seasoning cast iron

[spacemule]

I've always washed my cast iron with soap and water after each use, then rubbed it down with oil. Now I'm reading that this isn't proper and you're supposed to just rinse it off after use. Not using soap seems unsanitary to me. Thoughts?

 

[teacherman]

I've always washed my cast iron with soap and water after each use, then rubbed it down with oil. Now I'm reading that this isn't proper and you're supposed to just rinse it off after use. Not using soap seems unsanitary to me. Thoughts?

I can't believe I am spending my 3000th post on this. No do not use soap on these unless you like eating rust.

1. Heat up the pan after use. Pour in a small qty of water, say, 1/4 cup.

2. Scrape with metal spatula while water is boiling like mad. This is called "deglazing," and is a source of seriously good sauce, provided the crud in the pan is not from possum guts or equivalent.

3. Hold pan under running water while using a dish brush to brush out remaining loose crud.

4. Put pan back on stove. Heat it up, and put some grease in it. let it heat up, then let it cool with grease in it. Then wipe it out with a paper towel or yer sleeve, or whatever. The best seasoning grease is animal fat like beef tallow, but veg. oil will work too. Heating opens the pores and lets the oil get in the pores, and cooling locks the oil in the pores. Pan will act almost like a teflon if you do it right.

Since this is a chainsaw forum you can use bar oil, but it is best to use GaryGoo for this purpose......:greenchainsaw:


So whut's fer dinner?

 

[ericjeeper]

I never use soap on my griswalds

I just soak it in pure water, wipe it out. Then heat it on stove top to dry it entirely.

 

[Roy Cobb]

lodge cast iron

Try this http://www.lodgemfg.com/

 

[spacemule]

Mods, can you move this to the right forum? I inadvertently put it here. Thanks guys.

 

[spacemule]

I can't believe I am spending my 3000th post on this. No do not use soap on these unless you like eating rust.

1. Heat up the pan after use. Pour in a small qty of water, say, 1/4 cup.

2. Scrape with metal spatula while water is boiling like mad. This is called "deglazing," and is a source of seriously good sauce, provided the crud in the pan is not from possum guts or equivalent.

3. Hold pan under running water while using a dish brush to brush out remaining loose crud.

4. Put pan back on stove. Heat it up, and put some grease in it. let it heat up, then let it cool with grease in it. Then wipe it out with a paper towel or yer sleeve, or whatever. The best seasoning grease is animal fat like beef tallow, but veg. oil will work too. Heating opens the pores and lets the oil get in the pores, and cooling locks the oil in the pores. Pan will act almost like a teflon if you do it right.

Since this is a chainsaw forum you can use bar oil, but it is best to use GaryGoo for this purpose......:greenchainsaw:


So whut's fer dinner?

So, I take it you clean it with heat instead of soap? Fer dinner? Thinking about fried chicken.

 

[teacherman]

So, I take it you clean it with heat instead of soap? Fer dinner? Thinking about fried chicken.

The heat is to get it hot enough to boil the water immediately. The boiling is what cleans it. Cat's a$$ clean. I have some old skillets that haven't seen soap in many years. No problem. If you deglaze after cooking a burger with spices, etc., you get a sauce that is real darn tasty. gourmett type folks do this a lot.

 

[spacemule]

Cat's a$$ clean. I have some old skillets that haven't seen soap in many years.

I got to ask, how clean is a cat's ass?

 

[woodbooga]

I just soak it in pure water, wipe it out. Then heat it on stove top to dry it entirely.

Same here. I've rehabbed some rusties using the technique teacherman describes.

Nothing beats a skilletful of panfried potatoes cooked in an old Griswold. Better and cheaper than buying new. $1/inch is the rule of thumb round here. There was a time a while ago when the market was hot and they were commanding top dollar. But that's simmered down for quite some time.

 

[spacemule]

Same here. I've rehabbed some rusties using the technique teacherman describes.

Nothing beats a skilletful of panfried potatoes cooked in an old Griswold. Better and cheaper than buying new. $1/inch is the rule of thumb round here. There was a time a while ago when the market was hot and they were commanding top dollar. But that's simmered down for quite some time.

Where do you find used cast iron?

 

[GASoline71]

Use Stihl bio-bar oil to season cast iron...works for me...

Gary

 

[woodbooga]

Where do you find used cast iron?

Yard sales, barn sales, 2nd hand shops, etc.

Best to hit the sales 1st thing in the a.m. While they're still setting up. Offer to lend a hand - get a sneak peak before the other early birders.

Also (and I've also had better luch with this strategy) the end of the day - between 1pm and 3pm. No one wants to lug back all of the unsold crap. Buyers' market.

Also, there are fewer yard salers about. They tend to swarm like sea gulls at the dump 1st thing. At the end of the day, you can have a good chat with the homeowner, get a sense of some of the other unwanted items they didn't bring out.

I've been in more attics, barns, cellars and back forties than I can remember.

Helps to have a gift of gab. And to be unthreatening of demeanor. Like me.

 

[PB]

Where do you find used cast iron?

Antique stores. They are all over around here.


Griswold was made in Erie PA, my hometown.

 

[woodbooga]

Antique stores. They are all over around here.


Griswold was made in Erie PA, my hometown.

There too. You'll pay more than a buck an inch. Though the antiques market is among the first to suffer when the economy's heading south. It's been soft for about 5 years.

 

[howellhandmade]

I use cast iron skillets for frying food. If a skillet is properly seasoned to begin with, very little will stick. What does stick can be scrubbed out with a scouring pad or brush and hot water. No soap, that removes the seasoning. The germicidal properties of soap are often overstated, in my opinion. Soap is mainly an emulsifier -- it breaks up oils and makes it easier for contaminants to be removed by water. Besides, if there is a germ that can survive frying, it will laugh at soap.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_does_soap_work_to_clean_things

Presuming that this thread will find its way to OT . . .

Jack

 

[Rea's Dad]

Used Cast Iron

Where do you find used cast iron?

In lieu of the recent post on why do we read and not post, I thought I would give it a shot. I don't know a ton about saws, but know cast iron. And yes, until 2 years ago, I thought that my 028 that my father had given me b/c it had a bad crank in it was all the saw I would ever need!

Woodbooga was right on where to find them. Estate Sales/ Auctions are the best I have found. Of course my 88 year old Grandmother has given me several old pieces and they are just better. They are much thinner, lighter and more handy.

By the way, she still sits on her backporch in downtown Nashville and makes lye soap within sight of Vanderbilt University. She has lived there for 70 years after moving from our family farm so my Grandfather could be closer to his work at the railroad. Even now, when she comes down to the home place, she uses the outhouse that has stood for over 100 years. She says 150 yards is just too far to my parents home. If I can be like her in 50 years, I will be very happy.

I live about 10 minutes from the Lodge Factory and they have a factory store that sells seconds and first runs. I do not know if they would ship or not. There are a few other factory stores- one I know is in Sevierville close to Gatlinburg. It would probably be cost prohibitive to ship, but the price of the seconds is MUCH, MUCH Less.

Seasoning is easy. Coat with oil and cook in the oven till it stinks up your whole house! My wife used to forget about the soap/water No-No until she got tired of smelling the oil cook off in the oven.

As a side note: The reason the older cast iron was much thinner is not because of use (although some of it is), it is because they were finished by hand. At the Lodge plant, they have a huge tumbler that they throw all of the pieces in to remove the excess casting material. The pots have to be thicker to withstand this abuse.

 

[Trigger-Time]

Mom, about once a year would put hers in the wood stove to brun it off.

 

[HimWill]

No soap(if you can find real soap these days)no detergent,just hot water and maybe a little salt for hard crusty places.Best to season with animal fat as was mentioned before.Pork fat seems to be the best to me,bacon grease or lard.Vegetable oil just doesn't work for me.I think it has to do with the temperature at which the oil burns,animal fat has a lower flashpoint.(I think Gary was kidding about the Stihl-Bio,at least I hope so.)

 

[scotclayshooter]

I got to ask, how clean is a cat's ass?

Im guessing it should be fairly clean, Judging by the amount of time our cat has its tongue rammed in its butt!

 

[csx7006]

Well when i get back from Lejeunistan, im getting my truck and i will make a stop at the lodge plant and get second hand cast irom for my maw.