How to Revive and Season a Cast Iron Skillet or Pan

This story might freak out some friends, but hey, food, like life, is sometimes messy. I apologize half-heartedly if you guys are pissed.

True story-picture it, Adams Point District, Oakland, summer 1999.

One day, while walking near the park, I found a 12 inch Lodge cast iron skillet in the grass.

It was covered in bright orange rust and was pretty gross to look at. I picked it up anyway and when I flipped it over, I was able to pick out the trademark. I figured, “Well, I’ll season it and we’ll see what happens.”

Ten years later, I still have a real nice cast iron skillet. It’s a Family heirloom and like a record of where I have been and the folks I have met. I’ve shared hundreds of dinners with family and friends and am stoked to share how to properly revive an ill-treated piece of cast iron cook ware with ya’ll.

Step One

You need:

• Table Salt
• One of those green scrubber thingees
• Leather Work Gloves
• Mineral Oil, Bacon Fat or Refined Lard
• An empty kitchen sink
• A hot stove
• Lots of paper towels
• Goggles if you are a dork like me and prone to get random things in your eyes

Get the skillet and heat it up. You do not want it too hot, or too cold. Now carefully pour in the Table Salt and let it heat up a bit, but not to the point of smoking. While wearing the work gloves, use the green scrubbie thing to work the salt into the iron. Give it a good amount of elbow grease and scrub hard for a good 3-4 minutes.

Let the salt cool down-remove the skillet from the burner, kill the burner and let it hang out. After 10 minutes or so, go ahead and dump the salt into the empty sink. It’ll wash down the drain easily, but be sure its cooler than not when you do this.

Put the empty skillet back on the burner, and let her rip, but this time at a lower heat. Get your oil and pour a good size dollop in there. Now, with the paper towels generously coat the inside of the pan. Do not generously coat the outside of the pan. Take the skillet back off the fire and let it cool.

Sop up the extra oil with more paper towels and pitch them out. Let the iron cool off then use the green scrubbie to rub out the rest of the rust. If you cannot remove it all at once, don’t worry. It’s still safe to use for eating as long as most of the rust is out of the pan.

The most important part of owning an iron skillet is to never, ever, allow soap to touch it. The soap will break down the grease in the skillet and remove the seasoning. This is a cardinal sin in the part of the country I am from. I know a Southern woman in her 50’s who recalled the one and only whooping she ever got from her Maw-Maw was for scrubbing the Family’s lone iron skillet with soap.

Each time the skillet is used it will absorb the flavor of the meal and adds a true flavor (and a healthy dose of iron) to your meal.

Follow these simple steps and teach the rest of the Family. You will have an heirloom to treasure for a long time and create a Family tradition at the same time.