Cast Iron Seasoning

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: racer12306

Main question: How do you season your iron cookware? I've seen a few methods, Lodge suggests their canola based spray but then Googling shows a method with flaxseed oil that is supposed to be really strong.


The choice of oil boils down to how often you use your pans and how much oil you use to season them. For initial seasoning, I oil the pan and then put it in a 250 oven for a couple hours. There will be some minor flavoring transferred to the food from the oil used-if that's a concern you can use grapeseed oil, which has no flavor.

For pans that I don't use often I use coconut oil-I've never had it go rancid. For pans that get regular use I just use olive oil. I just rinse and wipe my cast iron dry, and then put a very light coat of oil back on it before it goes into the cupboard.

The real key to cooking with cast iron is to get the skillet good and hot before putting any food in it. A properly seasoned cast iron skillet will act just as good as any non-stick skillet if you follow a few basic steps, including preheating the pan well. I have no issues cooking eggs in my cast iron-every morning. They slide off like they're on ice and absolutely nothing sticks.

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: BigD1
If you have a gas grill, do it outside on the grill instead of the oven.


Surprised this wasn't mentioned earlier. Seasoning in the oven is a fool's errand, destined to have the other house inhabitants screaming at you for smoking everyone out. I like doing a thin coat of Crisco, seasoning, let cool, repeat at least twice. When my Grandmother passed, I inherited some of her cast iron pans, which still cook wonderfully.

After cooking, clean ASAP with boiling hot water & a vigorous scrub. A tiny bit of soap will not harm the seasoning and may help get stubborn food particles off. After drying, I reheat on the stove, pour in a little oil until nearly smoking then wipe out the excess with a paper towel.

 

[Lyman]

I use lard and bake in the oven for an hour. I store my pans in the oven so they get left in there. I use coarse salt to scrub them most of the time. Maybe once every few months they will get a wash with soap. One of my pans is over 60 years old. I use them everyday.

 

[gman2304]

I rinse my cast iron pans with warm water, dry with a towel, then squirt a little Pam cooking spray on them before storing. Nothing sticks on them.

 

[Kestas]

I used to cook with cast iron until the lady of the house took over and insisted on Teflon pans. My frying pan was more nonstick than the Teflon pans she buys every two years.

 

[Ducked]

I prefer a mild steel frying pan, but have conditioned them with hot oil in roughly the same way, though I don't worry about no steenkeeng smoke point much.

A quick way of de-sticking a pan without disturbing the oil coating is with salt (as an abrasive) and paper. Rub the salt around the hot pan and tip out. Usually doesn't stick after.

 

[racer12306]

Thank you all for the suggestions.

 

[Ifixyawata]

Originally Posted By: Ducked
I prefer a mild steel frying pan, but have conditioned them with hot oil in roughly the same way, though I don't worry about no steenkeeng smoke point much.

A quick way of de-sticking a pan without disturbing the oil coating is with salt (as an abrasive) and paper. Rub the salt around the hot pan and tip out. Usually doesn't stick after.


I like the salt method but after I got a chain mail scrubber for Christmas, it and some hot water are my new go-to for cleaning up my CI pans.

 

[BigD1]

Going to try the method with flaxseed oil one of these days. Will definitely have to strip one of mine down to experiment.

https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/5820-the-ultimate-way-to-season-cast-iron

 

[NYEngineer]

I just bought my first 12" Lodge skillet and seasoned it with Crisco. Came out perfect. Can't wait to cook with it this weekend.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: BigD1
Going to try the method with flaxseed oil one of these days. Will definitely have to strip one of mine down to experiment.

https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/5820-the-ultimate-way-to-season-cast-iron


I know that flaxseed will polymerize on there, but there is some other issue with flax and heat that made me avoid it for cast iron pots.

 

[BigD1]

Crisco shortening with the mixture of soybean oil and palm oil has always been good to me. One thing I did learn over the years though is that seasoning in oven temperatures below smoke point creates too many sticky spots on the cast iron. I have had much better luck seasoning the pans outside on a gas grill, and getting the heat up high enough to let it smoke some, but not burn. The pans will get a deep black seasoned color doing it multiple times with no sticky spots. Can't do it in the house oven because I did it to my cornbread pan one time, and my wife pitched a fit.

The Lodge pans that come already seasoned are a brownish color. I just strip it off with oven spray in a plastic bag for a bit, and then do it my way. It's not really my way because I did read about it on some gents website that is really into collecting, and bringing back to life old cast iron. Tried to find that website, but I guess it's gone now.