First off, let me tell you how much I love my cast iron. There is nothing better for cooking pork chops, steak au poivre, or even the occasional egg scramble. But this weekend while we were cooking some cornbread for the the Provost’s super bowl party, I noticed that our skillet was getting a little worn – it is definitely time for a good seasoning. Since all of my cast iron cookware originally came from my mom, I called her up to find out how she would take care of it. Evidently if it is really crudded up, you have to start all over. My mom will simply plunge it into a hot wood fire and let it rest there for about 30 minutes, or until it is a dull red. You then have to let it cool slowly (so as not to crack) and then you can scour it with steel wool. Alternatively, if you have a self cleaning oven, you can simply place your cast iron cookware inside and turn it on to its shortest clean cycle. If your cookware is not too bad off, you can just and follow the rest of these steps to reset it. Fortunately this time around mine was in this second category. Ma says if you do it right, you won’t ever have to go the hard route again.

1. Using  a cotton rag or towel, wipe the clean and dry cookware down with Crisco or other solid cooking fat until it has a clear thin coat over its entire surface. Make sure that you do not leave it too thick as this will puddle up and not fully bake down, causing you cooking and cleaning headaches in the future.
2. Place the cookware top down in the oven (this lets any excess cooking fat run off without puddling)  and turn to 500 degrees. Allow to cook for one hour. This is going to smoke a bit, so be ready to man your fire alarm if you need to. I also spread out some aluminum foil in the oven underneath the cast iron to catch any stray drippings.
3. After one hour in the oven, immediately coat with another thin layer of cooking fat. Let cool completely.

and that is it. from now on, whenever I use my cast iron, My mom says I just have to clean it with a little soap and water, dry it well on a stove top burner, coat it with a thin layer of cooking oil, and place it in the oven on low heat for about an hour to reset the finish. Awesome – thanks for the tips, Ma!