After seasoning, allow cast iron cookware items to cool overnight in a grill.
Add some sage or rosemary bundles to your campfire to repel mosquitos. Your campsite will smell amazing and become a bite-free zone.
Once seasoned to a shiny, black finish, your cast iron cookware can be used to cook a variety of delicious meals.
A mixture of water and apple cider vinegar can be used to clean off any leftover food particles.
Cleaning
Pans may be cleaned without water by scrubbing them with coarse salt or a plastic scraper and then simply wiping them with a clean rag or paper towel. They may also be washed with very hot water and a stiff nylon brush or scrubber, rinsed and wiped dry. It’s best to avoid dish soap (it strips off the seasoning and can seep into the metal), but if you feel it’s necessary to get your pan clean, use it sparingly and then refresh the seasoning.
Natural apple cider vinegar is also an excellent cleaning tool for cast iron. Mix 4 parts water and 1 part vinegar together and put the mixture in a spray bottle. While your cookware is still warm, spray it with the water/vinegar mixture and cover it with the lid for a few minutes. You will notice that any food left in the pan will become soft. Just use coarse salt or a plastic scraper to scrub off the food residue. Then wipe with a clean rag or paper towel. Repeat as necessary.
To evaporate any remaining moisture and prevent rust, heat the cookware on a stovetop at a low heat.
Drying
Wipe cookware with paper towels or old towels (cast iron can leave black stains). Then, set it on a burner over low heat to remove remaining moisture and prevent rust. Periodically, lightly coat the inside of the warm pan with oil or shortening and return to low heat for 1 to 2 minutes to refresh seasoning. This is only recommended if you intend to use your pan again within a short period of time. Otherwise, do not oil your pan, as the oil can become rancid if left for a long time between uses. Let the pan cool completely before storing. Remember, cast iron cookware can get hot fast! Use a hot pad!
Storing
After all the moisture has been removed from your cookware and it has cooled down, put a paper towel over the top so half hangs inside and half hangs outside the cookware. Then, put the lid on. If you have a storage bag, place the cookware in the bag. Store it in a dry location. Remember not to reseason your cookware before storage unless you intend to use it again immediately. Otherwise, the oil could go rancid before your next use.
Do not reseason cookware before storing unless it will be used immediately—the oil could become rancid if it sits for too long.
Removing rust
If you have inherited an old cast iron piece or stored one that still had some moisture in it, you might encounter rust. If the rust is just beginning to appear, scrub the piece with a scouring pad, sandpaper, steel wool or a rust eraser (available at your local hardware store) and rinse well. Once the rust has been removed, make sure you dry your cookware over a heat source to remove all the moisture. Do not let your cast iron cookware air-dry, as this can promote rust. Then, reseason your cookware.
Profile rust is rust seen and felt on the cookware. To remove this type of rust, use a very fine grade of steel wool or an abrasive soap pad to scrub the affected area. When the piece is scrubbed down to the raw cast iron, it should be reseasoned immediately. If you have put any water on the cookware, you should dry it over heat before reseasoning.
Rust covering the majority of the cast iron is considered severe. You might encounter this on an older piece that has been neglected. You have two options to refurbish this cookware.
First, purchase a metal brush that will fit on a hand drill. Attach the brush to the drill and use it to scrub away the rust. Then, season the pan immediately.
Second, you can soak the cookware in vinegar and water to remove the rust. Place the cookware in a large container and surround it with hay. Fill the container with enough water to cover the pan, adding 2 cups of cider vinegar for every gallon of water. Let the pan soak for about an hour. Then, check to see if the rust has been removed. If not, scrub the pan a little and let it soak for an additional hour. Repeat until all the rust has been removed—this may take 12 to 24 hours if your pan is extremely rusty. Then, scrub it with a scouring pad and rinse and season the pan.
More extreme measures will have to be taken to rid a cast iron pot or pan of severe rust damage.
Removing rancid oil
Without frequent use, the oil used for seasoning cast iron can become rancid and affect the taste of your food. To prevent this, do not reseason your pan before storage unless you know you will use it again shortly. If you find your oil has become rancid, you can remove it using the following process.
Put your cookware on a heat source and add 1 cup of vinegar and enough water to fill the pan. Boil the water and vinegar for about 30 minutes. As you boil the water and vinegar, you will see the oil start to pull out of the sides of the cookware. When this occurs, your pan is ready for use. Pour out the water and return the pan to the heat source to dry if you don’t plan to use it immediately. If you wish to begin cooking, spray the pan with some oil and you’re ready to start!
Boil a water and vinegar mixture in cast iron cookware for about half an hour to remove rancid oil.
Caring for Cast Iron
▪ Don’t put cold water into a hot pan (or hot water into a cold one)—it can crack.
▪ Never leave cast iron soaking in water—it may rust.
▪ Don’t wash cast iron cookware in the dishwasher unless you need to strip the pan to prepare it for the seasoning process.
▪ Cast iron holds heat, so use thick pot holders when handling pots and pans.
▪ Enamel-coated cast iron is not designed for outdoor cooking and requires some special care.
Types of Cast Iron Cookware
Dutch oven: A deep, thick-walled cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid.
Camp-style Dutch oven: Used primarily for cooking with a campfire.
Features: 3 short legs, flat lid with a vertical lip (to hold hot coals), sturdy cast iron handle on lid, strong wire handle attached at the sides (to lift or hang pot).
Kitchen-style