Post by admin on Aug 22, 2007 9:45:41 GMT -5
Don't be afraid of buying a dirty old cast iron skillet at the flea market. You can clean that thing up and you will love it forever.
Here's how you do it.
1) mild wood fire is the quickest, easist option, and
requires the least amount of elbow grease.
2) second choice is to boil vinigar or other acid in
skilet, then scrub with scrubie pad and lots of DAWN
dish soap, repeat untill you get all the crud off. If
you choose to use steel wool, use the fine stiff for
automobile, not the pot scrubbing pad and use gloves
to handle the steel wool or you will get metal
splinters. You don't want to gouge the metal of the
pan, as that make more places for food to stick.
3) another option is to put some kind of oven cleaner
on your pan. (not tried this one, don't try it unless
you are familar with and use oven cleaners)
4) do not set the pan on top your stove and get it
red-hot hoping to burn the crud off, wont work and
will make the cast iron act 'funny' (something about
temper in the metal)
5) generally reseasoning a cast iron pot of the thick
grease kind is about a 2-3 hour job, at least a good
solid hour of scrubbing, watching vinegar boil and
scrubbing again.
When you get down to the point the skillet smells like
iron when you wash and scrub it, wash and scrub it a
final time with very, very hot water, and rince it at
least 3 times with very very hot water. then IMEDIATLY
dry your skillet with a paper towel. (your paper towel
will come back a little grey thats ok, the pan is not
dirty) Oil the skillet with canola oil or Lard. (Olive
oil or butter will turn rancid in this case) Make sure
you oil top and bottom. You can go thought the whole
heat in oven for an hour, grease and heat again, but I
never noticed a difference between the skillets I did
the oven seasoning to and the ones I wiped down with
oil and let set.
The important part is to wipe the skillets dry as soon
as you are done rinsing the soap off of them, and to
apply a thin coat of oil (about a 1/2 tsp spread with
a paper towel is enough for maintance.)
Now cook in skillet as you would normally. If you cook
any tomatos, make sure you clean the skillet right
after using it, or it will rust. If you cook something
'non greasy' (such as eggs or pancakes), simple rinse
(or wipe) the crumbs out of the skillet, dry it with a
paper towel and let it be, no soap necessary.
as the skillet 'seasons' it will become increasingly
more non-stick. if you cook greasy hamburgers, let the
skillet set untill you can handle it, and wipe all the
grease you can out with a paper towel and let it be.
I often use a plastic pot scrubber instead of my
fingernails, and hot water to clean my pans.
Cast iron likes to be used!
I cook for 3 adults, and end up reseasoning my
cast-iron about once or twice a year (mostly because I
put water in it to soak off baked on junk and forgot
about it and it rusted).
Don't cook with a rusty skillet, the rust is not good
for you. Wash/oil skillet first to get the rust out.
(one water drop of rust won't hurt you... but use good
sense for more than that)
If you cook fish in the skillet, it will taste
'metalic' to some people.
Here's how you do it.
1) mild wood fire is the quickest, easist option, and
requires the least amount of elbow grease.
2) second choice is to boil vinigar or other acid in
skilet, then scrub with scrubie pad and lots of DAWN
dish soap, repeat untill you get all the crud off. If
you choose to use steel wool, use the fine stiff for
automobile, not the pot scrubbing pad and use gloves
to handle the steel wool or you will get metal
splinters. You don't want to gouge the metal of the
pan, as that make more places for food to stick.
3) another option is to put some kind of oven cleaner
on your pan. (not tried this one, don't try it unless
you are familar with and use oven cleaners)
4) do not set the pan on top your stove and get it
red-hot hoping to burn the crud off, wont work and
will make the cast iron act 'funny' (something about
temper in the metal)
5) generally reseasoning a cast iron pot of the thick
grease kind is about a 2-3 hour job, at least a good
solid hour of scrubbing, watching vinegar boil and
scrubbing again.
When you get down to the point the skillet smells like
iron when you wash and scrub it, wash and scrub it a
final time with very, very hot water, and rince it at
least 3 times with very very hot water. then IMEDIATLY
dry your skillet with a paper towel. (your paper towel
will come back a little grey thats ok, the pan is not
dirty) Oil the skillet with canola oil or Lard. (Olive
oil or butter will turn rancid in this case) Make sure
you oil top and bottom. You can go thought the whole
heat in oven for an hour, grease and heat again, but I
never noticed a difference between the skillets I did
the oven seasoning to and the ones I wiped down with
oil and let set.
The important part is to wipe the skillets dry as soon
as you are done rinsing the soap off of them, and to
apply a thin coat of oil (about a 1/2 tsp spread with
a paper towel is enough for maintance.)
Now cook in skillet as you would normally. If you cook
any tomatos, make sure you clean the skillet right
after using it, or it will rust. If you cook something
'non greasy' (such as eggs or pancakes), simple rinse
(or wipe) the crumbs out of the skillet, dry it with a
paper towel and let it be, no soap necessary.
as the skillet 'seasons' it will become increasingly
more non-stick. if you cook greasy hamburgers, let the
skillet set untill you can handle it, and wipe all the
grease you can out with a paper towel and let it be.
I often use a plastic pot scrubber instead of my
fingernails, and hot water to clean my pans.
Cast iron likes to be used!
I cook for 3 adults, and end up reseasoning my
cast-iron about once or twice a year (mostly because I
put water in it to soak off baked on junk and forgot
about it and it rusted).
Don't cook with a rusty skillet, the rust is not good
for you. Wash/oil skillet first to get the rust out.
(one water drop of rust won't hurt you... but use good
sense for more than that)
If you cook fish in the skillet, it will taste
'metalic' to some people.