Nail Biting Adventures: Cast Iron Cooking - Reseasoning a rusted skillet!

There is some unwritten law some where that if you camp, you must use cast iron cookware! It's probably just due to the versatility that this cookware has that it can go from kitchen to camp fire just by stepping out the door. And its the reason I have fallen in love with my CI skillets!

I can use these skillets on the stove top, in the oven, or I can even set them IN a fire! While these skillets are nearly indestructible, water is not their friend. Neither is soap. CI skillets and other cookware are "seasoned" which makes them stick proof cookware. Soap can strip years of seasoning and water can cause rust to develop which requires you to reseason your CI cookware. Which is what I had to do to an old skillet that showed up with my husband.

For years, this skillet has sat either on my porch or in my car port because I didn't know what to do with it. It was an old rusted out skillet that I honestly had thought about chucking. I figured it wasn't salvageable......but I was wrong!

I discovered a Facebook group, Cast Iron Cooking, by chance one day. I don't even remember how or why I found it but it has been a wealth of knowledge! From restoring old cookware to recipes for our next camping trip, this group has been highly educational! And NICE! Through these wonderful people, I learned how to restore this old skillet.

Improper use of water and soap will do this!

She was a bucket of rust. But, I couldn't hurt her any more than she already was so I gave it a go! A soak over night in white vinegar diluted 50/50 with water was my first step.

With some elbow grease, a wire brush, and some SOS pads, I managed to get all of the rust and grime off.

Now I was ready to season! For my fellow newbies, this doesn't mean to use seasonings but oil that bakes into the cast iron making it smooth and shiny! I slathered the pan all over with crisco shortening until there was a light film and then "baked" upside down in the oven at 200 degrees for 20 minutes.

I wiped out the excess oil, reapplied a thin layer of crisco, and baked again at 300 degrees for 15 minutes! I was really becoming impressed with this process.

Removed the skillet again, wipe and reapply (wipe on...wipe off!) crisco, and increased the temperature to 400 degrees. I placed it in the oven, upside down for 2 hours and then allowed it to cool to room temperature in side the oven until that evening.