Re-seasoning Cast Iron

[Jafo]

I opened my cast iron dutch oven the last time I was up at camp and just noticed that the seasoning was flaking and it just looked horrible. It is a Lodge brand, so not a huge family heirloom or anything, but still a nice pot. I took it home and soaked the lid and pot in hot soapy water and scrubbed it with a wire brush. I removed as much of the seasoning as I could and when I was done, I put the two pieces in the oven (375 degrees) and let them dry for a few minutes.

While the pieces were still warm, I drizzled canola oil on them and rubbed them down with paper towels until completely coated. I went over again with clean paper towels and wiped off the excess so there was just a very thin layer of oil. I baked both pieces upside down in the oven for about an hour and then shut it off and let it cool down in the oven for about 2 hours. Once cool, I repeated the oiling and baked it again for an hour. It came out great!

I love cast iron for cooking. If you take care of it, you can pass the pieces down to your children. They are naturally non-stick (when seasoned properly) and distribute heat better than most other types of cookware. One thing I really like about them is the minimal clean up. You rarely use soap on cast iron because it washes the seasoning off. You just rinse it out, and dry it off, then add a little oil and heat the cookware up on the stove until it smokes, and you are done. While at my yurt camp, water is limited, so this cleaning method is ideal.

Anyway, just thought I would share.

- Jeff

[Dan R-M]

Nice!
There are two other resources I've seen lately touching on cast-iron. One is Countryside magazine, and the other is a social-networking site for sustainability-minded folks, Earthineer. And we have a friend who visited with her boyfriend who, she told us, has a copper scratch-pad and towel that he uses to clean his cast-iron that have never been used on anything else.
It takes all kinds to make a world!