My dad brought up that Cast Iron skillet

[DaMadman]

incident again this past weekend.

For those who never caught the story. When I was a kid Mom and Dad had a brand new set of cast iron skillets. They never burned off the coating that was on them to keep them from rusting and they cooked Pork and Beans in them and I ate both large cans of beans by myself all the while claiming they were the best bean I ever ate. Nobody else like the taste of the cast Iron coating I guess.....

Anyway Somehow or another Dad brought up the story this weekend and we had a laugh.

I guess that is why I have always had such a Cast Iron Stomach :D

[Nulle]

I have a couple of those I have picked up here and there and they rust so suppose they were not taken care of right when new also. Are they beyond repair ?

[Jack]

Nulle, as long as they aren't rusted thru, you can probably salvage them.
I've used a wire brush chucked in a drill to knock the rust off, then season the pan like it's a new pan, and the pans have worked fine.
The ones I've done had surface rust, but no deep pits, etc.

[Nulle]

Thanks they are in good shape other then the rust film they get.

[DaMadman]

Originally posted by Nulle
Thanks they are in good shape other then the rust film they get.

I had one that I picked up somewhere that has about an 1/8 inch of rust flaking in the bottom.

I did exactly what Jack said and used a round wire brush in a drill, cleaned it out really well and then I sanded it with medium then fine grit emery paper, Heat and oil, heat and oil.

To keep the cast iron skillets from rusting in the future anytime you cook in them and then clean them, after cleaning, immediately put it back on the stove and heat it until it is dry, pour a teaspoon or two of olive oil in it and wipe it around with a paper towel until the pan is fully coated with a very fine film of oil.


I only use olive oil because vegitable oil and other oils like corn oil always seem to get sticky after they sit for a few days.

[polo]

We use cast iron all the time, when they get bad we take to a local shop and the guy sand blasts the rust crud and built up crust off and we clean and steel wool the inside and reseason in the oven with a thin coat of cooking grease coated all over then wipe out with paper towels before storing, worked for over 30 years for us.

[Cossack]

Know what you mean. I once complimented a new brand of salt my mom bought as the best I had ever tasted.