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Jun 10, 2023

Rick Windham: Is my cast iron cookware still good?

Can this cast iron be rejuvenated and used again? You bet it can! I picked up these pieces from various auctions or garage sales and they have seen better days. Unless a piece of cast iron is rusted

Can this cast iron be rejuvenated and used again? You bet it can! I picked up these pieces from various auctions or garage sales and they have seen better days. Unless a piece of cast iron is rusted so badly that it has deep pits in it or holes rusted through the metal it can be saved and cook again. When I get these pieces cleaned up I will be able to pass them down to my grandchildren.

I had a visitor to North Platte pose this question to me recently. He was part of a group that I was doing some “cowboy cooking” for and he appreciated cast iron cookware. He had several pieces of cast iron and he told me that they had gotten a little rusty.

One of the beauties of cast iron is that unless it has rusted so badly that it is severely pitted or has holes rusted through it, you can rejuvenate it. He was happy to hear that!

There are several ways to rejuvenate cast iron. This is one of the processes I generally go through. First, you need to clean it. You can sand it with fine grit sandpaper or steel wool, but I have a suggestion to make it even easier: sandblast it.

Even if you don’t have a sandblaster, you can take it to almost any body repair or metal shop and have them sandblast it for you. It may cost you a few bucks, but it will be a lot easier than spending all your spare time and elbow grease getting rid of the rust.

Once you have the metal clean, you’ll need to re-season it. This is done my coating the metal surfaces with a vegetable oil and “baking” it at about 350 degrees. You can do this in the kitchen, but you will probably smoke up the house. There is a better way.

Through some trial and error, I developed a portable seasoning unit. It consists of:

An 18-inch round metal pan that is about 4-inches deep.

A heavy gauge wire tomato cage that has been cut down to about 15-inches tall.

A 35-gallon metal trash can.

Note: Only use heavy gauge wire tomato cages. The lighter wire cages will soften and collapse in the heat, just like the Twin Towers did on 9/11.

Here’s the procedure. Set out your metal pan on a non-combustible surface. Put it someplace that the eventual smoke from this process won’t bother anyone. Pour in a generous amount of charcoal briquettes, probably 30 to 40, into the pan. Light your fire and let it burn until most of the flames are gone.

Cut a wire tomato cage until it’s about two sections tall. You’ll have a wide section and a narrow section. You’ll want to set the wider section in the base of your metal pan. This wire rack will hold your cast iron piece above the fire, but in the heat zone for the seasoning process.

Take your cleaned cookware and coat it well with a vegetable oil. I like to use Crisco, but any brand of vegetable oil will work. Rub it on all metal surfaces. Set the cast iron piece on the tomato cage stand. Make sure it is turned upside down so the oil will drip off as it heats up.

Next, invert the 35-gallon trash can over the top so that it holds in the heat. Even with the small amount of briquettes used, you will have a temperature inside the trash can of 300 to 400 degrees or so. You’ll get some smoke (sometimes quite a bit), but since it is outside, who cares?

Remove the trash can after about an hour let your cast iron cookware cool a little while still sitting on the stand. It will still be quite warm, but you can wipe off any excess oil that has pooled in low spots. Put the trash can back over your cookware and let heat for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove the cookware from the rack and let it cool down enough so that you can touch it again. Oil the cookware up again and repeat the process. To get that dark patina that you see on well-seasoned cast iron, you’ll probably have to go through this process several times.

Once you’ve got your cookware seasoned, it is ready for use in camp. The seasoning process helps prevent the cast iron from rusting and it also helps keep food from sticking. To maintain the seasoning, all you need to do is clean the cookware between uses and lightly recoat with a little oil. Most of the time, you can clean your cast iron by boiling water in it. It will almost steam clean itself.

For long term storage, coat the metal with a heavier layer of oil and keep them in a spot that water is not likely to get to it. Even the best seasoned cast iron will rust if water stays in continual contact with it.

I hope this helps anyone who wants to recondition some cast iron.

Fall turkey

Nebraska’s fall turkey hunting season is not that far away and hunters may begin purchasing 2023 Nebraska fall turkey permits at 1 p.m. CT on Aug. 14. Fall turkey permits are valid statewide, but there are some big changes in the regulations for the fall season in 2023:

Hunter may only have one fall permit

Bag limit allows the take of one turkey of either sex with a shotgun or archery equipment.

All turkey harvests must be reported via Telecheck.

The fall turkey season is Oct. 1 through Nov. 30.

Permits will be available at outdoornebraska.gov and at Nebraska Game and Parks Commission permitting offices. Now all we need is turkeys! The population is down 40%-50% statewide. Start your scouting soon!

Dove season

Speaking of scouting…did you realize that dove season is less than a month away. The season opens Sept. 1 and runs until Oct. 30. Now is the time to be out securing permission to hunt on private property and doing your scouting.

Rick Windham

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