Cast Iron Dutch Oven
12/05/99 - Placed my cast iron Dutch oven into service today making ChefRD's Egg Chili. I even followed the directions from Lodge (the manufacturer) for seasoning - covered with melted shortening inside and out, it spent 1 hour in the over at 350 degrees over a foil covered cookie sheet - I hate cleanup. Per ChefRD's suggestion, on the Egg, the bottom of the pot will always be covered by foil -- again to eliminate some of the cleanup. The picture on the left show a metal top, mine has a glass top. The picture on the right below shows the pot sitting on 2 fire bricks ready to BBQ the chili.
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Posted by RhumAndJerk on December 14, 1999 at 16:03:34:
In Reply to: Cast Iron Re-Seasoning posted by Nature Boy on December 14, 1999 at 14:52:28:
Nature Boy, Here is the process that I use to
clean my cast iron.
When it is time to clean the pan, I fill it two-thirds full of water and bring the water to a boil. Then I use something to scrape the bottom and sides to loosen the big chunks (I usually scrape with what I was stirring with). Then I take the pan with water over to the sink that has the hot water running. I then rinse the hot pot while using a green pad (the no soap variety).
I return the pan to the stove and wipe it inside and out with a dry paper towel. Next it put a little bit of oil on the bottom of the pan and spread it around with another paper towel. I finish by taking a third dry paper towel and removing any excess oil. I just oil the inside. I only oil the outside if I notice any rust spots. Normally, paper towel and oil are enough to remove any rust.
I keep my cast iron in the oven. The reason is two fold, when I put away a hot pot; it is out of the way of the kids. The second reason is that as the pan cools slowly, it absorbs the oil and does not leave a sticky film.
Hope this Helps,
RhumAndJerk
Posted by Spin on December 14, 1999 at 17:23:10:
In Reply to: Cast Iron Re-Seasoning posted by Nature Boy on December 14, 1999 at 14:52:28:
Nature Boy,
My Grandmother explained seasoning a CI pan in this manner (not quoting - I wish I could):
When you get hot, you sweat. Juices come out of you that you wouldn't want to eat. When you cool down, you stop sweating but the juices are still there waiting for come out again. Your new pan sweats flavor that you don't want to eat. Give it good tasting juice to sweat, and given time (and use), it will sweat good tasting juice.
Her method of seasoning used bacon grease. Heat the grease in the pan until you can flick a small amount of water on it and it will dance and sizzle (burning the fat was a big no-no). Allow the pan of grease to cool until just before the grease starts to thicken. Remove and discard the grease. Clean the pan according to R&Js method (below). A new pan would undergo this procedure several times as it was necessary to "bleed" the pan of its bad flavors. To quote my Grandmother "A pan can't sweat, it just bleeds".
Spin
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