How to Restore Cast Iron Cookware?

Big ego wrote:

mtn wrote:

Big ego wrote: is it really worthwhile saving, when you can buy new for less than $20?

Yes. Completely. A new one that costs $20 is a piece of junk.

o really? http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-L10SK3-12-Inch-Pre-Seasoned-Skillet/dp/B00006JSUB/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289820235&sr=8-1 Americas test kitchen did some tests and found this to have just about the same perfromance as any pan... vintage.. new.. old.. whatever.. for less than $20. Yes. I watch a lot of PBS.

Interesting... Something just got added to my Christmas/Birthday list, assuming it was made in USA

joey48442 wrote: Now heres one: My sisters 12 inch skillet picked up a bad flavor, and she cant get rid of it. Its makes anything cooked in it taste bad. Any ideas on how to shake the flavor? Or are we left with nothing to do except soap it up, scour it out and re-season? Joey

There's no hope for it, you should just send it to me

EastCoastMojo wrote:

joey48442 wrote: Now heres one: My sisters 12 inch skillet picked up a bad flavor, and she cant get rid of it. Its makes anything cooked in it taste bad. Any ideas on how to shake the flavor? Or are we left with nothing to do except soap it up, scour it out and re-season? Joey

There's no hope for it, you should just send it to me

I think shipping on that beast would cost as much as just buying a new one!

Joey

mtn wrote: Interesting... Something just got added to my Christmas/Birthday list, assuming it was made in USA

Most of the sutff is made in Tennessee.

I've used the pans, the surface is rough to start. I mean I'm sure your grandma's skillet wasn't as butter smooth as it is now when it was new. Sand casting is a beeotch.

http://www.stillmadeinusa.com/kitchen.html <--- lodge is listed there.

Silly question: how do you clean said pan after it is seasoned? ie kill germs

In reply to Timeormoney:

Heat.

I'm not a fan of Lodge when I can get good old stuff for so cheap at yard sales.

My granny has a cast iron cornbread mold pan that has pockets shaped like corn. I've eaten cornbread from that pan since I was a kid.

She wisely refuses to sweeten her cornbread, every time I go somewhere and get sweet cornbread I seriously consider smacking the cook upside the head with it.

This is a GRMS board right? There are gear heads on here, aren't there?

Get out your blaster or your grinder with a wire wheel, or your vinegar soak or your electrolysis bucket.

Don't go thinking girly kitchen repairs, this is a hunk of iron, think appropriately!

foxtrapper wrote: This is a GRMS board right? There are gear heads on here, aren't there? Get out your blaster or your grinder with a wire wheel, or your vinegar soak or your electrolysis bucket. Don't go thinking girly kitchen repairs, this is a hunk of iron, think appropriately!

Amen, brother.

foxtrapper wrote: This is a GRMS board right? There are gear heads on here, aren't there? Get out your blaster or your grinder with a wire wheel, or your vinegar soak or your electrolysis bucket. Don't go thinking girly kitchen repairs, this is a hunk of iron, think appropriately!

Funny, I was wandering through the hardware store and came across a wire-brush drill accessory. A few dollars later and it's mine.

The skillet will be a break-in project, but there are many other things that will incur it's wrath.

In reply to Jensenman:

THIS!

Corn bread is NOT a sweet food. You chop up green onions and eat it with milk.

foxtrapper wrote: This is a GRMS board right? There are gear heads on here, aren't there? Get out your blaster or your grinder with a wire wheel, or your vinegar soak or your electrolysis bucket. Don't go thinking girly kitchen repairs, this is a hunk of iron, think appropriately!

Evaporust ought to do the trick!

Hmm, I want make the switch to cast iron, I'm just shy of the upkeep.

Buy Lodge, it is good stuff. Even if you only use it for cooking bacon, sausage, country ham, gravy or cornbread. To think of it, what other foods really matter??

lizard wrote: Nobody here knows what naval jelly is?

if it's anything like toe jam mine probably has too much lint to be useful. I hae liked my Lodge pans. I have no old ones to inherit so I hae to break some in to hand down

lizard wrote: Nobody here knows what naval jelly is?

I do, and that's why I didn't recommend it.

Seriously, it's slower and more expensive than vinegar or muratic acid soaks.

OK, I am reviving this ancient thread to ask if anyone here has a forge and has attempted to repair a (slightly) warped cast iron skillet before. I bought a nice Griswold pan for a steal, but is has a little warp that keeps it from sitting flat on my smooth top range.

Online research shows that if you heat it to white hot and then press it in a hydraulic press using steel plates that fit inside the pan that it could be flattened.

This is GRM. Surely someone has a forge and a hydraulic press laying around.

If its thick enough you could mill it flat.

Media blast it, oil it, bake it.

Just like new.

(edit) Dang. Missed the necro-update.

The trouble with removing material is that will make it even thinner in the middle of the pan, which will make it more prone to warping once it gets heated again.

I may just have to relegate this pan to grill and camping use. And of course, decor. It is a beautiful pan.

You could always roll your own!

http://backyardmetalcasting.com/ironcasting01.html

If it's light surface rust, you can do a lot with a tablespoon or two of salt and a bit of veggie oil. Just a soft-core version of scrubbing with sand.

I need to try reseasoning my pans, no matter what I do I cant get them to be non stick.

Enyar, how long are you letting the pans preheat before you add the food? Do you wipe a little olive oil over the surface before you heat them up?

My cast iron is old and therefore lighter than the newer stuff, but it still takes about 10 minutes to preheat thoroughly. I preheat on low to medium low, even if I will be cooking on a higher heat, just to make sure the pan is brought up to temp gradually. This helps prevent warping and hot spots. Wiping the pan with a bit of oil will make sure the surface is slick, not thirsty, and therefore less likely to have food stick to it. In the case of bacon, I flip it a LOT, like a whole lot, when I am cooking it on the stovetop. I often use the oven for bacon, it just depends on what else I have cooking at the same time.

What kinds of foods are you having the worst issue with? Is the surface of you pan (inside) a smooth, even dark color or is it blotchy looking? If blotchy, it may be that the seasoning was not thorough enough or that it got damaged with the initial food sticking issue and it may need to be reseasoned. I have had to reseason some pans several times before they are truly non-stick.

In reply to Enyar:

Get it smoking hot, then rub olive oil into it, make hash browns and other high heat stuff. Also, use a metal spatula.