Pitted dutch oven restoration

[Brian Gillispie]

Hey all,


Have a question.  My wife's grandmothers dutch oven (Wagner ware) has bubbles and pits on the inside sides of the oven.  Its as if there is rust under the seasoning.  We have been using it without ill effect but I have been wondering it there is an advantage to sanding the inside of the oven smooth down to bare metal and then start the reseasoning process all over again.  I know that there is probably a half century of seasoning that I am considering scraping off.  I just dont think having pits and bubbles in my cookware a good idea.  Let me know if anyone has had any experience with this sort of thing.

Brian G

[Lechwe]

Do you have a self cleaning oven? If so put the DO in your oven upside down, the lid also. Set the timer to about 3 1/2 - 4 hours and walk away. Once it is done season it again and you're good to go.

[James Wrenn]

This site has a lot of good info.You can make your oven as good as new again with a little work.
 http://papadutch.home.comcast.net/~papadutch/

[James Wrenn]

btw..if you use your oven to clean it get everything possible off the oven before you do it.If not it will "flame-on" in the locked oven and make a huge amout of smoke that will fill your house even with a good hood fan on.Trust me on this.    

Putting it in a fire or useing the propane torch will work fine and save you some mess. jmo

[Horney Toad]

I use EZ off oven cleaner to clean off the old cast iron. I like to use lard for seasoning cast.

[Don Miller]

i've used a propane torch to burn off all the old seasoning and rust...had some unpleasant experience with the smoke from the self cleaning oven:)

[Doc Nock]

A guy who was sponsored by Camp Chef wrote for TBM for a year or 3...in the back on camp cooking with dutch ovens.  

He claimed that the "funny taste" some complain about in cast iron cookery is from people seasoning with lard. (no offense, HToad).

He says the lard turns rancid over time and "injures" the taste of foods cooked in lard-treated black iron cookware.

He recommended either Crisco or Camp Chef makes a natural vegetable product for seasoning.

I've used the latter and it works super.

I put some old cookware deeply crusted with "stuff" into my gas BBQ grill and let it go there and the smoke was no problem being outside.

[Bob Stager]

If it is rusted pretty bad,take it somewhere and have it sand blasted. You will have a like new oven.

[Dave Bulla]

Howdy Doc, I've heard that about the lard too but I've always wondered, why is that "going rancid" comment only associated with lard?  I've had crisco go bad after sitting in the cupboard for a long time and it's just as rancid as lard gets.  Also gotta wonder, who makes the Camp Chef stuff?  Maybe the Crisco company????   :D  

Honestly, I don't think that it makes much difference what you season it with but personally, I always use lard or bacon fat which is well.... uh... lard.

If you use the item regularly, I don't think it'll go bad no matter what.  I suspect that the cases of so called "rancid" taste are from people who only occasionally use an item.  They clean it and then wipe on a too heavy coating of lard before putting it away, expecting it to be fine the next time they use it in several months or even years.  Well, it won't be whether you use lard or shortening.  

I do my cast iron about like I do a gun cleaning.  Get it clean by the method of your choice, wipe it with oil, then wipe nearly all the oil back off and put it away.  Basically, just leave a very thin coat.  On a pan that is well seasoned, you don't hardly even have to put anything on it for storage.

[James Wrenn]

A gas grill that will get to 500 degees or above is the easiest way to clean one up.Works great and no stink or fires in the house.Really good for the big ovens that don't fit in the house oven too well.I just use veg oil on mine.Too much oil and you will get that rancid smell.Heat the oven good and wipe it out before cooking and the smell will go away.