Restoring Cast Iron stuff!!

FYI as DW is a chemistry teacher melting point of lead: 621 F, cast iron 2300F.

Now for seasoning, I go back way back to my days as a tenderfoot scout. One of our troop leaders was a die hard DO chef. He seasoned a DO with a block of lard. Placed the DO on coals, top and bottom and let it cook until the fire was out.
 
I read that in some of the articles and I chose vegetable oil as most said that animal fats go rancid quicker than vegetable oils.
If it is used often enough it shouldn't be a problem, but our DO is apt to end up in storage during our long winter.
And I got a good snoot full of that smell when I opened the little DO in the photos.:sick:

Even found one site, I believe melindalee, that suggested that for long term storage to use mineral oil to coat just before storing, as the mineral oil would not go rancid at all....Is that true? Not for seasoning, but as a single coating prior to storage.


sounds like the scout leader was an old hand and knew what he was doing, and probably used the DO often enough that rancid was not an issue.

I also read that using vegetable oils left the surface 'tacky' instead of....

Anyone else got hints/answers based on experience re; animal vs vegetable and long term storage using mineral oil?
 
>>oil/fat for seasoning CI

that's one of those long debated issues (g)

it is true that mineral oil does not go rancid or 'spoil'

on the "it gets sticky" bit, both vegetable & animal fats contain lecithin - and that's the alleged culprit in creating a sticky residue. obviously specific fats contain more or less - and some stuff like the spray on no-stick products contain artificially high levels of lecithin - used as an 'emulsifier' in that product.

if you've ever seen a non-stick pan with a non-removable brown coating - that's often blamed on use of spray on products with the lecithin.

I've never found a good info source of "fat X" contains Y% of (naturally occurring) lecithin for comparison - and it seems some folks use vegetable oil while others prefer lard for seasoning and I've also never seen a definitive scientific explanation of why one should work better than the other.
 
Melinda never uses anything but mineral oil on her cast iron. I disagree with that as does Cast Iron Jack who has a teaching segment on her website. In the olden days the only fat available was animal fat and that's what I use. I use my cast iron every day so going rancid is not a problem. They don't get sticky either. I rinse with hot water and then dry with a paper towel.
 
Ya know, that kinda makes sense, not using the mineral oil. I believe that it is used as a laxative, or I think that is what my mom used to use on us.
My wife suggest that if I don't use the DO enough in the winter...then I should use it more often.
( I just hate it when she makes so much sence in such a short sentence!!) :in_love:
 
Anybody who wants a C.I frying pan, or pone pans send me a P.M. I have a friend running a secondhand store that will let me buy them cheap. Remember, I will need to charge for shipping and my costs, so let me know what you are willing to pay. I won't charge to make a profit, but I can't afford to ship skillets all over the country either.
 
Fe Stomach said:
Leni:
I don't know that he was, but it's not uncommon to use cast iron in foundry work as it has a very high melting temp.
And it was in the garage.
So to be safe.....

Speaking of lead, I need to get back to my still........:yum::yum::yum::margarita:
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My dad had a little 6 inch or so 3 legged cast iron pot (w/lid) sitting on top of the wood stove in his shop for years. He used it for hide glue. This is the reason that I always strip new old cast iron to bare metal and start over. You never know what the last use of the CI was.

Wish I still had that pot, I have never seen anything like it.
 
loboloco said:
Anybody who wants a C.I frying pan, or pone pans send me a P.M. I have a friend running a secondhand store that will let me buy them cheap. Remember, I will need to charge for shipping and my costs, so let me know what you are willing to pay. I won't charge to make a profit, but I can't afford to ship skillets all over the country either.
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What part of the country are you in? I'm kinda interested in a miniature DO, 4 or 5 inch. I think it'll fit in a post office flat rate box.

Pone?
 
Fe Stomach said:
What part of the country are you in? I'm kinda interested in a miniature DO, 4 or 5 inch. I think it'll fit in a post office flat rate box.

Pone?
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Pone pan is the corn shape mold to make corn bread "sticks"
 

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Fe Stomach said:
What part of the country are you in? I'm kinda interested in a miniature DO, 4 or 5 inch. I think it'll fit in a post office flat rate box.

Pone?
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South Carolina. Pone. Cord bread pan makes the fancy little cake. Called a pone cake for some strange reason.
 
Awesome thread! Great work Fe. I love that DO that you got and how well you brought her back to cooking condition! Have you tried cooking with it yet? I've done tons of DO cooking and would love to swap recipes and stories!!! :clap:
 
Kelton there is an Internation Dutch Oven Society that would have lots of recipes. They have a website of course. You might even have a group in your area.
 
Keltin said:
Awesome thread! Great work Fe. I love that DO that you got and how well you brought her back to cooking condition! Have you tried cooking with it yet? I've done tons of DO cooking and would love to swap recipes and stories!!! :clap:
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I have cooked twice with it.

The first was simply a "firing" to help rid the DO of anything distasteful.
I heated some olive oil, and browned some onions in the oil, after a few minutes I dumped in some Worstershire (sp) sauce and simmered the "brew" for about 15 - 20 minutes on relatively high heat, with lid on. I then discarded the onions, cleaned the Do with paper towels and let it cool.

AND THEN, two days later.....

I greased the bottom and pre-heated the DO with 7 briquettes in a ring around the bottom of the DO, and 17 on the lid in a checker board pattern.

I mixed up about 4 cups of bisquick with 1 1/2 cups of milk by kneading it in a gallon sized zip lock bag.

Floured up my hands so the dough wouldn't stick, and pulled out 14 balls of dough, patted them down into 3/4 inch thick patties and spaced them around the bottom of My DO, set the lid on and made Sausage and gravy on the Kitchen stove in the Cast iron Skillet I restored. ( but this is about the DO... lol)

I waited as long as I could stand it, about 20 minutes, opened the lid and they were just beautiful!!!!

And the final specification...
I gained another 2 lbs on that Biscuit and Gravy meal.

And shame on me,,,I should have taken a photo of the bisquit tops while they were in the oven and shared.:sorry:


My next project is building a steel table, suitable for briquettes and DO cooking on a wooden deck. I will photograph and share that project as soon as I finish.
(hint...I am making it from an old barbeque destined for the landfill!!) Hopefully helping encourage DO cooking at home as part of everyday meals. It should complement the Trivet/coleman grill grate that you show in the neighboring thread, GREAT FIND!!

I also would like to make a simple briquette starter that anyone can build and share that project here.

As far as sharing recipes, I am absolutly new to this and have no ORIGINAL recipies, but will gladly share the results of anything that I prepare, I admit, most dishes will be copies of yours from these very pages. And I thank you in advance.


Scotty
 
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That was interesting...The comments got awful long after the original blog post.

Had I known this I would have used flax seed oil on one of the projects, but hopefully one would only season once, from then on the "build up" would be from the repetitive cooking. I can see the idea behind starting with flaxseed oil.

My wife has some cast iron pans (that I only cook with after permission, and under close supervision...LOL), two of them were from her mom and are somewhere beyond 50 years old with out ever being 'reseasoned'. I imagine that the "build up" of seasoning was from whatever oils were used to cook with per meal. And she never re-oils and re-heats her pans. She just wipes them clean while good and warm and set them upside down on a paper towel.

Anybody here have any input on how you treat your CI after cooking a meal?

...what do you do?


Good find Norm, I like that site!! Thx for sharing!!!

And now it's time for my Dean Martin impression....:drink2:

Scotty
 
I found a cast iron skillet with a wooden handle in an antique store that was so gunky and sticky that I did not want to use it as is so I took off the handle and ran it through the dish washer on full wash and heat. It came out clean and rusty. i seasoned it and put the handle back on and it is as good as new.
 
Two things.....

A picture of that skillet would be neat,

and I visited your blog in your signature line, how cool, some very nice looking dishes there!!! And thats funny, "that skinny chic....." she has some good looking (fattening) stuff too!

thanks
Scotty
 
Norm said:
This is a very interesting site about seasoning cast iron. It is different than most other sites.

http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/
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The polymerization of oil makes much more sense to me than the use of vegetable oil, lard or some of the other oils recommended. I have heard the seasoning process described as carbon build up, which is the exact opposite of what you want. Surfaces become non stick because they become slick. Carbon, while black, is very porous, and therefore non stick.
Tung, walnut, flaxseed, or a couple of other oils should work.
 
Fe Stomach said:
I've been interested in Cast Iron Dutch Oven (DO) cooking ever since I was a Boy Scout Leader. We had a few recipes that were basic, easy and generally involved sweets. The purpose was to introduce the DO cooking to Scouts, if they were interested, then off they go, a budding young chef!!

So....I am going to do a continuing thread from acquiring some cast iron, refurbishing it, seasoning it and cooking a first meal. (Hopefully we won't be getting into stomach pumping 101).

Disclaimer:
I know nothing about cast iron cooking, I know nothing about aquiring used iron, I know nothing about refurbishing cast iron and I know nothing about seasoning cast iron. BUT, I know how to purchase books, and I know how to learn from others (Net Cooking Talk members).

That being said, It is my intention to use techniques from several different sources, share by posting what I've done and learned, and hopefully get input from others using this forum.

So, feel free to interject anytime with any input that you'd like to share so that we all can learn this old art form!!

:WitchBrewsSmiley:

Scotty
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I remember my Grandmother cleaning her cast iron pot's & Pans by Building a fire in the back yard and laying the cast Iron right in the fire and letting the fire burn out, then wash, dry, and [season them] oil them up and heat them in the oven for one hr.[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I have bought many Cast Iron pot's & pans at flee markets and do what my grandmother did and they come out like brand new cast iron pans. One time I bought at a flee market a frying pan [very cheep] that had a buildup of hard grease on it. After firing the frying pan it come out as clean as if it was brand new. The more one uses his or her cast iron the blacker & better it get. My cast Iron is better than non stick pans. Hope this helps.[/FONT]
 
I have been wondering if running cast iron through a self cleaning cycle in the oven (maybe an hour) either before or after oiling (or both) would work/help to season. Any thoughts?
 
lilbopeep said:
I have been wondering if running cast iron through a self cleaning cycle in the oven (maybe an hour) either before or after oiling (or both) would work/help to season. Any thoughts?
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I have heard people say that it works very well. I have never did this myself. I would say befor oiling as it should clean the cast iron then oil the cast iron then heat oven to 350 or 400 to open the pours of the cast iron to let the oil soak in and season the iron. [/FONT]
 
Rustpot said:
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I have heard people say that it works very well. I have never did this myself. I would say befor oiling as it should clean the cast iron then oil the cast iron then heat oven to 350 or 400 to open the pours of the cast iron to let the oil soak in and season the iron. [/FONT]
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Thank you
 
Fe Stomach said:
Two things.....

A picture of that skillet would be neat,

and I visited your blog in your signature line, how cool, some very nice looking dishes there!!! And thats funny, "that skinny chic....." she has some good looking (fattening) stuff too!

thanks
Scotty
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I apologize for not answering your post sooner. I have not been around very much lately and honestly did not see it until now. Thank you for your comments. That skinny chick is an old friend and a remarkable baker.

Here is a picture of the pan that went through the dishwasher then got re seasoned. I took the handle off, of course.

DSCF3800.jpg
 
Norm said:
I apologize for not answering your post sooner. I have not been around very much lately and honestly did not see it until now. Thank you for your comments. That skinny chick is an old friend and a remarkable baker.

Here is a picture of the pan that went through the dishwasher then got re seasoned. I took the handle off, of course.

DSCF3800.jpg
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That is a nice cast iron fry pan. I like the long wood handel.
 
lilbopeep said:
I have been wondering if running cast iron through a self cleaning cycle in the oven (maybe an hour) either before or after oiling (or both) would work/help to season. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

One of the articles I read, forgot where I read it, suggested that using the cleaning cycle for the initial "firing". So, I did it with a 4" pot, smoked up the house something terrible, but it did a good job making an even patina.

Scotty
 
Fe Stomach said:
One of the articles I read, forgot where I read it, suggested that using the cleaning cycle for the initial "firing". So, I did it with a 4" pot, smoked up the house something terrible, but it did a good job making an even patina.

Scotty
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Cool. I have some old slope sided small pans not very deep that were in bad shape and I packed them away because I needed large deeper skillets. I may dig them out and give it a shot.
 
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