Saving My Cast Iron Pan

This pan was a gift to me from my parents a few years ago.  I received it already seasoned and loved it.  Then he-who-ruins-skillets ..well..ruined it by putting it in the dishwasher.  A few times. 

So sad.

I ran across a lovely article via Pinterest to help me rescue my pan! The article gives credit to Lifehacker for the solution. Now I'm going to try it on my pan. I miss my pan.


The instructions state to soak the pan in equal parts vinegar and water for at least one hour, but up to six hours depending on how badly the pan is rusted.  I'm going to say mine is pretty bad.  This dishwasher incident happened ...a while ago. :)


I didn't want to waste a ton of vinegar in case my pan was beyond repair, so I started with just the inside of the pan.  I put in in the sink to soak and went to bed.  The next morning, I scrubbed with my regular bristled kitchen brush and the scrubby side of a sponge.  The rust came right off. 

After it was all rust-free, I used the seasoning instructions found HERE.

Rinse and dry completely.

Apply a thin, even coating of MELTED solid vegetable shortening (or cooking oil of your choice) to the cookware (inside and out).

Place aluminum foil on the bottom rack of the oven to catch any dripping.

Set oven temperature to 350 – 400 degrees F.

Place cookware upside down on the top rack of the oven.  (I put a cookie sheet under it)

Bake the cookware for at least one hour. After the hour, turn the oven off and let the cookware cool in the oven.

It is stinky and smoky while its in the oven, so open the screen door or windows..or both.   

Christi