Light coating of cooking oil and heat in the oven for while.
And don’t worry about soap later, just avoid scrub pads.
How do you clean it after cooking with it??
PIG FAT....
Put a pork shoulder in the pan. Set the oven to low, low heat and loosely cover with foil.
After many hours, you will have pork suitable for shredding and a pan with a grease all over the inside. Save the renderings and lightly coat the outside.
After the rinse and scrub with a wooden spoon to dislodge any of the cooked on meat, back to the oven to dry the oiled skillet. Cook the bacon in the pan. At first you might try baking the bacon on a rack in the pan to get some good grease for seasoning the iron.
Anyway, something like that works.
Another way is to use your gas BBQ like an oven and roast some sausage links in the skillet. Grease is grease.
Sorry, Ben, I disagree strongly. I have a huge pile of Lodge stuff, and I *NEVER* take soap to it. Hot water and a plastic scrubber is it. Dry with a cotton towel, maybe hit with a little oil, hang on the pot rack. Done.
BTW, if you ever travel down I-24, the real Lodge factory outlet is about 25 miles outside of Chattanooga in South Pittsburgh, TN. “Real” as opposed to the “Lodge Factory Outlets” found in outlet strip centers. Not the real thing, as the foundry isn’t down the street, as in South Pittsburgh. Very worthwhile.