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!
Me too... soap, scrub and put over heat to dry! I have small and large skillets, a dutch oven and two size round griddles and thats the extent of what i use cooking except a saucepan every now and then. Just bought and seasoned a new 20” long griddle on one side and grill on the other for my propane camp stove today.
There’s no such thing as “never.” That’s just superstition.
Just use the skillet. Avoid burning whatever grease or oil you use. (Or bacon.)
Clean it with however much scrubbing it needs, under hot water. Always store it with oil rubbed on it.
If you ever need to use detergent to get it clean, you DO NOT NEED TO THROW IT AWAY. Just start seasoning it again.
Assume it has not been properly seasoned before you bought it. Put it in the oven at its maximum heat and burn everything off of it. When cooled scrub it well with soap and water and comet. You now have a clean skillet that needs to be seasoned properly.
Place again in the oven at about 275 degrees with oil in the skillet for about an hour. I like to use lard but other oils will do. Canola is a high temperature oil and does nicely but I like lard better. Lard is a lower temperature oil but seems to season better in my estimation. If it starts smoking your oven is to hot take it out immediately.
If properly seasoned you will have a black sheen on the bottom of the skillet. Never wash it again with dish soap.
To clean use a mildly abrasive brush and water.
If by chance you use the skillet at to high a temperature and ruin the seasoning, it is ruined period. Start the whole process over again in the high temperature oven. It is kinda irritating but when you ruin a teflon skillet it is over, throw it in the garbage can. That wonderful cast iron skillet can be returned to new for many many years.
Cast iron takes a bit of love and care but it cooks the best. My beloved wife is refused access to my cast iron. If she burns out a teflon skillet what the hell, stay away from my cast iron.
Just curious about some of that French Cast Iron with an enamel coating? It looks nice. Any masters of the kitchen have experience with it. I have considered buying some but just do not know if it is any good?
Cook with fat. Scrub with astainless steel scrubbie when dirty. Constant or often use will develop its patina. When wet, either put it back on the hot, turned off burner to dry or dry with paper towels.
You CAN use soap if you feel you need to. Thereafter you also might add more oil, but usually with cooking with good fat the way our grandmothers did, your pan will stay seasoned on its own.
I have a lodge too, awesome.
That's nice. It's also irrelevant.
Wagner started operations in 1891. It had nothing to do with "knowing they couldn't compete" (that's silly) or with buying anybody. Your statement is completely counterfactual.
Wagner and Griswold were both bought by an auto-parts conglomerate in 1957 ... when the whole cast-iron cookware market was collapsing. It wasn't "Modern" enough.
Please get your facts straight.
Don’t use soap. Cast iron is too porous and any soap residue will taint your food (don’t use soap on Teflon either for 5 he same reason). Hot hot water then heat it up, grease it up, and cure it. YouTube has all the tips you will ever need for curing. Keep it in the oven when preheating and keep it lightly oiled.
I stopped using it years ago because I don’t have time for the fuss of it all, but I do keep a Dutch oven around for camping or backyard cooking.
These days, the only one we really use is a small one to make corn bread in - it makes great corn bread....
Even that is not fool proof. Depends on what you cook in it.
Fried foods always stick. Spray with pan spray first.
Grandma’s big Chicken frying pan is 100 yrs old, still working for me just fine. I wipe low stick foods out with paper towels. Wash if necessary, lightly coat with veggie oil NOT COCONUT OIL, as you can’t get the temp up that high with out it smoking, in high oven heat for 30-45 mins depending on how hard I had to scrub it, when cool hit it with a tad of cooking spray and wipe off. Ready to use again. LEAVE THE BLACK PATINA ON IT!
Hot grease kills germs.
When using cast iron. Always heat it real hot before coking. Put some veg oil in it and wipe it around. After using heat it real hot til it starts to smoke, put just enough water in it to cover the bottom. The water should boil instantly. Brush it with a dish brush and rinse. Heat it again and oil it and wipe it off. This will season it after several uses. Always heat it hot before and after each use. Food will brush right off. You will never need soap again. Always keep it oiled.
Wipe it out with damp rag. Before putting it away heat it and wipe it with a little oil. If food gets stuck in it put water in it, simmer the water until the food gets loose...use a spatula while it is simmering to get all the food loose. The more seasoned it is the easier to clean. If I have one that wants to stick I use it for bacon for a while.
“(You can get it on Amazon)”
Are you crazy. Amazon? Why don’t you just send a large cash donation to the Washington Post?
You are right. Some foods will stick no matter what.
I try to use minimum heat to get by with. That helps.
Real lard is good, hydrogenated lard (Crisco etc) not so good.
Bookmark!
You’re right. I’ll bet that more than a few cast-iron pans have been pulled out of the trash and used for another 30 years.
.
At the temps at which we bake cakes, the differences in viscosity evaporate!
The coconut oil can be warmed to ease the mixing anyway.
.
Le Creuset is the best (even if it is Frog Ware). Very pricey. I paid over $300 for a 6qt oval Dutch oven. Just used it yesterday to make corned beef. Also use for deep fat frying. It holds the heat forever - don’t be in a rush.
Thanks!
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