High heat CAN and WILL warp or even crack fragile cast iron. Wearing gloves, coat the top and bottom of the cast iron piece with oven cleaner. Oven cleaner may burn your skin.
Option 3: Use Oven Cleaner
Wearing rubber gloves, coat the top and bottom of the cast iron skillet with oven cleaner.
Place the coated piece in a garbage bag and seal tightly to prevent the oven cleaner from drying out.
Wait several days for the oven cleaner to loosen and remove the old seasoning and to restored it to the original cast which will be a silvery-gray color. There may still be rust.
Check after 2 days, then wipe off the cleaner and apply a fresh coat
Check after 3 days.
Usually a week is enough time to clean the piece.
Remove the lye and old seasoning by wiping off the grime with a paper towel and then washing the skillet with hot water.
Neutralize the lye and surface rust
Soak the cleaned skillet in a 2:1 solution of hot water and white distilled vinegar for 30-60 minutes to soften any surface rust so it can be scrubbed away with steel wool.
Wash the skillet with soap and hot water and dry it thoroughly.
The skillet has been cleaned down to the bare metal and must be seasoned immediately to prevent rusting.
To season:
Place the cleaned, dry skillet upside-down in a 250° oven for 15 minutes.
Increase the temperature to 500 degrees and let the skillet heat up for 45 minutes.
The skillet will be EXTREMELY hot, so be careful removing it from the oven.
Turn off the oven.
Decide if you want to season with lard, Crisco or olive oil
Rub the lard, Crisco or olive oil all over the entire skillet with paper towels;
the hot skillet will absorb the oil and begin to turn brown.
The oil will likely smoke as well; this is normal.
Using clean paper towels, rub off the excess oil so that the skillet just appears wet.
your aim should be for multiple thin layers rather than a single thick layer.
Return the oiled skillet to the oven (upside-down to prevent pooling) and let the skillet cool while the oven cools.
Wipe any excess oil off every 10-15 minutes to prevent any pooling or buildup.
Every 30 minutes or so, repeat seasoning with a fresh application of lard or oil, remembering to wipe off the excess oil.
After one hour, open the oven door slightly to help cool the oven faster.
At this point, the skillet should be completely reconditioned, seasoned and ready for use.
It will take time and additional layers of seasoning before the piece becomes black and glossy.
Cleaning Cast Iron:
Do not use soap on the skillet unless absolutely necessary.
Clean while still hot after cooking. A well-seasoned piececan be wiped with a clean paper towel or use hot water and a nylon scrubber.
Towel dry the skillet thoroughly and warm it over a low to medium-low burner to be sure that all of the moisture has evaporated.
Apply a tiny layer of lard to the skillet while still hot, using a paper towel to remove all of the lard except for the thinnest possible layer.
Store skillets stacked with paper towels in between each one to prevent scratching and to absorb any moisture.
