[Bob in St. Louis]

It seems to have worked. No more smell, although the seasoning is all but gone.  Kinda' figured that was going to happen, so it's no suprise. Just sucks that it has to go to this extent. The "sacrificial lamb" was the smallest (5" I think) pan I had. Everything seems OK.  After washing the ashes off of it, I oil it up and warmed it lightly on the kitchen stove. The bottom is smooth as glass, meaning I'm starting over.
Mark, the BBQ is a stainless five burner propane. I think (I thought) I would be OK regarding stinkin' it up since it's stainless and has the capability reaching some stupid high temperatures I could just turn all five burners on high for a while if need be.

Bob

[Dan Driscoll]

The point there is that they have been seasoning for more years than I've been alive. I've had many a fried chicken breast from these things, I'd hate to trash them. So it's not a sentimental attachment, just that I'd have to start over with the "coating", these things have got to be SEVERAL decades old.

The amount of seasoning they have now is meaningless, anything powerful enough to eliminate the cat piss scent will also destroy the seasoning. So since there is no emotional attachment, you might as well start with new pans.

[Dan Driscoll]

OK, I guess I should have read the rest of the thread before I posted my previous reply. I see you've already incinerated them in your grill and that it worked.

I wonder though, how much propane did it take and how much did it cost, relative the the price of a new pan, on top of the time and effort you've put in?

[Bob in St. Louis]

Hey Dan,
About 2 1/2 hours on the grill with two burners going on high. A 15 lb. propane tank refill is about $18 and lasts me for about a year. Hard to tell exactly, because in the wintertime I use the tank to fuel a 120,000BTU torpedo heater, but still lasts about one year.
I've incinerated one of the pans as a test, appears to have worked. I may, next weekend, put the rest of them in there for slightly less time and see what happens. Cost wise, the propane in a fraction the price of a new pan, not to mention 6 pans. Time and effort wise, It's not too bad. Basically, I'd be seasoning a new pan anyway, and firing up the grill just takes a minute or two. Only the middle step of washing the ashes off takes a little extra time. But I'd be washing a new pan anyway getting the "store funk" off of it. No real sentimental attachment, but they do seem to be a little heftier than the newer models which is why I'd like to save them from the trash heap. So basically, if they can be saved, I'll end up with 6 old-school pans for the price of a little bit of propane, some elbow grease and some vegetable oil. Not too bad.

Bob

[bprice2]

Thanks for the link Brett, what's the story behind your stuff?

Hi Bob,

There's not much of a story behind my set of cookware.  I found it at Wallmart several years ago - two frying pans, a dutch oven, and griddle for about $40.  It has been used exclusively as my camping cook set.  Unfortunately, I allowed several of the pieces to become rusted. 

A cast iron piece of cookware should last near forever.  My wife and I returned from a trip to Big Bend National Park a couple of weeks ago.  I was unable to utilize my camp cooking gear.  The thread you started reminded me that I really needed to get the gear back in usable shape, and also, b/c it should last near forever, I would forever consider myself a lazy, wastefull, sack of shit if I didn't fix it.

After reading your post on Saturday, I cranked up a good oak fire out in the pit and plopped my 12" pan in the fire.  It really helped loosen up the rust.  I then followed the directions in the thread I posted...using salt and vegetable oil.  Worked well.  Looks like my cook set will be back in business in no time at all.

Thank You for that Brett.

No, thank you for lighting a fire under my ass. (pun intended)

[mcgsxr]

I use natural gas (paid the $300 to have the darn line installed) so I no longer have a clue how much fuel I use.  I BBQ at least once per week, 52 weeks per year, so I am very pleased to no longer have to work around the 2 tanks I used to have to fill, use, transport etc.

On the downside, I believe propane is hotter, but honestly I can think of few times I want my Q hotter than the 550F it can do with the natural gas.

I am actually thinking about picking up a small, likely portable size, charcoal Q, for steaks only.

Sorry for the detour, reminds me that I don't have a cast iron pan, and grew up cooking weekly eggs with one, in my parents' home.  I use a nice pan these days, but the old school had some wonderful charm, not to mention a great weapon!

[Bob in St. Louis]

I would forever consider myself a lazy, wastefull, sack of shit if I didn't fix it.

.... THAT'S FUNNY!

Glad to hear I got you motivated.
Tel me about your fire? Was it just fire, or did you wait for some 10,000 degree bed of coals?

Mark, I'd love to have an LP type permanent fuel installed in the house. Maybe someday. I would mind the fire being a little cooler on mine. I've "F"d up more food on this grill than I.... E*V*E*R ....did cooking with charcoal. I can have one burner on low and the useless thermometer says it's 600 degree F in there.....Yea right.  The fires too hot and the gauge is inaccurate. One of these days I'll get my digital remote oven temp 'thingy' out and see what the temp really is in there.
Here's one for ya Mark,....Earlier this summer I took the biggest cast iron pan I have and filled it with chunked potatoes, butter, garlic, kosher salt etc...and put it on the grill with lots of mesquite. Now THAT'S livin' right!  aa RITIOUS BABY!

Bob

[tex-amp]

I'm late to this thread but if you're looking for new cast iron check out Bass Pro Shops and possibly Gander Mountain.

Bob I'm really surprise that in a city as old as St. Louis you can't easy find cast iron at thrift stores or flea markets.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Hello Mr. Amp, thanks for joining in. No, I'm not looking for new stuff. I may be a cheap ass but if I can fix the old stuff I've got for (nearly) free, then I'll save a chuck of change and still retain the cool factor of having old instead of new (think, "tube amps"  ).
Plenty of thrift type stores around here filled with plenty of old folks possessions after they've kicked the bucket. But I'm generally late enough on the scene that the good stuff has been taken, leaving nothing but 40 year old sofas still wrapped in clear plastic and smelling like moth balls and Metamucil. 
Occasionally I pop in one of these stores, very seldom is there anything good left.

Bob

[DeadFish]

Look for yard sales, Bob. aa
Thanks, BTW, for being a lab-rat salvaging your cast iron.
I've got a couple from my Mom here that I learned to cook with as a kid, so they probably date WWII or thereabouts, one from my grandma, and a couple from yard sales I've never used.  All have sat for a while, an soaked up dust in the kitchen. You've moved me to do something with them.  The 'heirlooms' probably gave me most of my iron growing up in pancakes and scrambled eggs! 
Thanks to all for the thread with motivation and valid suggestions. 
I'd much rather resurrect the pans I've got and keep the landfill clean, throwing more $$ at tubes! 

Regards,
DeadFish

[Bob in St. Louis]

Amen Deadfish. Glad I could help. Us lazy bastards like Brett, yourself and I need a little motivation for the "back-burner" projects every now and then. And yes, of course, the pun was intended.
One of these days, I'll have the G.A.S. boy over for some tunes, cocktails, and a munchy or two. Just promise to forget about about the smell I described while you're eating, ok?
Good point about garage sales, but I have a hard time devoting the time on Satuday mornings to drive to strangers houses rooting through their crap. (especially at 14mpg  ) I may happen by one of the neighbors the next time, but I doubt I'll make it a special event.
Oh, by the way (and off topic) Deafish....Have you been to any of the Jefferson County monster sized flea markets? Not just for cast iron stuff, but for audio related stuff too???

Bob

[DeadFish]

Good point about garage sales, but I have a hard time devoting the time on Satuday mornings to drive to strangers houses rooting through their crap. (especially at 14mpg  ) I may happen by one of the neighbors the next time, but I doubt I'll make it a special event.
Oh, by the way (and off topic) Deadfish....Have you been to any of the Jefferson County monster sized flea markets? Not just for cast iron stuff, but for audio related stuff too???

Bob

No Bob, I'm on the other side of the 'planet' over here in Collinsville, Ill.. Now you have me salivating for 'monster sized flea markets.'
  (and me getting *12mpg!*)
All told, most of the BIG flea markets I've gone to are mostly crap of the like that fills my basement. 
I keep an eye out for yard sales and go 'trolling' in better neighborhoods on fridays, since I work saturdays.
Haven't found any worthwhile audio goodies in a year or two though.  I think the major finds are in the past...
And yes, if I ever get to try your cooking, I'll try and forget what you said your pans went through...

Regards,
DeadFish

[Bob in St. Louis]

Yea, there are two huge flea markets over here. Haven't been there in several years, and that was before I was into audio/video, so I don't know what they had in that respect. I'm sure a guy that knew where to look and had a little luck on his side could find a true "rare find" at a place like these. All it takes is somebody "dumping a bunch of stuff" that has no clue as to what they have.


Here's a good story about "a find" that'll make most guys cry;
A couple years ago at the shop I worked at, I noticed a tow truck driver drive by with a single wide mobile home on the back of his flat bed tow truck. The next day he came by to bring us a car, and I asked him about the house he was carrying the day before since it was a rather unusual site. He told me of a call he had gotten about a local old fellow that had died, leaving no living relatives. The property he lived on was a very small train station many many years prior. The old guy lived in this single wide mobile home which was the residence of the operator of this particular train station. A financial guy bought the property for development including the mobile home. This fellow never even looked inside the home (it was locked and he figured nothing in there was worth his time.) Not really sure how to get rid of a mobile home, he called a local scrap metal yard to see if they wanted the house (since it was metal), they said sure, we'll dispatch a flatbed tow truck. The tow company picked up the house late enough in the day that the scrap yard had already closed, they had no choice but to take the house back to the tow company's lot. Figuring the house was destined for the scrap yard, and "nobody" really owned the house at this particular point in time, the employees decided to "break into" the house. Now remember, at this point in time, the house is sitting on the back of a flatbed tow truck. What they found inside was truly a once in a lifetime "find". A very small kitchen with a very narrow hallway leading to a very small bathroom were the only "rooms" left in the house. The bed was in the kitchen!!! Most of the interior walls had been removed to make space for racks of shelving, from floor to ceiling. Isles and isles of shelves filled with boxes and boxes and boxes. Every one of the boxes was labeled "Lionel Trains". 
Several shelves were different sizes and lengths of track, many racks full of engines, almost everything Lionel ever sold was neatly boxed and categorized.

When he told me that, I almost pee'd myself.

Bob

[jules]

OK, I'm a bit late on this one and much of what has been said is right on the mark, particularly the reference from bprice but seasoning should be a regular and ongoing part of iron pan maintenance and doesn't require quite the amount of heat suggested in some posts. Throwing a pan out because it isn't seasoned is a complete waste of a great piece of equipment [provided it has a good thick base].

If the iron/surface of a pan is a really rough casting or if it's rusted then a good starting point is to use some wet and dry paper [wet] to smooth the surface. 

The curing process only requires that the surface of the pan is brought to a temperature where oil will smoke/ burn when wiped on. The idea isn't to completely burn it off but rather to make a sort of impervious layer that has great non-stick properties. So ... heat the pan, rub on some oil with a piece of paper, burn it off ... repeat the process about maybe ten times. This really does smoke out the house so the best way to do it is either outside, with the windows open, or with a commercial extraction fan.

A cured surface needs care. It's easy to destroy it if you use the pan for simmering [with liquid], soak the pan or use an abrasive cleaner but it's impossible to create a cured surface that doesn't require occasional re-treatment. The method bprice quotes is good. Every time you finish using the pan, dry it over heat and rub it with oil. Still, it helps to give it  the full treatment every now because you are making a hard baked oil coating in a way and this does need high temperature [smoking oil] to do.

When the pan is right it looks slightly shiny and is close to non-stick. Interestingly, you can do the same thing to tin plated copper pans and the finish is even better. The difficulty with this is that it takes heavy commercial use to create the surface and to keep it there. Usually, tinned cooper is "clean" and while it's a fantastic material from the heat transfer/evenness point of view, it's a bit lacking in the non-stick department and is easy to damage.

jules

[Bob in St. Louis]

All true Jules.
I've lightly cleaned mine after each use, very seldom with soap, and when I do, it's only after cooking something that leaves a heavy greasy mess behind like sausage or bacon. If I cook something like pancakes, a quick wipe off with paper towels is enough.
I didn't get around to "nuking" my pans this weekend, but I agree a lighter "nuke" might just work. Probably still cause damage to the cooking surface, but may not totally be starting over. Doesn't matter much because I'll be cleaning 'the nasties' off from being stored and giving them a good starting point with fresh oil etc...

Here's a neat little thing I started doing recently for serving bread;
Get your pan up to a medium temp, drop a pat of butter (not margarine  ) , let it melt and set the slice of bread on the buttered area. It nicely toasts the bread and soaks the butter in creating a lightly crisp edge. Immediately after removing from the bread from the pan sprinkle with powdered garlic, or parsley, or oregano etc....MMM MMM YUMMY.

Bob

[bprice2]

I got my first pan refurbished.  I'd removed the rust and had given it the first round of seasoning.  I had even cooked a few things on it...sausage, eggs and potatoes (breakfast).  The first seasoning involved vegetable oil.  The second seasoning I'd planned would involve the grease from the above mentioned sausage, which was still sitting in the pan.  May wife asked me yesterday if I wanted her to wash it.  Of course, my answer was, "No ma'am, I'll take care of that."  Apparently I didn't take care of it quickly enough.  I woke up this morning to find the pan in the sink and sitting in water.  Picked it up and it is very well rusted again.  It even stained the sink.
 

This is why she is not allowed to play with the sound system.  However, she's the only one in the family currently employed and I don't really have much enforcement clout...jobless and nutless.   

[Bob in St. Louis]

So, have you asked how she plans on "making that up to you"??   aa

Let me know how you get the stain out. I've got a white plastic sink I haven't figured out how to get the rust stains from a paint tray I left in there. 

So, how was breakfast??

Not sure what your plans were with the meat grease, but I would NOT recommend leaving that in there. I wouldn't think that'd be a good thing. Veggie oil or Olive oil is all I'd use.

Bob

[bprice2]

Breakfast was pretty good.  I didn't have all the ingredients I wanted, so...it was just pretty good.

Don't ask me about the stain in the sink.  That will be her job.   

My thoughts about the "meat grease" - Meat grease is lard and lard is an acceptable ingredient for seasoning.  I feel good about using it.  I think it will add something good.  However, if I end up poisoning myself, I'll let you know.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Don't ask me about the stain in the sink.  That will be her job.   

That's not the type of restitution I had in mind.

My thoughts about the "meat grease" - Meat grease is lard and lard is an acceptable ingredient for seasoning.  I feel good about using it.  I think it will add something good.  However, if I end up poisoning myself, I'll let you know.

Yes, if you die, please send me a PM. 
I do think it add something good, but I'm just slightly weirded out leaving meat products "out".
I would thing lard is processed in a way that would keep it from being/getting bad. 

Bob

[bprice2]

That's not the type of restitution I had in mind.

I follow you. The thing is though, we are actually trying to have a baby.  That scenario changes the calculous considerably.  Starts to remind me of work.

I would thing lard is processed in a way that would keep it from being/getting bad. 

Well...if it actually is processed that way, no one in east Texas knows about it.  My grandmother would pour all the grease out of her pan into the "reused" Crisco container she kept under the sink.  Sounds gross, but dems sum da bess fry chikens I eva ate.