Seasoning TJM kit

[ONE]

Bought myself the TJM Fire Anchor to go with the Arinn Firebowl I got on kickstarter.

Does seasoning over open fire work okay? I've a good collection of cast iron but I've always used the oven to season them. My concerns would be the effect of smoke and direct contact with the flames. Any advice/reassurances?

 

[Toddy]

In the past folks rarely had ovens, but they had cast iron cauldrons, frying pans, girdles (bakestones), etc.,
Their cookware was just seasoned in the hearth fire.

I reckon that if you're careful, maybe just use the embers, so no real smoke, then I can't see why it ought not work fine.

I have two 'gypsy' frying pans, and when I need to use them I just clean them, scrub them with salt, clean that off and oil them really well, then just use them hanging over a fire.
My cast iron girdle spends it life either on the cooker top or stowed away in the oven, but the big hanging one that I use over a fire just gets treated the same way I do the frying pans.

The only issue is that the bottoms are always sooty, so I have special bags made from waxed canvas (it's just what I had to hand) that I put them away inside, always the same way down so that I don't get soot all over my hands or the top of the girdle or inside the pans.

 

[lou1661]

I have found that an open fire/embers was the way to go, I got a much better season on the fire than I ever did in an oven.

Louis

 

[Keith_Beef]

I cook in cast iron almost every day, and have never seasoned a pot in the oven, always over a gas flame.

Like Toddy, I use salt to scrub out the inside if it's really needed, but that's quite rare.

Then I put some kind of fat or oil inside, warm it to get it really liquid and wipe it all around with kitchen roll to make sure the whole surface is coated, then heat it up to nearly smoking point and finally allow it to cool.

 

[Robson Valley]

My best wok has been used by me for 55 years. Over open flame, every chance I get. It's better non-stick than Teflon. Typical Asian cooking. I don't care very much what happens to the outside bottom. I can clean that off a little with a few handfuls of fine sand. Hot water rinse for the inside is plenty.

 

[Kadushu]

Do you mean the grill on the TJM or are you thinking of coating the whole thing?

 

[ONE]

Do you mean the grill on the TJM or are you thinking of coating the whole thing?

Just the grill and the skillet.