Can it be salvaged?

[freemotion]

I took a forgework class years (ok, decades ) ago and you can burn metal. I wouldn't put a pan in a hot fire and leave it there unless you are willing to sacrifice it should it burn. If it burns, it will sparkle, and may look sound but the metal will be very brittle if it doesn't outright crack like firem3's did. I'd use the oven to control the heat. JMHO.

 

[Emerald]

Thanks for the information! I have to say that I would not do the fire thing with the newer made cast iron, but this bad boy was the one that my Grandma and my mother used to make fried chicken and took camping and it must be over 100 years old and HEAVY! I have the lid for it also, not sure which brand it is- It is out in the camper right now, and if the camper wasn't down I would run out and look!
I also just put it in the dieing down coals at the end of the fire and dumped more coals on top.
But the neighbor told me to put the yucky covered ones in the leaf fires in the fall, I wonder if that is because they don't get as hot?

 

[journey11]

If mine get really cruddy, I clean them in the woodstove too. I've never had a problem, but I also don't put it in a BIG fire, just a small pile of coals, and I have to let the fire go out to retrieve it! They come out squeaky clean and grey, not black anymore (until you re-season it). I've not tried this to remove rust though. I just get a wire brush and scrub any rust off. Sounds like your's got really rusty though--might take some elbow grease! You could use a power drill with a round wire brush attachment. That's how I got the rust off of my Granny's antique wrought iron bed.

 

[savingdogs]

I've been able to salvage rusted cast iron pots before when I had no where to bake them in a fire and no lard available. I just very thoroughly scrubbed them with steel wool and dawn dishwashing detergent and hot water. Then afterwards I just rubbed it down with cooking oil I had at home and let it sit in a warm oven. I think I had to re-coat it in oil once or twice but it was as good as new doing that, too. So there are probably a lot of ways of salvaging one of those!

I also have found you can wash them when needed, it doesn't hurt them, just re-season, or use it to cook bacon the first time!

 

[MorelCabin]

Couldn't you just put them in your oven next time you do a self clean mode? If you can *almost* put them in a fire, then slef cleaning them along with your oven will probably do wonders to clean it before you season it again

 

[Beekissed]

We place ours in the coals also....I've never seen any of ours have a problem though I think some of the cheaper brands might.

You can wash an iron skillet in soap and water and not lose the seasoning but I prefer salt and a paper towel or newspaper for light cleanings. If we just fried potatoes in it and there is no residue but oil, we don't clean it at all.

I never immerse and soak an iron skillet...if it has stuck on foods, I just place water and soap in it and place it back on the fire and let it boil. This usually works.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I saw on Cook's Country that you can use steel wool to get the rust off, then use oil and salt to scrub it. Then just season again.

 

[Blackbird]

Yup, I never wash mine. If there is any extra food I just let it heat up until the bits burn off. If there is excess oil I wipe it out with a dry rag. I use the same frying pan for pancakes, meat, eggs, and so on. I figure if there is any bad bacteria, the heat will kill it.

 

[colowyo0809]

Yup, I never wash mine. If there is any extra food I just let it heat up until the bits burn off. If there is excess oil I wipe it out with a dry rag. I use the same frying pan for pancakes, meat, eggs, and so on. I figure if there is any bad bacteria, the heat will kill it.

i also figure the same is true for my gut!

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Yup, I never wash mine. If there is any extra food I just let it heat up until the bits burn off. If there is excess oil I wipe it out with a dry rag. I use the same frying pan for pancakes, meat, eggs, and so on. I figure if there is any bad bacteria, the heat will kill it.

I keep telling DH this and he simply doesn't believe me.

I wash mine with a soft scrubby & soap and put it on a hot eye to dry it off. If any rust spots develop, I use a metal scrubby to get them off, dry it, then dip a towel in my bacon drippings & give it a good rubbing.

Years ago my mother needed to clean up several grungy old cast iron from my grandmother's collection. She had them gently sandblasted, then re-seasoned in the oven with bacon grease. They came out gray until she re-seasoned them.