Refurbishing old dutch ovens

Makes sense to me.

 

[Trina]

never seen oil spoil or become rancid.

Thats the main thing is you dont want the oil to become rancid Some oils go rancid quicker then others...and if you use your dutch ovens alot you dont really have to worry about it going rancid :winking:

 

[W. Moose]

i buy these old pots at yard sales etc.....i get me a good oak and hickory fire and burn the crud off, after they cool, wash with mild dish soap, and dry and rub down with good cooking oil with a clean rag (not paper towel) and set on fish cooker and let heat up and repeat the cooking oil step about 3 more times.....then you are ready to cook.....enjoy those old cast iron pots!!!!!!!

 

I'm going to be getting a couple of old dutch ovens from a guy and was wondering what the best way to get the old "crud" off them might be?I have heard that you can put them in the oven and run the self cleaning cycle to bake the crud off then reseason them.Any other tips?Not sure how bad they are but will be getting them tomorrow.(If my buddy does'nt forget[url] them...again[/url])

I used to set up at the local flea markets. On ocassion I would run across Griswold pots and pans. If they were cheap, I would buy them and set them aside until I had an ovenful. When I had enough, and the Ex would be gone for more than a couple of hours, I would load up the oven and set it to self clean. After the oven cycled, I'd wipe the iron down with seasame oil and take them to the flea. Other sellers would snatch them up cause them looked foundry new.

Another way to clean a cast iron pot or skillet is to fill the kitchen sink with hot water, mix in a quarter of a jar of spaghetti sauce, and let soak overnight. The piece will generally look foundry new in the morning. My Ex taught me this by accident, when she use my best skillet for spaghetti sauce and left it soaking in the dishwater over night. :shake: Now, you know why she's my Ex!

Just :m2c:

 

[soquili]

Skillets that see a lot more use just get a wipe with a paper towel with some lard on it while they're still warm.

I wash mine with warm (not hot, I don't like scalded hands) soapy water, but I don't leave them soaking in it overnight. Just swish some soapy water around in/on it, scrub with one of those plastic scrubby things or a scrub brush if it needs it, rinse well with hot water, wipe dry immediately, and set it on the stove and turn the burner on low till ALL the water evaporates from it (3 to 5 minutes or until it starts to smoke, watch it). Then take a wadded-up paper towel and dip it in Crisco (solid, not oil) and wipe the skillet down with that, inside and out, while it is warm. Let cool and stick it in the cabinet. I live in a humid area and mine never rust like that.

Never try to get all the black off, the black stuff is the seasoning. When the skillet is gray, that's when it comes off on your food, especially on eggs - gray eggs are never very appetizing, somehow...

I've used an oak fire to clean a real rusty old skillet that someone left in my renthouse - works well, plus fire cleans off any lingering cooties if you don't know where that skillet has been... ::
Patsy

 

[jrdavis]

read on the net that the best thing to clean one is to use COKE COLA fill er up and let set ...guy said it would take the crud out and be ready to apply the oil. I have not tried but I do know COKE will clean

 

[Trina]

Jrdavis, coke works very well.. I have used it.. as does vinegar, which is somewhat cheaper ::.

 

[dryfly]

Put them in the coals of your camp fire and "burn" the old gunk off. Clean them up with steel wool and scouring powder.
After you have them clean, re-season with a coat of peanut oil in a 350 degree oven.

 

[jrdavis]

makes one wonder what it does when you drink it!

 

[Trina]

makes one wonder what it does when you drink it!

I dont anymore!!!! :shocking: :haha:

 

[speedwayrobert]

A flea market dealer who specialized in cast ironware once told me that he used to build a large pile of wood and put all the ironware he had that needed cleaning on the wood pile, then set it on fire. The extreme heat from the fire cleaned the pots and skillets pretty well, up to the day when the fire was to hot and cracked a couple of dozen pieces. He said that someone told him to put ironware that was badly carboned up into a plastic container with enough water to cover them and put in 1/4 cup or more (not critical) of lye, available in most groceries. The pots need to soak for days, or weeks, depending. There is no odor, just be carefull not to spill the container. From time to time remove one of the pots and rinse it in cold water,hit it a couple of licks with a brillo pad, if the carbon is still adhering, put it back in to container for a while longer. I've used this method sucessfully for yearson a large number of items. Once the skillet or whatever is clean, rinse it throughly in running water then wash it in hot soapy water. This is the only time you should use soap. Rinse competely in hot water and set on LOW heat on the range to dry. Once all the mosture is gone, grease the interior with cooking oil, shorting or whatever. After use, just rinse out the interior with water. Any food particals that are stuborn will come out with a plastic scrub pad or a WOODEN scraper. A really well seasoned pot will be a joy; nothing sticks to it. Some foods will remove the seasoning, tomatos being one of them.

 

[mysticguido]

Wow I'm way different.. I had a old cast iron pan that was old and nasty, I took a wire brush to it ( not the ones you use with a drill ) I got everything off it right down till it looked almost new. Then cleaned it with hot soapy water, then put it in the oveb @ 200 deg's for 15 minutes. I then rubbed Veg oil all over & inside, then back in the oven again @ 200 deg's this time for 2 hrs... let it cool down slowly...