Restoring a cast Iron fry pan?

[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.)

[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...