How to clean and reseason rusty cast iron

[TheWoodman1948]

Nice! I agree with most all of this, but I use coarse salt to scrub out the pots first instead of soap and steele wool. You heat the pan and scrub it hard with the salt, dump it out and do it again , dump it out and then season with the Peanut oil (Higher smoke point). I use my out door grill instead of the house oven though. less mess. The salt also seals the pores in the Iron (per my Grandpa used iron pots all of his life!) It also removes any possibility of a "soapy" smell or taste to food.

[gypsymustanggirl]

yeah my grand mother told me never use soap and always season it with oil or the food will stick if the soap sits in it

[thatbastardson]

I don't even "wash" my cast iron. I just run hot water over it, wipe it with a towel, and its done.

[SANDST0NE]

Nope people... I've used cast iron and this guy has more things correct than the critics that are chiming in here. Nothing wrong with using soap on a pan... LISTEN to what this guy is explaining to you. He's restoring an old pan and THEN seasoning it. All your grandmothers would have agreed with this guy and TheWoodman1948 is especially ignorant as he claims to have used Dutch Ovens for over 50 years -- and apparently, in all that time, he never learned the basics. Tragic.

[eminence18]

@SANDST0NE nicely put

[kskk9368]

no sap period.

[TheWoodman1948]

SOAP!! My grandmother would be spinning in her grave! I have been cooking in Dutch Ovens for over 50 years and I can honestly say I have NEVER used soap on my ovens! My Gram would have "whupped" me good if I ever did that! SOAP . . .NEVER! Coarse Salt to scrub with in a warm pan if you must clean old rust or crap off the oven.

[backyardsounds]

@TheWoodman1948 HA HA! I know, right? My grandmother would have died if you tried to wash one of her iron skillets with soap. Her corn bread was always perfect and would nearly fly out of her skillets.

[dijornopizza]

@TheWoodman1948 how do you clean it then?

[HumanBladeG0D]

huh. good video. as to the comments about soap... soap is a surfactant/degreaser. it doesn't want to cling to surfaces. stainless steel has 'pores' too, yet no one says not to use soap. using a mild detergent is fine. scrubbing is fine, as long as your realize you'll have to reseason the pan prior to storage. soap will cut through the seasoning on your pan, but who wants to cook with multiple layers of rancid oil? clean, dry, heat on stove for 2 minutes till bone dry, dollop of oil, wipe, store.

[AllOtherNamesTaken]

It is fine to use soap if you are entirely reseasoning a cast iron pan it is okay to use soap. It will all be washed/baked out and then covered in a sealing layer of oil

[christschool]

As others have said, never, never use soap on cast iron.

[KRScorporation]

That is not how to clean a Dutch Oven. Never, ever use soap! The soap gets in the pours of the metal and your food will have soap in it for a long time and you will spend your spare time in the John.

Clean without water by heating it, purring in Salt and scrub with paper towels. The salt will be the scrubbing and your elbow grease will do the rest. Yes it is work but it works great.

Then season as the video shows or do it on a campout.

Worked for many years with the Boy Scouts,

Soap is BAD.

[SnafuenFrance]

Good, easy advice.

[honestannie]

the best demo video, thank you!

[NGinuity]

I got one from a garage sale that had been badly neglected and had rust all over it. I had to hit it with a drill and wire wheel, took all of the nonstick off of it, but it lived in my oven for about a month and I coated it with safflower oil every few days to build it back up.

[leonAzul42]

+1 for Frank Foster's "Shiny Stockings" 8^)

[vintgeaeagle1]

thank you for keeping it simple and minimal, and not talking for 5 minutes because you like to hear yourself talk. love the tips!

[fryguy1819]

420!

[JefafaSB]

I've always been aware that you can use soap on COLD cast iron, just re season after the fact.. Food for thought, soaps were originally made from animal fats.

[deepfatfryed]

I did exactly this to restore an old pan and the seasoning came out mottled. Its only on the mottled pattern and the tiny gaps are black matte from the old finish...

[busybuzzbuzz]

you are not suppossed to use soap!! That's why people are consulting how to do this, without soap!

[deepfatfryed]

@busybuzzbuzz You can use soap before you're re seasoning

[mamahen123]

try a solution of warm water and vinegar, submerged the item overnight to remove any amount of rust.

[speedbmp]

You don't need to heat the pan to 450 degrees. That high a heat breaks down almost all oils and creates toxic substances that are bad for humans to consume. Even heat-stable oils don't stand up well at that high a heat. You only need to season a pan at 350 degrees, and many oils can handle that heat without breaking down into nasties.