So you've decided you want to start cooking with cast iron. Great! You're on your way to beginning an exciting love affair with one of the absolute best ways to grill, sear, saute, blacken, bake, and even fry your food.
Cast iron cookware has been used for centuries for its versatility as well as durability. If you take care of your cast iron it will take care of you in ways that modern cookware just can't compete with. In addition to trace amounts of iron (a nutritional requirement for good health) being added to every dish prepared in it, cast iron can be moved from the stove top to the oven and back seamlessly which allows for a myriad of new techniques to be used when preparing steak, chicken, and desserts just to name a few.
Flea markets and Craigslist are great resources to find cast iron cookware at a discount. The majority of the cast iron I've purchased this way has been covered with so many layers of old seasoning that it looks corroded beyond repair. Fortunately, thanks to the durability of cast iron, I have yet to find one that cannot be cleaned up to look almost brand new. I even have one small 6-inch skillet I purchased that was made in the early 40's that I was able to restore to nearly new condition!
There are several ways that you can restore and season cast iron cookware. I know of several people who have had it sand blasted to remove all the old seasoning and rust although I have never tried it for myself. It is also possible to take a copper scouring pad and, with enough elbow grease, scrub all the old seasoning. However, I have found this to be a tedious and exhausting process. The most efficient and thorough way I have found to remove old layers of caked on seasoning is soaking the cookware in lye.
The process itself is very simple. First, though, you will want to have a couple of items on hand before you begin this process:
- Lye (can be found at Lowe's marketed as a drain cleaner)
- Plastic container - I used a 3-gallon Rubbermaid tote with a lid
- Heavy duty rubber gloves rated for use with chemicals
- Copper coated scouring pads
Fill your plastic container with 2 gallons of water
Add the cast iron you're going to reseason
Add the entire 18 oz. of lye to the water
The pieces I restored had spent the last couple of decades building a pretty thick layer of crud so I let them soak for 4 days.
On the fifth day, I took the container to the kitchen sink and using the rubber gloves took the skillets out one at a time and thoroughly rinsed them out. Most of the grime rinsed right off but I still scoured everything with the copper pads and dish soap just to make sure i got off all the lye.
After everything was cleaned off I could actually see the manufacturer marks stamped unto the iron. Three of the skillets were older Wagner Ware pieces!
Once they were all rinsed, I dried them off and coated them with vegetable shortening. Next, I put them upside down in the oven and baked them at 400 degrees for an hour. When you turn off the oven leave the cookware inside overnight to cool. This puts the first layer of seasoning on your cast iron. You can use just about any form of cooking oil you want, however, most people I know use either vegetable shortening or some kind of rendered animal fat.
The first thing I like to do with a newly seasoned cast iron skillet is to cook bacon. There are three main reasons for this.
- I love bacon
- Bacon drippings create a second layer of seasoning
- Bacon grease can be saved to cook with later
Now that you have your very own newly seasoned cast iron skillet what are you going to cook first?
