Question: my wife left our cast iron with some leftover pastrami in the oven until it rotted. I poured boiling water in it a few times. But how to I recover it...safely?
All you have to do is scour it thoroughly then use it to fry something. Then just keep using it.
Using it is the easiest way to season it.
Worst case: sandblaster.
Seriously, sand it with a power sander and re-season.
Beat it like a baby seal and it will continue to perform.
***my wife left our cast iron with some leftover pastrami in the oven until it rotted.***
Here is how I recover and clean old cast iron. We found a dead rotted mouse in one of our cast iron skillets in storage.
If you have a brush pile or a barbeque, place the skillet on the grill up side down or in the pile when it is on fire. Let it burn till the fire begins to die or until the skillet glows dull red, or is covered with grey ash.
Pull it out, let it cool. DO NOT spray water on it. When cool, wash the ash off, place it on the stove and get it hot enough to evaporate the water, then wipe it with oil.