Any cast-iron lovers here?

[posey]

Quote:
How do you restore a pan? And what method do you use to cure? I've been told a couple of different things, but would like to hear more from you experts on how you cure cast iron and how you clean. I know you should only clean with water, but it it's not properly cured, it's a mess! Thanks!

Hi I have a 10" skillet that is great for making homemade potato chips, batter fried squash, etc. I also have 10 other pieces mostly round skillets in various sizes, 1 square wagner skillet, a griddle, and the Lodge chicken fryer. Love them all.

Someone posted that when they cook in cast iron everything burns. You sound like my son - it does for him too. Ya'll jump in here with your suggestions but I have learned that cooking in cast iron requires a little more oil in the cookware and a lower temperature. You just can't cook scrambled eggs on HIGH in cast iron. If you make sure that the skillet is coated with oil and you use a med heat setting it cooks much better. Any other cooking suggestions?

As for restoring a piece requested above in the quote. I have restored several pieces that we bought at second hand stores. They were very rusty inside and out. But once restored and cured they work great. There are many ways to restore cast iron and a google search will give you lots of helpful info.

But here is what I did:

1. I dry scoured them with steel wool and wiped them out with dry paper towl. This removed the worst of the rust

2. I took them outside and sprayed them with oven cleaner, inside and out. Then put them into separate kitchen garbage bags and twisted shut. I sat them in the garage for a week.

3. After about 7 days of sitting in the sealed bag, I checked them to see if they were 'clean' by wiping with a paper towel. If they still had a good amount of rust I resprayed them and sealed them in a bag to sit again. If they looked pretty good ...

4. I wipe them out with paper towels. Then take them into the sink and scour them with a brillo pad and rinse. They change colors - more of a silver/gun metal shade when all of the old patina and rust are removed. Wipe dry

5. Then they are placed in a warm oven upside down to completely dry them out.

6. Remove after about 30 minutes and allow to cool slightly. Then I rub them with Crisco shortening inside and out.

7. place a cookie sheet or aluminum foil under bottom rack in oven and preheat to 350 degrees

8. Put the pieces you want to cure, back into the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour then turn the oven off and allow to cool down inside the oven

Now they will be ready to use.

The link below and the Lodge website have good info. There are many other good website with helpful info and recipies too.
http://www.firepies.com/seasoning.html

To clean a cast iron item I used for cooking I wipe the inside out with paper towels to absorb any oil or grease so that it doesn't go down the drain and into my septic tank. Think we should get stock in a paper towel company cause I use a lot of them to clean my cast iron. LOL

Then I use a nylon scrubbie (home made crocheted ones work best) and a Pampered Chef scrapper (the little brown square ones) to remove any stuck on food. I 'wash' in only plain water - no soap (I know it sounds unsanitary but cast iron has pores like our skin and the soap can be absorbed and then transfered to our food - Yuck!) There is usually a little oily residue on the cast iron so I dry it with paper towels. I allow to completely air dry before lightly coating with oil (yep another paper towel) and then it gets put away for the next use. If my oven is still warm from cooking dinner, I will set the cookware upside down inside the warm oven to finish drying instead of air drying.

If anyone has other washing suggestions, where you don't use as many paper towels, I'd love to hear them

Corn bread made in cast iron is so delishious.

Looking forward to hearing more from everyone. Thanks for starting this thread!

 

[EweSheep]

COOOOOL, Foweler! Will check them out!

 

[Opa]

When well used cast iron pan starts to build up a layer of "crud" on the outside of the pan or if you have a pan the really needs a good cleaning, put it in your oven and turn the oven to self clean. Cleans them up beautifully. Then take a damp cloth and wipe. Place on burner and heat. Wipe the interior with a little vegetable oil on a paper towel, turn off heat and let cool. Heat and wipe with oil after every use and in no time at all you will have a no stick pan.

 

[CedarRidgeChicks]

I have a friend/neighbor that is really a collector that has 700-800 pieces..he keeps a large vat of cleaner which is lye/water combo..I take my pieces to him if they are really bad..then I rewash, rub down with vinegar allow to dry coat with light coat of crisco place upside down in warm oven..remove wipe out any excess oil return to oven or rack..

this past summer there was a collector set up at the 600 (or is it 800 mile) hwy 127 sale here in Ky..my dh talked to him quite a while..all of his stuff was so smooth and conditioned!!..he finally told dh that he uses the lye solution too ...and he was the one who told us to use the vinegar as soon as it is clean and dry..he says it helps to keep it from rusting..??..he also said he never uses detergent but cleans them after cooking with salt..I still haven't tried that

I also learned from another person at that same sale that a lot of cast iron has "hot spots" from getting too hot..these are more likely to stick and burn..I have several fyers that are like that..I just have to watch what I cook in them

I have also been told many times, that you can put then in a wood stove/fireplace etc. to clean them..I tried this in coals of the woodstove..cracked it bigtime..

My MIL cleans hers in the self cleaning oven but I won't try that either..afraid of cracking ..

Thats about all I know about cleaning etc..

 

[ChooksChick]

CedarRidge,

One thing about iron is that it can't take a sudden temperature change.

I'll use a fire's coals to cook off all of the years of caked on stuff if necessary, but it can't be put into the coals at room temp. I'll warm it up first or cook something in it and put it into the coals warm.

Likewise, it can't be cooled quickly, either- no plunging into an ice bath if it's warm!

Also, when cooking with it, for those who have trouble with burning food and sticking:

Use a temp setting lower than you would in other cookware, and don't put the oil or cooking spray in until the pan is hot to the touch. If you, "Heat your pan, not your oil" like the Frugal Gourmet used to say, food won't stick.

 

[CedarRidgeChicks]

thanks chookschick..never thought about heating before putting in the coals..I might..might try that..don't want any more cracks..

 

[leepsy]

Can you use cast iron on a glass cooktop?

 

[posey]

Can you use cast iron on a glass cooktop?

We did for several years and never had a problem.
I was just real careful to not drop or plop any of it onto the cooktop.

 

[Eggs4Sale]

Quote:
Since you bring this up, I'm going to ask. The one and only time i tried to do the 'self-cleaning' on the oven, with nothing in it, I was rewarded with a house full of smoke. Is that normal? I don't have a dealy-bob over the oven like everyone else, by the way. Anyhow, I've been too scared to try the self-clean again, so the thing is DISGUSTING! So, does your house fill with smoke when you hit the self-clean?

 

[Eggs4Sale]

Cracker Barrel has the perfect cast Lodge cast iron griddle for baking tortillas on. It's round, flat, with the slightest lip along the edge. It's the perfect diameter too, not too small, not too big. My Mex. MIL liked it so much she asked us to go get one for her too.