I May Have Messed Up

BKing

New member
I have my Grandmother's #8 skillet (no brand name). I used it extensively many years ago. It has not been used in years. It was in (not climate control) storage for several years.

When I got it out of storage, it had light rust on it. So, I slathered it with cooking oil and stuck it in the oven. Needless to say, it left an uneven surface. I pulled it out to use it a week or so ago, and the food stuck to it.

So, a couple of days ago, I used salt and a steel wool pad on it trying to get the yuck off. That didn't work very well. So then, I bought a brass attachment for the drill, but it was too abrasive and then stainless steel, etc. until I finally resorted to sandpaper to get the yuck off of it. I'm now down to bare metal on the bottom of the pan.

I didn't attempt to clean the outside of the pan although it is lightly rusted, nor did I attempt to clean the inside walls of the skillet, as they weren't rusted or caked from my botched attempt to re-season it. I don't think it's ruined, because it feels smooth to the touch.

Should I proceed with seasoning or clean the whole thing with oven cleaner and start there?

And a second question, I have some cornbread pans that need work. One is a cornstick pan that is so caked with "seasoning", that it could be called crud, but I bought it new, so I guess it's seasoning. Just clean it with easy off? Remove everything down to bare metal? (Needless to say, it didn't rust in storage.)

Thanks.
bk
 
I would strip them both back to the bare metal and start over. When you're seasoning, after you apply oil, do you wipe them of all the oil that you can and place them upside down in the oven?
 
I didn't wipe down the #8 skillet, because I didn't know what I was doing.

I don't remember about the corn sticks pan. I think I bought it new back in the 70's. It is just crusty from lots of use. I always heated the pan with fat in it before I put the batter in it. It doesn't stick, to say the least, but it looks crusty. I kind of hate to give up the non-stick part to start over.

All my pans are at least 50 years old, but I don't think they are valuable. They are just cooking pans.

bk
 
If the corn stick pans are not sticking, i would leave them and use them as they are. Id hit the skillet with oven cleaner inside and out and start fresh with it.
 
Back
Top