Melted plastic inside metal pot -- argh!

OHHHHHHHH AAAAAAAAAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHHA



[size=7]its only funny because I have done the same thing 2xs [/size]

and yup.
new pot needed.

I got all the visible plastic off the first time


then, my food tasted like plastic..


bought a new pan


Did it again..
Cleaned NEW pot

food tasted like plastic

Most plastics are pretty damn toxic when melted
and ingested..
I learned this AFTER I tried 'cooking out' the taste of the first pot


Sorry dahhhhling. Get a new one.

Chunk it. Only a new one will be good enough. No money to pay for it? Beats poisoning yourself.

As the third generation owner of double-lovely much adored cast iron pots I say that throwing it out would be lunacy!

There has got to be a way to get that pot clean!

Mr. Noddy suggests scraping with a razor blade. He sympathizes with the akward angle.

well, after you clean it well enough in whatever manner, i suggest heating oil in it a number of times before actually using it for anything. hope your stomachs are sturdy. i wouldn't throw it out either. i'm sure it will be fine in a few months...

I found this but it does not specify pan type:

Freeze the frying pan, then use a suitable instrument to tap the underside of the frying pan.

Steps
Freeze the frying pan in a freezer, leaving it to chill for at least a couple of hours.
Meanwhile, find a non-marring object like a piece of wood, plastic mallet, anything with some heft, but softer than the metal of the frying pan. This is to avoid damaging the finish of the pan in the next step.**
Remove the super-cooled frying pan from the freezer
Place the frying pan on a flat surface, with the bottom side turned up.
Using the striking tool, gently tap the bottom of the frying pan in the area where the plastic is pooled.
If this fails, repeat step 5, but not quite as gently

http://wiki.ehow.com/Remove-Melted-Plastic-from-Frying-Pan

Don't force it. Get a bigger hammer.

from "Techniques for Restoring an old Cast-Iron Skillet"

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/SandingCastIron.htm

I will send you a new cast iron pot. What size do you want?

I'd light up the fire pit outside and set the cast iron in it. A half-hour of sitting in an open fire pretty much cleans everything out of cast iron. A wire brush on a power drill may work in your case too!

Let us know how that turns out. I am curious to learn if you ever cook with it again.

you should consider using Na-palm-olive.

freeze it, burn it, freeze it again, burn it, freeze, burn -- should be hours of fun.

Some say the world will end in fire.
Some say, in ice.

i say flood.

I'd prolly try a stiff wire brush spun by a highspeed drill, but fishin's idea makes sense to me, too. No firepit, no problem; use a charcoal grill. Either way, make sure to heat-soak the pot well, and to expose the plastic-fouled area directly to live coals - constantly. I'd say 15 minutes or so oughtta do it, but that's just a guess. I figure you wouldn't wanna use any sort of forced draft to speed the process - the idea is to clean the cast iron, not to heat it to the point of being maleable enough to work the metal. Perhaps another solution might be to use a propane torch to burn off the plastic - that might do the job, too.

Once you get rid of the plastic, assuming you do, scrub the pot well with scouring powder and steel wool, then in fresh, hot, soapy water, thoroughly rinse it in hot water, dry it completely - a few minutes sitting on a rangetop burner at low heat will do - place some lard, about a couple tablespoons worth - Crisco brand would be my choice - in the pot, allow it to melt, then liberally coat the interior of the pot with the melted lard, and place it in a preheated 350º oven for about ½ an hour, turn off the oven without opening it, allow the pan to cool room temp - should take around 2 or 3 hours, overnight is fine, discard any remaining lard (there may not be any), wipe the pot's interior clean, thoroughly rinse the pot's interior in very hot running water, repeat the dry-over-low-heat, melted lard, wipe clean and hot rinse proceedures at least a couple times.

crisco ain't lard

That's true, I think it's hydrogenated vegetable fat of some kind. Not sure it matters.

It doesn't matter - Crisco more or less amounts to a readily available lard substitute and for most purposes, seasoning cast iron included, it seves just as`well as lard. Just about any edible fat or grease would work, bacon drippings, for instance, though with Crisco there's no residual flavor.