Try as we might to always pack away our gear for the winter so it's ready to roll next season, sometimes life happens. If you left your pie irons packed away after your last trip, they may need some serious cleanup after sitting unused. Sometimes, no matter how well you clean and oil your irons before packing them away, they may still need to be retouched before heading to the campground.
The unofficial start to summer is just weeks away, so lets get ready for pudgy pies! Lets pull out the pie irons and clean them up so their are ready for the first camping trip.
I do a three-step process to get my irons ready. Ideally I do it at the end of the season before packing them away, but like I said, life happens. The three steps are: Soak, Scrub, Season.
Fill your sink with enough hot water to cover the pie iron. Allow them to soak for about 10 minutes to loosen the stuck on ash and food. After they've soaked, take a nylon brush and give them a good scrubbing. I do this with them still in the water. Then rinse them clean under hot water.
Some people say never let cast iron sit in water, but water won't hurt a well seasoned pie iron. In addition to helping to clean the pie iron, the soaking is a good test of your patina. If you end up with a rust spot, that was an area that wasn't seasoned and food would stick to it. Better to take care of that before you start cooking.
Next, take a sheet of paper towel-- I prefer shop towels for this, and blot the pie iron dry. Do not wipe or rub them. Depending on the condition of the patina and the type of paper towel, you may end up with all kinds of paper towel pilling stuck to the pie iron if you wipe or rub them dry.
If the irons have an even finish to them, the patina appears to be in good shape and no rust spots developed, you're done and ready to roll. If it will be a while before you use them, spray them with nonstick cooking spray and wipe them out.
If your pie iron looks like it could use a new coat of seasoning or a rust spot developed, it's time to fire up the grill. To take care of the rust, take some super fine steel wool or fine grain sand paper and just rub the rust out. After sanding it down give it a blast of compressed air to blow off any sand or steel wool left behind. Next step is to season it.
Heat the grill to a moderate temperature. After blotting off the rinse water and buffing out any rust, place the pie irons over the grill for a few minutes to fully dry them and warm them up. Remove the pie irons from the grill and give them an even coat of nonstick cooking spray. Wipe it with paper towel to evenly distribute and eliminate any air bubbles. Place the pie irons back on the grill and allow them to bake until dry.
Now your pie irons are ready for another season of making pudgies.