Serves: 5

Cast iron may be heavy, but with a proper seasoning, it is the greatest type of metal to cook in. But, you need to keep your cast iron free from rust and well seasoned to make it “stick free”.

When someone buys cast iron from the store, the foundry (manufacturer) coats the pot or pan with a coating of some sort to keep the item from rusting. This is done by spraying with a type of varnish or dipping it into hot paraffin wax. This protective coating must be cleaned off before seasoning your cast iron.

If your Dutch oven is made by LODGE, the protective coating is a sprayed varnish coating, which must be scrubbed off. Heat the Dutch oven inside your home oven to 225°F. then with a hot pad, lower the oven into hot soapy water, and scrub the Dutch oven with a S.O.S. pad. Scrub the inside and outside of the Dutch oven very well, rinse well, and towel dry. Then place the Dutch oven back into your oven at 225° to dry for about 10 to 15 minutes. The only way to dry cast iron is to dry it completely. I do mine in the oven because; the heat is not concentrated in one spot, as it is on the stove top, which can cause minute cracks.

If your Dutch oven is made by any of the other companies that make outdoor Dutch ovens, the protective coating is dipped paraffin wax, which can be burned off. Do this outdoors in your gas B.B.Q. or, a kettle type charcoal B.B.Q. like a Weber. In a charcoal B.B.Q., use Mesquite charcoal for fuel because it burns much hotter than briquettes. Start the charcoal or light the gas B.B.Q., set on high and pre-heat the B.B.Q. When the charcoal is white, spread it out a little so that is not to close to the cooking grate. Place the oven onto the cooking grate, upside down, and close the lid on the B.B.Q. Heat the oven to 500° to 550° for 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on how large your Dutch oven is. Close the B.B.Q. and cook the Dutch oven for about 2 to 3 hours at 500° to 550° ,or until the oven stops smoking. Cool the scrub the oven and dry as directed above.

New and recent developments include “pre-seasoned” cast iron. If this is the case for you and your new Dutch oven or cast iron implement then you should still season the implement before you use it to cook and prepare food. Having pre-seasoned cast iron is much easier to prepare for your first initial seasoning in that, all you need to do is remove the cast iron from the box and wash it with very hot soap and water and rinse it well. Then, you can follow the directions below and season your cast iron, then use it to make delicious food for you, your family and friends.

To season the Dutch oven, place the oven upside down on the cooking grate and warm the oven for 30 to 60 minutes at 500°to 550°.With hot pads, remove the D.O. and rub a light coat of lard, bacon grease, white Crisco, or vegetable oil, using a paper towel.

Coat the inside and outside of the D.O. and lid. You only need a light coat of oil; you don’t want the grease to be dripping off the oven. Only apply enough fat to make the iron look wet. Place the Dutch oven back onto the cooking grate and cook the Dutch oven for about 2 to 3 hours at 500° to 550° ,or until the oven stops smoking. Remove the oven from the B.B.Q. with hot pads to cool. If the D.O. is a glossy brown color, not black, return to B.B.Q. to cook about thirty more minutes. By doing this outside in the B.B.Q., you don’t have to fill the house with smoke and set off the smoke detectors.

When Seasoning Maca ovens or Dutch ovens over 16” Then I suggest building a “seasoning oven” out of a 55 gallon barrel, and using the barrel to season BIG ovens like the massive 160 pound 22” Maca.

To any person who owns and uses BIG Dutch ovens seasoning such large and heavy pots and pans can be a problem since these massive pieces of iron will not fit into home ovens and most do not have access to a large commercial oven to season BIG cast iron in. With help from “Biscuit T. Sims” Here are instructions on building such an oven, using a 55 gallon steel drum and a single burner stove for the heat source.

The first thing you need to do is find a 55 gallon steel drum with both ends attached. Next, draw a line around the center of the drum between the 2 “ribs” or draw the line 6” toward the center from one of the ribs and carefully cut the barrel in half using a sawzall. Be sure to fill the barrel with water to keep the vapors from igniting and causing an explosion.

*NOTE: I am not responsible for accidents or explosions in construction or use. I am only providing this as information only and how I built my seasoning oven. After the barrel is cut in two, file or grind the cut edges smooth to avoid sharp edges from cutting yourself. Take the deeper of 2 halves and set it aside. With the shorter half, drill 20 to 30, ½” diameter holes evenly spaced into the end (top or bottom). Next, cut a 1 ½“ notch, 3” deep into the side and file smooth. This notch is for the propane hose and valve to fit through the barrel. My barrel sets on a small cement slab, topped with fire brick and 4 stacks of fire brick, 2 bricks tall to set the bottom barrel on, my bricks are 1” thick, raising the bottom barrel 2” for air space for the propane stove to stay lit. Drill 3 or 4 holes ¼” in diameter,evenly around the circumference of the barrel right at the “top” end and place a 1 ½” long bolt with a nut into the hole with the head inside the barrel and the stem of the bolt facing out and tighten the nut to hold the bolt into place. These help hold the top half of the barrel on the bottom half in case it is not put on evenly.

For the top half, Drill some handle holes on 2 sides of the top, two thirds of the way to the top for handles to lift the barrel lid safely. Either on the top of the lid or in the sides away from each handle, drill 3 or 4 holes ¾“ diameter, about 1” from one another and cover with sheet aluminum or steel and mark the holes, then drill the holes through the aluminum or steel to create a vent for temperature control. Fasten the sheet steel or aluminum with one or two small bolts to open and close the vent easily.

Now that your oven is built, you need to fire it up and heat it to about 550° F. one or two times to “season” the oven. Now your oven is ready to use once you place the stove into the bottom half. Keep a good BBQ thermometer inside the lid and attach half way up with a short sensor so you can easily read the internal temperature. If the stove will not stay lit you need to create more air space by adding fire brick to the bottom or cutting 1 or more air intake holes near the open bottom to let in more air. My stove heats to 550° in 15 minutes on high and once the oven gets hot I turn the heat to medium to keep the temperature steady.

More Recipes from the Cast Iron "Covered Wagon" Cookin Cooking for Crowds in BIG Ovens Cookbook:
Seasoning
Cleaning
Rust Removal and Stripping Rancid Seasoning
Storing
Temperature
Tools
Building a Seasoning Oven for BIG Dutch Ovens