Seasoning cast iron

[Forty Rod]

It's been a coon's age since I have done this.  Wouldn't have to now except a well-meaning guest washed my bacon press with dish soap and a Brillo pad. (Damn her eyes!) 

It sparkles like a new penny, but rusts almost before my eyes.

Thank God I have another bacon press I can use, but it's much smaller and not as handy.

[Texas Lawdog]

Forty, I feel your Pain!

[Hedley Lamarr]

http://skillet.lifehacker.com/kitchen-tool-school-all-about-the-cast-iron-skillet-1685315104

[Karl]

If your bacon press has a wooden handle you will need to remove it until it is reseasoned. 

Scrub it again to remove all rust then cot it generously with oil.  Food grade flax seed oil is supposed to be especially good since it has such a high flash point. 

Put it in the oven at 425F for about 40 minutes.  Leave it in the oven after you turn the heat off for about two hours to let it cool slowly and give the smoke a chance to clear up otherwise you might set off your smoke alarms when you open the stove.  Put your handle back on and put a light coat of your regular cooking oil on the bottom. 

[Shawnee McGrutt]

A friend used my ice fishing shack, thought he would do me a good deed and clean the camp skillet.  He took it to a buddy and had it sand blasted.  That was the last time he used the shack, the skillet did shine, almost used it to give him a knot on top of his head.

[Slamfire]

 Joined the cowboy church,,a few years ago,got premoted to cooks helper,,after showing I would be a top hand by scrub'n those "rusty, dutch oven's,and clean'n them w/ soapy water,,, ther was talk of "drag'n me behind a horse till the sun went down,,,the top cook was braid'n  new rope,,had it not been for the preacher,,i'd be a whole lot taller& thinner. Some folks sure are touchy.





Hootmix.

[Delmonico]

Little lard, just a thin coat and some heat and it will be fine, most people make in more of it than they need to.  I blame the popularity in recent years of Yuppies "discovering" cast iron and their way of making things more complicated than need be thanks to the internet.

[Delmonico]

Fact is if you don't believe me about the yuppies and cast iron check this stuff out, don't know how me and my shovel and my fires have done it for 30 years.


https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dutch-oven-helper-lite/id542254383?mt=8

[Slamfire]

Hey Del., nice set of ovens. Whats in the two pot's on top without hot coals on their lids.







  Hootmix.

[Mogorilla]

About every five years or so, I put my cast iron in the oven for the cleaning cycle.   It gets rid of any build up top and bottom, then just a little lard and bake it @ 450 for 45 minutes and let it cool in the oven.  I have a skillet that was my grandmothers, it looks brand new after this.   It especially helps my griddle that gets pancakes and pizzas on a regular basis, but non stick spray leaves a residue after a while, so the need to clean. 
Funny, a friend of mine had a nice set of cast iron (us chemists like to cook!) and he got a live in girlfriend.   She decided to put them all in the dishwasher, becaus just wiping them out or rinsing them could not possibly be sanitary.   Well, the relationship survived, but she is not allowed in kitchen.

[Delmonico]

At this point with a 5 year old picture I'm not sure, but I would bet it was something with liquid that needed a heavy bottom heat and no top heat. 

[45 Dragoon]

After 35 yrs of marriage, we finally learned how to cook bacon ! You just let the bacon sit out and get warm enough to separate easily. You put the whole pound in your skillet and when it starts cooking (about med.high), stir it as if you were cooking scrambled eggs. It will all cook up the same and at the same time with no burnt middles and raw ends.
We used to use presses and cook 4 or 5 strips at a time and take forever to cook a pound but this new one step and yer done system works better than anything we've ever tried.
Give it a shot.

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com

[pony express]

That method sounds good, I never had much success cooking bacon under a press, it always came out over done and hard, I usually just cook a few strips, though, so for me it seems best to save the bacon grease, and add extra to the pan, that way it seems to cook more evenly.

[Forty Rod]

Bacon and eggs should both be started at room temperature.

I use a press when just cooking a half dozen slices or less.  Put the press in the frying pan and heat them both up while getting coffee made, toast ready to go, set the table etc.  When they are both hot I drop the temperature to low medium and do the bacon first.  When it's right I let it drain, start the toast and fry the eggs.

Hot coffee with double sugar, OJ and apple juice 50%-50% cold enough to crack your teeth (or maybe V-8 with tabasco and worchestershire sauce... just a drop or two), fresh ground black pepper, salt, Damson plum or other suitable jam, and an appetite finish it off.

Eggs cam be scrambled plain or with whatever added... onion, mushrooms, tabasco, salsa, green peppers, niblets corn, cheese of various kinds, bacon, sausage... left over buzzard puke scramble, or fried up, over easy, poached, soft boiled, whatever strikes my fancy.

Sometimes I have a sausage pattie or links instead of (or along with) the bacon.

[AKexpat]

After 35 yrs of marriage, we finally learned how to cook bacon ! You just let the bacon sit out and get warm enough to separate easily. You put the whole pound in your skillet and when it starts cooking (about med.high), stir it as if you were cooking scrambled eggs. It will all cook up the same and at the same time with no burnt middles and raw ends.
We used to use presses and cook 4 or 5 strips at a time and take forever to cook a pound but this new one step and yer done system works better than anything we've ever tried.
Give it a shot.

Hi Mike!

You do good @ goon gun works but you have no idea about bacon. Maybe you have good teeth.   

One must buy the most fat, least lean bacon.

You just let the bacon sit out and get warm enough to separate easily.

You are definitely on the right track here. Cut the strips in half and place them in a large frypan. I have a gas burner and set it to low heat.

When the half strips show a bit of browning, turn the burner to medium and turn and move the strips to where the fat "bursts" while moving them around in the pan. Turn the burner back to low. The strips should now be crisp after a few minutes without much intervention.

I like crisp bacon as opposed to meaty bacon, which means I buy fatty bacon and not meaty bacon. And it is usually cheaper and more available.

Your turn.

Jim

[Delmonico]

Way to complicated, just toss it in and fry it till it's as done as you want.

[Mogorilla]

I do my bacon in the oven, if I am at home.  works great, especially for thick cut bacon which will often burn if you want it crisp.  Put oven at 400, lay bacon on cookie sheet.  You can also use a rack, but I find it not a necessary element.   cook for 10 minutes, turn, cook for 9, turn, check in 7 or 8 as it is probably done.   It comes out nice and flat.  This is how restaurants cook it and I find it works well for cooking a goodly amount.

[Forty Rod]

Finally got around to re-seasoning the bacon press.  While I was at it I dug out a really old skillet I bought for a buck a few years back and a 5 1/2 quart dutch oven and lid, and did all of them at once.

Used Del's suggestion.

Looks like new gear.

Thanks.

[Delmonico]

Finally got around to re-seasoning the bacon press.  While I was at it I dug out a really old skillet I bought for a buck a few years back and a 5 1/2 quart dutch oven and lid, and did all of them at once.

Used Del's suggestion.

Looks like new gear.

Thanks.

You and I know pard, to many people take a simple task and just make it as dang hard as the can.  Try the simple easy way first.

[olered]

Glad to hear Forty Rod got that bacon press back in service. Over the weekend a friend and I were given permission to go through a couple old barns on a farm that no one has inhabited in a few years. I came across a dutch oven with lid that has heavy layer of rust all over inside and out. The lid is maked with a name  WENZEL  and date 1887. Upon searching this is Chinese junk probably. Still would like to clean it up and try it out. I have searched the inter net and found different ways of possibly bringing it back to life. Any one able to help me out on this?.