple.

[Phil]

Before you season your pan you can sand out the roughness with a D.A. sander. This is the circular type of sander used in body work. It will make as smooth as glass and nothing will stick. I've done it on a few and it works very well. Start at 80 grit and progress to 320.

[ratherbefishin]

if they are rusty-soak them in a liter of coke overnight-best rust remover you can get[now do you know why I don't drink coke?]

[d6dan]

Now, the weather is cool enough to cook the pans. thanks for everyones suggestions.:mrgreen: