Cast Iron Cook Ware

[Ratdog68]

I'll post up a "how I'm doing it/how-to" for a project. Worked out a deal with a buddy of mine. He's got a pair of NASTY/RUSTED Dutch Ovens. I'm gonna strip 'em both down to bare/clean and season them... I keep one of the pair. These aren't big ones, and do not have feet and rimed lids, they're more for the "use at home" cooking. Should be inktristink to see how I do with 'em. Will take "before" pix to show how nasty they are, will soak 'em in vinegar, scrub 'em down, sand 'em if needed, then a cycle of the "self cleaning" in the oven, and then season them in/out. Brought 'em home tonight, they're on the back porch.

I drove him to the shop this afternoon, his smoked tranny rebuild ran him $2,400.00 clams. They also dropped his transfer case and put new seals in it for that. His wife fed me a nice fajita dinner afterwards. Her nose wrinkled up when she saw those two nasty pieces sitting on the floor near the front door. Then gave an approving nod when we told her the plan. She didn't even know those two pieces were squirreled away. I lust after their Wagner Ware flat/round griddle. His sister was throwing it out a number of years ago, he rescued it and it's seasoned beautifully now, and gets used about twice a day.

It took me a while, and a little research to figure out what I was doing wrong with my few pieces. Got 'em squared away now, a good seasoning going on 'em, and cooking with it more and more. I had been laying grease on them too thick, and they were just sticky to the touch. No more! Using a very light coat of extra light olive oil for seasoning bake-on treatments, wiping dry afterwards. No more sticky to the touch, and they're getting slick to cook with them now.

Gonna be on the hunt for a few more pieces. Old/rusty/crusty is ok, CHEAP is great. Want a waffle iron, a large flat/round griddle (about 1/2" edge), a small Campfire type Dutch Oven with feet and rimmed lid, a sauce pan or two, a grilling skillet (with ribs), and a regular skillet. Already have a 10" chicken fryer with a self-basting lid, an oval skillet, a few corn bread pans, and a tiny egg frying pan. I'm fed up with "non-stick" modern cookware. Now that I've learned how to use cast iron, I'm hooked on it.

 

[Navygator]

Good for you. Cast iron cooking is a great way to increase iron intake (iron deficiency can be an issue in our house). Plus, many of the non stick surfaces are not designed for high heat cooking and give off nasty stuff when heated. A properly seasoned cast iron can be pretty non stick.

 

[Ratdog68]

Yup, one of the main reasons I'm phasing out the "modern" stuff. No real convenience advantage, the risks of chemical off-gassing (coatings and aluminum). Also considering daily use of "silver" utensils (rather than stainless) for the immune boosting benefits of silver.

 

[Oso Grande]

Great idea!!

After my wife's mother passed a number of years ago we inherited a few items that I've been putting to almost daily use. Hands down the most used item is a #8 skillet, followed by it's deeper dutch oven version with lid. I love that I'm feeding my wife using the same pans that she grew up with her mom using and we think even her grandmother. Something that's easily seen 50+ years of use and still is absolutely no less functional today.

Another really easy way to "clean" them before re seasoning them is to just toss them in a campfire. Anything nasty will just flake off after they get up to bonfire temp. Think of it as the outdoor version of the oven's cleaning cycle.... That's also how I clean my camp dutch oven if things get baked on crusty and I don't want to scrape.

 

[Chopperdrvr]

Good for you RD! I'm always on the lookout for old (cheap) cast iron pots. A wire brush on a drill works great to get the old rust scale off to get started. Don't be shy about sanding the surface smooth before starting to re-season them either. The smoother the surface you start with, the more non-stick the surface you end up with.

 

[Ratdog68]

Yup, already under way, dealing with the first load of pix now... Stay tuned.

 

[Ratdog68]

Meet Mr. Rust Buckets. The two are alike, and in the same condition. Scaly mess, inside and out... complete with dead/live bugs.

 

[Ratdog68]

The first step I took was to introduce them to a stiff putty knife, a stainless steel wire tooth brush, and the shop-vac.

The next phase, Into a garden tote with a 60/40 mix of vinegar/water. I'll let 'em soak over night.

 

[Oso Grande]

Oh ya, those will clean up well.

 

[FrankT]

Nice RD, tear it up...you can do this!

 

[Chopperdrvr]

Starting to look good already and you just got going.

 

[Ratdog68]

Yup, really pleased with how well they look after just that. Wire wheel on a drill is next, then sand 'em after that if needed. Thought about just getting after 'em with my sand blaster... but, not everyone has immediate access to one. And the point of this exercise is to see how it can be done with common tools which most everyone has around.

 

[rgilbert]

I normally take the same path, but I throw mine into a bed of mesquite coals overnight. The next day I start the seasoning process with lard. A light coat every time.

 

[Ratdog68]

After a good 3 day soaking in vinegar and water, each piece was then given a hot water/soap/3M pad scouring... dried, light coating of olive oil, and a baking to stop further rusting. This is how they looked after that step.

 

[FrankT]

Very good, now you need to cook something in them!

 

[Ratdog68]

Next up was a trip to the basement today. A 60-grit flapper on the drill and a good work over. Then a steel wire cup brush on the drill for some more working over. Then, more soap/hot water 3M scouring. Dried them, warmed them, and a light coating of olive oil brings them to this stage.

Since my buddy's stove top is glass, the bottoms were sanded as well.

While I was at it, a brand new frying pan (unseasoned) got a good sanding/wash/oil job as well. As you can see, it'll be pretty smooth for it's maiden frying when done. Now, the 500F oiling/bakings begin.

 

[Ratdog68]

Very good, now you need to cook something in them!

The first of three rounds of a light coating of olive oil (applied when warmed to 200F), then baked for an hour at 500F. This will blacken them with very thin carbon layers, baked hard. This burns off all the applied oil to create the blackened surface.

After that, three rounds of the same warming/oiling... but baked at 300F to season them. This will bake in the seasoning oil, but won't be hot enough to smoke/burn off. The "non-stick" coating will build during this phase.

One more warming/oiling after that... THEN they'll be ready to cook with.

 

[FrankT]

10-4, have not used them in 30 years or more, now I remember why, too much trouble...

 

[Ratdog68]

Only to restore abused stuff, and initial seasoning. Once properly seasoned, they're a breeze to maintain. A quick wiping clean, and a wipe with olive oil. If it's lightly gunked... rinse with hot water, warm them, and a wiping with olive oil. If heavily gunked... hot water/scraping with their plastic scraper, warm them, and a wiping with olive oil. No soap/water/scrubbing needed once properly seasoned.

 

[Chopperdrvr]

You are really making progress. Those Dutch ovens are my favorite pots to cook with,and yours are looking good. That will be a nice present for your buddy.