I found a new way to strip a good seasoning off CI

[TRAIL-OF-TEARS]

We (the wife and I) have been using my new 10" Lodge CI skillet for all of our cooking since I got it on Christmas morning. Well Monday I figured I would make some spaghetti and meat sauce. I browned the ground meat perfectly. Then I drained the meat and added a can of Ragu. After dinner as I was cleaning up, I learned a valuable lesson, Ragu extra chunky mushroom will strip the seasoning right off your Cast Iron. Every place the Ragu touched the skillet is now a nice shiny metal color. Looks like I will be re-seasoning it.

[Ira]

Ragu extra chunky mushroom will strip the seasoning right off your Cast Iron.

Uuuuuhhhhh...

So what the hell is it doing to your STOMACH!?

Switch to PREGO for God's sake!

And yeah--I know it's hard to concentrate on anything I say with my new avatar there.

[Miriam C.]

It isn't that you can't cook tomatoes it's that you should drain and clean as soon as the cooking is done.

Wonder if it will take rust off?

[TRAIL-OF-TEARS]

Ragu extra chunky mushroom will strip the seasoning right off your Cast Iron.

Uuuuuhhhhh...

So what the hell is it doing to your STOMACH!?

Switch to PREGO for God's sake!

And yeah--I know it's hard to concentrate on anything I say with my new avatar there.

did you say something


Ira, is that the poor girl with the lactation problem?

[asianflava]

Before cooking tomatos, your CI has to be really well seasoned. The acid will remove the seasoning.

[TRAIL-OF-TEARS]

It was the factory seasoning. and we used the thing three to four times a day for 2 weeks. How long does it take to be well seasoned?

Oh by the way I failed to mention that when I was cleaning the pan (that night) I put hot water in it and put it back on the stove to heat the water a bit more. do you think that might have contributed?

[madjack]

Steve, I cook sauces of al types in CI...heating/boilng water will doittoit...after washing, I put the piece back on the stove onna medium heat until the water evaporates and then wipe it down with a paper towel dipped in oil...works just great for me!!!!!
madjack

[TRAIL-OF-TEARS]

Jack ,
that is exactly how I do it. but that last time I was wiping it down with the oiled paper towel I noticed it was turning the paper black then I noticed that every place the sauce was the nice black finish was comming off too.

I tried reseasoning it but I think I had the fire a bit too hot on the gas grill and I think I baked off all of the seasoning.

[rbeemer]

Steve,

I do not think that you can get the pan too hot for cooking unless you try to melt the pan. I have a cast iron skillet that I use to make Blackened Fish and I get that pan to a temp that is called white hot and this pan does not have any oil in it while heating up and when I am done I clean it wipe it down with oil, cloth does turn black but it does on other CI that I have, it still has its seasoning. I clean up with hot water but do not heat water in it(no reason to) and scrub it with a bamboo scrubber(you can use a plastic scrubber also but I would not use any metal) that I also use on my iron wok.

You can re-season your oven but your care of it is more important, also using a dutch oven is kind of like being on teardrop time, things just move slower, so sit back have a cold one

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Steve,
When I cook with any type of tomato based sauce in my DOs, I coat the seasoned interior surfaces of the CI with a fresh coat of olive oil right before cooking... It seems to help, kinda acts as a temporary shield for the seasoning.
When I was first fiddling around with electrolisis, to strip old seasoning off... My brother-in-law told me I was going about it the hard way and wasting time. He suggested that I simply coat the CI with tomato paste, wrap it up with plastic food wrap, let it set over night, then rinse the CI the following morning.
I haven't tried it yet, 'cause Kevin has a real bitchin bead blaster.

[TRAIL-OF-TEARS]

Dean,
I bet Kevin's bead blaster is a lot of fun, but that ragu was purty fast and no elbow grease. I think I left the meat sauce in the pan for about 45 min.

we were able to fry some chicken in it last night mmmmm good.