cerealcat's Profile

Hello,

In case this is still active, I have a cast iron problem...my old pan, which I pretty much use for everything every day, had a nice, black, smooth and probably decades-old carbonized finish on it. But then it got left on the (electric...sucks, I know) burner way too long the other night by one who will remain nameless.

Now the center of the pan's coating has simply burned off, leaving me with an inner about 4-in diameter circle of shiny iron and an outer circle (and sides, and bottom) of ancient, thick coating.

So, should I just clean and re-season the thing and hope it all evens out eventually? Or should I remove every last bit of coating and start all over again? The coating that is still there is not crackly or gunky - it's very solid and smooth and it's what I've been cooking on for years, I always thought this was the goal of long-use in these pans (or am I wrong?)

Note, I don't have a self-cleaning oven to burn it all off if that's the thing to do. I could make a fire in the (small) fireplace and stick it in, I guess, but it would not be a roaring bonfire.

Thanks for any help or tips if anyone is still watching this thread...