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!
***good thing you didn’t have a bird nearby, it would likely be dead.***
My mother-in-law had a deadly fear of any overheated teflon pan. She tossed them if they looked bad or overheated.
OK, skillets and over easy eggs at noon. You choose the place, pard.
No bacon grease either.
No steel scouring pads or SOS pads, because they are hard and they scrape the skillet. Use a copper scrubber instead and hot water to clean the skillet. If you use a copper scrubber you'll never need soap.
Use a vegetable based oil to season with (see "no salt", above). I'm kinda partial to olive oil but really any vegetable based oil is fine.
Don't let it sit dirty. (I'm not saying I've never done this, I'm just saying for you not to do it.) Clean it as immediately as possible after cooking with it. Hot water and a copper scrubber, or a real hard plastic one, are all one needs.
Griswold’s founder was born in 1865. Wagner bought Griswold — they knew they couldn’t compete and had to buy the best.
I know the cornbread festival. Pretty cool. A thick slab of baloney fried in a Lodge is hard to beat. Add a slice of homegrown tomato, makes a hell of a sandwich.
I was in that same Sears on the bottom floor with my Daughter sometime in the 80s. We were just visiting Tulsa but it before Christmas and the Cabbage Patch Doll craze was at it’s height.
It was very early, maybe 8:00 and a lady brought out maybe 30 of them and put them on display. I told Lesley that they were the silliest thing I had ever seen and she agreed with me. I then said, “you don’t want one do you?”.
She said yes immediately. We went over and she picked one out. They were at the standard price, not marked up a bit. As we were walking to the register, word must have gotten out as a group of Women descended on them and they were gone in seconds.
I recently asked if she still has it and she does.
Our wedding gift to each of our children is a set of cast iron cookware, new if I have to, but used if I can build a set from thrift stores and garage sales.
Here’s a related kitchen question:
How to sterilize cutlery (such as Wusthof) when it’s necessary? The knives never go in the dishwasher. By hand, I’ll do a salt wash for a few minutes then dry.
I have never done anything to knives except wash them thoroughly and let them dry.
If they are not stainless and I do not eat or cook with them, I apply a little oil. About any kind will do.
Copper Scrubber and vegetable oil...
Okay Sooner!
I have one we've had for 20 years. I do wash it with dish soap (lightly). I then put it on the range, heat it up, put a few drops of olive oil in, use a paper towel to spread it around as a very light coat, let it continue to heat until it starts to smoke. I turn off the heat, let it cool, and put it away.
Don’t use any Teflon pans ever if you value your thyroid gland.
>> I apply a little oil
Good to know. Will start doing that.
Reminds me when I applied tractor grease to cuts given no other immediate options. It certainly helped to slow down the bleeding, and figured any bacteria wouldn’t like it.
ping
216 different opinions on a simple subject.
You gotta be flummoxed.
Search the ‘net for the oven bake method.
I use lard and that method, when done properly, results in a seasoned skillet in which you can make scrambled eggs with NO STICK.
The trick to that method is to NOT apply too much and not be patient. Expect to bake the pan no fewer than 6-8 times.
I’ve scrubbed mine when it’s gotten grimy with a scrubber suitable for a teflon pan and it’s still non-stick.
(we have birds, so aside from the other aspects of teflon, we threw all the non-stick pans away)
Good luck. If you’re lucky, you read this or similar advice before wasting your time.
“Unless yu have the food swimming in lard.”
You say that like it’s a bad thing!
Spread a scant amount of oil on the bottom and sides then 45 minutes in a pre-heated 275 F oven. Presto.
Go to the Lodge.com site. Instructions are there.
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