You left your cast iron upside down overnight and now there's a little rust dust on the inside. Don't freak out. Well — you can a little bit. But then lock in, because this is a simple fix.
What You Need
- Coarse salt
- Wet paper towels
- High smoke point oil (canola, avocado, or grapeseed)
- A stovetop burner
Steps
Pour coarse salt into the pan. Grab a wet paper towel and scrub it around the inside. It's going to be gross — the rust comes up, it smells like metal, and the paper towel is going to fall apart. That's fine. That's what's supposed to happen.
Rinse with water. No soap unless there's still food residue in it. Get in there with your hands and wipe away the salt and paper towel bits. Rinse it good.
Dry it completely — top, bottom, sides, everywhere. Don't skip this. Any water left on iron will just rust again.
Add a small amount of oil — just enough to coat the bottom. Paint it around with a paper towel. You don't need a lot.
Put it on the stovetop on medium-high heat until the oil just starts to smoke. Once it smokes, shut the burner off. Dab up any excess oil with a paper towel. Done.
Which oils work:
Not sure which oil to use for other cooking? See the full Cooking Oil Reference Guide →
This is for a small amount of rust dust — the kind you get from leaving the pan upside down overnight or storing it in a humid spot. If your pan is heavily rusted with deep pitting, that's a different situation. But for the common "oh no" morning discovery, this works perfectly.