Cast Iron Cookware discussion thread...

[Carrera1963]

It's a really tough enamel; as long as you don't scratch it and avoid thermal shock, you're good. Cleans with washing up liquid and water, doesn't season in the same way as a raw iron pan. The casseroles are much better with enamel than raw iron, for pans it's a bit more swings and roundabouts.

 

[kronin323]

It's a really tough enamel; as long as you don't scratch it and avoid thermal shock, you're good. Cleans with washing up liquid and water, doesn't season in the same way as a raw iron pan. The casseroles are much better with enamel than raw iron, for pans it's a bit more swings and roundabouts.

So, no metal utensils or steel wool scrubbers? Any non-stick issues?

 

[kronin323]

Some better pics of my carbon steel wok, without food in it...

Inside, looking forward to the seasoning recovering completely now that I'm using a bamboo spatula...

And the outside...

Then here's some loaded turkey meatballs searing in the cast iron as part of last night's meal...

 

[Carrera1963]

So, no metal utensils or steel wool scrubbers? Any non-stick issues?

Metal utensils are fine if you're careful but steel wool is out. You're basically cooking on glass so inherently non-stick to an extent so long as it's cleaned ok - it deglazes very well too, if you want to incorporate residue, juices etc. I'd definitely recommend taking a look at their larger casseroles (Dutch oven, if you insist) - not cheap but you'll get decades of use.

 

[kronin323]

So we've talking about cleaning and maintaining cast iron, and how to re-season it from scratch. One cleaning method that I haven't tried and hasn't been mentioned yet on this thread is to use kosher salt and a towel on a still-warm pan to safely scour away food bits...

But what about how to strip all the seasoning before a from-scratch re-seasoning? And to remove rust?

Basic technique seems to be steel wool, soap, and water. This has worked for me in most cases.

I've read that using your oven's self-cleaning cycle works but I haven't tried that. Sand blasting has also been recommended for really old beat up stuff but obviously most of us aren't equipped for that.

As I slowly work through those vintage pans I'll share the process of restoring them. I don't have a lot of time to work on them so progress is slow.

 

[NoFair]

I've used sanding pads for metal on old pans before seasoning. Removes all the rust and polishes as bit as well. One can get them in grits from pretty coarse to very fine.

 

[GRFMotorsports]

I dont use cast iron for anything...... ever. 316 grade stainless all the way!

 

[kronin323]

I dont use cast iron for anything...... ever. 316 grade stainless all the way!

Ah, I knew you were against modern non-stick cookware but didn't realize SS was your preference...

 

[kronin323]

IDK about cast iron specifically but usually cleaning off old wear-and-tear on vintage collectibles devalues them. But recall these BS&R pans aren't really valuable from a collector's perspective and people refurbish them all the time.

Of those pans, the 10" skillet had by far seen the most use. Not rusty but really gunked up. Unfortunately I didn't take proper "before" pictures but I'll tell ya, there was so much buildup on the bottom that it'd completely buried the heat ring. Then the outer sides had thick, pebbly buildup.

I tried the steel wool and soap but barely made a dent. Switched to using an old utility knife to cut and scrape the stuff off. Made better progress, got rid of the stuff around the heat ring and some of the stuff on the sides. But still, it was going to take forever.

Ended up using a 3" crimped wire wheel brush with a drill. Here's a pic after my initial test to see how'd it work. The streaky lines in the cleaned part, that's part of the remaining seasoning.

This pic also shows more of the rock-hard buildup I was having to deal with, after some removal already...

I only had a little time here and there to work on it, especially since I was limiting the duration of each session to avoid burning out my drill. And some of this stuff would take minutes of concentrated action from that wire wheel before it would come off. But as I made progress, it was looking amazing as bare cast iron...

But I still had a ways to go. There was still some stuff on the bottom inside the heat ring area, and about 1/5 of the outside still looked like this...

And the inside had this thick ring that I hadn't even tackled yet...

While meanwhile I'd already worn out one wire wheel, was having to start another...

This weekend I was working on it again and tried removing some of that inner ring. It was just as tough as the outside part! I was like, "at this rate, it's gonna take another month or so just to strip this thing..." So, I decided to try the self-cleaning oven trick. Besides, my oven needed some cleaning anyway...

The self-cleaning cycle runs at about 800 degrees for four hours and breaks down anything organic. And it worked amazingly well! Here's it coming out of the oven; the brown stuff looks like rust but it's actually the burnt seasoning...

While the sections I had already polished clean remained pristine...

Some soap, water, and steel wool removed it but there was still a dull grey residue with hints of brown. I hit it with the wire wheel and it came right off easily. I was able to clean the entire pan in less time than it'd been taking me just to work a small section...

So next was reseasoning it. I'm using the flaxseed oil method I mentioned earlier, though this time I'm baking it at 500 degrees. I've done three coats so far and plan on at least eight. I'll save any more pictures until it's done...

But this has been so easy, using the oven self-cleaning method. The other pans, I had planned to mostly just touch up those, but now I'm thinking of treating them like this one, strip them completely and reseason from scratch...

 

[GRFMotorsports]

Ah, I knew you were against modern non-stick cookware but didn't realize SS was your preference...

Stainless is the cleanest you can cook in, so that's what we use. Do a taste with baking soda and you'll taste the difference

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