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Outpost:                  How to season a new dutch oven   | 
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                 ChickieMama 
                True Blue Farmgirl 
                     
                303 Posts
  
                Angela 
                Banks 
                Oregon 
                
                USA 
                303 Posts  | 
                
                  
                    
                      
                       Posted - Apr 23 2011 :  11:28:37 PM
                        
                      
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                      Hello sisters,
  I just bought a new cast iron dutch oven for campfire cooking and I'm not sure of the best way to season it. Help please.
  Oh and the best way to clean it after cooking with it...
  Thank you!
  Farmgirl Sister#2808 "Happy Hens make Happy Eggs" http://lazyjoranch.blogspot.com http://etsy.com/shop/lazyjoranch
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                 MagnoliaWhisper 
                True Blue Farmgirl 
                      
                2817 Posts
  
                Heather 
                Haysville 
                Kansas 
                USA 
                2817 Posts  | 
                
                  
                    
                      
                       Posted - Apr 23 2011 :  11:32:11 PM
                        
                      
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                      season it like any other cast iron, lard (a thin thin layer smeared in it) and then in a low heat oven for as long as you can. Some hours are nice. Doing it more then once is helpful. And cooking bacon and such in it helps after you do that too. 
  As far as cleaning, I try to wipe it out as much as possible with a towel of some kind right away. If anything is left in it after that, heat it up on the stove top and wipe the rest off, if there is stuff stuck to it heating it up till the stuff burns and will flake off with a spatula or something like that will help too. Then just wipe again with a thin layer of lard, and wipe out. Try not to wash with soap and water. If you end up having to ever wash it with soap and water for some reason, then you need to reseason it. However, try to avoid that. The longer you use it with out washing it the better the season it will get, and the more non stick it will become.
 
   http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com | 
                     
                    
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                 edlund33 
                True Blue Farmgirl 
                      
                1515 Posts
  
                Marilyn 
                Renton 
                WA 
                USA 
                1515 Posts  | 
                
                  
                    
                      
                       Posted - Apr 24 2011 :  3:04:17 PM
                        
                      
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                      Try using dry salt instead of detergent to scrub cast iron.  It doesn't affect the seasoned finish on your pots and it kills germs, too. The salt absorbs grease so you can just brush it out of the pan and then rinse with water if you wish.  I've also found that wiping a very thin layer of crisco on my new pans while they are still warm before I put them away helps keep them in prime condition until they get really well seasoned.  Enjoy your new dutch oven!
  Cheers! ~  Marilyn
  Farm Girl No. 1100
  Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. - Ralph Waldo Emerson | 
                     
                    
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                 ChickieMama 
                True Blue Farmgirl 
                     
                303 Posts
  
                Angela 
                Banks 
                Oregon 
                USA 
                303 Posts  | 
                
                  
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                 CMac 
                True Blue Farmgirl 
                      
                1074 Posts
  
                Connie 
                Ashland City 
                TN 
                USA 
                1074 Posts  | 
                
                  
                    
                      
                       Posted - Apr 24 2011 :  7:16:38 PM
                        
                      
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                      Lodge makes a handy little plastic thing to scrape the crustys off your cast iron.  I don't mind using water on my cast iron but no soap.  If it has a lot of stuck on stuff I'll pour some boiling water in it and scrape it off with the plastic tool.  Rinse and dry very well.  If the oven is still warm I'll stick it in there to dry.  When it is dry I rub a tad of bacon grease into it, wipe it off as much as possible and put it away. Never store your dutch oven with the lid on it.  I put a folded towel over the pot and then put the lid on that.   Connie
  "I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company." Author: Henry David Thoreau | 
                     
                    
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                 ChickieMama 
                True Blue Farmgirl 
                     
                303 Posts
  
                Angela 
                Banks 
                Oregon 
                USA 
                303 Posts  | 
                
                  
                    
                      
                       Posted - Apr 28 2011 :  11:26:45 PM
                        
                      
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                      Thank you for the tips Connie...I appreciate them!quote: Originally posted by CMac
  Lodge makes a handy little plastic thing to scrape the crustys off your cast iron.  I don't mind using water on my cast iron but no soap.  If it has a lot of stuck on stuff I'll pour some boiling water in it and scrape it off with the plastic tool.  Rinse and dry very well.  If the oven is still warm I'll stick it in there to dry.  When it is dry I rub a tad of bacon grease into it, wipe it off as much as possible and put it away. Never store your dutch oven with the lid on it.  I put a folded towel over the pot and then put the lid on that.   Connie
  "I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company." Author: Henry David Thoreau
 
  
  Farmgirl Sister#2808 "Happy Hens make Happy Eggs" http://lazyjoranch.blogspot.com http://etsy.com/shop/lazyjoranch
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Outpost:                  How to season a new dutch oven   | 
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