Seasoning your cast iron

[JHZR2]

I love cooking on my cast iron pots, and I just got a grill that has a cast iron grate.

What do you use to season? Ive seen that some say they like to use EVOO, others say no because it smokes too early. Some say canola/rapeseed and similar gunk things up too much. Ive heard lard, and even flax oil.

What do you use? pans or grill grates...

 

[Whitewolf]

Bacon fat but don't overheat.

 

[Eddie]

Or Crisco

 

[Pablo]

Redline.

Seriously, I just use everyday olive oil. It smokes a bit, but I just repeat the process 4 or 5 times. Heat, coat, cool and repeat. I have some frying pans that I bought in college 36 years ago that are seasoned almost to teflon like coating.

 

[Lead Shoes]

The best is bacon grease in my book...

You just can't beat having everything taste a little like bacon...

 

[spasm3]

I use sausage. i cook sausage in a new cast skillet. Afterwards i take it out to the grill I rub sausage grease all over it handle and all. I heat it up gradually to around 475, or until its smoking good! then i let it gradually cool down with the grill lid closed. Carbon is your friend. Getting it hot expands the porosity of the metal and lets the carbon in. I never use soap and my pans are always non stick. I rub the grease on the handles because i like the black look of the pan to match the handles. With a grill grate, the enemy is moisture in between use.
I take my cast grill grates out of the grill and keep them in the garage otherwise they rust and loose their season.

P.S. by sausage , i mean southern style patties, not links.

 

[yonyon]

Shop Rite brand sweet italian sausage every time.

 

[Whitewolf]

The best is bacon grease in my book...

You just can't beat having everything taste a little like bacon... [/quote

You can't beat it can you?

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: yonyon
Shop Rite brand sweet italian sausage every time.


Oh yeah those are good, and a good price! Can't beat ShopRite!

 

[Shannow]

Fried bologna...seriously
Or cook crumbed (breaded) lamb cutlets in a mixture of olive and butter.

 

[abycat]

They say animal fat is the best choice. Man made choice is canola. Not as good as animal though.

 

[JTK]

Coconut oil has a high smoke point. Dunno how it would work for cast-iron seasoning though.

I've got a tub of it intended for popcorn. MAN does it make awesome popcorn.

Joel

 

[scurvy]

Cheap sausage or bacon has worked wonders on all of my cast iron.

 

[wrcsixeight]

After explicit directions not to ever let water or soap touch my cast iron skillet, an ex of mine filled it with dawn dish soap and scrubbed it with a green scouring pad then placed it to dry in a rack, where I found it, rusty.

Which of course led to the fight which ended the relationship.

I had spent years and years just pouring a little table salt and wiping it with a paper towel only. But a woman being a woman decided since I was just a man I could not possibly know what I am doing regarding anything and ruined something special

The Skillet has not regained it's astounding former glory, several years later, and I curse that female dog each and every time.

 

[Donald]

If animal fat is best then Crisco?

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: JTK
Coconut oil has a high smoke point. Dunno how it would work for cast-iron seasoning though.

I've got a tub of it intended for popcorn. MAN does it make awesome popcorn.

Joel


I got a tub of it for the same reason!!! Agree!

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: wrcsixeight
After explicit directions not to ever let water or soap touch my cast iron skillet...


Water is absolutely fine to use on seasoned cast iron. I pour boiling water into my skillet, give it a light scraping with a plastic spatula, dump it out and rinse with more boiling water.

Boiling water melts off any un-seasoned fat and makes it dry very quickly. I typically put it back on a burner and heat it up until completely dry, then wipe it down with a bit of canola oil.

Soap... not so much.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

It's probably the only use I have for Crisco, but I've used it to season all my cast iron. Rub it in and place it in a cold oven, then heat it to 400 degrees for 2 hours.

As far as cleaning, I always use water. Either a scrub sponge (no soap) or a plastic spatula works to get anything that does slightly stick. Then I towel dry it and place it on a stove burner and turn it on high for 30 seconds. It evaporates the water and I've never had a rust issue.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: JTK
Coconut oil has a high smoke point. Dunno how it would work for cast-iron seasoning though.

I've got a tub of it intended for popcorn. MAN does it make awesome popcorn.

Joel


I got a tub of it for the same reason!!! Agree!


he he, you wouldn't believe all the GREAT things coconut oil can do. Some are truly cool.

But virgin unmolested coconut oil is great for cooking and for seasoning iron skillets.

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
It's probably the only use I have for Crisco, but I've used it to season all my cast iron.


You can also make excellent biscuits out of it. And then make some sausage gravy in your cast-iron skillet!