Dutch ovens do they always need seasoning

[JamieG]

Hi,
Just had a new Ronnie Sunshine 8 ltr oven as a birthday pressie.
Excuse me if I am repeating something similar but I did not find an answer easily.
My question is if I am only going to cook some sort of stew affair in it do I need to season it?
I understand that seasoning provides a "non-stick" surface - but if all I intend to do is boil up veg will all the boiling erode the seasoning?
Any help greatly welcomed.

 

[Gill]

Hi Jamie,i think the ones from ronnie,s are not seasoned so you need to clean all the wax off with warm water but no soap products at all.To season i used an american product called CISCO ,you will be able to get it off the net ,use some kitchen roll to apply this product all over the dutch oven inside and out and bake it upside down in the oven at a medium heat for a couple of hours.thats about all there is to it,you do not need to do this very often at all,but never use washing up liquid or any soap just hot water and a stiff brush.you will notice when it cools down after coming out the oven it has a shiny ,varnished sort of feel.if you look on youtube for this there are plenty of tutorials.

 

[launditch1]

Here y'go..http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46614:)

 

[John Fenna]

I understand that Cisco is basically like lard.
Plain lard is ideal for seasoning your DO and even if you are only boiling stuff up is pretty much essential to avoid bad rusting.
I would season all cast iron - even stews need meat "sealed" before you boil em up.

 

[JamieG]

Thanks for the info - and so quick.
Another question - can you season over a wood fire, I am thinking it might be difficult due to keeping it upside down (as in an oven).

 

[Miyagi]

Here was me thinking CISCO was about computers. Well if this laptop dies once more it'll fit in the oven..

As a chef (allegedly...) we used to season cast iron cookware on the gas stove tops filled with salt.

When my auld Dad passed away (God Bless him) I had to clear his house. I "souvenired" the cast iron chip pan.

I remember it being used through my childhood, it was NEVER washed.

Any lard (yes fat, not veg oil etc) that had too many "black bits in" was filtered through an old fashioned jam strainer. The jam strainer was used at Hallowe'en as a witch's hat when guising.

Most of the old fat was either chucked on the midden/compost, along with the carbon bits.. but some of the old fat was kept. The old fat and the addition of the new blocks of lard, meant that the chips tasted good.

New lard just doesn't have the same taste.

This cast iron chip pan had originally been given as a Wedding present to my Dad's mum's Auntie. Given that my Dad was born in 1932, the chip pan when I was using it up to 2007 was still working fine. Seasoned? I'm not sure if there was any iron left in it apart from the handle, the rest of it had such a coating of "petrified" lard it would have lasted for years.

I only stopped using it in 2007 when an ex burd of mine, updated all of my traditional (ancient) kitchen cookware etc as a surprise. Hence she became my ex...

Pizza and flan pans are never scrubbed either - just wiped while hot!!

 

[Barn Owl]

Do it over an open fire with a grill or couple of metal right angles to support the oven.

Martin K9 did one that way at Swift Valley a few months ago.

I gave mine a good scrub (Ronnie Sunshine set) before seasoning.

 

[JamieG]

Thanks for the advice.
Well best go and start the process.
If anyone is South Wales sees black smoke coming over the Severn, don't worry it isn't toxic, just a mad bushcrafter doing a bit of seasoning.

 

[Gill]

I understand that Cisco is basically like lard.
Plain lard is ideal for seasoning your DO and even if you are only boiling stuff up is pretty much essential to avoid bad rusting.
I would season all cast iron - even stews need meat "sealed" before you boil em up.

It is vegetable shortening John,but looks and feels just like lard,bit healthier though some of us watch our figures u know

 

[Gill]

Sorry peeps my mistake its CRISCO not cisco.

 

[Miyagi]

It is vegetable shortening John,but looks and feels just like lard,bit healthier though some of us watch our figures u know

Agreed.

I keep in shape.

Round is a shape.

Like body building/sculpting it doesn't happen overnight.

I have to work at it.

 

[Miyagi]

Sorry peeps my mistake its CRISCO not cisco.

I bet Tony Bennet is glad you never wrote any songs for him!!!

I left my heart in san fran-crisco...

 

[Gill]

Who,s Tony Bennet

 

[Miyagi]

Who,s Tony Bennet

Hahahahaaaa!!!

Nice try...

I know for a fact, that's your Kara-Oke piece.....

 

[Native Nathan]

Agreed.

I keep in shape.

Round is a shape.

I Agree but there again, I have a body that is the double of one of the gods......

Shame its Budda!!!!!!!!

 

[Miyagi]

I Agree but there again, I have a body that is the double of one of the gods......

Shame its Budda!!!!!!!!

My body is a temple.

It's in ruins!!!

 

[Rory McCanuck]

JamieG, there are no hard and fast rules for seasoning cast iron. All you are trying to do is to infuse oil into the iron to prevent it from rusting. As a side benefit, the oil tends to make it non-stick.
The theory is: heat the iron up to open up the pores, insert oil, allow it to cool and seal the oil in.
I would caution against doing it on a fire, a bed of coal might be okay though.
You don't want to burn the oil and then seal it in. I did this on my Dutch oven the first time. Everything tasted of burnt oil after that. Boiling a pot of very salty water for a couple of hours cleaned all the bad seasoning off. Second go around it was lower heat and a good wipe with oil. Let it cool down, then repeat.
Everytime you go to use it for the first few months, give it a little wipe of oil first. When you are done, wash it, then give it a little wipe. As for all those that say their pot has never been washed/seen soap etc. that's just icky!
Wash it all you want, just give it a coat of oil afterwards.
The more you use it, the better seasoned it becomes, and it will become non-stick. You'll wonder why Teflon was invented. The answer to a question nobody asked...