Baptized in Fire

[Mud Creek]

Figured this section would be a good place to ask. I bought a new lodge skillet the year my daughter was born(actually 1 month before in Dec '16) and use it often. This past year it's just constantly a PITA to keep clean. My old ones take not much more than a good wiping and will stay slick as snot. This one seems like half holds a good seasoning and the other not so much. I want to strip it and start over. Anybody have any experience putting them in a fire/on hot coals to strip and resesson? Tips or suggestions? Especially for after it comes out.

I know not to get it too hot, and that this way has a good chance of messing it up if not done correctly but seems easy enough. This thing has had way too much cooking done in it(especially bacon and sausage) to have this issue. I know the newer stuff doesn't hold up compared to the old but surely this is fixable.

 

[TAFKAP]

If you're burning it out, it's not stripping the seasoning. Our Scout Troop cooks almost exclusively in cast iron, and if something gets good and baked on, we just throw the piece upside-down in the fire. Once it cools down a bit, so we don't cold-shock the metal, we boil the snot out of it to release all the stuff. Oil it down and put it away. All that to say, a good burn won't strip the finish, but will just burn off the stuck stuff. Truly stripping the finish and starting over will require some sort of chemical strip or electrolysis.

Also, the newer Lodge stuff has a grittier finish than a lot of the older stuff. But if you burn it out, you can start back closer to the original. Maybe stay away from bacon at first since the sugar in the cure might give you some carbon residue. See if you can get a piece of pork belly at the butcher counter and render it down into lard. That ought to help you regain some seasoning.

 

[Mud Creek]

If you're burning it out, it's not stripping the seasoning. Our Scout Troop cooks almost exclusively in cast iron, and if something gets good and baked on, we just throw the piece upside-down in the fire. Once it cools down a bit, so we don't cold-shock the metal, we boil the snot out of it to release all the stuff. Oil it down and put it away. All that to say, a good burn won't strip the finish, but will just burn off the stuck stuff. Truly stripping the finish and starting over will require some sort of chemical strip or electrolysis.

Also, the newer Lodge stuff has a grittier finish than a lot of the older stuff. But if you burn it out, you can start back closer to the original. Maybe stay away from bacon at first since the sugar in the cure might give you some carbon residue. See if you can get a piece of pork belly at the butcher counter and render it down into lard. That ought to help you regain some seasoning.

Yes a burn out would have been a better way to say it. I knew about the newer stuff having that rougher feeling I just wanted to get one that was the same age as her lol. It did good but just isn't holding up over the long haul.

 

[TNRifleman]

I have stripped a few by putting them in the oven and setting the oven to "clean"