Alternate Seasoning or Preservation Method?

S

ScottC

New member
I have a fairly large cast iron pot 24" x 13 x 10" that I need to somehow season or keep it from rusting. Needless to say it is too large to fit in my oven. Due to the seams on the bottom I am guessing it older, so painting is not top on my list. The one idea I was thinking of was to coat it in Crisco like you normally would to season, but then use something like a propane weed burner to cook the finish rather than a oven.
IMG_20181125_125732.jpg IMG_20181125_125714.jpg IMG_20181125_125645.jpg
 
Are you going to remove the rust first, then season? Seasoning over rust I thought would still cause the item to rust under the seasoning.

The idea of a propane burner for weeds I think would be a good idea if you could find a way to regulate the heat and heat slowly and evenly.
 
What you have is a ham boiler. It was designed to use on a wood stove. To use it you would remove two of the stove eyes and the divider between them and it would leave an oval hole for your pan to fit in. I would not use a wire wheel on a small piece but something this size I would use a drill and either a steel or stainless steel wire wheel to remove the rust. I also would use one that’s not extremely stiff. Then wash it off good and dry with the weed burner torch or a deep fryer outside burner. Then wipe it down with oil or lard and heat it up to the smoking point. If you go to Lodge’s website they have a story about one of their employees restoring a sugar kettle and deep frying donuts in it.
 
or do it over a camp fire, like they do the bigger kettles... get some good coals going, with a cooking grate over it... slather on the lard/oil... and let it heat up... and get to smoking... and try to hold it there at that temp for a while... and then cool down...
 
Thanks for all the info. As far as pulling out the racks in my oven and using that, this comes to mind. https://youtu.be/Evkv48zYrQQ :biggrin: The rust you see in the photos is just surface flash rust. I have a electrolysis setup that was just able to fit the pot and that took care of the rust and buildup on it. The video is helpful and I will try that route this weekend. Also thanks for letting me know what it was used for. With that I was able to check past prices and see I did not get a horrid deal on it like I thought. Once I get it seasoned I will post another shot of it.
 
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