Cooking on cast iron is both nostalgic and healthy and is often considered the gold standard in cooking for their ability to distribute heat evenly for a consistent dish every time, like steak. A steak seared in a cast-iron skillet is so good! But what to do when your gorgeous cast iron gets rusty and crusty? Do not fear, there is a fail safe easy method to restore your gorgeous cast iron to its former glory with a little elbow grease and know how you can make your cast iron great again.

Materials Needed:

• Distilled White Vinegar
• Steel Wool Pad
• Foil
• A Hot Oven

Directions:

Place Cast Iron Skillet or Dutch Oven in a 440 degree oven or BBQ Pit for 2 1/2 hours (Lay a sheet of foil underneath it) then remove it and pour vinegar over it, scrubbing with steel wool as you continually keep it wet with the vinegar. Alertanivly you can soak it in a sinkful of vinegar for 2 hours.

Then keep scrubbing all parts of your skillet or dutch oven till its rust free then wash by hand and dry, then place back in the oven for a while to remove all traces of moisture from your cast iron.

When your cast iron is completely rust free and dry, (if it’s not rust free you must do this again till it is because you don’t want to do this next step until all the rust is gone from your awesome cast iron). The next step is the curing process, you can use Crisco, Animal Lard, or Oil. I like Pig Lard but many prefer Crisco because it leaves a polymer coating on the pan (because Crisco is synthetic and used motor oil in World War ll, haha fun facts! So whatever oil you use, you just keep coating and cooking the pan till the desired look and feel are achieved.

I love my cast iron and once you get it how you like it it will stay good, just don’t put it in the dishwasher and don’t leave it wet for too long.

How to Restore Cast Iron