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I did a post a while back about some rusty old vintage cast iron I was given. Believe it or not I have had tons of emails wanting an update. I finally got around to working with it. Here is the before….
Now for the after….
Or better yet the after…
Now for some tips on how to get from the before to the after. This is just what worked for me. Nothing at all is proven about this method. First thing we did was to put these in our wood stove and fire it up. Basically burning all of the rust scale off of them. Some took longer than others. Some required more than one trip into the stove. They come out looking like this…
I had some industrial scouring pads. I used those on the skillet to loosen anything else. Also to wash all of the ashes, etc off of it…
I then used shorting and aluminum foil…
Rub lots of shortning all over the skillet…
Even on the sides and bottom….
Wrap them up and put them on another pan. Put in the oven. I would cook mine for a few hours on 250 degrees. I would then cool, wipe off, and put lard all over the skillet again (yes REAL lard). This time cooking for an hour or so at 350 then turning it up to about 400 degrees. Warning — this will smoke up and make your house smell…you have been warned. I would take em out when I had enough of the smoke.
But the after is worth it! I feel like I saved these skillets!
So far I have only used one of the skillets. Hubby thought these turned out so good he brought me more home. Some of those corn shaped muffin pans. They have been in the fire already but I still need to complete the process. Another warning — if you don’t have true cast iron, the fate of the skillet will NOT be good in the fire. We have one warped and twisted pan…I guess that is the way to tell if it is real..huh?
I don’t know if I will ever use that muffin pan. It is just so darn cute! I actually put this stack in my glass front cabinets. Something about yummy black cast iron…I just love to look at it!
Posted at Just Something I Whipped up on The Girl Creative.
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gail says
great job angie! Your skillet looks fab (so do the eggs!)gail
The Polka Dot Closet says
I had heard that cast iron pans could be salvaged, but never tried! I have now witnessed it with my own eyes!!! Amazing!Carol
Revi says
I LOVE cast iron skillets! I even bake some things in them – cornbread, pineapple upside down cake, etc. Love this post! These things are not cheap when you buy them new. Good Job!-Revi
Wendy says
All I can say is WOW. I would have passed on those in their original state. Silly me. Don’t you just love cooking in cast iron? Me too.
Justin says
Real, fresh lard?!?!? Where did you purchase it at?
Angie @ The Country Chic Cottage says
We actually make our own lard. You didn’t know how country we were did ya?? Every year we kill hogs ourselves and process lard. I don’t use very much of it — so there is plenty left when I want to slather it all over the skillets! 🙂
Justin says
No, that’s awesome. I have been struggling to locate some leaf lard but have not been successful
Angie @ The Country Chic Cottage says
Have you tried a local slaughter house? Or small meat market? I would venture to guess that most people having pigs slaughtered would not want their leaf lard. We are just not most people. 🙂
Jeannie-JB says
Wow! That’s amazing. Thanks for the lesson. I love iron frying pans for making homemade biscuits and have been looking for a “cornstick” pan forever. Thanks again.
Rosemary says
i have also heard that steel wool helps get the rust off the pans.
Eileen @ Cottage Beach House says
I was raised with cast iron frying pans. We were always taught to hand scour , dry immediately and rub with oil before storing to keep them in great condition. Vegetable oil or olive oil work just fine. The key to keeping them rust free is drying and oiling, and drying again. I just purchased a big old cast iron farmhouse kettle and refreshed that baby with a good cleaning and one coat of oil. I was surprised at how well it turned out. thanks for the idea of baking off the rust, now I will buy more when I see them like that.