Cast Iron Cookware

My friend advised that you should scrub cast iron with salt, but that's not going to kill all germs. You can use soapy water, and you should! You just need to re-season the pan more frequently.

First of all, clean the pan with soapy water. If necessary, give it a good hard scrub with a stiff non-metallic scrubber like a Brillo pad. Then rinse.

Dry it off with a towel, and/or put it on a burner to boil away any moisture. Then, to re-season, coat it with a little bit of vegetable oil or lard. I find that semi-solid oils like butter, lard, or Crisco work best; liquid vegetable oil tends to pool and turn gummy. You can use a paper towel to soak up the excess, but be careful if the pan is hot, since hot oil will burn your fingers!

Let the pan cool, then store it with the lid off. I've read that in humid areas, cast iron can rust if it's stored with the lid on, because the moisture builds up inside.

Never let water stand in your pot, because it'll rust. Also, don't store foods in cast iron (i.e. leftovers in the fridge) because acid in the foods can start to eat into the seasoning.

NOTE: New cast iron cookware comes with a coating that you'll need to wash away with hot water and soap. In America it's paraffin -- not toxic, but who wants to eat wax? In other countries it's another water-soluable coating.

Update 10/11: Why didn't I get one of these before? It's a bacon press. Put it on the bacon right in the skillet. It makes sure the bacon heats evenly without ripples and raw bits.

The bacon is a zillion times better. This one covers 4 pieces of bacon easily, but works with 5. It'll fit an 8 inch skillet. I like it because the handle stays cool and it's all one piece on the bottom. (Watch out for bacon presses with screws on the bottom; you'll have to disassemble them to clean them.)

If you've had to do serious scrubbing or scraping, you'll need to do a thorough re-seasoning.

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. Prepare a foil-wrapped cookie sheet to catch the drippings. (If your oven has a broiler pan, you can put foil in that).
   
3. Coat the cast-iron pan all over with lard or vegetable shortening. (I've read that food-grade coconut oil is a healthy alternative).
   
4. Put the pan upside-down on the cookie sheet or in the broiler pan, and leave it in the oven for an hour.
   
5. Turn off the oven and give the pot a couple hours to cool down.
   

If the pot has a lid, remember to season the lid (especially the inside) as well!