Cast iron primer?

[MaryE]

Hi all!

I'm not sure where to post this, so I'll try here first. I am a newbie to cast iron cooking, but have heard wondrous things about it. Today I found a 10" cast iron skillet at the thrift store for $14 and snatched it up. It's got a tiny bit of rust, have no idea if it's "seasoned" or not (how does one tell?).

What would you do to make this usable? Any advice for cooking and cleaning for an amateur? Thanks for your help!

[Marcia in MT]

If it's rusty, it's likely not seasoned -- or seasoned well or evenly. If it's dirty, that'll need to be taken care of first. Burning off the crud works the best: in a self cleaning oven on the cleaning cycle (beware it STINKS!), or outside in a campfire. The rust will need to be removed. We like a metal brush on a grinder or a drill -- fast, good, and easy! The rust will likely leave little pits in the metal, but it doesn't seem to affect use.

Seasoning is lightly coating the metal (inside and out) with some kind of grease/fat/oil and putting it in the oven for several hours (or overnight) at a very low temperature. Don't use anything nonedible.

After each use, wash the utensil in hot water (NO soap!), put over a low fire to dry completely, and coat very thinly with more grease/fat/oil. Eventually, the utensil turns black and almost as non-stick as synthetically coated ones.

That's the short of it. There are lots of good threads with a lot more detail about care and use of cast iron in the archives.

[Beeman]

If it's got rust it's not seasoned or not seasoned well. Is it caked or crusted with burnt on stuff? If not then just clean it up with steel wool,scouring pad,wire brush or what have you. Then season it in your oven or your barbecue if you have a gas one.

[oberhaslikid]

I use a scratch pad and clean mine well .Then cover the whole thing inside and out with shortening and then place upside down on the grill outside and bake for 2 hours turn the grill off and let cool then remove.If its not black all over I do it again.Then its ready to use.

[CSA again]

Originally Posted by oberhaslikid

I use a scratch pad and clean mine well .Then cover the whole thing inside and out with shortening and then place upside down on the grill outside and bake for 2 hours turn the grill off and let cool then remove.If its not black all over I do it again.Then its ready to use.

Yes ...I use this method with much sucess also
After its seasoned wash Gently of just wipe out with paper towls... never put in dish washer

[suitcase_sally]

I have 7 or 8 cast iron skillets, plus grills, pots, Dutch ovens, ect. I hate to tell you this, but $14 for a 10" skillet was not a bargain. You can buy a 3 pc. set for $16. Was this Goodwill by any chance? Their prices have skyrocketed over the last few years.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...0070921x00003a

[Cabin Fever]

Originally Posted by Marcia in MT

If it's rusty, it's likely not seasoned -- or seasoned well or evenly. If it's dirty, that'll need to be taken care of first. Burning off the crud works the best: in a self cleaning oven on the cleaning cycle (beware it STINKS!), or outside in a campfire. The rust will need to be removed. We like a metal brush on a grinder or a drill -- fast, good, and easy! The rust will likely leave little pits in the metal, but it doesn't seem to affect use.

Seasoning is lightly coating the metal (inside and out) with some kind of grease/fat/oil and putting it in the oven for several hours (or overnight) at a very low temperature. Don't use anything nonedible.

After each use, wash the utensil in hot water (NO soap!), put over a low fire to dry completely, and coat very thinly with more grease/fat/oil. Eventually, the utensil turns black and almost as non-stick as synthetically coated ones.

That's the short of it. There are lots of good threads with a lot more detail about care and use of cast iron in the archives.

Marcia has pretty much summarized what would be my recommendation.

[Paul Wheaton]

I did the same thing about five years ago. I bought some cast iron and had trouble with it. I came here and asked questions and still had trouble.

I've now spent a few hundred hours experimenting, asking questions and taking notes.

I tried to compose my notes in such away that others can get the same info in about 20 minutes by mashing all of my notes into one web page: my article on cast iron.

A few months ago I even made a video and put it on you tube where I fry some eggs.

When I was first starting I wasn't sure if my sticking eggs were normal or not.