Post by virginiajenkins on Jan 2, 2018 4:54:02 GMT -5
Hi,
My old cast iron is super slick while the newer Lodge dutch ovens have a bottom that sometimes makes me think they were cast with gravel. Some are better than others. It might take a lot of time to reach a good slick seasoning just by cooking in it, but there is an easier and faster way.
My older camp oven has a super slick finish as well as my Griswolds and no-name cooking irons. This is in the cast as the castings are a lot smoother than the current Lodges.
The Lodges are getting there...but needed a lot of help. Maybe it's the metal composition or what, but they just don't season as quickly or as well as my older oven.
I did the high-temp thing...couple of passes through the kitchen oven, smoked the house up a lot and basically just got a darker pot, but it didn't get all that much slicker on the inside where it counts most. The bottom was still rough and prone to sticking.
I remembered how my Mom used to reseason her cast iron skillets...on the stovetop burner. I just take it outside on my camp stove. It's a Camp Chef stove, but anyone will do. You do not want a high pressure stove or burner, but a good medium to medium high flame on your burner. My camp ovens fit on the Camp Chef stove legs and all. The legs fit down into the burner. Works well.
Contrary to what a lot of people say, cast iron does not conduct heat well. If you don't believe me, look up the thermal conductivity of metals and you will find that iron rates very poorly compared to other metals like copper, gold, and aluminum. More on that on another thread.
So, if you are going to season in the oven, coat the entire dutch oven with a thin layer of melted Crisco, then bake for 1 hour at 450 degrees. I will even take a new pre-seasoned Lodge dutch oven and run it through the kitchen oven. I like to do this once and then take it outside.
My old cast iron is super slick while the newer Lodge dutch ovens have a bottom that sometimes makes me think they were cast with gravel. Some are better than others. It might take a lot of time to reach a good slick seasoning just by cooking in it, but there is an easier and faster way.
My older camp oven has a super slick finish as well as my Griswolds and no-name cooking irons. This is in the cast as the castings are a lot smoother than the current Lodges.
The Lodges are getting there...but needed a lot of help. Maybe it's the metal composition or what, but they just don't season as quickly or as well as my older oven.
I did the high-temp thing...couple of passes through the kitchen oven, smoked the house up a lot and basically just got a darker pot, but it didn't get all that much slicker on the inside where it counts most. The bottom was still rough and prone to sticking.
I remembered how my Mom used to reseason her cast iron skillets...on the stovetop burner. I just take it outside on my camp stove. It's a Camp Chef stove, but anyone will do. You do not want a high pressure stove or burner, but a good medium to medium high flame on your burner. My camp ovens fit on the Camp Chef stove legs and all. The legs fit down into the burner. Works well.
Contrary to what a lot of people say, cast iron does not conduct heat well. If you don't believe me, look up the thermal conductivity of metals and you will find that iron rates very poorly compared to other metals like copper, gold, and aluminum. More on that on another thread.
So, if you are going to season in the oven, coat the entire dutch oven with a thin layer of melted Crisco, then bake for 1 hour at 450 degrees. I will even take a new pre-seasoned Lodge dutch oven and run it through the kitchen oven. I like to do this once and then take it outside.