Cast iron re-seasoning

[slowshooter]

Tell me your secrets for re-seasoning cast iron.

Been running a bunch of stuff through the oven cleaning cycle and then an electrolysis tank I built. Seasoning it mostly with crisco.
But might try a couple of pieces with grapeseed, flax or olive oil.

Found a cheap griddle pan today for about 8 bucks. Pretty rough so will hone down the edges.

Yes, I am a cast iron ho.

[Indaswamp]

Best oil for seasoning a cast iron pot is crisco or peanut oil. Coat it just enough and rub it on good. build a wood fire, get a really good bed of coals, Turn the pot upside down over the coals, put a lot more wood on top and let it go. it'll burn the carbon deep into the pores of the cast iron and give a very good patina when it's done. You can do it in the oven, but the smoke will build up if you are not careful. And the oven is no where near as hot as the fire and will not burn the carbon as deep into the pores of the metal....you'll have to cook with the pot for a while to get the same effect as the fire. Hope this helps. This is the only way we do pots in Louisiana...the old fashioned way-open fire. Nothin better. It's important to put the pot upside down to allow exess oil to run out otherwise you will be scraping the exess carbon out of the pot unnecessarily.

[slowshooter]

Hey Inda,

I found a Cajun Classic 10" CI pan at lunchtime. Rusted up like a 75 year old gigolo... Cost about the same as well... 5 bucks.
The interesting thing is that the inside of the pan is considerably smoother than a wagner or a lodge pan... Probably about halfway between an old griswold and an 80's wagner... Even with the minor pitting.

Baking it in some oven cleaner to knock of what looks like 15 years of crud. I'll post up a before and after....

Curious of you LA boys actually use these pans or if they are just exported to CA for yokels that want cred. Also wonder if all the pans have that same surface or if I just got fluke.

If it isn't cracked or pitted badly after cleaning, it will make a good secondary pan for the usual pancake-making marathons that seem to happen around here.

Slow

[Indaswamp]

What is a CI pan?

My grandfather use to take an old brick and go to work on a new cast iron pan until the inside was smooth as a babies bottom...takes a while, but add a little cooking oil and just start rubbing. then season the pot. talk about cook a roux!!!

I like the old wagners and they are very hard to find around here. anytime I'm anywhere North West of home, I'll stop and try to find a few to add to my collection.

[slowshooter]

I've tried doing something similar... but my luck wasn't as good. Out here we don't have open fires so to clean off the crud we throw all our cast iron into an oven and run the self cleaning cycle. Smokes up the house like Cheech and Chong's van.

A few years ago I used a power sander to smooth out an old flea market no name pan and when it went through cleaning cycle the pan cracked.

Now they just get a little hand sanding with some 150 or 200 grit sand paper. The Cajun Classic pan picked up today would have been easy to clean in the oven, but it had enough stuff caked on that smoke would have poured out the windows and my neighbors would have called the fire department.

Here's todays find:



Got extra lucky and also found a 6 qt Tramontina professional stock pot with a lid for 8 bucks plus an old Descoware 1 quart sauce pan.

If this Cajun pan turns out okay, today will remembered as the time I got 3 great pieces of cookware for about 15 bucks.

[Indaswamp]

FWIW-Cajun Classics are nowhere near the quality pot of a Lodge or a Wagner. But I own one-a 4.5 qt. that I bought for our camp pot...feeds 4 people easily with most any 1 pot meal.

[Indaswamp]

FWIW-you have to heat and cool the pots slowly when you heat them so hot to cure the patina.... that prevents the cracking.

[slowshooter]

Looks like I got someones old brick pan. Despite the rough sides and pitting from rust. I cleaned it up and re-seasoned it with a couple of layers then stove top seasoned it.

It's like black ice in the center of the pan. Unless Cajun polishes these someone had to grind that thing down. A spatula would not take it down that smooth in 50 years.

Pretty bad pitting on the outside bottom... I see a crack in the pans future but will enjoy it while I have it.

[Glimmerjim]

What is a CI pan?

My grandfather use to take an old brick and go to work on a new cast iron pan until the inside was smooth as a babies bottom...takes a while, but add a little cooking oil and just start rubbing. then season the pot. talk about cook a roux!!!

I like the old wagners and they are very hard to find around here. anytime I'm anywhere North West of home, I'll stop and try to find a few to add to my collection.

That's a good tip with the brick. If there is anything specific you'd like with the Wagners let me know. Find them all the time out here in CA at auctions, flea markets etc.

[slowshooter]

I have a no name dutch oven that works okay. Sort of rough but I suspect that it was made by wagner. I found it full of water and rust and the pitting is horrible... But it's cast Iron and since I am not using it as a skillet it still hold up.

My sis has some wagner and it's nicer than the current Lodge pans. The old Lodge from the 50s and earlier are pretty smooth though.

[slowshooter]

Lucky me. For all you cast iron geeks out there... I picked up a Lodge skillet that was manufactured between 1910 - 1920. Just luck really. The surface on the pan with no seasoning shows it is clearly polished. Completely unlike the Lodge pans available today.

Can't wait to put it into action.

[flightstopper]

What's the importance of the pan being smooth? Just non-stick?

[Indaswamp]

What's the importance of the pan being smooth? Just non-stick?

smooth = very even heat and very non stick.
they use to polish new cast iron with bricks before cooking on them.

[flightstopper]

What's the importance of the pan being smooth? Just non-stick?

smooth = very even heat and very non stick.
they use to polish new cast iron with bricks before cooking on them.

What about using a scotch brite pad on a angle grinder to polish? To harsh?

[jehler]

What's the importance of the pan being smooth? Just non-stick?

smooth = very even heat and very non stick.
they use to polish new cast iron with bricks before cooking on them.

What about using a scotch brite pad on a angle grinder to polish? To harsh?

best technique is to strap them to a midgets feet like snowshoes and make them climb sand hills. This will smooth out the sides as well as the bottom.

[Indaswamp]

What's the importance of the pan being smooth? Just non-stick?

smooth = very even heat and very non stick.
they use to polish new cast iron with bricks before cooking on them.

What about using a scotch brite pad on a angle grinder to polish? To harsh?

best technique is to strap them to a midgets feet like snowshoes and make them climb sand hills. This will smooth out the sides as well as the bottom.

inside the pot is what matters.

[jehler]

What's the importance of the pan being smooth? Just non-stick?

smooth = very even heat and very non stick.
they use to polish new cast iron with bricks before cooking on them.

What about using a scotch brite pad on a angle grinder to polish? To harsh?

best technique is to strap them to a midgets feet like snowshoes and make them climb sand hills. This will smooth out the sides as well as the bottom.

inside the pot is what matters.

noshitsherlock, you strap the bottoms to there feet so you polish the inside, crimany, it's like you never strapped pans to a midget before

[jehler]

What's the importance of the pan being smooth? Just non-stick?

smooth = very even heat and very non stick.
they use to polish new cast iron with bricks before cooking on them.

What about using a scotch brite pad on a angle grinder to polish? To harsh?

best technique is to strap them to a midgets feet like snowshoes and make them climb sand hills. This will smooth out the sides as well as the bottom.

inside the pot is what matters.

noshitsherlock, you strap the bottoms to there feet so you polish the bottom of the inside, crimany, it's like you never strapped pans to a midget before

Edit fail,

Can you tell I've been drinking?

[Indaswamp]

Yea!

[Indaswamp]

http://www.jfolse.com/fr_seasoniron.htm

[Indaswamp]