Cleaning Cast Iron (please be Polite)

I rinse under hot water if needed with a scrub brush. Mostly I just wipe out with a paper towel.

I have taken a wire brush once to a very rusty dutch oven I got at a yard sale for .25.Very nice dutch oven now LOL

Never brave enough to try a fire or self cleaning oven on my cast iron

I'd clean the carbon off by any method of your choice -- steel wool works, or a soak in vinegar, or whatever. Just get the carbon off. Then smear it with lard, bacon grease, or tallow, and throw it in the oven @ 350 or so for an hour. Problem should be solved. You may need to repeat the application of seasoning a few times if the pan looks rusty later, particularly on the bottom. It takes time to rebuild a good layer of carbon. A little bit of surface rust should wipe off, however, and is NOT a big deal.

You won't hurt the pan. Don't worry about what you did, or didn't, do. You probably did nothing wrong -- it just built up so much carbon on it that it needs to stripped and reseasoned. Reseasoning cast iron is basic maintenance that needs to be done periodically.

In my opinion the Lodge brand is about the worst brand of CI out there. It is of course CI but the finish is rough and just plain unfinished IMO. It is inexpensive and can be worked over to be excellent cookware. This is a good pan to use the disc sander on to resurface the inside cooing surface with and season it to perform properly. I have reconditioned several Lodge pans like this with excellent results.

The honest old stuff, Griswold, and Wagner only needs a wire brush if rusted a bit. They were made to be used by folks who finished the cooking surface properly.

The new CI is horrid stuff.

hmmm disc sander Hmmmmm may have to look for one of those

Thanks. I knew people would tell me it is a horrible brand which is partially why I posted what it was--I wanted you to know I don't have the "good" stuff so I wasn't sure if there was a different way to deal with it. I always keep my eye out for older stuff at yard sales and thrift stores and have never seen it. I don't know how some of you get so lucky!

I would not say Lodge is cheap! Easily $40 or more for a pot or pan in
a Lodge store, or at Bass Pro. Anyhow, Lodge is the only cast made in
the good ol USA. That scores points for me. And about all that Wagner
and Griswold, none of yall ever saw a new piece and don't know what
it may have looked like! Best thing for cast is use it. Clean it however
you need to, and put it up oiled.

Yellowmug, I don't know what part of appalachia you are in,
but there is a flea market in Murphy NC (extreme west) where
you can buy all the old cast iron you can haul home.

I can't believe no ones mentioned the wonders of bacon on your cast iron.

Same here folks. I use my cast iron everyday. If I fry potatoes or something I can usually just wipe it out and store it ...in the oven : ) If I need to really clean one I'll use warm water and a tiny bit of dish soap with a mesh (onion bag) scrubbie. My pans are all old garage sale finds and have a great non stick finish.

BTW, you are right, some people can get very mean. Even on craigslist, some people are awful when you respond. I like to use a method I learned from author Jane Savoy. "Garbage in. Garbage out." No useless hurtful words get to stay in my head. Not for one minute.

I don't think Lodge is horrible CI, it is however in my opinion only partially finished, and with a disc sander and a few minutes you can give it the finishing it needs to be a top notch performer. The cooking surface as it comes from the factory is rough and gritty. The Lodge price is right compared to the high enameled or ceramic lined brands. I just think they should spend a few extra minutes in production to properly finish their product.

I have scored Griswold, and Wagner at antique malls and such. Even at $25 they are a deal s they will last forever. I can usually find em for $12-15 for a number 10 skillet. Dutch ovens are more around $25-40 still a good price to me. I got a fish skillet for $8 at Walmart, a Lodge brand and disc sanded it to a beautifully performing piece of CI. Good Luck!!

Really? We love our Lodge CI. It is fairly new (several years old). We make all sorts of things from chicken fried steak, to fried potatoes, to French fries and have never had an issue. However, we don't own any Griswold or Wagner so maybe we don't know what we are missing.

doingitmyself, What grit do you use on the disk sander?

Flaking can be from two things...

First is, food has gotten built up inside the pan... it will flake off it you don't get it cleaned back down to the seasoned metal...

The second I know of isn't really flaking.. If you use black plastic spatulas, (or any plastic colors) they can melt on the bottom of the pan if you scrape it while cooking, they will melt and look like flakes in the food..

If you use plastic, switch to metal spatulas.. If it is truely flaking, you need to get it cleaned out to bare metal and reseason.. That's when I throw them in a fire to burn everything off and start over... Although, I don't let food get built up in them..

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Never let your fear decide your fate!
Kein Mitleid für die Mehrheit

I use100 grit, and on one piece I stepped up to 180 grit. I don't think 180 is really needed but it sure made a super smooth cooking area!! It doesn't have to be perfect to be better than the rough factory finish

I like my Lodge CI as well, I just don't like the roughness of the cooking surface so I sand it smooth. If you ever find or see an older Wagner or Griswold you will see what I mean instantly. Smooth as glass. When seasoned properly it all works fine, I just like my Lodge CI smoother like the old stuff so its easier to wipe clean.

I don't think you are missing anything, it's what you are used to.

Lodge just casts their cookware, seasons it lightly and ships it. The old better quality stuff was cast, then ground smooth and sanded to a soft smooth finish, and then seasoned before shipping. Its all about the $$$$ now. Lots of folks nowadays have never seen the better quality stuff. Either way most any cast iron is excellent cook wear!!

The enameled one was my grandmother's, made in Belgium.

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Bob and Nancy Dickey
Laughing Stock Boer Goats
"Seriously Great Bloodlines"
and the meat goes on....
Near Seattle

I mentioned coating mine with bacon grease when I clean 'em. Does that count?

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~TBB
The early bird may catch the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese.

We have a set of griswold and we got our son a set of Wagner. We put ours in a fire upside down and burn off the junk. Mathis will burn off excessive carbon and any rust. I let it cool, then put it on a stove burner and warm it up enough that bees wax will melt. I then rub it inside and out with beeswax. The beeswax soaks into the iron and it's like Teflon. If you have too much beeswax you can just leave it and cook - it works like grease. Mbeeswax will not build up carbon or go rancid as some oils will if they set too log.

We reenact. At one event I forgot bacon, butter, oil, etc. all I had to fry eggs with was a beeswax candle. Melted it in a skillet and all was well. Now it's what I use at events as it does not spoil.

I use it and clean it immediately with only VERY hot water.

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If you need anything, just let me know... I'll tell you how to do without it.

I clean my cast iron with hot water and a scrubbie I made with a bag my onions came in. I never use soap! I was taught that soap ruins it. No one has died from eating food cooked in that pan so I don't think I will be changing my way of cleaning it.