Cast iron pan help

[pmer]

I brought home three Wagner cast iron pans from a flea market and they black and kinda sticky to the the touch. We are new to cooking with cast iron. Should we just scrub with hot water, oil and cook with them?

I can appreciate any tips. Pretty much just wondering if the sticky feel is normal when they are at room temperature.

[gbrown]

What I do with pots like that is put them in a grill or barbecue pit you can get up to about 400 degrees and bake them for several hours until you cook all the old oil/grease and stuff to carbon. It's best to do it outside because the smell can irritate some people. Doesn't bother me, but others around here start whining about it. Then take a wire brush or drill motor with a wire wheel to them to clean all the old stuff off. Once you are satisfied with it (it usually takes me a couple of days because I get anal about it and do it several times), put about 1/8 cup of your preferred cooking oil in it. Get the pan and oil hot and then start rubbing it out with paper towels until you have a thin coat of oil on the pan and the paper towels come out clean. You may still have some light brown stuff on the towel, but for the most part it appears clean. You clean it after use the same way. Use a plastic scraper to remove cooked on particles, hot water, paper to wipe it out and then you can put it up or put a little oil in it to reseason it, using the paper towels to wipe out the excess. My grandmothers saved old newspapers to wipe theirs out with.

[STP22]

I found this helpful...

blackirondude.blogspot.com

[Castaholic]

I found this video a while back and it seemed like a pretty straight forward and easy way to clean up an old one. Hope it helps!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjgP-6W_YN4

[Kull]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjgP-6W_YN4

Heck....that pan is just getting seasoned, looks good. I used to worry myself more about cast iron care when I first started using it. Not so much anymore.

Do like gbrown said. Get it good and hot...oven, grill, stove top, whatever. Let most of the old oil burn off. Then what I do is while it's still hot take it over to the sink, fill it with an inch or so of hot tap water, and scrub like mad with a stiff nylon brush. As far as seasoning goes I think the best way is just use it.

[gkainz]

I just read a blog where the writer believes, after a bunch of research, that flaxseed oil is the best seasoning oil - hands down. Thoughts?

[oneokie]

I just read a blog where the writer believes, after a bunch of research, that flaxseed oil is the best seasoning oil - hands down. Thoughts?

Lard or peanut oil.

[Springfield]

What has worked well for me is to just save the bacon grease and use that to cook with. It is free, and seems to soak into the pan better. I can even lightly rinse my frying pan in hot soapy water and the pan still comes out oily, just don't scrub it with soapy water. Unless I have over cooked something I usually just wipe it out with a paper towel.

[FISH4BUGS]

Burn all the old **** off as others have said. I would then use olive oil to season and preserve the cast iron pans. I have no hesitation to use them, scrub them with brillo pad, then let them dry, then put a light coat of olive oil on them. Works like a charm....but if you wait, they will start to rust on you. You can air dry or paper towel dry them....but get that oil on them ASAP!

[gbrown]

Soap to coffe pots/cast iron pots/pans is like garlic to a vampire. I got some beef tips in a rich gravy going on the stove in Mom's old Griswold. When done, a little hot water, quick scrub with a nylon bristle brush and wipe out with paper towels--back to the cabinet. I watched the video of the lady with the oven clean cycle and firebrick. Seemed to work well. I just wish the ones I have gotten were that lightly used. The last one I did was a Martin Stove and Range 8 quart that looked like 5 miles of bad road. Took about 15 hours. As said, maybe I'm a little too anal, but it works for me.

[Moonie]

I use flaxseed oil currently, I've used other things in the past. Right now my process is to put a thin coating of flaxseed oil and put it in the grill at around 500 for an hour. Do at least 5 times, this builds a great polymerized cooking surface. Ask the guys in the boolit lube section about polymerizing oils, it works great.

[John Allen]

I second the olive oil. I use it on my pans. I heat the pan and put the olive oil on and just let it cool down on the stove top. The oil will all but disappear.

[Whiterabbit]

Not a drop of soap. Not. One. Drop. Ever.

I don't like olive oil though. If I use the pan once a week then its a non issue, but if I let it set awhile it gets gummy as noted. I prefer to use ghee. It NEVER goes rancid and it NEVER gets sticky. Slick as the day I put it on.

I oil with nothing but ghee these days. Makes a good popcorn topper too.

[Char-Gar]

No sticky is not normal. It is old oil put there to keep the utensil from rusting. With old cast iron, I will give it a good scrubbing with hot water and soap (yes soap). I will place it on top of the stove on medium to dry it thoroughly. I then re-oil with olive oil and cook. Thereafter I only scrap and if necessary wash in hot water and dry on the stove and re-oil. No soap after the first time.

On really nasty and crusty used cast iron, I have been known to put a wire brush/cup on a hand held electric drill to get it off. You really can't hurt these things.

Thirty five years ago, I washed a deep cast iron chicken fryer and put it on the stove to dry. I forgot about it and went to bed. I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and noticed an eerie glow coming from the kitchen. I went in these and the chicken fryer was glowing cherry red. I turned off the stove and went back to bed. I had to scrape off the ash and re-season but I am still using it today.

There is much nonsense written about seasoning cast iron and I have done it all in prior years, but nothing works any better than heating it up on the stove, wiping on some grease or oil and letting it cool. Now, just cook and time will take care of the rest. In due time it will get coal black and as slick as Teflon.

It doesn't matter what kind of oil or grease you use. Just remember that some of the vegetable oils has a much lower flash point and others. This is the reason you don't want to fry with olive oil. I cook with olive oil and wipe it on a warm cast iron pot, but I will not fry with it, bit time fire hazard.

[Whiterabbit]

with OLD cast iron, I will do the same. No telling what the previous owner did, and scrub hard enough, the nice built up layer will flake off. Game over, start over. soap it off.

I'll never wirewheel though. only scotchbrite. I want it as polished as possible.

[scottiemom]

I just read a blog where the writer believes, after a bunch of research, that flaxseed oil is the best seasoning oil - hands down. Thoughts?

Crisco solid shortening

[Lead Fred]

When we get old crusty ones, we throw them into the fire pit, burn off all the gunk, and season them with olive oil.

[JRPVT]

We use grape seed oil, it has a higher flash point. Bake it in at 500 deg. for an hour, wipe off excess. Never use soap.

[DIRT Farmer]

I bought a nice Griswald stove top dutch oven at a flea market when I was camping. I just tossed it in the camp fire, the next morning it was a grey metal color, cooked bacon in it for breackfast, then hamburgers for lonch. It was good to go.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I brought home three Wagner cast iron pans from a flea market and they black and kinda sticky to the the touch. We are new to cooking with cast iron. Should we just scrub with hot water, oil and cook with them?
I can appreciate any tips. Pretty much just wondering if the sticky feel is normal when they are at room temperature.
Just so you know, it's common practice (in MN anyway) for antique collector/sellers to coat cast iron cookware with linseed oil for long storage.

So, I'd follow Char-Gar's REAL GOOD advice below, If the "sticky" oil doesn't wash off with hot water and soap, I'd either try mineral spirits, murphy's oil soap, or a campfire.

I am sure Char-Gar is right about it not mattering, the choice of oil/grease...But I prefer the Fat of the Hog !!!
(Bear grease is number 2)


No sticky is not normal. It is old oil put there to keep the utensil from rusting. With old cast iron, I will give it a good scrubbing with hot water and soap (yes soap). I will place it on top of the stove on medium to dry it thoroughly. I then re-oil with olive oil and cook. Thereafter I only scrap and if necessary wash in hot water and dry on the stove and re-oil. No soap after the first time.

On really nasty and crusty used cast iron, I have been known to put a wire brush/cup on a hand held electric drill to get it off. You really can't hurt these things.

Thirty five years ago, I washed a deep cast iron chicken fryer and put it on the stove to dry. I forgot about it and went to bed. I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and noticed an eerie glow coming from the kitchen. I went in these and the chicken fryer was glowing cherry red. I turned off the stove and went back to bed. I had to scrape off the ash and re-season but I am still using it today.

There is much nonsense written about seasoning cast iron and I have done it all in prior years, but nothing works any better than heating it up on the stove, wiping on some grease or oil and letting it cool. Now, just cook and time will take care of the rest. In due time it will get coal black and as slick as Teflon.

It doesn't matter what kind of oil or grease you use. Just remember that some of the vegetable oils has a much lower flash point and others. This is the reason you don't want to fry with olive oil. I cook with olive oil and wipe it on a warm cast iron pot, but I will not fry with it, bit time fire hazard.

[pmer]

Great! Thanks everyone for all help. The 12" pan cleaned up real nice with a nylon brush and hot soapy water. Then we coated it with olive oil. The 8" pan is not as clean but is cooking eggs good. And the 6" one still needs care.
I never seen such a smooth finish in a pan as the big one has. They must sand them at the factory I suppose.

[Whiterabbit]

I never seen such a smooth finish in a pan as the big one has. They must sand them at the factory I suppose.

Treat that pan like it was one of your fine guns. Money can't buy pans as polished as that. Your $25 lodge isn't even close, looks bead blasted. Your $100-$200 le cruset cast iron is better, but not of the caliber as your antique. It's worth caring for and passing down. I have two such pans. One I keep more well seasoned than any other pan in my house, the other I keep RIDICULOUSLY scrubbed clean and dry and COMPLETELY unseasoned, and I use it for no other purpose than to sear scallops.

[Petrol & Powder]

If it is sticky the there's too much oil on it or the oil is rancid. I've run into that issue with second hand cast iron cookware but it's very fixable. Do what the other posters have advised. Clean it really well, heat it and oil it with a LIGHT coating of oil. I like peanut oil but just about anything will work. The trick is to get the oil into the pores of the hot, dry clean iron. The surface just needs a thin coat of oil to seal it, too much will cause problems.
Everyone has their own seasoning method but the bottom line is hot pan + thin coating of oil. Well seasoned cast iron will beat most other cookware and once you get it "right" you'll never go back to anything else.

[ryan28]

A good way to get all the old carbon off is spray the pan with oven cleaner and put in a plastic bag for a week. Take it out and rinse well, most of the gunk will come off easily with a stainless steel scrubby. If there is any left, give it another round of oven cleaner.
Season after.
I don't know what has been in the pan before I get them, could be anything, motor oil, paint etc. The oven cleaner gets rid of it, and there is no risk of damaging the smooth surface with a wire wheel.

[TXGunNut]

I "clean" old cast iron by putting it in the oven and setting it to "clean" and then find something to do outside for a few hours. As soon as it cools I coat it with vegetable oil and season it according to the Lodge website. Old iron is worth the trouble, as you've found it's smoother and just seems to cook better.

[Rick N Bama]

A good way to get all the old carbon off is spray the pan with oven cleaner and put in a plastic bag for a week. Take it out and rinse well, most of the gunk will come off easily with a stainless steel scrubby. If there is any left, give it another round of oven cleaner.
Season after.
I don't know what has been in the pan before I get them, could be anything, motor oil, paint etc. The oven cleaner gets rid of it, and there is no risk of damaging the smooth surface with a wire wheel.

I've no doubt that it'll clean the pan just fine, but how in the world are you going to get all of that gunky cleaner out of the pores in the Iron?

You can clean it a lot faster & safer in the oven on the cleaning cycle or in the BBQ while running a hot fire. I've even cleaned several in a brush pile fire and a camp fire.

Rick

[fatnhappy]

you don't need to Rick. Sodium Hydroxide or Potassium Hydroxide will simply wash off with hot water. I've done the oven cleanner in the ziplock bag a couple times. It works fine and the pans reseason without any issue whatsoever. I wound up with a bunch of wagners I cleaned in exactly that manner.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/003-13.jpg (http://s63.photobucket.com/user/lhsjfk3t/media/003-13.jpg.html)

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/002-15.jpg (http://s63.photobucket.com/user/lhsjfk3t/media/002-15.jpg.html)

[gbrown]

We all have our ways of doing things, some would not agree with us, others would. For most of us, it is the way that we found that "works" for us. I would not disagree with any methods given on this thread. Some sound good, some I wouldn't use, just not my way. This thread did prompt me to get out an old cast iron pot, actually it is about a 3 quart dutch oven, with a lid that can double as a skillet. No markings on it, but rather unique. It looks really old, not like the fine Wagner or Griswold. Along the lips you can see pits that appear to have happened during the casting process. Like "blow-outs" in welding when you have foreign material in the metal. It had been sitting outside with water in it when I got it at a garage sale--looked like it had been there a long time--I almost didn't get it, but the lady offered the 2 pieces to me for $5.00. I figured, oh well, just a lot of elbow grease. Surprisingly, when I used the wire wheels this morning, the rust came right off, and you could see the old seasoning under it, still intact. Smooth as a new born baby's butt. Getting ready to fire up the oven (everybody's gone).

[Rick N Bama]

you don't need to Rick. Sodium Hydroxide or Potassium Hydroxide will simply wash off with hot water. I've done the oven cleanner in the ziplock bag a couple times. It works fine and the pans reseason without any issue whatsoever. I wound up with a bunch of wagners I cleaned in exactly that manner.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/003-13.jpg (http://s63.photobucket.com/user/lhsjfk3t/media/003-13.jpg.html)

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/002-15.jpg (http://s63.photobucket.com/user/lhsjfk3t/media/002-15.jpg.html)

Well dang! We're never too old to learn I guess. I would have never dreamed of using something as caustic as Oven Cleaner on a fine piece of CI! I stand corrected[smilie=b:

Rick

[mroliver77]

There is a bamboo brush for cleaning steel woks that is great for cast iron. I use wax paper on fresh clean cast. I also have a griddle stone for polishing. To me seasoned is having a good smooth carbon coat. Once established and taken care of the cook like heaven.
An old sticky one heated up, oiled well, then scrubbed with a newspaper takes the old gummy stuff right off.

I have been to eat at peoples house before and could taste soap residue. Yukk!!

J

[blackthorn]

For rusted pans (such as those mentioned), use citric acid bath!! I got an old cast lead pot (holds about 20 pounds) that had been sitting outside and had a good 1/8" of heavy rust all over it. I put it in a bucket with enough hot water to cover it, dumped in a tablespoon of citric acid and let it sit. In 24 hours there was rust hanging off that pot like spanish moss off trees! In 48 hours I pulled out a perfectly clean cast pot. wiped a little oil over it to prevent any recurring rust---good to go!

[waksupi]

When you use oven cleaner, you are basically using lye as the cleaner. The lye mixes with the old oils in the steel, and forms soap.

[25-06]

how about seasoning actual pans that have wooden handles on them?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

how about seasoning actual pans that have wooden handles on them?
should be the same.

Got a photo ?
Are you talkin' a plain "Steel" pan instead of a cast iron pan.
I have two plain steel pans...one is for popcorn, the other is a long handled [lightweight] fry pan for use over a campfire for fish...both have been seasoned like I season cast iron.

[gbrown]

should be the same.

Got a photo ?
Are you talkin' a plain "Steel" pan instead of a cast iron pan.
I have two plain steel pans...one is for popcorn, the other is a long handled [lightweight] fry pan for use over a campfire for fish...both have been seasoned like I season cast iron.

+1 on that. I have a wok I bought back in the late '70s or early '80s that is made of rolled steel. I have used it (not as much as I used to) and treated it just like CI. Even though I haven't used it in about 2 years and it sits in a bottom corner cabinet, it has a brown patina on it and shows no sign of rust.