Cast-Iron Frying Pan Cleaning

[Bigbng]

I just picked up a heavy cast iron fryingpan at a yard sale on the weekend. Pretty rough shape, rust, grime, burnt sides etc. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas as to how I could bring it back to life so I could "re-season" it. I was thinking of putting it in a bucket of cola for a couple of days, seeing as how much phosphorous there is in that wonderful drink. Anyone ever tried this or have any cleaning suggestions?

 

[A.T.Hagan]

Get a can of Easy Off oven cleaner and some heavy rubber gloves such as Playtex gloves.

Heat the pan good and hot on the stove, put on the gloves, then using a pot holder or oven mitt take the pan outside into the yard. Now carefully spray the pan inside and out with the Easy Off while it's still hot. Use care because the oven cleaner is caustic. I always keep the pan down wind when spraying. Coat it all evenly inside and out then put it down someplace safe to cool.

When cooled use the hose to rinse it off then take into the kitchen for a final scrub in the sink. Shouldn't take much. I've only ever had one pan I had to treat twice, all the others the oven cleaner stripped to the bare metal in one go.

Once cleaned and dried reseason according to your preferences.

.....Alan.

 

[Bigbng]

Thanks Alan, I'll give it a try this weekend.

 

[booger]

I have no cast iron yet (on the to-get list) but heard the same thing as Alan. I heard, though, to put it in a garbage bag after spraying and let it sit for a while that way. Let us know how it works!

 

[Scott Mayland]

The way my grandmother cleaned her pans was to build a fire out doors and put the pan in the fire and burn it clean. this can be done in a fire place as well.

 

[Bigbng]

booger:
I think that the HEAT is what would make the easy-off work to it's best potential. sort of like when you would spray it in a "hot" oven, thus the plastic bag might only work if you are applying it to a cold pan.

Thanks, Scott, this is probabaly akin to the self cleaning ovens, which gives me a great idea if nothing else works, I will try leaving the frying pan in the oven during a self cleaning cycle. (Thats what I do with the burner savers)

 

[Kathy in WV]

All those methods work just fine. I hate using oven cleaner so my husband just puts a wire brush thingie on his drill and takes them down to the bare metal for me. I'm picky about my skillets being even and smooth so I really like them done this way. Just my preference! For seasoning them, I like any kind of animal fat but not vegetable based stuff because it gets a sticky feel to me. I just go with lard every time and they stay slick! Usually you only have to take them down to the bare metal once after you first get them and then just be careful to take good care of them and they just get better with use. Enjoy your new skillet. Kat

 

[cormorant]

I once brought back a skillet I thought was beyond saving by heavily greasing it with olive oil and baking it in the oven for several hours at a high temperature. This helped dislodge most of the caked-on grime, and also helped with the rust too. If you don't have olive oil, I think corn oil would work too. Good luck!

 

[night driver]

If you should hapen to not haqv easy-off, soaking it for a couple days in a plastic bag with ammonia wil also work...

 

[Kimber]

BigNg,

I've tried the self-cleaning oven approach, several hours in an oven that I think cleans at well above 450 degrees. It worked great with one exception - I don't think it got think it got all the rust and I remember resorting to a power rotary sander. At a minimum, the self cleaning oven approach appears to be a great step one if you're a tad lazy when it comes to cleaning - like I am. Thank you Alan and all for the Easy Off suggestion.

David

 

[Jazzdad]

I had been looking for cast iron cookware at yard sales with no luck. Last week I stopped at our "put and take" area at the local transfer station and found two cast iron skillets for free. What luck!

They are Chinese (G&S) in 6" and 8". The 8" had been used a lot and had a good season already on with just a little rust. I washed and scrubbed with a little soap to get off the rust. Then I seasoned with bacon grease at 300F for two hours. I made eggs this morning and they just slid right off.

The 6" had less of a season and a little more rust. I used a salt scrub in the hot skillet and that seemed to take off a lot of rust. It got the two hour bacon grease treatment but I haven't tried it yet.

These Chinese models seem to have a more bumpy surface in the iron than I remember from my mother's American products. I can see why the old stuff is so highly valued. Still they seem to work OK.

 

[Bigbng]

This one is a 10", and I think it is a "Belleville" model. This weekend I'll be out scouring..........

 

[Caplock50]

Scott Mayland quoted:
The way my grandmother cleaned her pans was to build a fire out doors and put the pan in the fire and burn it clean. this can be done in a fire place as well.

And the upside to this method is that with the same fire, you can 'cure' it. Build your fire; put the pan in it and leave it in until it turns white(the gummy blackstuff turned to ash). Remove it; and let it cool. Once it is cool enough to handle; coat it with lard and reheat it, but don't burn it. Repeat the lard coating and baking several times or until it is smooth and shiney. Once it is cured *never*, absolutely never, use soap on it or you will have to cure it all over again. Just wipe it out with a cloth or paper towel, and it is ready for the next cooking. If you have to boil water in your cast iron, it will have to be cured afterwards because that will 'cook' the oil out of the metal and things will stick to it. Just ask me. I've used cast iron all my life and right now I have 12 cast iron pans, two pots and two lids. A couple of weeks ago, the landlord stopped by on his way to the garbage dump to see if there was anything in the load I might want. I spied an old cast iron fry pan and pulled it out. It was all rusted and nasty. He said it had laid out back of his shop for a couple of years in the dirt. I just used it this morning to fry my eggs and bacon in. Properly cured cast iron is slicker than teflon.