Posted on 08/27/2017 5:07:42 PM PDT by djf
Hello!
I bought a large (12 in diameter) cast iron pan at a garage sale today.
It has been only very lightly used, the manufacturers name LODGE is plainly visible on the bottom. Little or no burned grease or discoloration evident.
So I did wash it once very lightly with mostly water but just a hint of soap and am now trying to season it.
I put in about a tablespoon of unscented coconut oil and let that melt and worked it in with a paper towel, then turned off the heat.
So I am wondering about the best approach to season it. I know that means NEVER washing it with soap again... but what else should I do? Rub it down with salt or a salt/oil mix? Heat it till it starts smoking? I guess all these years I've used good quality teflon and never had to worry about it!
TIA!
hot water and a scratcher....a good cast iron PAN will clean up easily...
I had a great Dutch Oven. After my wife was gone I left it with my parents while I was in grad school.
After I finished, I was going to pick it up with the rest of my stuff but it was gone. I am almost sure my Sister got it.
I was going to get another one but priced them and they are sky high. I wouldn’t use it that often so will just not have one.
Wash it down with ATF...
Good to Go
Once I turned on the self-cleaner on our stove. I didn’t realize there was a cast iron pan inside. An hour or so later, it got so hot it was vibrating. Afraid it would explode, I figured out how to defeat the lock, opened the door and grabbed the super hot pan, I heaved it out the door into a snowbank.
That was 30 years ago. I cooked my dinner on it tonight.
A cast-iron frying pan, originally made with legs for cooking on coals in a hearth.
My Dad was born in 1904, so that probably explains why he used that term.
Pepe liked to use T-Fal when he made tamales in “La Cocina.”
Go to your local Good Will or other thrift store now and then. They often have them; you just have to do some refurbishing.
Lately our thrift seems to be pricing things like this higher than they used to; but it is still a great bargain. Just check carefully for cracks.
SO how come my mom lived to be 103 with no heart disease, and never used olive oil? She used peanut oil mostly, and coconut oil occasionally. But she lived in India. I live in USA and at age 77 I never had any heart or circulatory problems so far, and I use the cheapest oil I can find in grocery store, which usually is vegetable oil. I do not even like olive oil with it’s slightly bitter taste. My resting heart rate is low 60’s with very steady rhythm.
Wasn’t that off, off Broadway?
I would not have used coconut oil. My daughter is allergic to coconut. What if you are cooking for someone who is allergic to coconut?
Usually what I do is put oil all over it, including the handle, and put it in the oven at a medium temperature for a while. Make sure you have a piece of foil under it to catch the drips. That should do it. Every time you use it, clean it by wiping it out (or use a little soap if it is a mess) and wipe it with a little oil.
I’m still not done with those movers!
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Never heard of anyone being allergic to coconut.
Sounds like MCS, which is usually a demon.
.
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I have always heard that peanut oil is a ‘good’ fat; and so is virgin coconut oil:
https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/oils/virgin-coconut-oil.html
It smells a little ‘coconutty’, but doesn’t make your food taste like coconut.
I do something similar, but I bought a Misto sprayer and filled it with olive oil.
-PJ
Question: my wife left our cast iron with some leftover pastrami in the oven until it rotted. I poured boiling water in it a few times. But how to I recover it...safely?
Whatever you use, NEVER EVER use hydrogenated oil. Any virgin oil has to be better for you.
As for taste, the best frying oil for me was sesame oil fresh from my father’s farm in India. I still can not forget the exquisite taste of stuff fried in sesame oil, from 60+ years ago.
I cooked 8 fried eggs in my T-Fal skillet this morning - one of two really big ones from the early 1990’s. It looks really beat up but that’s because Dad kept throwing grease into it to cook long ago when he was with me. It’s got tons of stains but it keeps on going.
Some tater tots with onions, paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic salt and some link sausage.
I just cooked burgers in the other T-Fal big skillet - green pepper, white onion, red pepper, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce embedded into the hamburger. The grocery store was kind enough to replace my hamburger that turned sooner than I thought. Hit two sales there this past week. Still have the receipt - first one was a pretty good shopping list for $56 plus tax. And about $12.75 was the hamburger and a gallon of milk. I was surprised all I took out of the bags, LOL.
> BTW, I have grandma’s iron skillet ...
Our 12” skillet has been handed down from generation to generation since it was acquired in 1863. The seasoning over the years has made it almost like teflon.
I love sesame oil, but we use it mainly as a seasoning. We generally use olive oil, coconut oil, and butter for cooking (sometimes bacon grease).
Got rid of all the hydrogenateds long ago.
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