Rusty Cast Iron Griddle? Make it Better Than Brand New

We will take this rusty Lodge Cast Iron Griddle and restore it to better than Brand New condition by stripping lt with oven cleaner, sanding the griddle side and re-seasoning it with flax seed oil. Then we will throw it on the Lodge Sportsman's Grill and cook up some breakfast. Nothing is better than breakfast cooked outdoors on live fire and Cast Iron!


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[waynethebarber]

The best way I found to remove rust from cast iron is to use a round wire brush on a drill.
I put it in a vice between 2 board s to hold and grind all the rust off. Then it looks like it was just cast. Once its washed, I warm it up on the stove. Then i rub Crisco shortening all over it . And this is the important part! With a dry clean cloth, I dry it ALL OFF, leave nothing! It will have the thin film you want on... then it goes in the oven. 3 coats like that and it will shine. You don't want a thick coat. THIN THIN THIN IS WANT YOU WANT!!! DRY!!! DRY!!!DRY!!!
I started cooking on cast iron when I was about 13, I will be 62 in 2 months. I have over 25 peices. Some that were my grandmother's. I have done all kinds of cooking on the stove and on the camp fire. I think I can say i know what i am talking about. If you think like me, please give me a thumbs Safe!

[LuciferMorningstar-lqdl]

A brillo pad removes rust like a champ, and you can re clean and sterilize, also cook off any excess chemicals and re season the griddle. But love your videos and watch them all the time, bought a lodge cook it all cause of you lol, I love it.

[bobg]

I've not had a piece of cast iron as bad as this one, but I have had a pan that was close. I've always been afraid of using harsh chemicals, so I just took a flap sanding disk on an angle grinder to it, and it worked perfect. Some would argue about the amount of material this might take off, but it was fine. Still is years later. Nice vids.

[gustavoramos]

I absolutely love your videos!!!! We had a pan that was accidentally left out on our place for 2yrs. My old friend from Croatia fixed it for and seasoned it again. Best pan I own!!!!

[theshazman]

I left a lodge cast iron griddle outside in the rain.. you can imagine what it looked like after a month of rust and gunk. Little elbow grease with a wire brush and some dish soup and stripped all the nastiness off. 2 hours in a 500 degree oven and a good coating of canola oil on both sides resulted in the most non stick cooking surface I've ever cooked on. It literally beats my sur la table scanpan. It's that good. I recommend you try that method. If you have a lot of nasty gunk, use a mix of baking soda and water then finish off with vinegar.

[jefflink]

Tip: For 1 pan re-seasoning I use flax oil gel capsules found in the vitamin section of stores. 1 jar will last for years.

[popholmes]

If you have a self cleaning electric oven put any iron skillet through the cleaning cycle and when it comes out all the rust and old seasoning will just rinse off no scrubbing.

[John.]

It's great that you take the time to make these videos, edit and post them. Not only is it education for folks, it allows other people to comment and provides a forum for conversation about different tips and tricks they have learned/follow themselves. Well done. I would never tell someone else "you should". All I can say is what I would do. If it's really bad (baked on/caked on crud), I use the self cleaning oven mode (fire if I don't have access to an oven). If it's not really that bad - salt and an old piece of leather and scrub it. I too use 80 grit and a sander if need be. I also use vinegar. I keep going until there are no signs of rust at all, when it's dry. Then it's ready for re-season. I also use flaxseed oil for the re-season (4 layers - baked on in between). Then olive oil (with a lint free cloth) for routine re-season after each use. When I clean them after use... hot iron/hot water... and once clean -- dry with heat (over the fire). Min 210 deg F before I re-oil. Usually 300-350 deg F. What I don't do, is use anything that I wouldn't use/spray directly into my mouth. That's been my general rule - and it's worked for me. To each his/her own though. Thanks for taking the time to make the video, try new things (that you haven't before i.e. the flaxseed oil) and share with folks... while also providing the opportunity for others to chime in. Thanks for sharing. Nicely done Sir.

[yankeetothecore]

I love coking on cast iron, rescued a few pieces myself 🇺🇸💕☺💕🇺🇸

[freakboy]

You did a great job. Most impressive is you learn from comments too. Smart man.

[janedoe]

Wow I can't believe the difference...chef you really know your stuff!!👍👍🤗❤

[jamesblair]

Learned something easy off and white vinegar and flax seed oil thanks for the tips.

[daddydutchbbq]

Chris, love this ! Love finding old cast and restoring it ! If only people knew that they could save that awesome cast with a little work !

[missbeckil]

This was so helpful!! My griddle looked awful on one side. Thank you

[HobiesGarageBBQ]

Nice job! Yeah, I don’t know what I like better. Cooking on cast-iron or the actual restoring of it.

[alf]

Someone just gave me a rusty 6.5 “ fry pan. After an afternoon of cleaning and hand sanding because none of my sanders would fit in that little pan, it turned out great. Next day was time to reseason. It looks amazing. Will be perfect for my ultralight day hikes.

[eugenemotes]

Another Classic Video, from.the Backwoods Gourmet. 😎

[waldgeist]

You can also make your own lye bath (without any other nasty ingredients) and soak the cast iron for some days until the rust comes off easily. Another way is mixing water with white vinegar and again soaking the cast iron until the rust comes off. A lye bath does not harm the cast iron, you can leave it in there for quite a while. When using vinegar, you should try to remove the rust after some hours. If it's still not coming off, give it a day. Then a few days and keep trying to remove the rust every 2-3 days. Vinegar can harm the cast iron over time, therefore you don't wanna leave it in there for longer than necessary.
After using both methods you can simply clean your cast iron with soapy water and then reseason. After using vinegar I prefer to not only use plenty of water to neutralize it, I simply use a little baking soda.
I prefer both methods over chemical cleaners which always contain more than just lye or acid.

[emanuscriptgraphics]

Love my Lodge. Just got one a week ago, and I can't stop using it lol.