WILD before and afters! Like I mentioned in the original video featuring this skillet, this pan was made by a company called Butter Pat Industries. In my opinion, they made the best cast iron in the world. Their casting process put them in a league of their own, and no one else was (and still aren’t) casting iron like Butter Pat. Their casting process allowed them to make a pan that was very similar to the vintage and antique pans that we all love, like Griswold, but were actually able to make them better. After a successful collaboration in 2023, in 2024 Butter Pat sold to YETI, who not only kept the same casting process, but improved on it- this is why when you see me cooking in my videos, it’s with a YETI. Anyway. I was down in Maryland the other month hanging out and shooting the shit with Dennis (the founder of Butter Pat). Right when I was about to leave, Dennis said, ‘hold on!’ and he came back to my truck with a rusty ass Heather skillet that he had left outside for, it looked like, many years. He said it would make for a good video. He was right. Ol Heather took a trip to my electrolysis tank followed by a vinegar bath to remove all of the heavy rust. After 4 rounds of seasoning, Heather was brought back to life. When I restore cast iron for other people, the restoration would end here, but since this is my skillet I decided to run it through some stovetop seasoning. Oven seasoning is much more uniform since the entire pan is the exact same temperature inside of the oven. But stovetop seasoning really darkens the patina and makes the seasoning for durable (on the cooking surface). I have a full video on my YouTube channel (link is in my bio) on how to stovetop season, but here’s a brief overview: Once the pan hits 400°F I oil the cooking surface and let it smoke heavily for 10-20 seconds before wiping off the excess oil with a clean rag. I then let it smoke lightly anywhere between 30-60 seconds before repeating the process several times. I will usually flip the pan over and do this to the bottom a few times- this helps remove some of the flame marks and also makes the seasoning more durable on the bottom (more resistant to the flame of my gas stove). - @cast_iron_chris