This Way To My Blog

This Way To My Blog

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Don't ya just love iron skillets?

When I got married in 1956 at my wedding shower I received a set of three different sizes of iron skillets. That was one of the most useful gifts and I cooked many a meal in them. I took care of them and cherished them but now for some reason they have burned grease build-up on them. I guess that is what you would call it. It seems I have read that you can put them in a fire and burn this build-up off. We don't have a bon-fire, marsh mellow roast, or even barbeque anymore. So my question is---does anyone know a way to renew these wonderful skillets a fairly simple way? I know they would have to be re-seasoned and I know how to do that. Thanks for reading and if you have a hint double thanks.

17 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

i have some gunk on mine, but don't have a hint for you. it's been a long time since i've used mine. should get them out and re-season. thanks.

jack69 said...

Cannot help you , but my best friend Sonny was so proud of his new sand blaster he cleaned his wife's cast irons, just about got a divorce out of it. LOL

I think Mama used to burn hers, but not sure....

jack69 said...

We still use ours and have never done anything for them...

Dar said...

I LOVE my cast iron pieces. I found a nice big pan once at a garage sale for a quarter. The gunk in the bottom of it and the rust were the only things wrong with it. After a lot of elbow grease,(muscle builder), and a scraper, I finally got most of the gunk out. Then a little sandpaper, and finally I seasoned it and have been using it ever since. I even bake pies in mine.
I read somewhere that you can even leave a gunky pan by an ant hill and they'll do the work for you. One guy even used sand. They all seemed to work. Good luck with that pan of yours. They are treasures.

Dar said...

oh, and salt. but never, ever use detergents but you know that.
:)

TARYTERRE said...

It's nice to still have your skillets. I have no advice to offer.

Jean said...

I have 3 cast iron frying pans and my husband burned them off in a fire, but that's been a long time ago, I use them when I cook corn bread and I put my pie's ( in the pie crust pan) in them to bake and they brown so much better. I would say if there's away you could have a fire and put them in it they would be as good as new.

Paula said...

Dar there are lots of red ant dens at the ranch. Humm I'm afraid to leave it out there. Jean that is what I thought I read about the fire but I can't have a fire here in town. Maybe if I can remember the next time John burns some brush. Thanks everyone.

Jon said...

I've heard of so many different ways to clean an old cast iron skillet that I don't know what to believe.

You could put it in a self-cleaning oven - but many people don't have a self-cleaning oven (I don't).

I heard that you could thoroughly spray it with oven cleaner, seal it in a huge zip-lock plastic bag overnight, and then scrub it (wearing gloves, of course)

I also heard that you could put several teaspoons of salt in it and scrub it with a large piece of raw potato. That sounds weird.

Steel wool, sandpaper, baking soda. I truly don't know if any of these suggestions would work.

Chatty Crone said...

Okay I am honest - my daughter bought me one years ago and I ruined it. :(

Lori said...

I love my cast iron skillets! My mom used to use baking soda and salt. And when mine got bad, Thomas took a blow torch and burned the gunk off.

Lucy said...

I have never had a cast iron skillet but mom did. The best fried potatoes ever. But would not have the faintest idea how to clean gunk off of them.

Paula said...

Humm Lori I like that blow torch idea. Right down to the nitty gritty.

Hootin Anni said...

My mom used sand. And then my dad would make a campfire and burn 'em. Then she would sand again. I really don't know if it worked or not. But they both 'swore' that cast iron was the best cooking utensil ever.

Lynne said...

I wonder if coke would do it? I mean it disenegrates (sp?) a copper penny. lol

Lynne said...

I found a good article on "re-seasoning" cast iron skillets, you can do it with your own oven. Here is the link: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-season-a-cast-iron-skil-107614

Melanie said...

you can look up how to do this...you can put it in a self cleaning oven....place your pan on a coffee cup on the bottom of the oven and put you pan on top of the cup...aAND RUN THE CLEANING CYCLE