Cast iron skillets are kind of kitchen superheroes. You can use them for cakes, nachos, chickens and more. Needless to say, ours is on heavy rotation. The only tricky thing is cleaning it. Here, a cool way to clean and season it that's easy and uses stuff you've probably got on hand.

When it comes to cookware for your smoker or grill, cast iron rocks. From its tough black look to its wrist-bending heft. There's its primal connection to past generations of live-fire hearth masters.