How To: Re-Seasoning a Cast Iron Cauldron
I’ve done another post on seasoning cast iron, but that one hadn’t been fully stripped. This cauldron was stripped in our workshop using a rotary tool and abrasive pads. Without seasoning, the cast iron will rust quickly, especially in humid conditions.
Here’s how we seasoned the raw cast iron:
Gather your supplies—In this case, the cauldron to be seasoned, a clean fabric rag, and olive oil.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wipe down the cauldron with a damp rag (not wet) to remove any residual dirt and dry.
Dampen your cloth with olive oil and wipe a light coat all over the cauldron. It should not dripping wet—this will cause sticky globs to form in the oven. The coat should be light and even, inside and out. You may even need to wipe it off with a second cloth—it’s better to apply several lighter coats than one heavy one due to stickiness.
Also, in this case, the handle is steel, not iron. It’s unnecessary to apply oil to the steel, so wipe it clean before putting in the oven.
Put the cast iron piece in the oven upside down. This prevents drips, and in this case, allows me to separate the handle and body of the cauldron, so the handle does not stick.
Bake for one hour. In this case, when I pulled the cauldron out and allowed it to cool, the oil was still tacky, so I put the cauldron back in for another half hour. I find the metal still looks slightly shiny if the seasoning is still tacky, but this is not always the case, so don’t use it as your only guide.
NOTE: Do NOT touch to test for tackiness until the cast iron has cooled or you will not be happy.
Some cast iron pieces will be well-seasoned after a single coat, but this cauldron needed a second coat, so I repeated steps 4, 5, and 6. The second coat required a full two hours in the oven for complete seasoning.
Allow to cool and use!
