Member - Prickle (SA) replied:

Ron,
Not too many takers to date.

Is this a new oven? I know you said that you have been cooking for a few years, but if it is a new oven they tend to cover them with some foul oil which will taint your food and smell.

I had a gas oven and had a similar problem, ruined a leg of lamb, but we stil ate it. :):)

If it is not this and it were me I would be scrubbing the be jesus out of the pot and giving it a light coating of olive or some other oil before uisng again.

Not much help.

Good luck.

Sand Man (SA) replied:

Not much of an option Ron. Start from scratch.

Clean it as well as you can, even using steel wool or similar.
Then wash it with soapy water (dish washing liquid) and dry with a cloth.
Give it a light coating of canola or peanut oil.
Then re-season:-
Heat the oven to as high a temperature as possible.
An outdoor gas BBQ, or a heap of heat beads is better than the kitchen oven.
You want the Camp Oven "smoking".
Re-oil and re heat until you get that burnt looking black coating back again.

Bit of work I know, but you will get your Oven back the way it should be again.

Member - Bill F (VIC) replied:

Hi Ron,

I think someone used a vegetable oil during cooking or cleaning after the Lamb

I only use olive oil now

Bill F

D-Jack replied:

Do you feel a chill in the air when you go near your camp oven? Just wondering, it might be a spirit has inhabited the camp oven!

Ron173 replied:

Thanks for the answers.

Confirmed my worst suspicions..... lots of work to redo it all this weekend.

SandMan, When you say do on bbq did you do it upright with the peanut oil inside just splashing around?, as when I did it in house oven before, instructions were to upturn it to allow heat in??

Re vegetable oil, thats a very big possibility. Didnt know it has such disastrous consequencies. I'm sure I've put a splash of veggie oil in bottom before with no probs, I will make sure its olive oil from now on, or just let the meat self baste.

Regards

Ron

Member - Brian H (QLD) replied:

Ron, i'm no more help than the rest of the people here, but I will say i never use anything other than olive oil in mine even in my cooking. In fact I have a spray can of olive oil that i put on after i clean the oven out.

Good luck and let us know how it goes after you redo it :)

Brian

Sand Man (SA) replied:

I've got to say that a well seasoned Camp Oven looks, well, bloody ordinary, if done properly.

What you are attempting to create is an impervious coating backed on the inside walls of the oven which will resist food sticking and metal rusting,
Kind of like a teflon coating you see on frypans, etc.

It will look black but SHMBO must be told NEVER to attempt removal of this coating with steel wool, or elbow grease, otherwise you are back to square one again.

I'm OK with my spouse. I generally elect to wash the camp dishes, etc. while she sits and sips her chardonnay. (I mean, she dries)

johannagoanna replied:

I would light a big fire and give it a good burning upside down! Best way to clean a camp oven. When it starts to glow, take it out, let it cool down, and the scrape out the inside, give it a good spray with oil - done!

Sounds like a lot less work to me!

This is how I treat my camp oven after most meals!

Stop keep treating it like a baby, it is just cast iron!

Jo

Scrubcat replied:

Ron,
Best to clean it out and start again. Heat it empty to about cooking roast temperature then remove from heat and wash with a mixture of 50/50 boiling water and brown vinegar.I doubt if you will need to, but you can put a second lot in and boil it for a while, then empty & rinse. Dont breath the hot mixture it might take your breath away.
This is the best way to clean any cooking surface, the mixture only needs to be hot if you are cleaning hot cast iron to prevent it from cracking, anything else just use vinegar and cold water onto the hot metal. Have been using this method for years,i am yet to find anything better.
cheers.
S.Cat